{"id":8026,"date":"2019-11-17T22:42:36","date_gmt":"2019-11-17T22:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.linke.com.au\/TB\/?p=8026"},"modified":"2021-11-18T11:29:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T01:29:55","slug":"day-03-vessel-chocolate-and-a-visitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.linke.com.au\/TB\/2019-new-york\/day-03-vessel-chocolate-and-a-visitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 03: Vessel, chocolate and a visitor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A little bit of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu today, but first a 20 block walk. I\nheaded out for a morning walk today, doing a loop from 44th<\/sup> to 34th<\/sup>\nand across from 5th<\/sup> to 7th<\/sup> Avenues. I circumnavigated the\nEmpire State Building, something I\u2019ve never done. It\u2019s such a gorgeous building\nand the skyline changes as you walk around it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The streets were relatively quiet, Sunday morning in the big\nApple. So the loop wasn\u2019t too hard, although I did almost get run over crossing\na street, it\u2019s easier when there\u2019s people around, I follow the crowd!  The only damage was my hand print on his\nbonnet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I returned Mardi and I headed down to Hudson Yards\nagain. Our event toddy, an internal visit to the Vessel and an international\nchocolate expo at the Javits Centre we\u2019re both in this area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First the Vessel. A classic example of build it, they\u2019ll\ncome. An eight story, conical structure of inter locking staircases and viewing\nplatforms.  Internally it presents a\nrange of geometrical effects, almost Escher like. Outwardly some good views of\nthe surrounds and New Jersey and the Judson River. We caught the lift up and\nprogressively made our way down, circumnavigating the structure three times on\nour way down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was as cold on the ground as it was eight stories high,\nso we quickly walked to the Javits Centre. The Expo Centre was in full swing\nwhen we got there, although we could have easily been attending a Japanese\nAnime Expo as well. After navigating the hoards of people in character we\nlocate the hall for the chocolate lovers. It\u2019s packed. The first few minutes\nare frustrating as the heaving crowd jostled for free samples and tastings. But\nas we moved further into the show the crowd thinned a bit and we were able to\nexplore and sample lots of interesting varieties. The whole thing was very\nWilly Wonka like. Chocolate with just about everything, I mostly stuck to the\nclassic dark varieties and dome Chilli and pepper infused treats. We bought the\nodd bar here and there, and before we knew it we\u2019d bought 21 blocks!  Lots to share and savour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We roll out a couple of hours later and head home for a\nbreak. We grab a hot dog on the way and take it easy for a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s in hood spirits and is keen to explore the city. We locate his hotel, on 51st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> 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. \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n