Day 7: NYC

Ok, so our room is small .. bordering on very small .. but really all we need is a bed, a shower and somewhere to store our stuff while we tour ... check, check and check.

After showering and prepping for the day we got out and about and had our first breakfast in New York ... we walked a few blocks to Cafe Metro where $13 got you a sandwich and an orange juice (freshly squeezed) .. good eats, just not cheap.

A few more blocks and now we were outside the St. Patricks Cathedral, a Neo-Gothic style Roman Catholic church. Luanne ventured inside for a bit, while I waited outside. I had my fill of touring churches back in 1987 when my French Club toured France. Directly across the street was Rockefeller Center. This is where their famous ice skating rink is in the winter months, however, at this time of year it is packed with food tents. While Luanne was taking some pictures I began talking to one of those guys who sell Bus Tour packages .. and before you could say 'what's that' I was the owner of 2 packages. We were now hooked up for the Uptown tour, Downtown tour, the Bronx tour, the Night time tour and the Boat tour around lower Manhattan. We now strolled back towards Times Square as if drawn by some outside force. We were given a tip from the casino guy I met that Wednesday matinees were the best deal for checking out a Broadway show .. so we made our way to the TKTS line, where you can get tickets to shows at half price. We purchased two tickets to Evita, starring Ricky Martin as Che.

After the afternoon show we strolled outside and soon found ourselves randomly at the stage door where a group of fans were waiting for the actors to come outside .. Luanne got a few autographs and a couple pictures later it was learned that Ricky was staying in to have a nap. The crowd groaned and dispersed. We then started walking around and venturing a bit more outside the Times Square circle .. we checked out a number of stores and got the low down from the NHL store on a pub not too far away that had decent lunches and more importantly beer.

We visited Connolley's Pub & Restaurant and had our meal and a drink. After eating we made a quick pit stop at the hotel to regroup and then it was time to get back to Times Square and find our tour bus to catch the Night Tour.

We hopped on the bus and were ready to go. Our tour guide was friendly, she gave everyone the low down that if you stand up while the bus is moving you may lose your head, literally. At first this sounded unlikely, however, after we finally started moving it was crystal clear that losing body parts due to street signs or street lights was a real possibility. Our bus tour started just north of Times Square and we headed south, driving through Times Square in a double decker bus was pretty cool.

Our tour took us through part of the downtown tour, across the Manhattan Bridge and toured some of the Bronx. We had some wicked views while crossing the bridge and more scenic views from just across the river of lower Manhattan.

After a long day of touring and a lot of walking it was time to hit the sack and get re-charged for the next day.

New York Fact of the Day: Rent is nuts in Manhattan, check out this poster looking for a room-mate .. half of rent is $1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment, 1 bathroom .. yikes!