A little bit of déjà vu today, but first a 20 block walk. I headed out for a morning walk today, doing a loop from 44th to 34th and across from 5th to 7th Avenues. I circumnavigated the Empire State Building, something I’ve never done. It’s such a gorgeous building and the skyline changes as you walk around it.
The streets were relatively quiet, Sunday morning in the big Apple. So the loop wasn’t too hard, although I did almost get run over crossing a street, it’s easier when there’s people around, I follow the crowd! The only damage was my hand print on his bonnet.
When I returned Mardi and I headed down to Hudson Yards again. Our event toddy, an internal visit to the Vessel and an international chocolate expo at the Javits Centre we’re both in this area.
First the Vessel. A classic example of build it, they’ll come. An eight story, conical structure of inter locking staircases and viewing platforms. Internally it presents a range of geometrical effects, almost Escher like. Outwardly some good views of the surrounds and New Jersey and the Judson River. We caught the lift up and progressively made our way down, circumnavigating the structure three times on our way down.
It was as cold on the ground as it was eight stories high, so we quickly walked to the Javits Centre. The Expo Centre was in full swing when we got there, although we could have easily been attending a Japanese Anime Expo as well. After navigating the hoards of people in character we locate the hall for the chocolate lovers. It’s packed. The first few minutes are frustrating as the heaving crowd jostled for free samples and tastings. But as we moved further into the show the crowd thinned a bit and we were able to explore and sample lots of interesting varieties. The whole thing was very Willy Wonka like. Chocolate with just about everything, I mostly stuck to the classic dark varieties and dome Chilli and pepper infused treats. We bought the odd bar here and there, and before we knew it we’d bought 21 blocks! Lots to share and savour.
We roll out a couple of hours later and head home for a break. We grab a hot dog on the way and take it easy for a while.
At around 5.00pm we head over to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to pick up tickets for a tour on Tuesday and then head down to Penn Station to meet my brother, Robert, who is visiting NYC for the first time. His train is on time and we meet him and head uptown to his hotel. On the way he tells us about his journey. He caught the train across America from LA to NYC, after flying in from SYDNEY last Thursday. He’s in hood spirits and is keen to explore the city. We locate his hotel, on 51st and 2nd and then head out for dinner. Pizza. After dinner we explore the local area, which is filled with little restaurant. We part ways after a while and agree to catch up tomorrow and show him around our home away from home. We catch the subway home and settle in for the night. Â
