Central Park is a huge oasis of calm and serenity in the middle of New York; it was hard to believe we were in New York as we were riding around it.
Rickshaw ride.
What I really wanted was to go on a horse drawn ride. They are so gorgeous but the tour is limited and only covers a small part of the park.
But we went on a rickshaw ride and it turned out to be fantastic ... as was our tour guide; a Turk who was studying language in Turkey and who came over each year to ride rickshaws and make enough money for the following year.
It was a great idea to save Horace's feet and the best way to get the most out of touring the park. Our guide was full of interesting facts about the park and we stopped at several places to look around and take photos.
The only downside was how sorry we felt for him. The day was stinking hot and humid and lugging all three of us around can't have been easy, especially given the hills and dales of the park.
Rickshaws were everywhere ... the park was full of them and horse drawn carriages.
Our rickshaw driver catching a lift on the back of a horse drawn carriage. I couldn't blame him at all.
Famous buildings and homes.
Around the park are the homes of many famous people, which our driver pointed out to us.
Marilyn Monroe lived with Joe di Magio in the apartment with the largest balcony.
This is the building from the movie Ghostbusters ... it's instantly recognisable.
Woody Allen and Soon-Yi's apartment is in this building.
And I couldn't leave out the Trump tower ... right at the entrance to the park. But it's nowhere near as big as I thought and really gaudy. Not at all tasteful although I did like the big globe.
Beautiful fountains and views.
Central Park really is a park in the best sense. It's a huge open space covering 50 city blocks and is so varied: fountains, rocks, walks, bridges, boating and lakes. There was something different to see around every corner.
The fountains from Friends ... this thing is so small. I never imagined that from the opening to Friends.
Walking towards the largest fountain in the park. I think this was my favourite part of the park.
Across from the fountain was an underpass with the most amazing walls and ceiling. This was part of the tiled ceiling.
This was one of the decorative elements from the walls. And right beside this was a bridge and groom having their photos taken.
My threesome with the lake behind them ... I actually managed to get them to smile!
The lake was so pretty and it would have been nice to go boating for ourselves.
This was also my favourite part of the park! These benches must have been decades old because quite a few were deteriorating, and there were so many of them.
What would Central Park be without seeing a squirrel?
The park was full of these rocks ... apparently the only natural feature in Central Park. After our rickshaw ride we sat down on one to have a picnic before we walked around a little.
John Lennon's memory.
New York loves John Lennon ... I don't know what else to say. The memorials to him are kept alive by New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Outside the doors on the street is the actual place John Lennon was killed ... it somehow makes it all so much more real to have seen it.
This is the memorial to John Lennon. It's covered in roses and renewed each day. There were so many people sitting there, some crying, with one guy playing and singing Beatles and Lennon songs on a guitar.
Part of the park, close to where Lennon was killed is set up as Strawberry Fields. This plaque sets out all the countries who helped to set up the fields.
This is the apartment Lennon and Yoko Ono shared, and where Yoko Ono still lives.
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