SM & myself were lucky enough to visit New York for a few days. Our first tip, when you go to Ground Zero (well most people do!) is to go to the 3rd floor bar in the Hilton & you will have a much better view, this is where these photos were taken from.  Also don't miss St Paul's, a church a block away.  This was where the firemen were nurtured during their very long stints of helping in the time very soon after 9/11.  There were banners, photographs, messages, all very poignant.  On a more frivolous note, whilst down there you must go to Century 21, (its right opp), a cut price designer store, bargains galore but you need both time & stamina to get them, its very busy!  Another tip, use the buses, they are cheap (you can buy multiple use tickets in the subways), you see a lot more of the city than from a taxi, & they are fun as everyone is very helpful & wants to chat.  Perhaps because they love the Brits at the moment, we certainly met some great characters.

www.cipriani.com

We went to explore Grand Central Station which is an amazing building & hard to believe its a station.  Lots of bars & restaurants.  We chose the Cipriani Dolci & sat on the lower left hand level of the restaurant (in the middle pic).  This gave us a wonderful view, as it is a balcony, but that is what we paid for!  It was very expensive for mediocre food & terrible service, not recommended.

Luckily we had been to New York before so this was a very relaxing trip as we weren't desperately trying to see all the sights (think you would need min. of a week if you were).  We had wonderful weather & walked a lot.  We had more time to spend eating but have to say that the food was my biggest disappointment in NY.  It was not as I remember it back in the seventies, the diners used to be very cheap serving fantastic freshly cooked food.  Now they are no longer cheap, the food is not so special & lots of them that we ate in during the day looked dirty.  Have not found this in other parts of USA but also I think standards over here in UK have risen dramatically & so we expect more.  The Delis are still excellent, so our advice, buy takeaway, sit in the park & enjoy the sights! 

Next day we started a wonderful voyage home on QM2.  It was embarrassing what Cunard had lined up to impress the Americans!  A quartet of long haired idiots dressed as Beefeaters (but looking nothing like them) who gave a trumpet salute to arriving passengers at regular intervals!  A bit further along the RED CARPET (!) there was a living tableaux of Victorian characters, jolly old England, I presume they were supposed to represent!!  The reason we chose this voyage was because QM2 & QE2 were crossing the Atlantic together.  An historic occasion as it was the first West/East transatlantic for QM2 & the last transatlantic for QE2.  New York certainly gave us the most memorable send off.  I will never forget the celebrations, both the music & the fireworks were very emotional (no doubt helped by copious amounts of Cunard's Champagne!).  We had an amazing time, the ship is beautiful, the food & service fantastic, the entertainment excellent & we certainly made the most of it.  Still trying to loose the weight & the credit cards keep rolling in but don't I say that every trip?  QM2 definitely 10/10 & worth breaking the bank for!  Report CJ