Floor 102

The grand foyer

It seems to be getting even hotter - 93F today (34C) - but I'd better stop banging on about that :-)  Today we discovered the laundry on the corner will wash our clothes for a fraction of what the hotel charges, so we'll be able to cut down on washing clothes in the basin and draping them over the airconditioner to dry them overnight.

We did the Empire State Building ("ESB") today, paying the extra $15 to get to the highest observation level, floor 102.  It was not quite as fascinating because we have already been up 30 Rockefeller Plaza albeit not to the same height, but what was an eye-opener was the size of the tourist operation within the ESB.  They get 3,500,000 visitors per year, and have those same zig-zag queuing systems you see at airports.  The difference is that once you get to the front of the queue you eagerly rush around a few corners to find yourself joining the end of a second queue just like the first!  This happens perhaps 4 or 5 times, so the total queue must be several hundred people long - but cunningly designed so you never see the whole queue at once.  It will take you hours when the queues are full - we were early and the queues were light, so it only took us two hours to get to the top and back down again.

 The view from the top is uninterrupted in all directions of course, but there was a bit of haze today which limited visibility.  This photo is looking south with the huddle of buildings in the distance marking downtown Manhattan.  There is quite an obvious gap with no large buildings between midtown and downtown.

On the right is the Hudson river, and on the left the East River.  (You can double click any picture in this blog to see a larger version).

This is the famous "flatiron" building, so-named because it is a narrow triangular shape reminiscent of an iron.  I had heard it was the first steel-framed skyscraper, but Wikipedia tells me this common misconception is untrue.  Its main claim to fame seems to be its unusual shape, and the fact it was the tallest building in the area when completed in 1902.  Clever engineering was required to ensure it would not blow over in the wind.

We cut short our other plans and retreated to the hotel to cool down again; then fitted in some serious shopping before going home to catch up with our chores.

This blogging is a time-consuming business!  One feels a responsibility to keep ones readers up to date, so photos have to be selected and uploaded, blogs written, and maps brought up to date.  I have a new respect for those public figures who blog every day about interesting things.