Day 40 - New York

Another big day today (aren't they all?)!! Headed down to Times Square to pick up our tickets for the Hop On Hop Off tour. Got on the red line to get to the Empire State Building early which proved to be an excellent decision!! We were there by 8.30am and didn't line up anywhere! It also meant it wasn't too crowded up the top so we didn't have to fight our way to the front to get photos!!  Beautiful views of New York and all the sights!

 
Back on the bus and headed down to where the Staten Island Ferry leaves. Didn't wait too long to hop on the FREE ferry that goes right past the Statue of Liberty. We got some great photos and didn't have to spend a fortune which was great as the budget's having a bit of a blowout!!

 
Continued on the bus down past the 9-11 memorial, China Town, little Italy and back to Times Square where we changed buses to do the midtown line. This one took us around Central Park and Harlem. The bus had to stop twice as it was overheating and the guide was a little weird. He pointed out where some of the celebrities live- Beyoncé, Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Steve Martin, Lady Gaga and the schools where Paris Hilton went.

Got back to the hotel about 5pm and last minute check on Stubhub found some cheap tickets to Billy Joel at Madison Square Gardens. So glad we went. He was awesome!! He played lots of his hits including Piano Man and Uptown Girl. Amazing experience!

Stopped at the Empire State on the way back and thought we'd check it out at night time and see all the lights. Apparently our tickets didn't let us enter twice so we were meant to exit. We were heading that way and then we were herded to the elevator going up so we did (hehehe)! It was very pretty at night time!

We hadn't eaten yet so stopped and had a slice of pizza New York style- yummo!!