With the weather still good, we set out to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the Brooklyn Bridge – and back via the Manhattan Bridge. Both bridges are spectacular… On the Brooklyn, pedestrians have a raised walkway – looking down on the cars (as it should be). That’s if you can take your eyes…
I’ve been looking back at my photos of Ellis Island – and the faces that stared out at me from the walls. What courage those people had! They were journeying into the unknown place grasping the hope of a better life. And for most, there was no chance of coming back.
As a modern-day visitor to the US, it seemed only fitting that I should visit Ellis Island – which was the gateway to a new life for so many migrants. 12 million of them in fact. The first thing that struck me … the island is tiny. It seems far too small to hold such an…
There’s something about cities with a harbour – we are always drawn to the water. New York’s harbour has a couple of things worth visiting – first and foremost of course is that statue. You approach via ferry. The ferry takes a swing around the island and docks on the far side – almost as…
So – time to play tourist. I set out, map in hand, to find the New York Public Library. The library has dozens of branches around the five boroughs, but its heart is in the Schwarzman Building on 5th Avenue.
So – here I am in New York City: The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps. Wow! I’ve only been here a day and a half and my head is spinning a bit.
I’ve started packing for the move to NYC – it’s a slow process, mostly because I keep finding things I want to read, or look at or play with rather than put into a box. Yesterday, while sorting through some bookshelves (there are a lot of bookshelves in my house) I found a copy of…
I was at the US Embassy last week. We queued (in the rain) for about 15 minutes then assured the security men we were not carrying mobile phones, electronic car keys, cameras or anything else even vaguely threatening… and made it through to the visa section. What an interesting place.
I did a book signing yesterday in Reading with my friend Tania Crosse – who writes fabulous historical novels. I really enjoyed the day – and loved meeting the people who came along. In between signing books, I started thinking… As authors, we do bookshop signings to promote our work. To put our books in…
