A gamble that ended ....well, squishy

Ok, so here's the thing. On Sunday evening I turned on the TV before going to sleep to find out what the weather would be doing for the next couple of days. I said there was going to be rain and thunderstorms ....which brings me to my next rule.....

Rule No (who knows....I'v lost counting): August may not be a good month to come to New York city. I have lost count the number of times I have come home soaking wet. Now I know why gumboots are so unbelievably trendy and popular here.
Oh yeah! I thought the rain water drainage in Sydney was bad. The streets become like little rivers here! And another thing, you can't see the pot holes and bumps in the footpaths, they're just lawsuits waiting to happen. I don't know how women with platform shoes don't break their ankles - it's crazy!

Anyway, getting back to it....

They said that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday would have rain and Thunderstoms. So I thought to myself, well on Monday I'll stay in do some domestic chores like cleaning up the apartment and the washing and make a start on updating my blog. And I did! But it did not rain!

I think there is an inside joke world wide that weather forecasters are in on. Because just like Sydney they get it wrong.

So I stayed in on Monday and by Tuesday I was getting closet fever so I thought to myself, hey they said it was going to rain yesterday, it didn't (in fact it was a beautiful day) so I am going to do some sightseeing today. I decided to go and check out the Empire State Building.

I have been putting it off because I've heard about there being long lines. But today I was ready to wait, however long it took. I would get to the 86th floor come hell or high water!

So as I was leaving my building to walk the five blocks to the Empire State Building I got into IKEA mode (that is the state of mind when I know I am heading into the chaos of an IKEA store) preparing to see the throngs of people waiting to get up to the top.

A block away from the entrance to the Empire State Building.

When I got to the entrance I couldn't believe my eyes. There was no line.....I walked inside in a state of shock and even when up to the concierge and asked where I was to go to get up to the viewing platform and she said to go up an escalator and follow the path. I looked at the escalator and it was empty, so I ran for it. There was hardly anyone around. The weather forecasters must have put people off.

It took me a few minutes to re-gain my composure and drop my IKEA persona, so I spent a bit of time reading all about the history of the building. I can't believe it was built in 14 months and the platforms the men used to complete the stone masonry work on the outside of the building consisted of just a few planks of wood held together by a bit of old rusty steel. They didn't have safety harnesses or hard hats....crazy!

But what they made was truly a beautiful building that takes you back to an era long gone. If you love the Art Deco era of architecture (which I totally do) you will love this building. There is lots of marble, brass and gilding.

Entrance to the Empire State Building.

In the Hallway of the Ground Floor. 

So, I bought my ticket to go up to the 86th floor (BTW you can also go up to the 102nd floor but it is closed in - I decided to skip that option) and waited in a small line for the next available elevator. The elevator whooshed me up to the 80th floor then I could've either taken another elevator up 6 more floors (there was a bit of a line for that elevator) or you can walk up six flights of stairs. I decided to walk it up. And it was not that far.

Rule No.19 - There are 3 different options when you're purchasing your ticket to go up to the Observation Deck. You can: 1. Just pay to get access up to level 86, the Observation deck; 2. You can buy your ticket up to level 86 as well as pay another couple of dollars for an audio guide; Or 3. Get your ticket up to the Observation Deck, plus the audio tour, plus a laminated map of the districts you can see from way up high (which of course is even more money). Now, I did option 3 and I don't think the laminated map was worth the money. The audio tour on the other hand is very interesting so if I was to do it again I would go with option 2.

Once I got up to the 86th floor the sky had changed. It had turned grey and had was spitting rain.  So whilst trying to channel the emotion of Carey Grant waiting up there for Deborah Kerr (An Affair to Remember - movie), who never turns up, I was struggling with an umbrella that the wind had turned inside out - not providing me with any protection and with the audio tour (a device that looked like a cordless phone) sandwiched between my left shoulder and left ear as well as trying to take a photo, well let's just say I looked like I had lost the plot - it was a crazy sight - sooo NOT a Hollywood movie moment.

It didn't take me long to give up on my umbrella. It was summer and it wasn't cold so I decided to get wet. I have a few photos I took up on the Observation Deck but they are not that great. I hope the next time I go up to the Observation Deck with mum it will be a sunny day.

I love the Chrysler Building.

Looking down on 5th Avenue.

Looking up at the spire of the Empire State Building.

Once I had listened to all of the audio tour I headed back down. (There is really nothing else for you to do up there. There are no shops or cafe's.) By the time I got back to the ground floor it was pelting down with rain. I decided to put my trustee umbrella up again, but by the time I got home I was so wet that my shoes were squishy and my clothes were stuck to me.

Oh well, it was still a great adventure.