Dispatches from NYC: Yesterday's exploring - a photodyssey!

Yesterday I ended up having my first proper explore of New York. The day didn't start too brightly as there were signal problems on the Long Island Rail Road, and I ended up having to travel from Jamaica (yes, there really is a place called Jamaica in Queens. It's got nothing on Babylon in Long Island though) via the subway, which is the equivalent of Zone 5 or 6 in London. But then we had lunch at a tasty Cuban restaurant near Union Square, and then it was first stop, Central Park! Or the Central Park Zoo to be precise. I signed up for a year's membership for $90 (me plus A.N.Other) which is good for all the zoos and aquariums in New York - today we are off to the Bronx Zoo! Although it is not a large zoo, you can easily spend over an hour looking around without knowing it (I say 2 hours max), which is not bad for the $8 entry fee. Below are pictures of some birds and a lizard's foot:

The Zoo also provides excellent views of some of the Skyscrapers of Fifth Avenue, as can be seen below:
Next stop for me was the Brooklyn Bridge. Here we have a picture of the first arch as you proceed from Manhattan:
If you look about yourself the whole time, you can get many great views. Here is one of mid-town:

The reason I was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge was to get to Brooklyn Heights in order to see the financial district light up as dusk fell upon the island. Here are a couple of shots:

My vantage point also offered a good view of the Statue of Liberty, which made for a striking shot at sunset:
Once I had exhausted my camera, I head back to Manhattan - Alphabet City to be precise, where Lorena and I ended up going out drinking with her uncle. Both places we went to had English alcohol! The first bar served Strongbow, which pleased me quite a bit. But then the second place had Old Speckled Hen! Two things remain the same about that drink - the price ($6 a pint rivals London) and also that you shouldn't have more than 2 pints of it!

If you enjoyed these photos and would like to see more, the whole set will be uploaded to www.flickr.com/photos/gavieb pretty soon.