Upgrade!

To my absolute delight we were given an upgrade for our flight from London Heathrow to Newark! We were upgraded to premium economy which had lovely big seats, extra leg room, free champagne, freebies like toothbrushes and flight socks, and best of all we were in a row of two rather than three which I love! It was a great flight and as well as watching a film (Love and Friendship, a quirky wee film based on an obscure Jane Austen novella.) I got a good couple of hours sleep. Just as well, because after our early start this morning, my nap bolstered my stamina for our first day in New York. 

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon when we arrived, so as soon as we had checked into our hotel in Chelsea we decided to head to Central Park. We took the metro to the very north of the park and over the next couple of hours we walked the length of it in a zigzag fashion. The sky was blue and the leaves in the trees were just beginning to turn golden. The park was full of people of all ages and nationalities, walking, jogging, playing sports, sitting on benches; it was such a a good day. We had drinks with biscuits and cheese at the Loeb Boathouse beside the lake. We eventually emerged from the park at 59th street and found our way back to 35th street without too much trouble. By this time we were both pretty exhausted - it was only about 8 p.m. but that's 1 a.m. British time - so off to bed we went, on the 22nd floor of our hotel.