Week 1 - New York
Monday
Mondays plan was to just go and get lost – so with map in hand I hit the mean streets of New York City, picked a direction and started walking.
The route I chose happened to be east, so I ended up at the Hudson River (yep, the place where flight US Airways Flight 1549 successfully crashed landed last year). It was bitterly cold in NY; so cold in fact that the shores of the Hudson were completely frozen [photo]! I followed the river downtown towards the tall buildings of the financial district, passing by the <<World Trade Centre One>> construction site. It is great to see that they building on a separate plot and keeping the Ground Zero site as a memorial.
I eventually found myself in Battery Park, the most southerly tip of Manhattan, where the ferries to the Liberty and Ellis islands depart. I continued on my path and began walking up the west side of downtown until I saw the Brooklyn Bridge: Leason said that this was somewhere worth the walk, so here I was!
Tuesday
This morning I visited Keri at Marchesa (how amazing is the view from her office!) and was given the grand tour of their 14th floor paradise. Not only do they make beautiful dresses, they make beautiful dresses for Olivia Wilde! I was given an insight in to the whole process from sketches and swatches right through to stitching and shipping. Glamorous and fascinating: a powerful combination.
I left Keri to her business and wandered back out to the streets of Chelsea and took a short walk to 23rd street station (do I sound like I know what I’m doing yet?) where I was to experience the subway for the first time which is – I am happy to report – a lot less intimidating than I imagined. It was, however, as grubby and ancient as I had feared. After watching a few trains fly by it suddenly occurred to me that I was on the wrong side of the tracks so skipped through the tunnel to the other side and jumped on to the awaiting C-Train. This short, mildly daunting train journey took me up town and dropped me off at 81st street by Central Park and the American Museum of National History.
Central Park is beautiful, albeit slightly surreal – you walk for what feels like a mile and you only travel about 25 yards – this place is enormous! It didn’t feel like I was amidst a bustling city: the only giveaway is the tops of skyscrapers peeping over the tree-topped skyline.
I eventually found my way back to Eighth Avenue and bounded up the stairs in to the museum. I bought myself a CityPass yesterday which not only covered the entry fees to the place and a ticket in to the 30 minute wonder that is Journey to the Stars, it meant I could skip the extra long general admissions queue and join the back of a line consisting of a whole 1 other person! The museum is an absolute must-see for anyone who is visiting NY: I spent around 5 hours of awe and wonderment and would happily go back for more (I didn’t even get to see all of it in that time span).
After an afternoon of pure cultural (read: nerdy) indulgence I set off south, on foot, down Eighth to Columbus Circle for some retail therapy. One pair of jeans and a scrapbook later I trotted further in to midtown Manhattan and wandered right in to the advertising capital of NY: Time Square [photo].
Wednesday
After speaking with Delilah’s nanny, Glenna, I decided to pick the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour over the ferry around the island. For one thing it was frighteningly cold out again and secondly “it’s no contest, go to Liberty Island!”
The little copper lady (okay, she’s not little, but compared to the rest of NY she is!) was a site to behold, but sadly I didn’t have what’s called a “Crown Ticket”, which allows entry to the viewing platforms way up in her, well, crown. Little did I realise that these tickets had to be booked by reservation at least 2 days in advance (if you’re lucky) so I never got that view. Sadly I’d give her and the immigrant museum on Ellis Island a disappointing 5/10 – I would still advise you go, but maybe leave it till last.
After docking back in New York I hopped on the subway again and bounded up to the Empire State Building to use up my next CityPass voucher. I had heard all sorts of terrible stories about the queues to the top so made sure I was there early afternoon with the aim of being at the top before sundown.
There were NO queues what so ever and was on the 86th floor in no time! The CityPass ticket also gets you an audio tour which is a perfect companion for the sites. The narrator, sadly I forget who it was, tells you tremendous back stories about so many of the sites and helps you notice sites that you may not have spotted (e.g. the Flat Iron building and the New Year ball at Time Square).
While you’re up there, you’ll also notice that the viewing deck on the 86th isn’t actually the top of the tower. Luckily you can buy a ticket to the 102nd floor for $15 and believe me, it is completely worth it! I spent over an hour at 1250ft; watched the sun sink over the horizon and the lights come up all around.
I even got a 360 degree panoramic that you can see here!
I spent so long in the Empire State Building that by the time I reached Madison Square Garden the Rangers game was already underway. So instead I dropped in to a nearby bar on 7th to watch the game and sample the American beers.
Thursday
Thursday was subway day and the first stop: Grand Central Station. This is the most impressive train station you will ever see, and I know that doesn’t sound like much but trust me, you should go.
After my short stop there I was on my way further up town to the Museum of Modern Art (or MoMA for short). New York really does have the best museums and art galleries: and it has them in abundance too! At MoMA there is currently a Tim Burton exhibition which is very, very cool. They crammed so much of his stuff in to a relatively small section of the MoMA maze: everything from napkin sketches to full size models of the likes of Edward Scissorhands.
Outside of the Tim Burton stuff they have a full 5 floors of beautiful work in an equally impressive building.
The last thing on the days agenda was a pretty unintentional find: The Rockefeller Center! I was planning on going, but I actually wasn’t sure where it was. I was following my map to the subway and just walked past it: one about turn later and I was on my way to the Top of The Rock!
It was early evening, so the night had already descended but this just added to the beauty at the top. The best thing about The Rock is that you can see the one thing you can’t see from the Empire State: the Empire State Building itself! This is another definite must if you find yourself in Manhattan and at night, when all the buildings are still full of life, it makes for some superb views.
Friday
After a late night I chilled in the apartment for a couple of hours before heading downtown to find a heliport.
Riding a helicopter over Manhattan was by far the most exhilarating experience of my trip so far. No matter how high the buildings go, the chopper can go higher! This ride offers by far the best views of the city.
The route we flew started downtown and headed up the East River over the Brooklyn Bridge, over the Washington Bridge and then headed over land towards Central Park. The chopper took us right over the middle of the park before taking proceeding to circle the Empire State and heading West to the Hudson; flying right down the river with New Jersey on the right, downtown Manhattan on the left and Liberty Island straight ahead and then finally heading back to the heliport.
This experience may be expensive (a 15 minute ride, which is what I did, costs $180: that’s cost + tax) but it was by far the best thing I did all week.
With my head still overflowing with joy I rode back uptown to The Met where I spent the remainder of my day.
New York was totally amazing and I wish I had more time there; but I guess that just leaves me yet another excuse to go back again soon!
