Day 4 - The Big Apple (I never actually called it that whilst I was there... or afterwards... or before, in fact this is the first time I've used that term)

We started the day by finding a nice local cafe to get some breakfast. I ordered the standard breakfast, and panicked when asked how I like my eggs... what do I say? Is "fried" enough information? I try and remember what they say on the TV, "sunny side up...?"; that seemed like a satisfactory response. Do people really say sunny side up, or were they just humouring me because I'm a stupid tourist with a weird accent? Anyway, turns out "sunny side up" means "not quite cooked properly", but I was soon distracted by the mass of shredded potato on my plate. So this must be what they call hash browns. And what have they done to my bacon?! It's all crunchy and dry!

After a nice breakfast (I did actually enjoy it really) we got the subway to South Manhattan and started by taking the Staten Island Ferry. Whilst waiting for the ferry, we got to meet some of the locals. The most memorable one was a rather angry man who shouted "MOVE" at everyone until he made it to the front of the queue, then started threatening anyone who dared look at him. It was so weird, I thought it might be some kind of street performance; Rach disagreed. It all worked out fine, because a gust of wind blew him into the sea as he was getting on the boat. At least I hope that's what happened to him. Anyway, the ferry trip was nice, and I took about 6000 photos of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. And sometimes even both in the same picture. It's a weird sight, all those huge buildings crammed onto a tiny island.



After that we walked up towards Wall Street. We passed the Charging Bull and tried to take a picture of it, but it always seemed to be obscured by children who have been told by their parents to cup the bull's testicles. Is that a thing, or was there just a whole bunch of crazy in the air? Either way, it was weird. We made it up to the New York Stock Exchange, where it was all cordoned off, so we took some pictures and left.



We moved on to Times Square and did some shopping, then went to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller building). It was truly breathtaking, but strangely familiar. You see New York so often on the TV, and people are always posting their holiday pictures from there that I felt like I'd seen it before. But it was still some sight. After spending a while taking pictures from every angle, we headed back to the apartment to get changed for the evening; we were going to see a Broadway show!



We headed back into Manhattan and went to see The Book of Mormon, which is the best and funniest musical I've ever seen, and probably ever will see. Tickets aren't cheap, but luckily they were a wedding present, so I didn't feel bad for spending an absolute fortune on one drink at the bar. At least that's what I told Rach. Afterwards we went back up to the Top of the Rock as we got a day and night ticket. It was a stunning view again, but obviously in a different way, as all the buildings were lit up. We then headed to Times Square again and wondered around for a while. It was whilst standing right in the middle of it all that Rach started making a weird face, and strange noises. Turned out she was feeling the baby kick for the first time! What a place for that to happen!

It was late and we realised we hadn't had anything to eat, so we stopped in a TGIs, which seemed to be the only place left serving food. It was after that meal that we discovered Rach's morning sickness was back. Oh dear, this could cause some problems...