Manhatten, New York, New York – Taken from the Empire State Building
After more than 8 months of having tickets booked on Aeroplan points, the excitement peaked, the waiting over – December had arrived and my mother, sister and brother-in-law boarded flights to the Big Apple!
Without the wonderful world of Aeroplan Points, my travels would be significantly reduced. Imagine a return flight to New York City for $140.00 versus $1846.00 via regular fair.
The metropolitan area of New York is more than 8,100,000 people – a stark contrast from the 167 residents that live in my community or the nearly 20,000 that live on the Great Northern Peninsula and even the 500,000 that live in all of Newfoundland and Labrador. A city with hundreds of languages spoken around every street corner and buildings that reach near the clouds.
The hustle and bustle of a city that boasts the largest financial sector – home of the NYSE, endless shopping from Bloomingdale’s, Tiffany’s, Macy’s, top name Designers and many other retailers (would this be the reason my sister wanted to hit up the streets of the city that never sleeps?). It is home of the NY Yankees, NY Rangers, NY Islanders, as well Broadway Musicals, Time Square, Statue of Liberty, Museums, Restaurants and many other wonders. Whatever the reason for its appeal, the city certainly has a lot to offer, even for the rural Newfoundlander & Labradorian.
Our planes arrived just a few minutes apart in different terminals at Laguardia Airport. My mother and I took the shuttle bus and met my sister and brother-in-law. We waited in line and grabbed on of the symbolic yellow taxi cabs to our hotel near Times Square.
There we were in Time Square at night, surrounded by the overpowering flashing lights of advertisements – as far as the eye can see.
On our first night we ended up having a pint of Guinness at a packed Irish-style Pub off-Broadway before we headed to the Gershwin Theatre where we would see the Musical Wicked. After reading the book, it was interesting to see the theatrical performance of just how the Wicked Witch of the West turned out the way she did. A very talented cast!
Over the next few days, I’ll share with you Live Rural NL’s experience in the Big Apple.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore, MHA The Straits-White Bay North