Last day in New York, and we could have just sat around and re-done our packing and cases; but we still had some places on our ‘to-do list’. So we went first to look at the Rockefeller centre. Its actually a collection of buildings around a small-ish square that famously houses an ice-rink in winter, but is just an outdoor cafe and restaurant the rest of the year.
There are a sequence of planted fountains approaching the square in the middle of the Rockeller centre.
Not far away is St Patrick’s cathedral:
Then we went on to the central library. Looks kind-of grand from the outside
but the inside is glorious. Its mainly marble halls, walkways, staircases and vaulted ceilings, but with inset highlights of different stone and different finishes, like the doorways into the more specialised reading rooms:
There are beautiful drinking fountains
and elaborately carved and gilded doors…
and fabulous ceilings in some of the side rooms.
If you get the chance, it is definitely worth a look.
Then we went on to Grand Central Terminal. Which really is very grand indeed, even after visiting the library. It is finished in polished marble and limestone, with beautifully inlaid lettering and with huge chandeliers. Walking into the main concourse really gives one of those rare ‘wow’ moments.
Here is the iconic clock over the information desk in the middle of the main concourse:
Having been in a number of other stations around New York which are quite grubby and unappealing, we wondered if the areas away from the main halls were quite so grand – definitely not.
On the way out of the station, we came across the food hall and market.
This has an amazing range of foods, would have been great place to buy the ingredients for a meal.
Then it was finally back to the apartment in Brooklyn to collect our bags and head off to JFK for the flights home.