The first thing that we saw is where the bus leaves you, the Grand Central Station. You can't help to remember scenes from a couple of movies that were taken inside this very beautiful station.
After that, we walked to our hotel on the 57th street. One thing is clear, in New York, you have to walk. A lot. And though there's only a couple of avenues, they are very, very long.
On our way to the hotel we saw another hot spot, Times Square. It was daylight, but the surrounding still overwhelms you with so many images, colors, information... One just feels tiny next to these enormous screens.
By the time we reached the hotel we realized it was going to be a hot trip. And we had even brought a jacket in case it was going to be fresh at night! Absolutely unnecessary! Because in New York, since the buildings are so tall, there is very little recirculation. You couldn't say if it was noon or 9 in the morning, because even when the day started, it was already hot... But better than too cold, I would say (I do not know what the Swedish people would say about that :))
Anyways, one of the things we enjoyed a lot in NYC is the variety of food from all continents. There is so much offer that you really have to think about what you definitely don't want to miss. And of course, we started with a Japanese, and it must have been good ("the real stuff") because there were only Asians beside us in the restaurant (although these days you never know if they're originally from Asia or born in the US, we still think it was pretty good :))
After the meal we charged our batteries and started exploring Midtown, walking down 5th Avenue. On our way we saw this other famous place (although not the most beautiful, for sure): the Rockefeller Center.
This huge angel that seems to be throwing himself in the water is one of NYC icons, and wether you like it or not, you have to go see it. We also went on another day at night, and it does look better, in a way...
With the colored water it reminded me of the Niagara Falls. Again, maybe not beautiful, but for sure enjoyable.
Another thing that NYC offers is what we can call the ARTchitecture. Wherever you look there are incredible buildings, all different but yet matching the style of the city.
In this photo above you see the Flat Iron. It may also remind some movies or series that take place in the city, and it also gives the name to the area around the building. Near it there is an Italian food shop called Eataly, the ice cream there is incredible!
I'll include some pictures of other buildings from the city that called our attention, without being as famous:
Nice Condo in Chelsea
The building above is home of the Municipal Art Society of New York.
The Metronome
The new Museum of Modern Art (N-MoMA??)
This is the famous museum of Guggenheim (the original one, there is a second one in Spain that looks very similar, some can say it looks even better...).
In fact, the architecture in NYC is so important, that there are architecture lovers who madly fall in love with the city. One good example is the author of the next blog: http://like.allmyfaves.com/like/site/name/allthebuildingsinnewyork.com. He aims to draw all the buildings in New York, some of the drawings are very impressive. One example is the building on the left, that represents the Chrysler Building. On the right you see the Empire State behind me, we were sitting on a terrase in Lexington Avenue, with very nice views (the cocktails price had seen a very high inflation, so we payed for the views :))
Funny story of the trip, and that's why I put both pics together, is that I had learned it all wrong, and thought that the Empire State was the Chrysler building and vice versa. I was even trying to correct Andres, until he showed me that I was wrong. After that, we kept calling them the other name, and now I really have to think a couple of seconds to say the right name :)
We also visited some 'must-go' places, like for instance Little Italy (which right now it is only one street, and, to be honest, not that impressive), Chinatown (much bigger than Little Italy, but also here, we preferred Chinatown in San Francisco), and the Financial District.
Located south from here we visited the Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center used to be. Now they constructed a new skyscraper, the New World Trade Center (they're about to finish it), it is amazingly big.
Another must-do is to cross to Brooklyn walking the Brooklyn bridge, where we took the next two photos. Once in Brooklyn, there is a nice park beside the river where the views of Manhattan are incredible. Also there we visited a delicious ice cream factory!
Our favorite area of Manhattan turned out to be the areas of Chelsea, Tribeca and the West Village. Especially we fell in love with the Chelsea Market, which is an old plant that they've converted into little shops and restaurants. It really shows an alternative side of the city with a lot of personality.
Also in the area there are interesting drawings on the walls, and a nice elevated pathway to walk some meters above ground level and enjoy the views called the High Line Park, all surrounded by nice plants and trees.
The last day we took the ferry to Staten Island (the free one), and could enjoy the views of the Statue of Liberty, as well as nice ships on the river waters.
It is true what they say about NYC being the city that never sleeps. But once a year it is also a special night, of course I'm referring to the 4th of July. On that day there's a big celebration with fireworks, one of the most famous of the US (they also claim that Washington really gives it all in this fireworks show). We wanted to find a nice spot to have good views. But when we realized that at 4PM people started looking for their spot and staying there for hours, we realized that wasn't for us, so we kept exploring the city. At 9,30, when the show was about to start, we approached the riverside and could enjoy the fireworks, maybe not first line, but well enough to take a couple of pictures. There was also a bunch of people that suddenly filled the streets coming from nowhere, and people stopped with their cars in the middle of the street to watch the show. It was a very nice experience.
Another picture at night, last night that we had the pleasure of staring at this amazing city full of tastes from all corners of the world, it was taken from the hotel room.
There is of course a lot of places that we left out, we only visited the American Museum of Natural History, leaving behind a lot of cultural offer that we had to turn down just for the lack of time (well, NYC is also very expensive, so you're almost obligated to pick your choices). But overall we had a great time, despite the hot weather (one afternoon we had to go back to the hotel to take a siesta), the crowded places and the high prices. We are looking forward to the next time, maybe then not in summer, so that we can really enjoy the Central Park :)
Lots of love
Lita & Andres
No comments:
Post a Comment