Jeff and I have officially been gone for a month! WOW! Time flies! I'm way behind on my posts, so I'm going to try to do a bunch this week/weekend so you at least get to read about the rest of my New York City trip before school starts again...
On our second day in NY, we walked a few blocks to Grand Central Station. Conveniently, it's the nearest subway to my friend's apartment where we were staying. Grand Central Station was opened in 1871 (rebuilt in 1913), and is the largest train terminal in the world with 44 platforms. We walked into the main concourse, took some photos, and had lunch in the dining area. I can't believe how many people go through Grand Central every day, yet it didn't appear to be overly crowded and we managed to NOT get lost :)
From there, we walked a couple more blocks to the NY Public Library... a dream place for a reading specialist teacher!!! It was huge and so beautiful! It's the second biggest public library in the United States. Jeff was equally impressed. We didn't sit and read anything; although, we did skim a couple of the children's books in the book shop about New York. They also had a cool exhibit about how lunch in New York has evolved over the century. But we couldn't spend too much time in that area because it made us hungry again! Upstairs, along one of the walls, was the Doodle for Google exhibit where kids from across the US made their own Google logos around the theme, "I wish I lived in ______." There were lots of awesome doodles from kids of all ages-- even one by a 2nd grader was way better than anything I could ever do!
As we finally left the library, we walked through Bryant Park and sat at one of the tables for quick break. There's nothing like people-watching, especially in a city like New York! They had books you could read, along with a restaurant and cafe. We saw 2 older men playing chess and another couple playing ping-pong. If I lived here, I would definitely spend my days in all the parks, just reading!
We made our way a few more blocks (everything is so close in midtown!) to Times Square. This is where it finally hit us that we were in New York. There were sooooo many people, cabs, buses, police... everywhere! I was definitely overwhelmed. We didn't know which direction to go, what to do. I, of course, would have LOVED to shop, but our luggage is already bursting at the seams, so I can't buy anything here! :( So instead, we walked around and did more people-watching. It actually reminded me of San Fran or Madrid or Barca where you have all the street entertainers doing anything to earn a buck. We grabbed a slice a pizza and decided to do one of the double decker bus tours towards downtown.
It was nice to sit and just enjoy the view from the top of the bus. We passed by Macy's (the flagship Macy's where they do the Thanksgiving Day Parade!), the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden in Midtown (where the NY Knicks basketball team plays), then made our way through the Village, SoHo (these two are my favorite areas!), and Tribeca to get to the Financial District downtown. We passed the Wall Street Bull, Battery Park, the South Street Seaport, then made our way back uptown through Chinatown and Little Italy.
To close out the day, we made our way back to Murray Hill/Midtown East by subway, and walked to the Shelbourne Hotel to enjoy the Rare View restaurant on its rooftop. Again, the views from these roofs are AMAZING!!! I've enjoyed a roof or two in SF, but this has been sooo much better! In SF, it's foggy and cold... but here, I was still very comfortable in my shorts at midnight! (and everyone knows how easily I get cold, so that's saying something!). I tried my best to take more pics of the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. It was very hard considering it was dark, the buildings were far, and I don't have a tripod! :( But they still came out okay!
I would say we had a very successful day navigating ourselves around Manhattan without anyone's help! By the way, deciding on which photos to post is quite the task! I'm trying to narrow it down and only pick my favorites, but it's hard!!! Of the 150 I took yesterday, only these make the cut.
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| Outside the Grand Central Terminal |
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| Inside the main concourse at Grand Central (all the subways and trains left from underneath) |
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| Love this quote about reading! |
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| Fifth Ave. and Library Way! It's the NY Public Library! |
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| Most beautiful library I've ever seen! |
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| Periodical Room-- wouldn't you want to read newspapers in here? |
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| McGraw Rotunda |
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| One half of the Main Reading Room...awesome! |
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| This is where the ball drops on New Year's Eve at midnight |
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| Times Square |
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| The Flagship Macy's store... it is HUGE! |
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| South Street Seaport with a view of Brooklyn in the background |
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| View from under the Manhattan Bridge |
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| The Empire State Building at night |
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| The Chrysler Building |
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| Beautiful views from the roof! |
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| the library staircase |
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| The Rotunda ceiling-- very fancy! |
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| The McGraw Rotunda led to the Main Reading Room- |
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| When I think of New York City, this is what I imagine: tons of people, skyscrapers, and taxis |
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| The Empire State Building during the day-- it was a perfectly clear blue day! |
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| I could sit out here all night and admire the views |
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| Bryant Park, in back of the library, where people read, eat, play chess, and relax |
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| It felt wonderful under the trees' shade! Perfect time for a break |
Doodle for Googles Display at the New York Public Library; these kids are talented!!!
Maybe some of you should consider entering next year...
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| This was the first place winner |
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