New York and cruise2022

Overall it has been a superb holiday in lovely surroundings with fantastic friends. The debacle at Heathrow with the Hoppa bus and security was soon overcome. Our flight with American Airlines was comfortable and our reception at US immigration was delightful, smiling face and good humour. However it remains a mystery as to why I was allowed in without having my fingerprints taken but the other three weren’t and had to provide them. We saw things in New York we may not have otherwise witnessed. I now have a new perspective on ballet and would certainly go and see another. I know Americans can’t get the hang of pantomimes but if shows like the Rockettes any anything to go by, they have a fairly good Christmas show alternative. It was a particularly proud moment to be permitted to place wreaths on behalf of the British Police in memory of our American colleagues at the Ground Zero memorial. The illuminated houses were something else too. It was the first time Val and I have done such a c...

Cruise home Day one 3/12/22 We had our breakfast then returned to our room to pack our final bits. At the allotted time the four of us met at in the lobby and waited for the coach to arrive. We assumed we had a short trip to the piers in Manhattan but no, the Queen Mary 2 is too big to dock there so we had to travel to Brooklyn to board. The pre-boarding administration and security were slick and once we were cleared we sat in a waiting area ready to be called. We didn’t wait long before we boarded and found our cabin, sorry state room. We then had to carry out an obligatory check in at our muster station. We then met up with Sandra and David and had some lunch. Afterwards we discovered the observation deck so as to take some photos of the Statue of Liberty and the New York sky line. We returned to our respective cabins and unpacked.  The ship then set sail and after passing under the Verrazano Bridge and disembarking the pilot at the Sandy Hook pilot station the ship came to an Ea...

Today we had time to ourselves so today was the day we would visit 9/11 Ground Zero and place the blue (for police officers) wreaths. So we set off armed with instructions from my granddaughter, Lauren, on how to navigate the NY subway system. We walked to the station boarded the train and travelled the seven stops to the World Trade Centre. We found the memorial and placed the two police blue wreaths at the Tree of Life. I placed mine on behalf of the Thames Valley branch of the International Police Association (IPA) and Sandra, whose father was PC Bill (Dixie) Dean of the Norfolk Constabulary, on behalf of the British Police. We took our own photos but there was plenty of other interest. I knew there was once a police patch collection in the nearby church so I found a nearby cop and asked where it had been relocated to. He informed me it is in O’Hara’s pub next to the church. We entered the pub and was greeted by the guv’ner I told him what I wanted to do so he gave me a staple gun ...

Today the tour organisers had arranged a two hour walking tour of the city. This concerned Val so she decided to let it go whilst Sandra, David and I went on it. However the Gostlings came up with a cunning and brilliant plan. Why not forgo the walking tour and take a bus tour. We jumped at the chance and fortunately the tour starts right outside our hotel. We boarded the bus and despite the temperature went and sat on the open upper deck. The bus set off through downtown Manhattan along Broadway, past Maddison Square Garden and Penn Street station. We then headed for the Empire State Building with its 102 floors and standing 1454 feet tall. We then drove along 5th Avenue passing the odd looking Flat Iron building, so named for its triangular shape resembling a flat iron. It was build in 1902 and is 307 feet high ( tall for its time) it is covered terracotta Medusa heads. The tour continued through Little Italy and China Town. We then drove along the water edge passing the Manhattan a...