Page 17 - Explore Magazine Spring 2017

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All too soon it was time to pack up our ski boots and
to head 120km east to Denver airport and on to the
next adventure which proved to be quite a contrast.
We touched down in the concrete jungle of New York
at La Guardia Airport in the middle of the night and
embracing the New York lifestyle we hailed a Yellow
Cab. It whizzed us into the city with a demonstration
of big-city tactical driving that I believe one can only
experience in New York. The movies don’t lie: cabs use
their horns a lot.
On our first day in New York we tested out the subway
and made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge, an incredible
walk in the crisp winter air with a soft pretzel in hand.
Over the next week, we ticked off the Staten Island
Ferry, the “Friends” apartment building, the Statue of
Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial, One World Trade Center,
the Natural History Museum, Central Park, Wall Street,
Times Square and of course the Empire State Building.
Times Square is a brilliant, flashing light show of
billboards, crowds of people and the occasional
cowboy playing a guitar. It is like nothing we had seen
before. The Empire State Building was another highlight
for us all. From 102 storeys up, the views are incredible
and you appreciate how big Manhattan truly is. As
you progress up the floors you also learn about the
history of the building, which illustrates the amazing
engineering feat that was achieved in 1931.
New York is an incredible city that I would return to in
a heartbeat. It is full of life and colour and eccentricity
and has so much history. Whether you stayed for a
week or a month you would never be bored and would
discover new things every day.
Before heading home, we stopped in LA for four days
and enjoyed the theme parks including Knott’s Berry
Farm and Universal Studios where we screamed on
the roller coasters and chatted with Optimus Prime
from Transformers. And then, having also significantly
indulged in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, it was
time to head back to New Zealand.

HELLOWORLD : EXPLORE : SPRING EDITION