Wayfaring the World

I won't wibble on too much longer about my time in New York, I'm having to resist the temptation to post every steak and milkshake photo I took whilst I was there (seriously good food at every turn).

Next on my New York list was Coney Island.....

Americana

I think I was looking forward to Coney Island the most out of the day trips we had planned, I anticipated lots of kitsch and man alive it delivered!

Check out the hamburger man and the Wonder Wheel!  I couldn't find a penny squasher machine (I started collecting them last year when we were in San Diego and now I'm obsessed with finding the machines!) which was disappointing but the tat shops were golden!

Whoa you're not getting me on THAT!

The spectacle of the place was amazing, so much colour and noise, my brother and I were snapping photos every second step but some of those rides were looking russssssssssty, there was no way you were going to get me on one of those especially following the very recent news of the rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers.  

Sad sharks

A short walk along the beach from Coney Island was the New York Aquarium so we thought we would pay a visit (plus Clare had visited a couple of days beforehand and told me there was a penny squasher there so I had to go).  Usually I love aquariums but this one didn't quite hit the mark, in fairness to them a lot of the exhibits were closed for refurbishment so there wasn't an awful lot to see but the sharks were in a murky looking tank making it tricky to see them, is it just me or does the shark in the photo below look kinda fed up?

Recommendations:

• Don't bother going to Coney Island if it's raining they won't open the rides and you just won't have the same experience
• Leave plenty of time to explore, it takes about an hour from Manhattan to get to Coney Island via subway (take the Aquarium stop rather than the Coney Island stop it's more straightforward to get to the park from the Aquarium station).  We didn't leave enough time. I would have liked a whole day to explore in full the Broadwalk and area surrounding Coney Island,
• The Aquarium was being refurbished when we went there so not a lot of it was open so I don't think we got the best impression of it.  That said it was very small and for the entry price is unlikely to keep the kids entertained for an afternoon.
• Visit the Brooklyn Beach Shop it has the BEST Coney Island stuff, really great clothing and gifts, not just tat either stuff you really want to buy for people (and yourself or course!)