Tourist attractions, New York

Saturday was another big day. The coaches left early to take us to a ferry terminal somewhere in the bookdocks (lots of swamp) to catch the ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island.

Ellis Island is where immigrants were processed. They had a very good audio tour of the building where new arrivals dropped their baggage, went upstairs for a 6 second medical check, waited to be questioned, and then were either free to go or were detained. Seems like not much has changed. I was surprised to find out that most immigrants were accepted, back then, and only 2% (or was it 6%) rejected. But it must have been a terrifying experience. The doctors checked for trachoma by turning back your eyelids with a button hook, and medical conditions were chalked in a code on your clothing.

We caught the ferry again to visit Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty. Another audio tour: there was a 45 minute wait to climb up inside so most of us just walked around the perimeter, and that was interesting enough. She looks solid, but she's actually a thin layer of copper sheets over a structure designed by Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame. Here's a trivia question: what's inscribed on the book that she holds? It's July 4th (Independence Day) with the year in roman numerals that I couldn't quite read.

The New York skyline from the ferry was just beautiful: especially as we came into land, with the sun turning the windows to gold and silver.

The ferry dropped us at Battery Point and the coaches took us to the Empire State Building, where we caught a lift up to the 80th floor and another lift to the 86th floor where the observatory is. It was very windy, but we were able to walk right around and see a wonderful 360 degree view of New York below us. Most of the rooftops were pretty filthy.

I lost the rest of the Aussie contingent (not intentionally) and headed north towards the Museum of Modern Art. I'm not a fan of the newer stuff, but it was wonderful to see original Picasso and Mondrian and Klint that I'd only ever seen in art books. Monet's waterlilies were supposed to be there but I couldn't find them and was running out of time and energy.

My next stop was Central Park, and by sheer coincidence I ran into Sue, Jill, Jennifer and Mary on a street corner. They were on their way back from shopping at Tiffany's. We joined forces and walked up to Central Park together to take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the park. That was fun: Sue and I had an Irish coach driver who pointed out the sights. The ice rink had opened and people were skating.

Walking along 7th avenue we saw several people and children in Halloween costumes. There was a Halloween parade starting at 7 pm but it was the other end of town so we didn't get to see it. One cute baby in a stroller was dressed as a lobster.

Next on the schedule was going to South Pacific at the Lincoln Centre. It was very hard to flag down a taxi, so eventually we split up. Jill and Jennifer went off to pursue a taxi and Mary, Sue and I ventured into the subway at 59th street. Unfortunately the Halloween Parade and the New York Marathon (on Sunday) meant some subway services had been suspended. We caught what we thought was a subway to the Lincoln Centre but it turned out to be an express that didn't stop until 107th street, so we caught another express back to 59th street and walked the few blocks to 65th street along Broadway. We had a sort of meal at Starbucks, and then found Jill and Jennifer (who'd managed to flag down a taxi very quickly) waiting outside the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

South Pacific was wonderful. I'd never seen it before, so didn't know what to expect. It's based on short stories by James A Michener, and deals with issues of mixed marriages: between an American nurse, Nellie, and a French plantation owner; and an American soldier and a Tahitian girl. Great singing, wonderful music, fantastic scenery.

We caught a taxi home - not a licensed taxi, and he charged over the odds, but he was willing to take all 5 of us in one taxi and he was there, so it worked out okay. We were home by 11:30 pm, and it's the end of daylight saving so we got an extra hour's sleep (or should have).