I know it's early but.....

Bab, I understand that you're flying into Newark, correct?  Are you just going to NY?  or other parts of the US?

We just spent a week in NY, and I loved it!  It was my 2nd visit there, and I can't get enough, it's such a wonderful city.  Of course, there's way more to the US than NYC, but it's a great place to start.  Glad you had a good birthday, and have a fun trip!

Thanks Diana.

Norajean, I am flying in to Newark then on to NYC.

I have every intention of returning to the USA at a later date. Where to I'm unsure of as yet. NYC has always fascinated me. You wouldn't believe just what is underground!!!! Secret trains to hotels for one thing..... There is more. 2 days left in England then I'm awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, whoooooooo hooooooooooo. I'm sooooooooo excited!

Yes, the subway system is so amazing!  We all know it's under there, but it's not just one or two levels, but it's even down 3 or 4 stories under ground, and there are stores and shops under there!  There are bands playing in the subways!  Coming from Smalltown, USA, where we don't even have local bus service (really), it was an eye-opener, for sure! 

We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel, an old, 1920's hotel, just a block from Grand Central Terminal (one of my favorite places in the world), and so convenient to everything.  We could walk to Times Square in less than 10 minutes one way, Rockefeller Center the other direction.  Make sure and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, it was one of my favorite things that we did!

sorry, I do love NY!

I was watching a programme on t.v. a few weeks back and it was fascinating just what was underground in NYC. I loved the history on how NYC was built. For instance, the Waldorf=Astoria hotel, how that came about and about the railway platform underneath it.

From Wikipedia;

The hotel has its own railway platform as part of Grand Central Terminal, used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, and Douglas MacArthur, among others. An elevator large enough for Franklin D. Roosevelt's automobile provides access to the platform.

Used so he wasn't seen entering the hotel.

Other history related to the hotel is;

In the 1955, Marilyn Monroe stayed at the hotel, for several months, but due to costs of trying to finance her production company "Marilyn Monroe Productions", only being paid $1,500 a week for her role in The Seven Year Itch and being suspended from 20th Century Fox because of walking out on Fox and refusing to star in a picture with Frank Sinatra because she was not allowed to read the script, living at the hotel became too costly and she had to move into a different hotel in New York City.

I want a proper Waldorf salad, Tesco's just cannot be the same! Can it?

There is loads more and I hope to explore some of it!

Yes, it's the little tid bit information that makes things interesting isn't it. Until I went to Washington D. C. I did not know that the Confederate army buried at Arlington had spires put on their stones so "no dam yankeee" could ever sit upon them. Colonial Williamsburg is my favorite place, no cars, the whole area is reproduction 1700's. The people dress and talk it also...show you their trades. Do you know whom is the largest employer of young kids?...Disneyworld... whom hire young college students yearly to help run it....they do so also from nearly every state area.

If I remember rightly Marylin Monroe was one of our Grand Floral Rose Parade Grand Marshals one year way back when I was an kid. Back when well known movie stars always started it off for us all.