Day 1 – Niagara Falls – US – We combined two trips into one. Since Niagara Falls wouldn’t fill a whole week, we added New York City. The trip began with an overnight stay in Minneapolis so we could get an 8:00 flight in the morning to Buffalo, New York. We got our rental car and made the 3o minute drive to Niagara Falls, New York.
From the US side
The US side of the falls has a nice viewpoint on Goat Island, next to the Falls. The Cave of the Winds attraction was a walk up and along some wooden stairs next to Bridal Falls. Even with the plastic poncho we were given, we still got wet, mostly the bottom of our pant legs and our shoes.
There is a large observation platform that we walked out onto, while we dried off in the sun. Eventually, we drove across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada and to our hotel for the next two nights.
Overnight parking seems to be limited. Instead of the expensive valet parking, we opted to drive our rental a few blocks to the hotel’s parking lot, took the shuttle back to the hotel and had dinner. After a walk along the river, we settled in and watched the 10:00 PM fireworks from the comfort of our hotel room.
Day 2 – Niagara Falls – Canada – The next morning started with a nice breakfast in our hotel, then on to Voyage to the Falls, our boat ride into the falls. Again, everyone got soaked, even with the ponchos provided. We didn’t need our car today because we bought tickets to attractions that included a city bus ride to all attractions. The WeGo bus took us to the Whirlpool, White Water Rapids Walk and back to the Journey Behind the Falls. There were lots of other stops, but we did not get to everything.
One of the tunnels that lead to viewpoints behind the waterfall.
The Old Power Plant and Tunnel wrapped up the day. A trip up the short inclined funicular railway put us back at our hotel.
Day 3 – New York City – Today was a very early day. Our flight left Buffalo at 8 AM. We had the drive plus going through customs and finding a gas station before returning the rental. An hour and a half flight to LaGuardia airport in New York City and we were off on the next leg of the trip.
We did a lot of research on using the subway in New York City, and Manhattan specifically, and it is the best and cheapest way to get around. The funny thing is, the subway does not go out to LaGuardia. But it’s easy to get to the subway with the free Q70 bus that runs from the airport to the nearest subway station, about three miles away. We purchased subway tickets and got on the E train. Easy to find and maneuver using the MTA app. After an uneventful ride, we got out a block from our hotel.
We were at our NYC hotel before 11:00, much too early to check-in. We checked our luggage with the front desk, got some directions and started walking. Just a few blocks east of our 23rd Street hotel and a little north, was the Empire State Building. We had tickets for an afternoon admittance to the observation deck, and got in out of the rain to see some great views, before the clouds completely obscured the view.
There are two observation decks at the iconic Empire State Building. The 86nd floor is outdoors. If you pay extra (everything is extra $$), you can also go to the 102nd floor for a smaller, higher, and enclosed view. This was nice, as there was an attendant that pointed out landmarks and buildings and answered questions. We had a City Pass that included some attractions. You have to do your homework to schedule what you want to see. Many of the famous buildings require advanced timed tickets. You can’t just walk up and stand in line to buy a ticket.
Next we walked west towards Madison Square Garden, which we had seen from the observation deck. It was only a couple of blocks away. We got inside the doors to the lobby, but sightseeing tickets were required to get any further. It was close enough for us.
This is the entrance to the underground city at Penn Station, right under Madison Square Garden.
Penn station is a hub for trains from New Jersey and other areas, along with several NYC subway lines.
We walked south along 8th avenue and had some pizza by the slice in a small shop. It had been a long time since the airport doughnut and bad coffee, so we had three pieces between us. Very good.
Day 4 – New York City – We took the subway to a stop near Times Square and walked through the bright lights. Even on a Sunday morning, there are lots of people and bright lights.
This is what we saw exiting the subway. Just a few blocks from Times Square. There are billboards and traffic everywhere.
We walked through Times Square along Broadway. All of these brightly lit signs are constantly changing. What a sight! It could be sensory overload for some. We made our way towards Central Park in a light mist, much like yesterday afternoon.
We were on the south side of the park and walked some of the many paths. At the beginning, along the street, were several horse-drawn carriages waiting for customers. I couldn’t help but think of Kramer in the Seinfeld episode (there’s a Seinfeld episode for just about everything).
Eventually, we veered off and out of the park to the southwest corner, to Columbus Circle and one of the Trump hotels. As we got close to the theatre district and Broadway, we took shelter from the mist turned light rain in a hotel lobby. We rested our legs, warmed up, dried off and planned the afternoon. Our tickets for the Wicked play were for 2 PM.
We had plenty of time for lunch, and found McGees Pub a short walk away. It turns out this is one of the locations for the inspiration of the pub for the How I Met Your Mother tv shows.
We walked to the Gershwin Theatre for Wicked, which was very good. Now we can say we saw a Broadway play, on Broadway, even!
After the play, a short walk put us at Grand Central Terminal, another iconic place we’ve only seen in old movies.
The entire ceiling of Grand Central Terminal has been cleaned to remove decades of train soot and smoke. One small square (the black square in the center of the picture) was not cleaned, to give you a comparison of before and after.
The clock above the Info booth is valued at $20 million.
The Tiffany clock outside is 13 feet in diameter. It faces out toward Park Avenue.
Also in Grand Central Station, in the lower level, is an archway of two intersecting hallways. If two people stand in opposite corners, look up at the ceiling and whisper, they can hear each other. We tried it and it works.
We headed towards our subway stop and were soon back to Times Square. A few more people and lights, and lots of bicycle-drawn carriages with loud music offering rides.
Day 5 – New York City – Today we got up early in order to get to the Today Show. We were in line, after a quick subway ride, by 5:45 AM and had a good place along the fence for the outdoor crowd in Rockefeller Plaza. It paid off later when we shook hands and had selfies with Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Hoda Kotb.
We walked to 30 Rock and took in another observation deck. Then walked east to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Saks 5th Avenue (across the street from St Pat’s), and past Carnegie Hall. We knew when we were walking through the diamond district. It was obvious from the store windows.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is as grand as any European church we’ve been in. It’s a block from Rockefeller Plaza and across the street from Saks 5th Avenue.
We eventually made our way to the southern end of Manhattan, to the 911 Memorial Pools, which were in a nice park, and the 911 Museum that required timed entrance tickets. Ours were for 1:30. There is a lot in the museum.
Afterwards, we found Alexander Hamilton’s grave at Trinity Church, the raging bull statue and the fearless girl statue in front of the New York Stock Exchange. The stock exchange was along a street that was closed to traffic, so it was like a plaza. The actual Wall Street was just another street, not very impressive, in my opinion.
The Occulus, looking west on Wall Street.
Inside the Occulus.
We had some dinner along the way, and realized that every glass of water or soft drink included a paper straw, not a plastic one. Then back to get some rest after a long day.
Day 6 – New York City – Our last full day started with a trip back to southern Manhattan, the financial district, and our ferry boat ride to the Statue of Liberty. On the map it said our hotel was three miles from the tip of Manhattan, and Manhattan is only two miles wide. It was a 15 minute ride to the boat landing from the subway stop that was on the corner next to our hotel.
To get tickets to go up inside the Statue of Liberty, you must apply months ahead of time. We had Pedestal tickets and could only go as high as the top of the base that the Statue sits on, but that is 60 feet high. Still a nice view. After taking our time here, we got on the boat that took us to Ellis Island, where the immigrants were processed into the United States. We took a short park ranger tour and learned how rough things were for our ancestors.
Below are a couple of photos of the Manhattan skyline, from the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Left side is the Hudson River. Right side is the East River. The Brooklyn Bridge is seen faintly on the right.
After returning to the mainland, we took the train to City Hall, which is where the Brooklyn Bridge begins. We walked across the bridge, along with many others. I didn’t know it was a thing, but there were lots of people walking the walkway between and above the traffic lanes.
On the other side is the area called DUMBO, or Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Lots of cool places here, along with a view of the Manhattan Bridge. After eating at a large food court type of place, we took the ferry across the East River to Pier 11 at Wall Street, then walked to the train and back to 23rd street. This time, while on the train, I noticed it didn’t stop at every station. Since it was during the rush hour and after work, the local train had become an express train for a while. We got out at a stop that allowed us to switch to a local train that did stop at every stop, including the one next door to our hotel. No problem.
Day 7 – Back to the Midwest – We took our time this morning, as our flight wasn’t until 1:45. We had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, then headed out to LaGuardia, reversing our subway and bus trip from last week. We arrived in Minneapolis at 4 pm and back to normal life.