New York - USA
Friday, 23th
September 2011



Day 4


After having finished a nice Starbucks breakfast we walk east on Forty Seventh Street to the crossing with Fifth Avenue. We need to buy a vest for my daughter at the store of Abercrombie and Fitch. As we north on Fifth Avenue and approach the corner of Fifty Sixth Street we see quite a lot of people gathered at the entrance at the store. As we get closer we can see that the crowd mainly consists out of teenage girls. Reason for that is that there are two guys standing there, both in their early twenties, wearing nothing more than a pair of Abercrombie jeans, a pair of slippers and both equipped with an impressive six-pack. They are posing for photographs with these girls at the front door. Therefore lots of giggling girls all over the place and camera's are clicking and flashing away.

We make our way into the shop and after about ten feet we are welcomed with a big smile and a loud ″Hay guys, can I help you?″. A girl in her early twenties dressed in a sweater and a very short skirt (Abercrombie brand of course) welcomes us. We explain what we want and are directed to the second floor; third if you are an American! As we travel upward with the escalator in search for the desired object a face appears at the top of the escalator. Again a girl in her early twenties dressed in the same sweater and the same very short skirt (Abercrombie brand of course) gradually appears. Seen from this low position the minuscule skirt she is wearing proves to be embarrassingly short; looking upwards to here I feel like a peeping Tom and I quickly look into another direction. Again we are welcomed with a big smile and a loud ″Hay guys, can I help you?″. We now begin to detect a patron here!

Having finally arrived at the floor where they sell the vests we start looking for the one we want. Whilst searching through the abundance of shelves with all sorts of sizes and colours another girl approaches us offering here assistance. This girl is also wearing the same outfit as the previous two. All of the female staff here wears the same outfit. And so does the male staff. I must admit, it does look kind of smart! In spite of the extremely loud music that makes verbal communication very difficult we manage to get our question across none the less. We make our choice, pay and find some peace and quiet outside again. What an experience this was!

We follow Fifth Avenue north to Central Park; the famous Central Park! At the entrance of the park there is a continuous row of benches leading into the park, some of which have small bronze plaques on them naming the benefactors that have paid for the placing of these benches. Almost each bench has been sponsored! If you want to be immortal, make a donation to the park and your name will be in bronze. Why go through the length of trouble and buy a gun, wait a grace period and then shoot an odd twenty people or so in order to become immortal; just a simple bank transfer will do that for you as well! It′s just an idea!

We follow the path for a while and this leads us through a small children′s ZOO deeper into the park. After an half an hour troll through this cool and lush green oases we leave and walk into Fifth Avenue, cross it and walk through Seventy Second Street to Madison Avenue. Here is where all the expensive brands are located. Following Madison Avenue south we window shop at Chanel, Jimmy Choo, and so on.

So far during this week the weather has been warm and humid and it has been sunny. Every day we have taken our coats with us because we were not sure about the weather. Today we have left them at the hotel for the first time. Why take them with us; it′s going to be good weather, right? This now changes for the worst. The sun is gone and every now and then you can feel a rain drop. Then a small drizzle starts; we quickly shelter in the Trump Tower and have a drink whilst waiting for the rain to stop. It does not stop! The rain is now hammering down on the glass roof; it′s a complete torrent now, and it′s not going to stop any time soon.

After having spend a half an hour′s rest at the Trump Tower restaurant we decide to leave and make our way to the hotel in spite of the torrential rain. Both of us are just wearing a T-shirt and no coat, we now run alongside the buildings trying to avoid being hosed down by the elements.

Obviously this does not work at all. After twenty minutes or so we finally arrive at the hotel; the both of us looking like we have fallen into a river. This to the amusement of the hotel security staff that oversees the elevator corridor through which we have to pass through.

Having showered and dried we prepare for the evening. Tonight we are having dinner at Pigalle on Eight Avenue and a Broadway show at the Imperial Theatre. Having enjoyed a excellent meal at Pigalle we make our way to the theatre. The show that we are going to see is ″Billy Elliot″, the tale about an English coalminer′s son that prefers ballet above boxing. I myself am not that fond of musicals, but I do have to admit that the show was very good, and quite entertaining. Not to mention the fact that the place was packed to the sealing! A definite recommender therefore!











and welcome!






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Edison Hotel 47th Street: our room

Edison Hotel 47th Street:
our room



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The breakfast suitcase

The breakfast suitcase



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Professional "baby walkers" taking the kids for a walk

Professional "baby walkers"
taking the kids for a walk


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ToysRus on Time Square

ToysRus on Time Square