Like a geeky tourist

A tourist surveys the view from the top of the Empire State Building

Much of today was spent shivering on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. It really felt like -20C, standing outside 86 floors up, and we had to rush back into the warm environs of the gift shop to thaw out on more than one occasion!

Despite wearing jackets, gloves, hat and scarf, I couldn't feel my fingers after ten minutes in the icy winds, and my cheeks were so frozen I could barely move them to talk!


Magnifying viewer points toward the Chrysler Building

Geeky Australians find potted Christmas trees on the sidewalk endearingly cute. And look, genuine snow too!



Times Square beckoned with reassuring familiarity. Giant billboards, lots of scrolling text, lights flashing... a little like Shinjuku, Tokyo but without the tinny high-pitched Japanese female spruikers!



Of course my eye was immediately caught by the sight of a huge Hersheys sign, just off Broadway.



It's really just a giant Hershey's marketing opportunity with every variant of Hersheys available for sale as well as giant syrup bottle money boxes, Reeses hooded sweaters and even Hersheys pillowcases.

But they scored brownie points with me when I was handed a free chocolate with a smile as I entered. Sure the cynic in me spots the subversive motives of piping in the smell of melting chocolate, but ha! free chocolate! Woohoo!



I wandered a little around Broadway. There are so many theatres here it leaves London's West End for dead. And even though I'm not the biggest fan of Letterman, it was still embarrasingly exciting to recognise the theatre and signage =)



Even more exciting was spotting the stereotypical New York City scene--steam rising from a drain. Steam is sold and piped to various buildings in Manhattan by Con Edison for heating and other purposes. The escaping steam that tourists =) get excited over comes either from leaking pipes, or where water has come into contact with the hot steam.



The sun goes down at about 4.30pm, but at least when darkness falls, it means the pretty lights come on, and that's all good too.


Christmas lights on Fifth Avenue


Empire State Building at dusk