5 weeks in NYC – finished!  I can’t say it’s gone quickly, but I can’t believe that today – my last day in New York, has finally arrived.

We wanted to get out of midtown for the last day and down to the villages.  It’s quieter there, more peaceful and prettier.

We headed straight for Washington Square Park and were immediately greeted by some locals who stared us down as we strolled along the path.

The Washington Square Arch, built in 1892 celebrates the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as President of the United States in 1789.  It was modelled on the Arc de Triumph in Paris…. but the one in Paris doesn’t have a miniature Empire State Building in the centre like this one.

We sat in the park for a while watching the world go by and marvelling at all the green beauty.

Then we hit Soho, slightly grittier than the area around NYU, but just as trendy…

We stopped at this bakery for a little bite and sat on the steps of a building (where this photo was taken) and ate it.

We zigged and zagged our way through Soho, Nolita, Little Italy, Chinatown and finally arrived at our destination of the Lower East Side where we were booked in for a tour at the Tenement Museum.  Our guide was Daryl and he was great.  He took us up to the 3rd floor of this building to a 2 bedroom, 6 room apartment which had been restored to its former glory, then as we walked from room to room Daryl shared the stories and memories of three migrant families who lived there and what their lives were like.  Daryl was a great story teller and had a fabulous memory for dates and facts.  I’m always impressed with historians who can do that.

Then we made another attempt to find the street and apartment building that I stayed on my first trip to NY – to no avail… honestly, I should just consult the blog to get the actual address!  This isn’t it, but I loved the pretty fire escape – I wonder if any Americans consider fire escapes ‘pretty’?

Then we doubled back on ourselves and walked all the way over to Greenwich Village for some more pretty street vistas… and a possible last chance sighting of Hugh.

We stopped at a little Mexican place which had seating outside on the footpath for a well earned drink and some delicious Mexican food before deciding that we absolutely had to get home and put our feet up.

So, as sad as it is to say, on our last night in New York, after walking 14.5kms, we were home in our PJs by 8pm.

Every day, I marked on this map where I’ve walked… my legs and feet will tell you that it feels like I’ve done way more than what’s on this map…. and bear in mind that some streets were trodden more than once, so all in all – I don’t think this is a bad effort.