Venezia Transatlantic: New York City Day 1

By Saint Greg

October 9, 2023

I just got off of Carnival Venezia in Manhattan. Normally I would try to get breakfast in the Main Dining Room on debarkation day. I skipped that today on purpose with a plan to head to the nearest bagel shop between the port and a subway station. Hudson Bagel is the shop I decided on.

The variety of bagels and cream cheese these places have always amazes me.

Chipotle on plain.

Walnut raisin on blueberry

They don’t put nearly as much cream cheese on the bagels here as Liberty Bagel did last year.

I found my way to the nearest subway station. We’re heading to my hotel which is the Holiday Inn Express in the Financial District. There was another Holiday Inn close to the port for about the same price, but I picked the Financial District this time because it’s close to my Statue of Liberty tour and closer to the Brooklyn Bridge.

I still had my metro card from last year in my wallet. Reloading an existing card saves you a dollar.

The reason I’m using a metro card instead of Apple Pay is I decided to do the unlimited metro which you need a card for. Last time I was here three days and used $65 in metro. And really I could’ve used more. The unlimited costs $33 for 7 days. I went ahead and got it again since I used so much last time. I’m not sure if I’ll use $33 or not, but I like having unlimited metro available.

I won’t stand by the edge like I did last year because I saw some people got pushed last fall.

And we are at Fulton Street.

I checked my bags with the front desk and used the bathroom. They said I should have a room about noon.

They offered me to partake in their free breakfast. I just had a couple cups of orange juice and grabbed a coffee to go.

I’d like to see to the manager. For those of you who don’t know this building is The Continental Hotel in the John Wick movie series. There is also a new three part mini series called “The Continental” on Peacock right now. The building is basically behind my hotel which is pretty cool.

I saw the bull last time.

I also saw Castle Clinton last time. This time I’m here on business. This is where I pick up my tickets for the Statue of Liberty tour.

I screwed up. I thought I booked the Statue of Liberty crown tour for today but I actually booked for tomorrow. The problem is that’s at 11 and I have a ticket for Hamilton at 2pm.

I just talked to the guy running this line. He said they’ll let me in the line an hour early. He said if I just go straight to the crown and back I should be able to do it in two hours. It’s going to be tight, but I’m going to try to do the Statue of Liberty and Hamilton tomorrow.

At least I booked my hotel and flight for the right days.

I think I’ll do the 9-11 museum then lunch.

I love this walkway. It’s very spacious. I feel like I’m walking in the street.

It’s a beautiful day and perfect weather.

It turns out this museum is closed on Tuesday. It makes sense. 9-11 was on a Tuesday and this allows them to have it closed for a day while keeping it open for the entire weekend.

I’m not crazy about the exterior design of Oculus but I like the inside.

We walked through here last year. This time I’m using one of the subway stations.

This is an example of why it’s good to have unlimited metro. Otherwise I might hesitate to take a subway just to grab a cheeseburger.

Last time in my research I got a list of what was supposed to be the best burgers in NYC. I only tried one. I didn’t think it was anything special. But I picked that one because it was convenient. This time I’m gonna for the one that looked the best to me.

This is the place but they don’t open until noon. I have some time to kill. You ever have one of those moments like “how did I forget that?” I had one when I got back from NYC last year so I’m going to knock it off the list now.

This is Washington Square Park.

This Indian food stand is doing good business.

They have a pooch park.

Washington Square.

The Washington Square Arch commemorates the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as 1st President of the United States. It was dedicated in 1895.

The opening of the arch is 47 feet high.

The sculpture on the left represents George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. The sculpture on the right represents him as President. The are referred to as Washington at war and Washington at peace.

The book says “Exitus Acta Probat” which is Latin for “The end justifies the deed.”

The top of the monument is 77 feet high.

A lot of people play chess here.

I made it back to the restaurant just in time for opening.

I’m starting with an IPA from Bronx Brewery.

This is the burger and waffle fries.

Double meat, a lot of cheese, and a pretzel bun. This is much better than the burger I tried last year. It’s very heavy though.

Let’s head back to the hotel to get checked in.

I’m not taking the ferry. My hotel just happens to be close to here.

And that’s the hotel.

When I came back to check-in the lady who told me noon was gone and a guy was here telling everyone 3pm. That’s fine. It’s their normal check-in time. I just wish I would’ve known earlier because I just wasted a lot of time coming back here.

I wasn’t the only one.

That wasted trip is another reason it’s good to have unlimited metro.

This was on my list last year but I didn’t get to it. It’s included in my metro so the ride didn’t cost anything. I did buy a $4 water from the guy at the hot dog stand.

They can pack a lot of people in this tram.

It was much less crowded on the return trip.

It’s good to see they aren’t using the New York Stock Exchange building as a billboard this time.

This time I was able to get checked-in.

The room is small compared to what I had last year at The Warwick, but it’s fine for just me.

This is a very small closet. It includes a shelf, an iron, a safe and a couple drawers.

If you want to make coffee in the room you can do that. I’ll probably just go downstairs and get mine.

I shouldn’t run out of desk outlets.

At check-in they offered me complimentary chips, cookies, water. I asked for water because it’s gold here.

That kid doesn’t know how lucky he is. That’s liquid gold here.

I’m heading to the Mets-Yankees game. For full coverage of that please check out Subway Series.

For full coverage of my trip to the game please check out Subway Series.

I left for the game around 5pm and got back at 11:30pm. I am off to bed. I did not get much sleep last night and I felt it in the later innings. I’ve got a big day planned for tomorrow including the Statue of Liberty, Hamilton, and the Brooklyn Bridge.