New York City - Central Park - Newark

It was an easy taxi ride from the dock to Boston South Station, we could have used the subway or a bus service, but choose to use a cab because of the size of our luggage unfamiliarity with out other two options. Again we found a large older train station that offered many dinning options, Nita found the book she’s been looking for the past week, and clean restrooms. Being Columbus Day weekend out train is full – that’s right sold out- we attempted to get an earlier train and it was sold out as well, so it appears that Amtrak is doing well on the east coast. Ron and I called Ride and Roll a bike tour company to arrange a bike tour in NYC for Sunday and once again we heard –“Sold Out”. We’ll attempt to rent bikes and do a self directed tour as we did in Montreal.

We arrived in NYC after a 4 hour train rind, the train was full being it’s Columbus weekend and a lot of students going home. The train rout hugs the coast through most of the rout so the scenery is wonderful, I thing everyone who lives within 20 miles of the coast must own a boat. The fall foliage is not as colorful as that which we saw in Canada but it is still a beautiful time of the year to travel this part of the country. We met Jennifer, Arie, and Avie in the lobby of The Milburn Hotel, and Ron and Avie are typical grandparents with all the gooo – goos and ghaas. We had dinner at the Viand Café at 75th and Broadway a NYC neighborhood diner, where the waters knew 80% of the people who walked through the door. I ordered Tuscan Chicken, something that I make at home, and I was out done. Not only was it good it was a half chicken far more than I could eat, included salad, enough for both Nita and I, all for $13.95. I can see why the locals eat here.

Sunday morning Ron and I went to Columbus Circle and found an abundance of street hustlers offering bikes for rent for the purpose of touring Central Park on a bicycle. The sales agent then escorted us to the bike shop about three blocks away and we were able to procure our bikes for $15 each for two hours, about 66% of asking price after just a little haggling. Our ride took us all the way around the park with numerous stops to see the monuments the lakes, several vista, and conversations with folks ranging from Zurich, Switzerland to Minneapolis, MN. We figured we did between 8 and 10 miles which should make up for some of the “Spinning Classes” that we’ve missed while on our trip. We were due back to Jennifer’s apartment at noon to meet Nita and Avie and their friends, Amy and Miles Moffet who used to live in Birmingham but are now living in New Haven Connecticut. We spent the balance of the day having lunch at a Hudson River Café and walking through Central Park and becoming a bit familiar with New York life and why so many people choose to live so close to each other. At 6:53 PM we were on the New Jersey Transit Authorities train from NYC Penn Station to Newark’s Penn Station to meet Tom and Tako Lento for dinner. Nita and I had met Ton and Tako on our Russia trip July and jumped at the opportunity to reconnect with them while we were in NYC. From Newark Penn Station we were able to walk to Fornos of Spain, a Portages Spanish restaurant that served top notch food in gigantic portions. Salad, rice, bread, and vegetables were served family style Nita and I had Chilean Sea Bass, Ron Salmon, Tako and Avie Halibut, and Tom Monk fish. Each meal was presented with excellent table appeal. None of us were able to finish our meals. My sea bass was 3 times the servings that I have had at other restaurants, as good as any, and well seasoned with a balsamic vinegar sauce. The Lento’s went home with enough fish to eat for a week. Tom and Tako were as delightful and we had remembered them and we hope to connect with them again, hopefully on a future trip to Japan. We got back on the train to NYC and got to bed about 11:15; it was a full day.

Monday was spend on a long walk down the Hudson River down to the Pier where the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier is docked and is now an museum, something that we’ll see next time in NYC, we also saw the free kayaking offered on the Hudson and extensive bike paths the length of Manhattan Island; more to do on our next trip to NYC. Ron and can see us coming back with a three day stop in D.C. and a three or four day stay in NYC; Amtrak will transport our bikes for $20.00 each way so we can use them in both cities.

The Best of our trip:
Best Hotel: Saint Sulpice in Montreal
Best Restaurants: Water Prince – “Seafood Restaurant and Lobster Pond” in Charlottown PEI and Fornos of Spain in Newark
Best City: Quebec… a well preserved picture of the past
Best Surprise: The Train… a relaxing way to get from here to there
Best Achievement: Had a unique Segway tour of DC the same week the owner of Segway drove one over a cliff at his mansion in England and killed himself, we didn’t even fall off ours.
Best Memory: The view of the Chateau Frontenac from Lower Town Quebec on a rainy afternoon
Best Rush: Not great but the bike ride on around the F-1 track in Montreal