Top of the World (Ch 13)

Our Family are having quite the day in New York City. Already they have experienced snow (for the first time for the children) and explored the Statue of Liberty.  And snow. And did I mention that the children really, REALLY enjoyed the… snow? The next chapter of our FairyBlogTale takes up where the family step back onto Manhattan Island from the Statton Island Ferry (well, after they spotted the squirrels)….

Please note that if you are afraid of heights, you may need to sit in a chair with armrests for this one. Just sayin’…

-0000000- 

The novelty of snowdust on everything hadn’t even NEARLY begun to wear off, as The rugged-up Prince and Princess alit from the ferry.   The temperatures were hovering around 0 degrees Celsius with a wind chill factor of BBRRRRRR .

They were met with steaming carts proffering hot dogs and pretzels…

Twas like something RIGHT out of the movies.  But colder.

They climbed back into one of those perspex-lidded double-decker buses, complete with broadly-accented Noo Yawk resident describing Their City. The mother wondered if they taught locals to breathe like Scottish bagpipe or Australian Aboriginal digeridoo players – in other words ‘continuously’, as they played their instrument. (Which, in the case of this place, would have been their voice box. Noo Yawkers can talk y’all!)

As they thawed out in the Big Red Bus, the Family took in sights like Chinatown on Broadway.

And traffic fjords forcing their way down scycraper ravines.

Before the Family were dropped at the base of a very special building.  The Mother had decided she was sick of being at the bottom of those skyscraper ravines, and needed a different view.  Keep in mind the Mother was not afraid of heights.  Can we see where this is heading, Gentle Reader?

Yes.

UPWARDS.

To a place known colloquially as The Top of the Rock.

Which (unlike in Oz, where we have one of the biggest Real Rocks around) is not a giant boulder, but a building. The Rockefeller Center.   So we caught a lift UP 70 floors.

Sev-en-ty floors.

The views were… stunning.

Even in the greyish, snow-dusted weather…

and through the thick glass plates keeping all of the stickybeaks visitors safely on the 70th floor…

…the scenery was gobsmackingly fabulous.

With all kinds of familiar-yet-foreign structures laid out panoramically around them…

Can you see a familiar building here, Dear Reader?

Does this help?

The Mother’s little monkey being King Kong.

(In case you missed the subtle reference there!)

This was the view to the… um… West?  The Mother was slightly turned around during this day, and her compass was on the blink (in that she didn’t get to see the sun much all day long!).

The view out the OTHER way (which may or may not be East) was even prettier.  And Central Park-ier.

The Family gazed on this view for quiet some time.  And decided that it was one of the most breath-taking views they had ever seen.

Only improved by cheezy grins from Monkey One…

And dimples from Monkey Two.

And for a very brief moment, like Mother Nature decided to flick the lights to check they still worked…

…the Sun came out.  For like 20 seconds.

And then it went again. She was just messin’ with them.

And finally the family retreated from the bitter cold breezes of 70-floors-up…

Into some neon magic.  A ‘light room’ where coloured lights ‘follow’ visitors.  Seriously.  The Prince had blue and green ones flash up on the wall and ceiling wherever he stood. The Father was pink. Naturally.   And everyone got cricks in their necks and caught flies (if there had been flies at that chilly altitude) trying to trick the lights – to no avail. It was kinda freaky. In a neon kinda way.

The Family then descended to Earth once more.  Because apparently if visitors see the Top of the Rock, then visiting the Bottom of the Rock (and it’s flag-encrusted skating rink) is obligatory.

The Prince and Princess begged to be allowed to try skating on the frozen square…

But having made it so very far in one day, the Mother and the Father decided to try and maintain their record for lack of injury in an action-packed day… and the author would like you to say ‘thankyou’ for refraining from using the obvious ‘skating on thin ice’ pun.

You’re very welcome.

🙂

-oooo-

For those who missed earlier chapters:

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10‘

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12