Last night we went up to the rooftop bar of our hotel. What an atmosphere, crowded with people enjoying the late evening warmth. There is a dedicated lift to get there controlled by hotel staff & always a queue of eager participants. The noise level in the covered area was like being in a giant budgie cage but outside was more manageable. We succeeded in finding some seats & a lovely Irish waitress from Dublin. There was a great selection of food–tapas portions–just up our street. An early turn-in & a good nights sleep.
Today we went out in search of breakfast/brunch & then sourced our tickets for the open top bus tour. We did the Downtown loop, which took a couple of hours but we saw lots of things & can now put things into perspective. We started in Times Square & then on to Madison Sq Gardens, Greenwich Village, Soho, China Town, Wall St & then back via Central Park to almost where we started. Tonight we are meeting a Japanese friend last seen over 13 years ago. She & Doug initially met on a French language course in Blois & since then she has joined the Japanese Diplomatic service, married & had 2 children & lives & works here in NY, so we will have a lot to catch up on!!