Thank you for your patience while awaiting the final installation in my three part series on NYC! It's been a busy couple weeks what with midterms, essays, and college applications. Now that I finally have some downtime (hoorah for Reading Week!) I can catch up on my blogging.
Warning: this post is very image heavy!
Our last full day in NYC was a whole day whirlwind walking affair. We had planned to walk 14 km, but after 10 km, we gave up and took the subway for a bit. We did most of Lower Manhattan (as you'll see), but skipped out on NoHo and SoHo. You win some, you lose some.
Clinton/Hell's Kitchen
We started the day at 50th Street and 8th Avenue and started walking south. This area is one of my favourites in Manhattan. It's quieter, for starts. There are fire escapes on every building. Delicious restaurants. We came here first thing in the morning so there wasn't any food stops to be had. But it was still nice to walk around, especially by the river.
Chelsea
By far my favourite neighbourhood in the city. Why? Well, I really can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's the nice sounding name. The amazing architectural blend of old and new. There's tons of lofts, factories, and townhomes. There's a strong Victorian-era presence in this area. There are cool modern buildings. Most of them have rooftop gardens.
If I could live anywhere in Manhattan, it would be here.
A cool part of Chelsea is that this is where the High Line starts. It's a 1.6km linear park, elevated above the city. It replaced the old train tracks that used to run into the city. Instead of NYC tearing down the elevated tracks, it decided to create this beautiful park. I definitely recommend coming here. The view of the rest of the city is very cool. At the end of the line, you can even catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.
Milos was pretty excited about the cobblestone streets. Guess NYC isn't all concrete jungle!
Lower Manhattan
Here's where most of the main sites are: Freedom Tower, Wall Street, the Bull, ferries to Ellis Island to see the Statue, the Financial District, etc, etc.
Some of these sights are extremely over-rated. Take the Wall Street Bull for example. People just need that iconic "postcard shot", and they are so intent on getting it that they'll wait in line for hours.
Wall Street is fairly majestic in terms of the regal buildings. Once again, there can be a huge tourist lineup for that "perfect photo". Since I don't care much for waiting around in the cold just to get a photo, we moved on quickly.
Chinatown and Little Italy
Another amazing neighbourhood of the city. Move past all the tourist traps and immerse yourself in the rich cultural areas of Chinatown and Little Italy. An entire new cuisine, cheap souvenirs, bright red lights - there is just so much to love about this area.
The four of us had some delicious pizza slice at Grand Appetito. Having been to Italy before, I can truly say that this pizza was close to the original (thin, crunchy, full of sauce).
Midtown
We got extremely exhausted (and cold) after our Chinatown and Little Italy excursion, so we skipped over a few neighbourhoods so that we could make it to the New York Public Library before it closed to the public. I realize that this could be considered a "touristy" place, but it really is incredible and worth a visit.
Also worth a visit is Grand Central Station. Damn, these New Yorkers sure know how to do ceilings!
And of course, what visit would to New York City would be complete without Times Square?
I'm a big fan of How I Met Your Mother (who isn't?!). So when Jenny messaged me that a HIMYM bar existed, I knew we all had to go there. This is McGee's, just a few minutes walk away from Times Square. The writers of the show frequented this place often, so it was their inspiration behind McLauren's pub in the TV Show.
That's all for New York City, everyone! Thanks for bearing with me on this very drawn out series. Now that I've finally finished this gargantuan task (this post alone took me 3 hours), I can't wait to write about what I've been up to these last few weeks: Vietnamese food, Japanese food, Ethiopian food - all within driving distance in Toronto!
