The long anticipated New York City

I have been so excited for months leading up to my trip to New York that I have done more research on the places I wanted to see than I have done for the rest of my trip put together.  I generally go in with an attitude of ‘winging it’ but there was so much to do and see and with a list as long as my arm I arrived armed with books, plans, pre-booked tickets and god knows what else.  After my arrival and sorting out the ‘nowhere to stay drama’ I was so exhausted that I could barely bring myself to find something to eat let alone keep my eyes open so it was off to bed early without doing any exploring.

Determined to see and do as much as possible I was up and ready to tackle central park.  First on the agenda was sorting out my breakfast, luckily there was a cafe in the hostel which made things so much easier.  I couldn’t help myself but join the American craze and have a bagel with cream cheese, not eating a lot of bread I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but gosh I was more than pleasantly surprised as the bagel had a savoury french onion flavour, a surprise from the sweeter breakfast foods I have eaten on my travels.  I enjoyed it so much that a bagel and yoghurt with muesli or granola as they call it here very quickly became my morning ritual.
As I was staying within two blocks of Central Park on the upper west side I decided I would walk through the park heading towards midtown.  When I first entered the park I was a little disappointed as there didn’t really seem like much going on except the daily runners that were out doing their exercise.  The further south I headed the more interesting it became and my opinion quickly changed.  I soon began to see why you can go to Central Park and spend the day people watching.  In the three hours it took for me wander from one end to the other I saw the major landmarks including the Imagine mosaic that is dedicated to the memory of Beatles member John Lennon, the Bandshell which was housing a group of school kids putting on a performance and the woolman ice skating rink to name a few.  I even stumbled across a wedding ceremony which had a number of people watching to see what was going on.  The day continued down through midtown via Fifth Avenue checking out the expensive shopping, certainly no buying, towards the Rockefeller Center.  I was happy to sit outside in the sun all afternoon and watch the ice skating rink attached to the front of the building but I had already decided before arriving that I would go up to the ‘top of the rock’.  I had tossed up a number of times if I should go up to the Empire State Building (which is currently the tallest building) instead but I am very glad I settled with top of the rock as you get the one thing that the Empire State Building cannot offer, which is seeing the building itself.  The views from the top were simply breathtaking.  Even though I had just walked from one end of Central Park to the other seeing it from a whole different perspective gave it a whole new appreciation.  I could not believe how big it was, I could honestly go up there every day to appreciate the view, if of course I didn’t have to fork out the cash each time! 
My final stop for the day was Time Square, just a short walk away.  This is somewhere I really wanted to see at night or at dusk so I decided to head off to grab some dinner in the meantime.  I must admit I found it rather difficult to find restaurant/pub type places in the centre of town.  I am sure I was not looking in the right places but it felt like if I wasn’t prepared to eat from either a corner hotdog cart or a takeaway place such as Maccas the options were limited to say the least. I found an Irish pub that I decided was good enough and settled for a turkey burger with some fries.  It was certainly not the most amazing thing I have ever eaten but it was a meal so no real complaints. After declining dessert I headed back out onto the streets to see ‘the crossroads of the world’ and it certainly feels like this with the amount of people that are crawling the streets but the advertisements that are lighting up the street really are a must see in the city.

Day two arrived and I was starting to settle into being alone and doing my thing so out the door I went after my bagel and yoghurt to tick off more of my growing list.  First stop was the world trade centre memorial site or ground zero as it’s often called.  I wasn’t too sure what to expect as it is an ongoing construction to the memorial site but I was there early and luckily didn’t have to wait too long to enter the site which houses two amazing fountains or waterfall type memorials that are located where the two towers were previously.  Beside the site the re-construction of the new towers is well under way which are planned to be 107 floors I believe, they are set further apart from the previous two buildings and will certainly be a major site for the city.  A very interesting site to visit and again I would recommend the trip if you get the chance.  I set off towards Hudson River and further south to see the lady that all must see, the Statue of Liberty.  It is quite a view from Battery Park but I jumped on the Staten Island ferry which is an hour round trip to get a better look.  Not only does this give you quite a view of lady liberty but the view of the city itself is certainly something. After landing back in Manhattan I decided to head off into mid town to see Grand Central Terminal and enjoy some lunch in the often talked about dining concourse under the main level.  It turned out to be a food court and the food was not as great as what I read about.  The most impressive thing was the desserts and bakeries lined with delicious sweets that I had to take the opportunity to have a piece of traditional New York cheesecake, a killer piece of cheesecake too I might add.  Out the door I was again with little of the afternoon left before I was off to the Hockey in New Jersey but a few more stops to see including the New York Public Library, the Chrystler bulding, Macys and Madison Square Garden.  Ticking off more than I expected I was on my way via train out of the city.  Not really knowing where I was going I managed to follow the sea of red when I arrived to the stadium, only two blocks from the station.  Having little knowledge on the rules of the sport I cannot explain just how much I enjoyed the game, I would love to go back again.  The supporters and atmosphere certainly had a lot to do with that and their ongoing heckling that I couldn’t help but laugh at really did make the experience even more amazing.  My admiration for anyone that plays this sport has increased dramatically, it is astonishing how they are not only playing a game but they are on ice skates, I for sure would have snapped an ankle, a knee or some other type of injury before I even got stick to puck.  It couldn’t be an experience without having some unhealthy fried food now could it, so chicken and fries it was.  I couldn’t bring myself to try out the ‘buffalo wings’ just yet!

Time to wear off all that cheesecake and fried food and I set off downtown to tackle the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was a beautiful sunny day and as I headed across the busy footbridge taking in the views of the city skyline.  Once I made it to the other side, which was much quicker than I thought, I headed down towards the water to check out the view.  To my amazement the view from here was even more amazing, I think this was my favourite part of the trip.  Being there on a Sunday was a blessing in disguise as there was a massive food market on for lunch.  The perfect opportunity to try another traditional dish and it was time for brisket.  The line for this stall was longer than the 30 other stalls put together so it seemed like this was the place to try it. It was a very tender meat but gosh the Americans love their meat in comparison to the tiny teaspoon of coleslaw I got vs what seemed like a huge amount of meat.  I enjoyed sitting in the sunshine for another few hours watching the kids playing and taking in the view before heading back uptown.  I decided to continue my walking and before I knew it I was already at the bottom of Central Park that I decided to keep on going, according to google maps I walked a good 13-14kms.  Lets hope that worked off the cheesecake and fried crap from the day before!

The next day the amount of walking and sightseeing caught up with me and I was so exhausted I didn’t really know what to do with myself.  I had the intention to head to the Bronx Zoo, apparently one of the most amazing and largest, but ended up in Central Park for the day.  It was a beautiful day of about 26c degrees so I spent the day on the lawn having myself some lunch and some people watching. I decided to head to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) to check out the steps where Blair Whaldorf ruled her roost from but the entire building was under construction so it was a big letdown.  Back to the park I headed for the remainder of the afternoon listening to orchestra’s playing before walking back home.  On the way I found myself a little pizza shop where I couldn’t help but try out some pizza, something that New Yorkers are famous for getting on the run.  Honestly I still miss Australian pizza with a number of toppings instead of this one topping and cheese business but it was tasty nonetheless.

My final day was here before I knew it. I had been building myself to the NBA game all week that I didn’t know what to do with myself for the entire day.  I decided I would check off the few things were still on my list as places I wouldn’t mind seeing.  First stop was the Chelsea Markets, a very cool food concourse set up in the old National Biscuit Company factory.  It is nowhere near as big as I imagined but the market is very unique and has some high quality food.  I especially liked the glass walls into the bakeries where you can watch the talent making the delicious goodies.  Next stop was Wall Street to see the hustle and bustle including the New York Stock Exchange and famous bull staute before heading to Brooklyn for the afternoon to spend some time in the botanical gardens.  The gardens were amazing and lucky for me entry is free on a Tuesday so I spent a lot of time wandering there.  I can see how the gardens will be lovely when everything starts to green up and leaf up so to speak in the Spring.  On to the main event and basketball here I come.  I was that excited to see the basketball, I have been looking forward to it for so long but I was sadly disappointed with the game.  The atmosphere was a little dull and the crowd certainly not a sell out. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing but I’ll give you all the hot tip, if you have to choose between hockey and basketball, watch the basketball on tv and go and see the crazy fans that make the hockey more exciting.

I have now ventured to snowy Canada where we are technically in spring but the snow doesn’t look like melting anytime soon, much to the disgust of my family here!   I have no doubt I will be back in touch soon with some tips on the most delicious maple syrup!  Until then, as always, keep smiling :)