Goodbye Wellington, Hello New York

30 May - Goodbye Wellington, Hello New York

We are such seasoned travellers now, we take it all in our stride!  I'm not even going to complain about being a tad cramped on the plane!  Two good things, some lovely McLaren Vale Chardonnay with lunch on our way to Sydney,

and on the way to LA some sound advice from two fellow travellers who were returning to New York. She has a coffee shop called 'Kopi Kopi' in 68 West 3rd Street (how could anyone get lost when the streets are named like that?) and she suggested an outing to Woodbury where they have 'factory outlets' and good label clothes really reduced.  She was travelling with a friend and was going to take her there anyway, so she would pick me up, how amazing is that?  She reckoned the concierge would be able to organise something for us if she can't make it, so it's good to know.  I have also caught up on a couple of films, the first one was called the Railway Man, with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman and the second one was called 'Tracks' the true story of Robyn Davidson's epic 1,700 mile track across the desert in Western Australia leading a group of 4 camels.  

LA Airport:

We are now on our flight to NY and I notice that the 'Game of Thrones" 3rd edition is available, so I am quite happy thanks. 

We made good time, LA to NY in 4.5hrs, but then had to wait 40 mins on the Tarmac for a gate to come clear, and another 40 mins to wait for the baggage to be delivered onto the carousel.  Almost as long as the flight!  Me exaggerate?  We found the bus for our transit to the hotel, and after our jolly but rather large black driver had squeezed 4 onto the back seat (I wondered how 4 his size would have fitted on) "I don't make the rules I just carry 'em out", we were off on the 4 lane highways into NYC.  Pretty ordinary stuff so far, but as we neared the city centre and through the tunnel to Manhattan the skyline was just as I had imagined, only brilliant with the sunset behind it, no photos unfortunately, too shaky on the bus and too far away.

Being dropped off outside our hotel

We checked in, the hotel is on a very grand scale, the guy on reception was good and we had a porter bring up our luggage  - free wifi thank goodness - and were delighted with the room, lovely super king bed, room to move around and good facilities.

 

It was after 8.00pm by this time and we felt like something to eat (there are only so many airline meals including baked beans I can take) so we went for a bit of a walk to get our bearings and check out local restaurants.  Didn't have to go far, just up the road was a very colourful place which advertised 'the best breakfasts in New York'.  

Pershing Cafe:

They also served up lunch and dinner.  So in we went, it was a bit like a saloon from a cowboy movie, lots of carved wooden tables on which was a small table lamp with red and gold striped lampshades, even the six hanging chandeliers had these lights, all very jolly.  We were shown to our table and just opposite us was a black family having a great time, best of all was the matriarch, dressed in a bright yellow dress and wearing a lovely lacy hat, she reminded me of one of the ladies in 'Help' the movie/book wearing her Sunday best.

Not a perfect photo as I had to be a bit sneaky about it, but it gives you an idea:

 

 We had a nice dinner, I had a lobster salad with a lovely dressing, and David had duck breast and mushroom risotto. 

 On our way back to the hotel we saw the Chrysler building and Grand Central Station, so we are in a great position to see everything here. 

 Well David has collapsed into bed already, we have both been up for 34 hours.  So I will sign off now.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

The Beginning - counting down

Welcome to my new blog, yes, we are 'at it' again, definitely going to be nothing for the kids to inherit by the time we are too old to enjoy travelling and having a good time.

This time next week we will be on the first leg of our journey, we are joining our French family for another extended holiday before they return to NZ in August. This time we are having a stop over in New York, how exciting is that?  I never really thought about visiting NY as it was not on my radar as achievable, but now that it is I just can't wait.  Quite a long trip however, Wellington/Sydney/Los Angeles/New York, and we spend 5 nights 4 days in NY before heading off to Paris and then Toulouse. 

It will be wonderful to see our FF again, I bet the children will have grown, just about teenagers now, we do keep up via Skype and FaceTime, not to mention Facebook, emails and texts, but it's not the same as giving them a hug is it. 

Monday 26 May

We start our new week of 'last time we see you before we leave'. Yesterday we had a great afternoon of family time and took a photo to start off my blog. 

Today we took Liam on the bus and cable car and visited the playground before coming back down on the cable car. Bright sunshine but such a cutting southerly - 12 deg and it felt less.  Oh to feel some summer weather - it's 27 deg today in NY!

"Last time" we will all be together before we leave on Friday morning at "ridiculous o'clock".

Thursday 29 May

All packed and ready to go, my case only weighs 18 kg and my cabin bag only weighs 5kg, so what does that tell you?  Neighbours are on mail duty and the house has had a bit of a spring clean.  Finished off the last of the veges in the fridge for dinner tonight so there's nothing left to do - might as well have an early night, next time we sleep in a bed we will be in New York.

Taxi is ordered for 3.15am 

We are at it again - preparations are In hand!

Travel Insurance

We have always had good dealings with our insurers, we seldom need to claim but over the years we have received payments in a fair and reasonable manner. UNTIL NOW. Now I think differently, to be admired is the proliferation of clauses and sub-clauses in the fine print in the insurers policies which are conjured up by a gnome with a PhD whose job it is to exclude any minor detail in order to justify no payment.  (I apologise now if I have offended any gnomes out there)

My story goes like this:  I book an airfare to Adelaide to play a weeks golf with my 9-hole friends leaving on 10 April.  I book an airfare for David leaving on 17 April, we will then have a week's holiday together touring around Adelaide and return to NZ on 25 April.  We book travel insurance through the AA. The policy is emailed to us on 24 March at 9.39am. All good to go.

I took my little grandson to the play park on 24 March and tripped and fell heavily on my shin.  I hobbled to the car, was able to drive home, and we finished the day watching 'Maisy' together.  Later that night my leg was the size of a melon - and getting more swollen. So off to A&E, Dr says haematoma, rest, crutches etc for 2 weeks.  I hobble around for 2 weeks and then Physio says that flying would not be advisable because of the risk of a DVT.  I then have to cancel the flights and accommodation for us both.

I check the insurance policy and am greatly relieved to see my accident happened after the policy came through. I put in a claim with pages and pages of relevant information, and after a couple of weeks I am told they can't progress my claim because the Policy clearly states there can be no claim during the initial 7 days after issue (mmm.... didn't notice that!).  What a bummer. 

Then of course I realise I have paid my airfare with my ANZ Visa card.  So give ANZ Visa a ring, they are so sympathetic, and send me a claim form. Two weeks later they say they can't validate the payments from my visa. So I go and check again, bummer, I used my BNZ visa for the airfares for David, so fair enough the rules say...........!

Undaunted I go through the whole process again with BNZ Visa, surely this time... If nothing else I should be rewarded for tenacity!  Two weeks later I get an email from them covered in fine print, clause after sub clause.  Essentially because some of the airfares were paid for by air points the small print says the whole fare has to be paid in air points to be valid (mmm....didn't notice that), and while I can claim for an accompanying spouse they notice he has his own Visa card (we have both got a card for the same visa account with slightly different numbers) and sub clause 3.(b).C.2.2 (didn't get around to reading that one!) says that he must pay his fare with his own card for it to be valid, and anyway he was not accompanying me for the whole trip (mmm...didn't notice that either).

My heart goes out to those poor people in Christchurch, I now believe the damning reports in the press about claim payout avoidance - making an insurance claim is a bit like a cryptic crossword, you don't know any of the answers until the final word goes in.

I thought it was simple, I had an accident, had to cancel airfares and accommodation, and was supposed to be covered by insurance - in fact 3 ways.  Bummer!

Fortunately I am fit and well now, just in time for our trip to France.  Not the best way to start my blog 'France 2014 - The Sequel'...mmm... must go and check the fine print on our very expensive travel insurance......