After a good night's rest on Jen's couch, I was ready to set out and see what NYC had to offer with Nikki as my tour guide. Unfortunately it was a really gloomy day. Low hanging clouds forced us to postpone our trip up to the top of the Empire State Building, with visibility very poor according to the staff working there. I believe the exact words were "you can go up but I don't see the point". Despite the weather, I still had a really full day in terms of sightseeing. First stop was Grand Central Station, which I initially didn't think was that impressive mainly because I wasn't in the grand foyer part. Once I entered the large open area, I understood why it was such a tourist attraction, but honestly, I thought Antwerp's train station was more impressive (one of the largest in Europe).
After manoeuvring the underground metro, we emerged at Times Square, taking in the obligatory sights and photos at the famous red steps. Even on such a gloomy day, it was bursting with activity. Once we took in the centre of Times Square, we explored the surroundings, and ventured into the many massive speciality/novelty store designed to lure tourists in. Disney, Toys R Us, M&Ms, Hersheys, and many other big name brands. The giant Toys R Us store even had a ferris wheel inside!! After a morning of walking around (without breakfast), I had my first meal of the day: a hot dog from a street vendor! That was one thing off the bucket list. And I didn't get sick. Double win! Lunch, an hour later, ended up being NY pizza, which was awesome. Two slices (which probably equates to about 2/3 of and Aussie pizza) and a can of drink for only $2.75!! And it was really good pizza too, granted it was only cheese but I love cheese!! I made a mental note of where this store was, but as I later discovered, most fast food pizzerias offered this deal. Cheapest most filling meal in NYC!!
After such a satisfying (and calorie rich) lunch, we decided to walk it off, traversing from uptown to downtown NYC. First stop was the 9/11 Memorial. In order to see this, you have to book in advance. Tickets are usually available - the booking is simply to ensure that the site isn't too overcrowded. After getting through so many security points and ticket checks, we entered the grounds. I quite liked this memorial, which had water draining into two pools the size of the original towers. The design of the pools had it so that the water is recycled and brought back to the top and allowed to drain down again, representing the perpetual and undying spirit of the American people in the face of terrorism. Around the edge of the pools had the names of the victims in their respective towers as well as those from the planes, which I thought was a very lovely touch. What was sad though, was that they had left space, in the event that more names would need to be added. It's a sad realisation of the world we live in when we know there will be more attacks, but I guess the important thing is that we go on living our lives as usual, and not let the fear of the unexpected cripple us. I spent a good amount of time sitting in the memorial just listening to the constant rushing of the water. And just thinking about things. I can't remember what I was thinking about, but I just felt so calm being away from the busy world as I reflected in there. This is somewhere I'd definitely recommend that people go to see and experience. I'd even go back if I went back to NYC.
After that serene experience, Nikki and I explored the rest of downtown NYC. We walked down Wall Street past the New York Stock Exchange - extremely overrated and disappointing for me. It wasn't a major street like I was expecting, rather it was almost like a little side street or alley, plus the construction didn't help. Something that I noticed as I ventured through downtown NYC was just how dirty it was. And everything was under construction to repair damage done by the storm. This wasn't the glamorous "dreams come true" city that I was expecting. I was actually quite disappointed with it and did not understand the hype. I still don't. As I came to realise later on though, there are parts of NYC that are redeeming in my eyes, but I remember on that specific afternoon (while walking through the rain), I was not impressed with the so-called "greatest city in the world".
Anyway, disappointment aside, since we were already down there, we made our way to the wharf and waited to board the Staten Island Ferry, which would be the best free way to see the Statue of Liberty. I hate crowds and I hate waiting in line. This involved both. The crowd at the wharf was ridiculous, not to mention the wait. In the end, it was only about half an hour, but when you're in such a crowd, it really drains you. As I waited in line, I wondered how on earth this amount of people could fit on a ferry. And then I saw the ferry. And I understood. That thing was huge!! After running onboard amidst the crowd of eager tourists, I managed to get a pretty good spot on the side of the boat which would be facing the lady in the harbour. Luckily I followed the crowd. My initial gut instinct was to avoid the crowd and go to the side of the boat where there was no one. As we passed the Statue of Liberty, I could see so many people on the actual island, and I couldn't help but wonder what sort of view they would have while standing at her feet. Apparently you're no longer allowed to go up either, so it seemed that the Staten Island ferry probably was the best (cost-free) method to see this landmark. The rain didn't help with the mood but it certainly kept the crowding to a minimum while I was standing on the edge of the ferry getting wet. When we eventually got to Staten Island, it was a case of getting off the ferry and lining up to get on the return ferry back to Manhattan.
After our ferry adventures, Nikki and I decided to head back to the apartment, detouring through Chinatown. We also stopped at Magnolia Bakery which is famous for its baked delights. After sampling a few, I can vouch for their delectability. Meeting up with Jen, dinner was at Pomme Frites, a hipster side shop selling only fries. With fries in hand, we ventured into a park to eat. Our first view when we entered the park was a large congregation of homeless/derelict people. I could hear Jen and Nikki mutter something, and I later found out it was them discussing the public housing that was nearby. Suffice to say, we continued on in search for safer place to eat. Dinner done, we ended the night at Big Gay Ice Cream, which was big, gay and sold ice cream. Their motif was very heavily inspired by rainbows and unicorns, and definitely stood out on the street. Dessert done, it was time to call it a day. A very long day which ticked off quite a few things.
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Day 14
Woke up to a nice and sunny, so I knew what my first stop would be: the Empire State Building. I met up with Nikki, and after going through security and taking the lift up to the 80th floor, we had the option of waiting in line for about 20 minutes to take the lift up to the observatory deck on level 86, or to take the stairs to our destination. Naturally, I chose the stairs. I wasn't going to wait idly in line. Plus this way, I could actually say that I climbed the building. That's another building which I can add to my "climbed" list. Once we got to the observatory deck, it was a struggle to get through the crowds. Given that there were two avenues of getting up to the deck (one of which wasn't monitored), this meant that there were heaps of people crowding the edges of the building taking in the views. Eventually I managed to push through to the edge and get some nice panoramic shots from each side of the building. The views were amazing. In particular, I loved how in the midst of all the high rises, there was a massive patch of green woodland. It's nice to see that even in one of the most urbanised and business-centric cities in the world, there still remains a little environmental sanctuary where one can get away from the craziness of city life.
After we got back to street level, we met up with Jen and had lunch at the famous Shake Shack, which specialised in burgers and milkshakes. It was quite nice, but certainly not something that was really worth lining up for. In a scene much nicer than the previous night, we enjoyed our lunch on a bench in the idyllic surrounds of Central Park. After the dirtiness of downtown NYC, I gotta admit that Central Park was certainly a redeeming feature. As I explored the park, it was hard to comprehend that I was still in the city. There were parts where I felt like like I was actually trekking through bushland. The reservoir was nice, as was the boathouse and I even walked down the typical "mall" stretch of the park which is shown in all the movies (where it's one long straight path with the trees overhanging on both sides).
My first adventure through the park done, we ended up in uptown NYC where I made the obligatory tourist stops at the Guggenheim, Tiffany & Co, Fifth Avenue, the giant Foa Schwarz toy store, Trump Tower (with an obligatory Trump Ice Water and Long Island Iced Tea) and 30 Rockefeller Centre. Feeling sufficiently satisfied that I had seen the main touristy spots that uptown had to offer (the Met and Museum of Natural History were to be for another day), we trained it to Brooklyn and enjoyed the views as we casually strolled back into Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge. Dinner in Chinatown with some awesome dumplings, and it was the end of another day.
HBL signing out from New York City, New York, USA.
Up next: Avalon thankfully nothing like the Jersey Shore...
Previously: I didn't go to Orlando, I went to Harry Potter World...
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