Day 21 - The last hoorah
After what turned out to be a late night due to some baseball food not agreeing with either Jacqui or Talia we dragged ourselves out of bed and made our way to the Brooklyn Diner on 57th St. The Brooklyn diner is famous for having famous people drop in for breakfast so given our status we thought it fitting to finish our trip by having a bite to eat there.
At the booths that you sit in all the famous people have had their names inscribed onto plaques and then nailed above the specific booth where they sat. You can imagine my disappointment when firstly they did not recognise us and secondly we were not asked if we would like to have a plaque left when we finished. Anyway enough of the self gratification society stuff and we all enjoyed an extremely nice breakfast consisting of pancakes for Jacqui and bacon and eggs for the rest of us. The other key reason for going to the diner is for the free coffee refill. This is something that you see in every movie and is a must to make the dining experience real. And guess what, we were successful with a free refill as soon as the cups were 3 quarter empty. Now the challenge is how many cups of coffee can one consume to enjoy the free refill without feeling nauseous. We did not attempt to find out so we were happy with the one refill.
After breakfast it was time for the boys to go one way and the girls another. Jacqui and Talia put on their brave faces and made there way back to SOHO in search for some nice lingerie from Victoria's Secret as well as some other last minute items whilst the boys made their way to the best technology store in the world: B & H Video and Photography. This place is huge and has every piece of technology from photography to video to computers and iPods. B&H is famous across the globe with people coming in from Brazil and South Africa to purchase their video and photography equipment. Talia and Zac were in the market for an 8GB iPod touch each and I was after a new 70 - 200mm f4.0 IS L series zoom lens. After making the required purchases Zac and I made our way back to the hotel room for some R&R.
After recovering and having a play with the new goodies it was time to give the new lens a run so Zac and I made our way across to the Central Park Zoo and checkout the animals. Now here is a tip, if you have 30 minutes to kill and need something to do then head to the Zoo. First of all it is well set out and you can get really close to the animals. Secondly, it literally only takes 30 minutes to walk through the zoo and all is's exhibits as it is very small. We had a good time and enjoyed the chance to just walk around at our own pace and relax for a while. By the way, the lens is magic. I have never had a real chance to experience the difference between an out of the box amateur lens and a professional lens before and now I know why you spend a few extra dollars. It was literally chalk and cheese and I am really looking forward to taking my photography to a new level when I return back home.
Not long after Zac and I returned to the room Jacqui and Talia arrived with a new suite of goodies including new casual shoes for Jacqui, new sunglasses and some very nice lingerie for both of them.
Due to an early flight time to London our shuttle bus is picking us up at 4.05am in the morning so this evening time was spent packing bags and attempting to evenly distribute weight to ensure we do not have to pay any excess baggage charges. As we had originally packed light with a view of having some major purchases and to date have had minimal carry on luggage we are confident we will be okay.
After packing we will take one last look at Times Square before taking in a drink at the Rockefeller Centre and then home for a little sleep.
Next update will be from London when we meet up with the Dawes clan.
At the booths that you sit in all the famous people have had their names inscribed onto plaques and then nailed above the specific booth where they sat. You can imagine my disappointment when firstly they did not recognise us and secondly we were not asked if we would like to have a plaque left when we finished. Anyway enough of the self gratification society stuff and we all enjoyed an extremely nice breakfast consisting of pancakes for Jacqui and bacon and eggs for the rest of us. The other key reason for going to the diner is for the free coffee refill. This is something that you see in every movie and is a must to make the dining experience real. And guess what, we were successful with a free refill as soon as the cups were 3 quarter empty. Now the challenge is how many cups of coffee can one consume to enjoy the free refill without feeling nauseous. We did not attempt to find out so we were happy with the one refill.
After breakfast it was time for the boys to go one way and the girls another. Jacqui and Talia put on their brave faces and made there way back to SOHO in search for some nice lingerie from Victoria's Secret as well as some other last minute items whilst the boys made their way to the best technology store in the world: B & H Video and Photography. This place is huge and has every piece of technology from photography to video to computers and iPods. B&H is famous across the globe with people coming in from Brazil and South Africa to purchase their video and photography equipment. Talia and Zac were in the market for an 8GB iPod touch each and I was after a new 70 - 200mm f4.0 IS L series zoom lens. After making the required purchases Zac and I made our way back to the hotel room for some R&R.
After recovering and having a play with the new goodies it was time to give the new lens a run so Zac and I made our way across to the Central Park Zoo and checkout the animals. Now here is a tip, if you have 30 minutes to kill and need something to do then head to the Zoo. First of all it is well set out and you can get really close to the animals. Secondly, it literally only takes 30 minutes to walk through the zoo and all is's exhibits as it is very small. We had a good time and enjoyed the chance to just walk around at our own pace and relax for a while. By the way, the lens is magic. I have never had a real chance to experience the difference between an out of the box amateur lens and a professional lens before and now I know why you spend a few extra dollars. It was literally chalk and cheese and I am really looking forward to taking my photography to a new level when I return back home.
Not long after Zac and I returned to the room Jacqui and Talia arrived with a new suite of goodies including new casual shoes for Jacqui, new sunglasses and some very nice lingerie for both of them.
Due to an early flight time to London our shuttle bus is picking us up at 4.05am in the morning so this evening time was spent packing bags and attempting to evenly distribute weight to ensure we do not have to pay any excess baggage charges. As we had originally packed light with a view of having some major purchases and to date have had minimal carry on luggage we are confident we will be okay.
After packing we will take one last look at Times Square before taking in a drink at the Rockefeller Centre and then home for a little sleep.
Next update will be from London when we meet up with the Dawes clan.
