Last days.

18/04/12-21/04/12 With tickets still be used in my city pass I decided to still local to my hostel and visit two museums just on the edge of Central park. The first one I visited was the Natural History Museum as made famous by the Night at the Museum film. Inside I was quite surprised at how old and tired most of the exhibits were; it was like a Victorian museum in parts with stuff displayed in old grand glass cases. One aspect which certainly was modern was the museum’s planetarium; your entry ticket included one ticket to a timed show. The film was about the life and death of stars and was hugely impressive, actually felt like you were being shuttled through the universe. In the afternoon I crossed over to the other side of Central Park to explore the world’s most visited museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The MMOA is massive, it houses objects from the Egyptians all the way to modern art. You could easily spend a whole day wondering around the maze of rooms but having been in museum all day my brain was fried by the late afternoon so I retreated back to my hostel. In the evening I ventured out to see Times Square in all it’s lit up glory. On my last full day in New York I returned to Ground Zero in the morning to visit the 9/11 Memorial. The memorial is sited on the ground where the Twin Towers use to stand. At the location of the bases of each tower there is now a memorial pool where water flows down a square hole in the middle. Surrounding the pools are the names of all those who lost there life’s in the attacks. A tree which survived the after mass of the attacks also stands in the grounds as well as a museum which is still under construction. I think it is quite a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives that day, well worth a visit. After I popped into the nearby Trinity Church which survived major damage and acted as a relief centre in the days after the attacks, it still displays information about the role during that time. Moving on I took a quick stroll over to visit Wall Street home of the New York Stock Exchange before continuing north to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to grab some impressive views of the Midtown sky line. Back on Manhattan Island I continued north once again to visit the cities first skyscraper, the impressive looking Flatiron building which is shaped like a wedge. In the evening I once again ventured down to Times Square to check out a burger place I had seen packed the night before, Shake Shack which was definitely worth the visit – awesome burgers. My last full day in my trip had finally arrived after nearly seven and a half months of travels which had taken quite literally around the world. With my flight not until the late evening I had nearly another full day to explore the city so I decided to head for Midtown to mop up some of the most obvious sights I had missed. Firstly I had one more ticket to use up in my city pass which of course was for the iconic Empire State Building. This building will always hold special memories for me as I spent the morning of my 21st birthday enjoying the views from the top. Things haven’t changed much since I was last here, but it was interesting to see the new buildings rising out of World Trade Centre once again. A short walk again took me to the equally impressive Grand Central station which is almost choked up by the surrounding skyscrapers. Inside is the famous grand lobby which has star constellations painted on the ceiling. Downstairs it also houses a great food court filled with foods from around the world. Heading back to towards Times Square I quickly stopped to have lunch outside the Central Library which starred in the first Ghostbusters film before carrying on. I spent my remaining time wondering around the tourist shops looking for any last minute gifts which took my fancy, popping into Midtown Comics to pick some American editions for my collection. Then it was time to pick up my backpack and make my way to the airport for my last and mercifully short flight back home to Blighty. My epic trip had finally come to an end; I had been to the far edge and back and full filled a lifelong dream.