Rosemarys Travels

New York 2018

13th February 2018 (Day 5)-New York Public Library, Empire State Building and 9/11 Museum

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Alun

A packed day coming up today but we started in New York style with coffee and doughnuts from Dunkin’ Doughnuts and a walk to 42nd Street.

Our first stop was at the New York Public Library.

Our plan had been to just pop in and have a little look, and maybe find where the ghosts were, but one of the extremely friendly security staff said we couldn’t come in with a child without visiting the children’s library. So we went down to the basement to find it. They had a little display there of the original Winnie the Pooh toys, so we got a photo with a book for Rosemary’s “Reading in Unusual Places” challenge.

It was then a relatively short walk to our next place, which was the Empire State Building.

The building itself is an amazing Art Deco construction and decorated to match. But the views from the observation deck are hard to beat.

Rosemary was somewhat obsessed with the binoculars and we had a hard time pulling her away from them when we decided to leave after being up the top for quite some time just enjoying the views.

We grabbed a burger and a drink at Wendy’s and couldn’t resist this classic New York scene.

We then headed back the Freedom Tower for a visit to the 9/11 museum. Our last visit to New York ended on 10th September 2001, so when we got home to the UK it was 9/11. So we have always been very aware of the events of that terrible day. A visit to the museum therefore seemed very appropriate, and although it may have been a little scary for Rosemary we had explained it all to her beforehand.

Before going in we spent some time at the pools which mark the sites of the towers and have the names of all the victims of the attack.

The museum is very impressive and the space it occupies is also amazing in it’s vastness. We decided that some areas weren’t really appropriate for Rosemary to visit though as they were potentially too scary due to the realness of it all. So we focused more on the construction of the Twin Towers.

The visit was quite emotional in many ways, especially as how close we had come to actually being in New York that day.

We spent a little while longer at the site. It was dark by the time we came out and it was nice to see the area in darkness.

But Rosemary was definitely getting tired by this time so we headed back to Times Square again (as it was the best place to connect to the shuttle which ran from Times Square to Grand Central Station and then walk from there back to our hotel). So we stopped off for food and drinks at Red Lobster.

New York 2018

12th February 2018 (Day 4)-Liberty and Ellis Islands

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Alun

We headed down Manhattan to get the ferry over to Liberty Island this morning, a trip which has to be a must-do for any visit to New York. It was a cold start though and the wind was really whipping across the river as we made our way over on the boat. And even once over on Liberty Island it was still very windy.

And we got our first proper look at the Statue of Liberty.

There was quite a lot of construction work going on at the site so some of the normal views had barriers in the way. I think it was for a new visitors centre.

The entrance to the statue herself is through the museum, which has lots of interesting artifacts there on the history of the construction of the statue and how it has changed over the years. This included the original torch, which was lit and you could even go onto the viewing platform that surrounded it. Must have caused massive vertigo.

There was also the full size model of the face. This isn’t actually quite as large as we were expecting.

We walked around the viewing areas outside as we didn’t get a ticket for the top. They were already sold out for the day when we got there, but even if not I’m not sure we would have gone up. The walk up the spiral staircases looks somewhat terrifying.

As we went out we were really blown about and Rosemary got somewhat battered by the wind.

That’s some strong wind

After our tour of the museum we got some lunch in the cafe (which was actually very nice) and during that time the weather improved greatly and we had clear blue skies and very little wind. We’d also picked up a classic Statue of Liberty souvenir, which we had to get into some photos.

The ferry from Liberty Island takes you to Ellis Island, which is where vast numbers of immigrants to the US arrived and the halls there would process them.

The ferry does give some fantastic views of the Downtown area, including Freedom Tower which we had been to 2 days ago.

The main hall on Ellis Island is an amazing building and is part of the National Parks, as is Liberty Island.

The building is an extremely good museum, with lots of history but told from the perspective of the individual people arriving to America.

Our trip finished with getting the ferry back to Battery Park and it was already nearing sunset, and we had put in a lot of steps already during the day. So we headed to a nearby Subway station to go back to the hotel and have some dinner near there.

But we did spot the building where the Men in Black have their headquarters. But we couldn’t get access….

We had dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant not far from our hotel, with pizza and pasta for dinner.

New York 2018

11th February 2018 (Day 3)-Natural History Museum

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Alun

On our third day in New York we decided to take things a bit easy and revisited the Natural History Museum, which hadn’t really been our plan anyway the day before and we’d gone because the weather had turned a bit rainy and even some snow.

So after some breakfast we got the subway to the Upper Westside to the Natural History Museum. We could take our time a bit today and wanted to visit some of the areas we didn’t get a chance to go to the previous day.

We started the day in the area with the planetarium and lots of displays about the Earth and the planets.

They had an amazing meteor which is made of iron. Wouldn’t have liked to have been anywhere near where this landed!

We also visited the marine galleries where they have a giant blue whale hanging from the ceiling.

We also wanted to find the Easter Island statue that you see in Night at the Museum. After a little while we did find Dum Dum.

While we were in the museum we did stop in their cafe to have some snacks but also had a relaxed time walking around the museum. We couldn’t resist taking some more photos with the dinosaurs in the entrance though.

Once we were done and we left we headed to Times Square again for some dinner and some selfies.

A relaxing and non-stressful day.

New York 2018

10th February 2018 (Day 2)-One World Observatory and Natural History Museum

Posted on May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 by Alun

Our first morning in New York and Rosemary decided the view from the window was better than putting the TV on.

After unpacking a bit more we headed out to get some breakfast and after asking at the front desk were recommended John’s Coffee Shop, which was just a short walk from the hotel.

I’d prebooked some of our trips during our stay and this morning was the first one with a visit to the One World Observatory at the top of the Freedom Tower. To get there we took the short walk to 42nd Street and headed to Grand Central Station to get the subway. There is a short link from there to Times Square which proved really handy for us as it just goes between the two.

And we then got the subway for the first time heading downtown.

Don’t recall now which station we got the subway to but we had a short walk through the back streets to the Freedom Tower and got our first sight of it on the way. For something so large you’d think it would be hard to miss but it was hidden behind the tall buildings.

We had an entry time booked and we were allowed up the tower, ears popping on the way.

The views from the observatory were pretty amazing even though the weather wasn’t ideal with some low cloud and a little bit of rain.

The glassfloor is a bit of a cheat as it’s actually TV screens (as there isn’t a part which overhangs) but still makes you feel super dizzy and gives the sensation of vertigo.

After a couple of hours the weather started to turn and the clouds rolled in along with the rain. So we decided to head out and get some lunch. We went down the lift and into the Occulus, which is the shopping centre located underneath the tower. It’s a pretty amazing place in it’s own right.

We had some sushi and then a Starbucks while deciding what to do for the afternoon. As the weather wasn’t so great and there was actually a little bit of snow falling we decided to go the Natural History Museum.

There was a massive queue to get in as clearly a lot of other people had the same idea as we did, but eventually we got in and headed to see the dinosaurs (along with everyone else). It is one of the most impressive collections though.

Not a dinosaur but a very impressive fossil regardless

We spent a good few hours in the museum before wanting to get some food. Just time to see some more skeletons.

We took the subway to Times Square, where we could link up to the shuttle to Grand Central station, but got out to get some food.

An amazing first day in New York.

New York 2018

9th February 2018 (Day 1)-A Surprise Trip

Posted on May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 by Alun

This isn’t a Disney adventure but it is a big trip, and certainly an adventure.

So, about 9 months previously I booked a surprise trip for Julia’s birthday. Neither she nor Rosemary knew where we were going to but had convinced themselves that we were going to Disneyland Paris.

So we arrived at Heathrow in the very early morning, packed for weather similar to the UK in February (their only clue) and got the bus from the long term parking.

I had already checked in online so just needed to print luggage tags, which I went off and did myself before dropping the luggage and we went and got some breakfast and then headed to the gate.

And it was there that the secret was finally revealed that we were going to New York and we boarded what was a much longer flight than they thought they would have.

We had a nice smooth flight and after 7 hours (or so) we could see the coast and then the skyline of Manhattan.

I’d prebooked a airport drop off in Manhattan at our hotel and we picked that up and headed off through Queens and Brooklyn and eventually across the river.

Our driver unfortunately thought we were going to a different hotel and drove us all round, at least we got a free tour, before eventually we got to our hotel, the One UN just by the United Nations.

Our room was a long way up the tower and looking into the island so we had an amazing view.

But it had been a long day and an early start, and it had taken much longer to get from the airport than I had thought. So we just decided to grab something to eat (a burger from Five Guys) and head to bed so we could get an early start tomorrow.

Florida 2016

1st January 2017 (Day 15)-Seaworld and Home

Posted on October 28, 2019January 7, 2020 by Alun

The end of our trip.

We packed up our bags and loaded the car and had decided to spend a few hours at SeaWorld before going to the airport.

We first headed the Wild Arctic and took the motion simulator (as there was no queue today) to gain entrance to the rest of the Arctic area.

The Beluga Whales were particularly active and swam past several times.

While in that area of the park we had some snacks (making sure we had used up everything we had bought in Walmart) and Rosemary had a Shamu ice cream.

And a ride on the Shamu Express as well.

After 14 days I was pretty burnt out taking photos so there wasn’t photos of everything and we just wanted a nice relaxing few hours before the long flight home. But were looked around some the aquariums and spent time just watching the animals.

We did get to ride the Empire of the Penguin ride and see the penguins at the end of it.

And a last visit to see the stingrays as well.

And then unfortunately it was back to the car to head to the airport. A smooth drop off for the car at the terminal and then a straightforward check-in followed (once we found the right set of desk, having gone in completely the wrong direction to start with). And then an overnight flight back to London.

So….until the next time!

Florida 2016

31st December 2016 (Day 14)-Magic Kingdom

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Alun

Our last full day and it is New Year’s Eve. Our original plan before arriving in Florida was to spend the day at Hollywood Studios. But with so much closed there we decided that we had done all we wanted to do there and wouldn’t visit it again this trip. So we changed plans to and decided to go to Magic Kingdom instead. In hindsight this may have been a mistake. The queues to get into the park were massive and we spent probably over an hour in a traffic jam. As a result we lost our first FastPass reservation as I couldn’t access the app to change anything.

But on arriving and eventually making it into the park (getting the bus as the quickest option by a mile from the Ticket and Transportation hub) we went straight to the Tomorrowland Speedway.

It wasn’t the most comfortable drive for the passenger but Rosemary enjoyed it even if she did crash into the middle rail quite a lot.

We then decided to get some family photos with the Cinderella coach which was done up for New Year. The queue was quite long but wasn’t too bad and we did get a nice photo of us for the New Year.

We decided to take it easy for the day after the terrible start and needing some snacks we headed to Gaston’s Tavern for some cinnamon rolls.

We decided to avoid the TERRIBLE coffee they serve there and actually seem to be quite proud about being so bad. So we tried the Le Fou’s Brew, which we’d not had before.

After chilling and having something to eat Rosemary went to play in Circus, dodging the water sprays.

We also got some candy apples from the Big Top Souvenirs shop, which is never very busy it seems and has a really good selection of stuff, including a whole counter of candy apples, cakes and handmade stuff.

As we still had to fully pack we didn’t want to be out too late so unfortunately had to think about heading back to the hotel. So just a chance for 1 more picture before leaving for the last time (this trip).

We went to dinner that night at Red Lobster and Rosemary had her favourite Lobster, Spinach and Gruyere dip.

And while packing up there were was quite a lot of purchases to find space for in the case…..

Florida 2016

30th December 2016 (Day 13)-Epcot

Posted on October 28, 2019October 28, 2019 by Alun

Another day at Epcot today and it was a little on the chill side. Bit of a shock after so many days of hot, sunny weather!

In the entrance area we got some lovely shots with the PhotoPass photographer of the 3 of us and they dropped in an extra visitors as well.

We had some FastPasses reserved and these were around the entrance area rather than in the World Showcase, although we were going to venture there later in the day. First one we had was for Soarin’ which was great as ever.

Immediately after that we made use of our second FastPass, for Spaceship Earth. I’m always slightly reluctant to use a FastPass for this ride as it’s not normally got a very long queue. But there aren’t that many FastPass rides in Epcot and I figured I might as well.

We had a little time before our final FastPass, so went to Club Cool to try the different flavours of Coke products. Rosemary to tried the Beverly and was NOT a fan of it.

Our final FastPass was for Journey into Imagination with Figment, which must say was definitely not worth a FastPass, as straight in regardless. We’d not done this classic attraction previously. It’s a bit odd to be honest…

For the rest of the day we had no real plan beyond going into the World Showcase and seeing what happened. But first we got some snacks from the pop-up Christmas booths. This was a very good pecan pie.

We met Pluto just at the entrance area of the World Showcase and there was almost no queue to see him. Pluto is definitely Rosemary’s favourite so it’s always good to meet him.

We also met Princess Jasmine at the meet-and-greet in Morocco.

And that fairy also got into our pictures from the PhotoPass Photographer again while we were there.

While in the France area we got to see Sleeping Beauty and got a great interaction with her. She was very complimentary about Rosemary’s manners, and said she was going to speak to Mary Poppins about it.

We also met Pere Noel as he was passing. He seemed a bit grumpy though. Maybe he was cross that he was still working several days after Christmas!

While making our way around the area we were taking a short break in the quiet area at the International Gateway when some characters came out. So we got to see King Louie and Pooh. There weren’t many people there so Rosemary got some really nice interactions with them and got to dance with them as well.

Around this time we were into late afternoon and we were going to head to Disney Springs for dinner that night. But as we were heading out of the park Daisy Duck was meeting her fans at the front of the park.

Florida 2016

29th December 2016 (Day 12)-Aquatica

Posted on March 25, 2019October 28, 2019 by Alun

Another day and another trip to a water park. This time to Aquatica, the entry for which was included with our Discovery Cove ticket. So we are managing to squeeze quite good value from that with a trip to Seaworld as well.

We started off with a little float down Loggerhead Lane in our rings. I find this lazy river to be a bit shallow and usually end up walking along the bottom. But it’s nice as you go through the big aquarium and also get to see the Commerson Dolphins in the tank where people come shooting down the tubes (down Dolphin Plunge).

After going around a few times we thought we would try out Roa’s Rapids, which we’d never been into before, and turned out to be huge fun. The water pulls you round so fast that it’s actually difficult to stop and get out. After a very short time in the water we decided that the easiest thing was to grab lifejackets and let them do the work so we could just float and whizz around.

Literally had to pull Rosemary out, partially as she wanted to carry on going around it and partially because she nearly got carried away by the water at the exit point. Very cool though and as close as you can get to flying in water.

After getting out we had a look around the shops.

We spent a bit longer at the park and played around Cutback Cove, which is the beach area at Aquatica and has a wave machine which comes on periodically. But after a while we decided to get dried off and changed.

Before we went we did go and watch the Comerson Dolphin’s for a little while.

As there was still some time that evening we visited the outlets, eventually managing to park up as it was so busy, and did spend about $2 buying a Space Slug hand puppet at the Disney outlet….I mean why wouldn’t you.

As as we hadn’t done quite enough swimming for the day, Rosemary decided to take a night time swim at the hotel. The water was way too cold for anyone else but she didn’t seem to mind!

Florida 2016

28th December 2016 (Day 11)-Seaworld

Posted on March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 by Alun

Off to SeaWorld today. Having been to Discovery Cove we have our lanyards and this entitles us to access to SeaWorld and Aquatica for 7 days after visiting Discovery Cove. So at least we didn’t have to pay for our tickets. We did pre-purchase the all-day-dining tickets though so we headed there for opening time to get breakfast and then see how much we could actually eat by the end of the day. We assumed that it was a challenge!!!

We went to breakfast and got standard type food (eggs, bacon, pastries etc) at Seafire Grill.

Never eat anything bigger than your head

After that we wandered through the park and first went to the dolphin nursery. There were a couple of small ones in there and the mums were starting to teach them to jump. There was one quite small one but couldn’t get a photo unfortunately.

We wandered round a little more with the plan to catch the next performance of the Blue Horizons show, which was the next thing we wanted to see. Also wanted to make sure we saw an early show because we wanted to have time for both the Clyde and Seamore show and the Christmas night time Shamu show. Show was good as usual, although felt a little cut short so not sure if the dolphins weren’t co-operating fully and they had to shorten it (which I know has been the case in the past).

After the show we thought we’d hit our all-day-dining option again and this time went to get lunch at the Expedition Café in the Antarctic.

We then went to see the manatees, which are a favourite animal as they’re so gentle and get a really hard time from inconsiderate boat owners. Like they haven’t go enough to worry about without being hit by a speed boat!

It was lunchtime when we got there (although it’s probably always eating time for them) and they were chowing down on some lettuce.

As you go underground to see the manatees this is also the turtle show, Turtle Trek, and as you wait to go into this there are the underwater viewing areas. Next to the manatees are the sea turtles and fish, and Rosemary got badly photobombed by a particularly inquisitive fish.

We walked over the Shark Encounter, where there are lots of really good aquarium exhibits, but Rosemary got eaten!

Unfortunately they had removed a shark which used to hang from the ceiling and we had taken a similar picture each time we had visited. So were quite disappointed not to get one this time as it was a nice record of the different visits. The previous ones are shown below.

We never really go to Seaworld for the rides but did go a few in Shamu’s Happy Harbour. Rosemary did insist on getting the manatee on the carousel.

Forgot the name of this ride... — Forgot the name of this ride…

We really wanted to get the shows in but had to head back across the park to the Sealion Theatre to see the Seamore and Clyde Christmas Show. Very good show and as always the mime was extremely funny.

It was completely dark this time and we spent a while in the Christmas Village area looking at the decorations and Christmassy stuff that was for sale, although we didn’t buy anything. Rudolph was there meeting and greeting but the queues were very long.

I seem to remember having dinner at Mango Joes using our wristbands and then went to see the Shamu night time show, Shamu’s Christmas Miracle. This was also probably the last time we would see a show like this as (quite rightly) they are stopping the Orca shows and by the time we come back they wont be going on anymore. It’s sort of disappointing to know we’d never see this again but at the same time it’s good to know that the animals will be able to behave more “naturally”.

And that was pretty much the end of our day at Seaworld. We did spend some time watching the Christmas Trees and the Sea of Trees show where the lights all go in sync to the music.