The first week of my trip was spent in New York City and I simply loved the place. LOVED it!
While I was here, I stayed near Central Park at Hostelling International New York in a dorm room for two nights. I then met up with Monique from Bairnsdale and her friend Mina for six nights at Sohotel, which sounds like it is in Soho, feels like China Town and is actually in Little Italy. Depending which direction you step out of the hotel door, you will find unique and stylish stores, Asian grocers and reflexology foot rubs, or pasta restaurants.
I really only scratched the surface of what NYC has to offer, but I was consistently impressed. In no particular order...
Central Park: I visited this beautiful refuge from Manhattan's traffic and high rise buildings three times and couldn't get enough of it. I shared a relaxing picnic on a grassy hill with Mon and Mina on one occasion, and cycled all the way around the park on another. The park is massive, green and lush, and surprisingly hilly. From what I saw, it has many lovely old buildings, sporting grounds and lakes, as well as an outdoor pool and of course the zoo. Given time, I could have spent days in that park.
Bus tours: A few rides on the rooftop of these informative hop-on-hop-off buses were essential during the first couple of days to get my bearings and also to see a glimpse of some areas I wouldn't otherwise have time to visit. I really enjoyed looking at all of the old buildings on the tours, though many of them were covered in scaffolding even if just at the bottom. It seems like there were a lot of wealthy individuals having fantastic high rises or churches built with private funds at a certain time, Rockefeller being a prime example. Of course, the bus only takes you to the 'nice' areas, especially in Brooklyn, so my impression of New York Living is beautiful brownstone terrace houses in wide tree-lined streets!
Top of the Rock: The observatory at the Rockefeller Centre provides great views of Manhattan and beyond, which we took in through daylight, the golden hour, dusk and against the night sky. Looking down on the city, its contrasts captivated me the most: old and new; cluttered and clean; concrete and gardens; wealthy and poor. I also learnt that the iconic image of men eating lunch on a steel beam was taken during construction of the building we were on the roof of.
Food: Hot dogs from food carts, delicious cupcakes, over sized slices of pizza, Chipotle (which is everywhere but I tried for the first time), pretzels, burgers, frozen yoghurt - it was all good!
Statue of Liberty: America's symbol of freedom and hope, while huge for a statue, was much smaller than I'd (unrealistically) imagined. I was also surprised to learn her exterior is made from copper. There isn't much else to say about the statue, it looks like the pictures. Included in the tour by boat is a visit to Ellis Island, where there is a really interesting Immigration Museum. Seeing and hearing how the 12 million immigrants were processed on this island during the first half of the 20th century was very thought provoking, especially in relation to asylum seeker issues in Australia.
Museum of Modern Art: This was really good, but I think it would have been better if I'd gone with a fresh mind. It was the end of the day and I was rushed and tired. We also visited the Museum of Natural History, which I found interesting and fun. More on museums in the Washington DC instalment!
Ground Zero: The World Trade Center site is still under construction, with the Freedom Tower going up quite quickly now. The plan for the site includes two large waterfall pools in the footprints of where the Twin Towers were, with the names of the victims inscribed around the edge. In the mean time, the Tribute WTC Visitor Center exhibits photographs, quotes, video footage, missing persons posters, salvaged items, messages from visitors and personal items, donated by survivors or those who lost loved ones, with special explanations of their significance. The material on display very much concentrates on the personal experiences of those that were there, and does not provide very much factual information such as times, numbers, structural analysis of the tower collapses etc. While, having a detail oriented personality, I would have been interested in such information, including it would really have detracted from how personal and moving the display was. I found myself placed in the shoes of survivors, victims, loved ones and all New Yorkers, feeling a small part of their tragedy in my heart: the absolute terror felt by victims in the towers; the grief of families who had made missing persons posters while they still had hope; and the dedication of those who worked night and day on the recovery while constantly faced with death. The tribute was absolutely heartbreaking, and has helped me find deep compassion for Americans which had been somewhat missing in me, probably due to the leadership of their nation at the time.
Brooklyn Bridge: I had seen this landmark on the bus tour, but almost missed walking over it as we had already walked over the Williamsburg bridge on our way back from visiting Brooklyn. I was very glad we dragged our tired bodies out there on the strong advice of Mon's friend Irene. We took the subway over and had pizza at sunset with a view of one of the bridges beautiful towers, and then walked over towards Manhattan just as it fell dark. Amazing views and such a relaxing walk across the wooden pedestrian/bike path. Also, the road on the bridge is only open to cars, not trucks or buses, to ease congestion.
Sex and the City Tour: Don't judge me please! Actually, I was not expecting much from this tour and it surprised me. The tour guide was a comedienne and very good. We went to some areas I hadn't been, like Chelsea and The Village. Highlights included: browsing in the store where Charlotte bought the Bunny; cupcakes in The Village like Carrie and Miranda; Cosmopolitan cocktails at Steve and Aidan's bar in Soho. While on the bus they showed us clips from the show of the places we'd seen.
Shopping in Soho: Mulberry street proved very fruitful for shopping in some unique stores away from the chains that lined Broadway in Soho.
Hitting the town: I only went out to bars once in the whole week, and didn't catch any live music! Disgraceful I know, the time just got away from me and I was also usually exhausted from the daytime activities wich I often didn't return from until late in the evening with the summer daylight hours. So I can't really tell you much about the New York nightlife, but I'm sure it must be fabulous!
Hudson River: The bus tour guides say that a lot of time and money has been invested in cleaning up New York's rivers and that they are now in great shape. Certainly I found that the public places I visited were very well maintained. One evening, we cycled down the west side of Manhattan with the sun low in the sky over the Hudson river - loved it! Cycling is just that perfect amount of exertion to get the endourfins going, without getting sore feet from walking. I really enjoy it and plan to cycle whenever I have the opportunity on this trip.
One week in New York is really not enough, and I'm already planning to visit again! I'd like to:
- Visit more museums and galleries
- Go out at night
- Explore more of The Village, Chelsea and Brooklyn
- Spend more time in Central Park
- Shop without the restriction of fitting my purchases in a backpack
- Visit the Empire State Building
- Hang out in great spots on the advice of a New York local and see some live music.
Next stop: Washington, DC.
