We started by taking our first bus clear across the width of Manhattan, over to Pier 78 to hop onto a NY Sightseeing Cruise ship. Our tour guide was pretty entertaining and gave us great information about the different neighborhoods as we passed by them. He pointed out where different celebrities lived, showed us the helipad the president uses when he arrives, pointed out important buildings across the Hudson in NJ, and gave us good tips for places to eat around Manhattan that weren't tourist traps. But most importantly, the views of the skyline, the bridges, and the Statue of Liberty were amazing!!! Jeff was a great assistant and took pictures using my Canon point-and-shoot (my regular camera) while I used my Rebel T3i (the fancy camera), and he also helped me switch lenses on the fly as I needed :)
After that, we walked to "Hell's Kitchen" on 9th Avenue where the tour guide said the food at every restaurant would be great. We grabbed sandwiches from the deli and continued our trek to Central Park for a picnic in the park. We made sure to enter Central Park from the Southeast entrance so that I could see the Plaza Hotel (where Kevin stays in Home Alone 2, remember?!?) and walk by the Central Park Zoo. I was starving at this point, so we stopped and set up our blanket at the first available "grassy" area (I'll explain the quotes in a bit). Jeff made a work call, and I took out my Kindle and read. It was perfect weather and just so relaxing! After about an hour, we decided to explore more of the park.
Central Park is HUGE! Seriously huge. We spent the next 2-3 hours walking around it, and still only reached its halfway point (vertically). We walked down "The Mall" where there are caricature artists every few feet. We saw Sheep Meadow and Strawberry Fields and immediately regretted stopping to eat where we did. Compared to these lush grass areas, our picnic spot was rocky with sparse grass and not a great view of anything. Strawberry Meadows is where John Lennon's "Imagine" dedication spot is, across the street from his old apartment (where Yoko Ono still lives). We toured the Lake, where people were paddle boating, and we even saw a couple getting married in a small gazebo overlooking the lake (very random, I thought, for a Tuesday afternoon!). We ventured past The Ramble on our way to Belvedere Castle, overlooking the Turtle Pond. We passed the softball diamonds on the Great Lawn, and finally exited the Park at the Met on the upper east side. I couldn't believe how big the park was, right in the middle of Manhattan. So beautiful and peaceful! Alas, there weren't any celebrity spottings (I read in the magazines that celebrities visit Central Park often-- to run, walk, read, walk their dogs, eat ice cream, visit the zoo, etc.,).
Once we had exited the Park, we took another bus towards Times Square to meet Marissa for dinner. It was rush hour, and the bus ride probably didn't save us much time, but definitely gave our feet a break! We ate dinner and then walked to Rockefeller Plaza for our Top of the Rock tour. We had decided to go up to the Top of the Rockefeller Center instead of going up to the top of the Empire State Building, mainly because it had an equally awesome view and it was a lot easier to get tickets! The whole Rockefeller Plaza is awesome! Marissa showed us where they put up the tree and lay down the ice-skating rink at Christmas. She told us about how ridiculously crowded it gets around Christmas. Radio City Music Hall was across the street. If we had more time, I would have loved to do the complete tour of the NBC studios and Radio City. Before we took the elevator up to the top, we passed a little exhibit about the Rockefeller family and how they had built the center/plaza. John Rockefeller meant to lease (rent) out the space, and one of its first tenants was supposed to be the Metropolitan Opera. But then the Stock Market crashed in October 1929, and the Opera pulled out. So instead, Rockefeller used his own money to build the area up. He was an extremely rich man!
We rode the elevator up 70 floors (about 872 feet) to get amazing views of NYC at night. I'm so glad Marissa was with us because she was able to identify a lot of the buildings so that we knew what we were looking at! One thing that struck me was how bright everything was-- except for this huge black hole where Central Park was. Perspective-wise, I could also see how much taller the Empire State Building was compared to other skyscrapers, and I could tell that the new World Trade Center would be massive-- considering how tall it already appeared on the horizon and how far away it really was. We tried taking photos, but again, it's so difficult to hold the camera still without a tripod! (They didn't let you bring one up anyhow).
We finally made our way back down and decided to walk through Times Square to experience it by night. It was just as crowded as it was during the day! And with all the lights from the billboards, it felt like it was daytime!
Finally, we reached the subway and made our way back to the apartment for some much needed rest! Enjoy the pics... I took sooo many of the Statue of Liberty, the NYC skyline, and Empire State Building... you can decide which is your favorite ;)
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| Skyline from the Hudson River... |
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| I can't get enough of the Brooklyn Bridge |
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| NYC Skyline with the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground... the Twin Towers used to be here, too |
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| Hello, Lady Liberty! Our copper gift from France, given to the US in 1886 (100 years after our Declaration of Independence). She's 151 feet tall, but from the ground to the top of the torch, it's 305 feet. She represents freedom, and she welcomed the immigrants who arrived by boat from Europe. |
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| The Plaza Hotel |
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| The Plaza Hotel from the entrance of Central Park |
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| we didn't go into the zoo, but we passed by it |
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| John Lennon has a plaque here at Strawberry Fields because he lived across the street from the park |
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| John Lennon's (from the Beatles) Strawberry Fields memorial |
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| Jeff's taller than the skyscrapers! haha! |
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| Isn't Central Park beautiful? |
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| Belvedere Castle in Central Park: it was built in 1869, as a Victorian folly (a decoration only). It provides great views of Central Park and NYC, overlooking the Turtle Pond |
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| Turtle Pond |
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| Rockefeller Plaza: this is where they put the ice rink and Christmas Tree at Christmas |
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| NBC Studios is here at 30 Rock (like the TV show!) They also film Saturday Night Live and other shows here |
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| Empire State Building, and the bluish building in the back is the new World Trade Center 1 By far, these are the 2 tallest skyscrapers in NY! |
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| The dark part in the middle is Central Park-- where they don't have as many city lights! |
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| Times Square at night |
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| We LOVE the NY Fire Department!!! Heros! |
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| Times Square is so bright, even at night! |
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| More NYC skyline... amazing |
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| The Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island... nearby is Ellis Island, where immigrants had to stop and "check in" before being allowed to enter America officially. |
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