After a day and a half at sea, with quite rough seas, we were glad to arrive at a sunny New York, with the ship being ideally situated to explore the area. The sail in was impressive passing the Statue of Liberty and seeing the skyline in the early morning mist.

Having visited New York, many years ago, we had already sampled several of the main attractions so decided to do some we had missed, or had changed since the last visit.
We decided to get the subway to the far end of the Brooklyn Bridge and start our day by walking across it before exploring further. Arriving at the subway station, we were a little confused about what to do. A simple tap of our bank card got us through the turnstile and then a kind, local man directed us to the correct train. Noting our destination on the wall map, we soon arrived and followed the crowds to the starting point. 
The walkway was quite busy and an excellent way to cross the river into the city. There were stalls selling goods and lots of places for the necessary selfies or photographs. 

Our next visit was to pay our respects at the 9/11 memorial. On our last visit we had stood outside the Twin Towers. After a short walk we found the site and stood for a moment with our thoughts and prayers for what had happened there. Some people from the cruise visited the museum but we decided to move on and explore further.

Another new experience we wanted to explore was the Highline, an aerial walkway through an area of the city that had once been a railway line. 
This was further away than we realised but it did give us a chance to walk along the side of the river and enjoy the views there. We even came across a man-made beach where locals were enjoying the sunshine.

By this time it was getting very hot and we were getting hungry. Fortunately, the Whitney Museum of American Art was nearby, so we decided that was a good place to stop. Although a quite costly place to visit, it was a chance to enjoy the artwork and air conditioning. Getting the lift to the top, we stopped at the restaurant and then started exploring the artwork.
There was a wide range of artists, including one of our favourites, Edward  Hopper.  We moved slowly downwards enjoying the work on display before going out to join the Highline. 

The Highline proved an excellent way to move through this part of the city, with lots of shade and stopping off places. One such area was the Chelsea Market, where we descended to street level and explored this quite unique place, with lots of stalls and eating places. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, it was only a short visit. Going back up to the walkway, we continued until the end, having enjoyed the walk and views.

After going back to the ship for the evening meal, we once again ventured out into the city to visit Times Square.
We had fond memories of our last stay in the city, as our hotel had been near the Square, but on this occasion, I was a little disappointed when we arrived. From my memory it had been as described, a square where you could stand and be impressed by the colours and atmosphere. On arriving there, the area now had spread over several streets and, to me, had lost it's uniqueness.

A very tiring day with a new personal record of 40,000 steps. Well worth it though!

 
​After looking forward to getting away for a couple of weeks, and after the long flight and coach ride, we arrived at a very rainy Cape Canaveral port. 

We set sail in the early evening and were treated to an impressive sunset.

 Next morning, we were up early for our stop over in Freeport in the Bahamas.
      Deciding to take an organised trip, to optimise our short time spent here, we joined the coach to visit The Garden of The Groves, a local botanical garden. We were met by a local guide who showed us around explaining about the area, how a rich American called Groves designed and created the garden for the use of the local people, many of whom he employed.
After about twenty informative minutes, we were left at a row of about seven souvenir shops and given an hour to explore the grounds. This proved rather too long as the circuit took about another fifteen minutes before we arrived back at the start and the centre's café. Fortunately, this provided cover as the local storm decided to download a deluge.  
The garden would possibly have been more impressive in sunshine but in poor weather, we found the views disappointing. (I did manage to do a sketch of the guide when I later returned to the ship)

To round off this exciting tour, we were then taken to a local shopping mall where most of the shops were closed and, as it was still raining heavily, most people either stayed on the coach or came back to it early.
A disappointing trip to the Bahamas, a place we were looking forward to visiting. It was a shame we never got to see more of the island and it was hard seeing all the devastation along the route caused by the recent floods.
Hopefully, in future we will get a chance to visit again.
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The only benefit of being there for a morning meant that I could attend a watercolour class in the afternoon, where I got a chance to experiment with the medium and completed three quick paintings. The one of the guide as well as a portrait of another attendee, who took it away with him, and the start of an idea for a landscape.