Our last day in NY was appropriately gloomy, being grey and drizzly. It echoed our mood.

We have had such an amazing time in the city (and the other places we visited), there was a tinge of sadness about our departure. We had a relaxed morning, packing and making sure all our devices were charged, documents in order and nothing left behind.

We started with a bit of whimsy – a walk-through waterfall with no apparent purpose other than to entertain (the statues nearby were fun too). It was then a stroll up Broadway to the Lincoln Centre for lunch and checking out that little corner of the city.

We jumped on an uptown subway to the Bronx, experienced its ‘Champs Elysee with grit’ (their words for the Grand Concourse!), visited the Bronx Museum of Art for a street art exhibition (Futura 2000) then finished the walk at Yankee Stadium, home of the NY baseball team. We found the Bronx’s vibe very different to Manhattan’s. There was more graffiti, many of the buildings were in need of some TLC and prices were a lot cheaper, reflecting the Bronx’s socio-economic state.

On a reflective note, we have been blown away by the friendliness of the New Yorkers: we have had street conversations about architecture and the housing process, waiters have been patient and educative, people have helped us with directions (whether we needed them or not!), we heard lots of “have a nice day”s and the vibe was very chilled (and not much road rage either).

We climbed the stairs to the elevated subway and returned to some of the places we visited on that freezing first day. Grand Central, NY Library, Bryant Park and finally Virgil’s, our first night’s dinner place. All quite a bit different in the warmth! Alistair also completed his goal of taking photos of different fire hydrants across four out of the five city boroughs.

It was then a ride out to JFK, accomplished like locals, with no fuss or concern about directions! After all our days in NYC, we felt we had got to know the place … and really loved it.

We chose a perfect day to hire some bikes and tackle Central Park. The park is huge and a peaceful change from the noise of the city avenues and streets. The temperature was in double figures (first time!), the wind was gentle and the sun was shining. We took the 13-km (approx.) anticlockwise, one-way route around the park, stopping at many sights on our way. The Lake was a particular favourite, with geese, ducks and turtles entertaining us with their antics. The clip-clop of horses’ hooves as they pulled tourists in carriages was an unusual sound to hear, as was the music played by the numerous joggers and cyclists as they exercised (no headphones used).

After our very enjoyable morning, we revisited the High Line (this time from its northern beginning in the Hell’s Kitchen area) and strolled its whole length. Walking it during the week rather than the weekend meant it was a little less crowded and easier to enjoy. A lunch at Pier 57, sitting on its rooftop park terrace overlooking the Hudson River and Little Park, was a delightful find.

Our last full day in NYC was rounded off attending the Broadway show, Hadestown. A very generous and thoughtful gift from our daughters and their partners, It was entertaining and exhausting in equal measure. The cast were so high-energy and talented. The singing was phenomenal (think goosebumps and shivers as Orpheus sang) and the production was super slick (as would be expected for a Broadway show). We took a final evening walk through ‘our local neighbourhood' (aka Times Square) and noticed a dramatic increase in the number of people in the square. The warmer evening certainly encouraged more people to wander the streets.

A post-theatre, hotel-room wind down rounded off our final night on what has been an amazing, incredible, enjoyable and memory-making New York visit.

We climbed aboard our small tourist van at 6:15am and headed out of NYC. We drove across parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania until re-entering New York state on Route 81. Even though we were mainly on motorways, it was exciting to see snow decorating the trees, bushes and ground. We drove beside frozen rivers, ice chinks floating and swirling in dark water. A quick stop at Chequaga Falls, in Montour Falls township, was our introduction to frozen waterfalls. It was a good preparation for our destination of Niagara Falls. A drive along Seneca finger lake, past snow-dusted vineyards was another treat.

Eventually, we arrived at our destination. We visited the NY Power Authority Centre and felt like school kids on an excursion, as we watched videos about hydroelectricity and had an ‘immersive’ experience about the generation of electricity (on chairs that moved, sprayed water and wobbled about). It was a giggle.

Niagara Falls did not disappoint. We viewed the falls from the American side, marvelling at the force of the water, the power of the winds and the icy mist rising up from the valley floor. Unfortunately, the viewpoint for the Horseshoe Falls on the US side was iced over (closed) but that was not an issue. We had an exciting addition to the tour … we were going to Canada!

We crossed into Canada on the Rainbow Bridge and checked out the three falls – American, Bridal and Horseshoe – from the Canadian side. What a spectacle! Millions of litres of water a second cascading over the edges, creating a thunderous roar and throwing up a mist, which in turn created enormous ‘marshmallow’ drifts at the bases. After dinner, we walked back to the falls to see them lit in a variety of colours.

In the morning we had a final visit to the falls, back on the US side of the boarder. We descended to the gorge’s floor to take in the Bridal Falls from the base. The ‘marshmallows’ were huge and seeing the cascading water from below was incredible. The long drive back to NYC then completed the tour.

What a bucket list moment … spectacular falls in the ice and snow!

Yesterday was the Statue of Liberty.

Today liberty revolved around democracy, religious freedom and bells. We booked a tour to Philadelphia with a side trip to Lancaster County. Philly is the birthplace of the American state. Much of the founding fathers’ busy work happened in Philly: the Continental conferences, the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, the drafting of the US Constitution, the temporary capital as Washington D.C. was being constructed. Betsy Ross made the first US flag in Philly, George Washington lived there for many years – the first white house/president’s residence was there, as was Benjamin Franklin’s long-term home.

And we visited a lot of it. The Independence Hall and Congress Hall, the Liberty Bell display, Betsy Ross’ house, Elfreth’s Alley … there’s a lot of history still visible in Philly. A culinary first was had: the consumption of a hoagie. Not quite sure what to expect, it turned out to be a meat and salad roll. Not that adventurous after all.

A detour was made to the steps of the Museum of Art, made ‘famous’ in the Rocky movie. The museum, modelled on a Greek temple, has a flight of stairs that the boxer runs up, for those who have not seen the film. A statue (with the inevitable queue for a photo) is at the top the stairs.

Next stop was Lancaster County and an Amish family farm. More petting zoo than anything else, it was never-the-less interesting to talk with the farmer and learn about his take on Amish culture and avoiding aspects of modernity. His small farm runs some cattle and crops and he has help from his 10 children and several horses and mules. The history of the Amish was interesting; how they came to Pennsylvania for religious liberty.

A stop at a market area for retail therapy turned out to quite educational. We experience wine slushies for the first time! Not a bad idea for summer, it must be said.

Our destination for today was very downtown.

We head to Battery Park, where New Amsterdam was founded and then queue for the ferry to Liberty Island. Standing in the security line, waiting to be processed for the boat ride gave us a very small inkling of what steerage passengers endured on arrival in America. The ‘sheeple’ mode kicked in – just wait, shuffle forward, marvel at the stupidity of others (have they never gone through a metal detector gate before … or listened to the officers yelling instructions?) and then wait some more for a ferry to arrive. Alistair had the added joy of having to take off his boots (there is some metal in them somewhere) and stand in his socks on a freezing cold damp, metal floor.

The Statue of Liberty is beautiful, enough said. The island experience, with interactive and very informative museum, was great. A stroll around the statue (we didn’t go into or up the statue) taking in the views and enjoying the sunshine and snow drifts, was lovely.

A ferry ride to the immigration centre on Ellis Island was next. And yes, there were several more queues to endure. The story of the island was well presented at the museum (the whole place is a museum actually) and the processing hall, echoing with the sounds of tourists, had a melancholy feel of despair and fragile dreams.

The financial district was next, when we returned to Manhattan. We walked around Wall Street, were impressed by the area’s strong, classic architecture, unsettled by the extremely solid, retractable road barriers limiting car access to the area around the Stock Exchange and were curious as to why there was such a long line stretching across Bowling Green Square behind the Charging Bull statue  (in order to touch its testicles!).

After a quick lunch sitting in the wind and sun, we visited Ground Zero. The two square ponds mimicking the Twin Towers buildings’ footprints, with water cascading into deep central squares, are a poignant memorial to all the people who died in the September 11 attacks. There was a respectful hush over the area as people take in the enormity of what happened. The rebuilt area is in keeping with NYC’s skyscraper tradition – tall and boxy but these glass-envelope buildings lack the flourishes of the traditional towers. A very sculptural Oculus (looking like a giant peace sculpture to Alistair) is actually the entrance to a Westfield shopping mall and subway interchange.

After a day out and about, a bevy or two at Jimmy’s finished the day. It will be an early start tomorrow for our day trip to Pennsylvannia.

We are almost locals now on the subway (yeh, right!). We have the map, know the basics, understand the line naming with letters or numbers and we get the uptown/downtown directions. Now we just need to get a handle on signage in the stations, the interchange connection walkways and route destinations – no biggie!

After a pancake breakfast, sitting in a booth in a midtown diner, we hit the Metropolitan Museum of Art just after opening. The place is a temple to the arts – beautiful objects and pictures are everywhere. It is fantastic and a whole lot overwhelming! Quick quiz: is one room enough to house your collection of Degas ballerinas, portraits, horse paintings and bronze sculptures? Answer: No, you need two and half rooms with multi-shelved cabinets to help! And Manets, Monets, Van Goghs? Again, more than one large museum room for each artist! And then we discovered the Rembrandt, Vermeer and el Greco rooms (el Greco had a few sneaky Picassos displayed to show the influences, fyi).

The number of big-name artists or displays of different schools/periods (eg religious icons, Renaissance, Dutch, portraiture across countries, centuries and styles) at the Met is phenomenal and such a joy to view. A few years ago, we visited an exhibition at the NGA in Canberra and had to queue, jostle and crane to see a single ‘big name’ artwork. Here we were at the Met, no crush and a plethora of beautiful paintings (in some cases two or three similar images) to ourselves to enjoy, savour and study in peace. And then there were the recreated Egyptian temples, French rococo interiors, Spanish palace courtyards and New York townhouse art collections rebuilt in situ. Mind blowing. Several hours later and fully satiated, we departed, having only seen a fraction of the collection.

To clear our minds, we took a walk around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Lake loop in central Central Park. The reservoir was frozen in places, which was exciting to see, coming from a Sydney/Brisbane Summer. Ice flows provided unusual perches for the waterfowl – merganser (aka goosander) with red-plumed heads, gulls and bufflehead ducks. The frosty walk gave us serene views back towards the downtown area.

Next stop was the Guggenheim Museum, out of the cold. The Frank Lloyd Wright designed building is one of Alistair’s favourites – and he was so happy to share it with Wanda. There was an Orphist exhibition on, which meant not all the expected artworks were on display. It was, nevertheless, a fabulous way to spend an overcast day in New York. On departing the museum, NY put on its best show so far – it was snowing! Gentle flakes swirled around as we giggled and delighted in the unexpected flurries.

To ensure we got the most out of the snow, we ventured into Times Square and watched the flakes settle onto cars, street furniture and the less-trampled parts of the pavement. After a careful-to-avoid-slipping-in-the-slush walk around the area, we squeezed into Jimmy’s Corner (proprietor is an ex-boxer; the bar is not on a street corner) and had a few IPAs in the tiny pub. Our trip home was easy … Jimmy’s is just across the road from our hotel.

Talk about walking the Big Apple. We enjoyed the architectural details and the variety of styles (from pared back simplicity to incredibly detailed and ornate decorations) as we explored 6^th Ave (Avenue of the Americas) on our way to the Sky Tram to Roosevelt Island. The gondola flew us over the East River and this gave us the opportunity to look at NYC from a different perspective. The ferry downstream to Brooklyn was great – and Alistair insisted on sitting on the upper deck to rubber neck the views until the cold soaked into our bones and the cabin’s warmth was too tempting.

Brooklyn was amazing. We took in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) quarter with its old warehouses and cobbled streets. We ticked the Washington Street ‘insta’ photo opportunity of the Manhattan Bridge in the background (photo bombing many images!). A Brooklyn diner was a warming break from the wind and unrelenting minus-degree weather. The lunch fortified us for the ‘bucket list’ walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, back into NYC. The bridge is a marvel – stunning granite pylons/stanchions, a centrally elevated pedestrian boardwalk over multiple lanes of traffic and a veritable spider’s web of cables.

The municipal buildings at the NY end of the bridge are incredible – temples to civic pride and aspirational positivity. City Hall, the administration buildings and court houses are so very grand and impressive. Our first subway trip took us back to Time Square (we can see the ‘ball drop’ column from our hotel window) for a cheeky duty-free GnT before heading out to view the passing parade in the square. Some jobs are the worst – there are people in the square badgering tourists to have their photo taken whilst dressed as an Elmo, Minnie, a gorilla or superhero (the tout, not the tourist) for a ‘donation’. Other pavement pests are the HOPO (hop on, hop off) bus touts and the pedal rickshaw drivers, that elicit a constant “no, thank you” refrain.

Two days down and many kilometres of pavement has been covered. I know many more steps will be counted over the next few days.

Midtown