New York from on High

The only thing I actually paid to do in New York was going up to the observation deck on the Rockerfeller Tower. As a piece of advice, forget the feeble video displays and history of the tower crap; take a deep breath, hand over your money and go straight up the lift (may Elisha Otis be thrice blessed, for he was the inventor of the device that makes lifts safe. Believe me, when you're going up to within a gnat's whisker of the height of the Empire State Building in one go, you want that gent's invention to work). The whole experience of getting up there is a properly American. Given that you've handed over a wodge of cash, they are absolutely determined to be nice to you. The two people who run the lift (clearly having only one would be impolite) both ask you where you're from and say how great that is, and you're generally Your Welcomed all the way to the top. Even the security guards at the top are actually rather amiable rather than terminally intimidating, which is how I perceive most US security guards. For this picture I did a picure taking swap with a couple. Very nice experience.