A little belated (as always) I’m going to tell you about my not so very much adventurous adventures in New York City. This lack of adventure was actually on purpose. Still suffering a little from jet lag, we decided to take it slow. After all, we were on holiday, and I wanted to enjoy the break between my seemingly endless work on term papers and the start of my internship.
Union Station Washington, DC
We had taken a coach from D.C.’s Union Station to New York City. It was a comparatively short trip considering distances between American metropolitan areas.
Luckily, we had booked the express route that did not stop in Baltimore, although we saw the skyline of the city as we drove by on the Interstate 95.
It took only four hours or so to drive up to NYC.
Sun-roof on our ride
I can genuinely recommend the US-coach system, at least the parts I have tried so far. Having travelled with a coach line in the UK before, I was positively surprised by the comfort of their American subsidiary provides to its costumers. The seats have definitely more space, heating and/or air-conditioning work, it is relatively quite, they offer Wi-Fi and sockets for charging electrical devices, and huge windows, plus a suntop-roof, so one can admire buildings and landscape during the ride.
My boyfriend and I arrived in the city around noon. We checked in at our hotel on the 31st Street and left our luggage in the room. It is way easier to move in the crowded streets of New York, if you are not carrying a huge backpack, in addition to a handbag. But, that is just my opinion. I’m probably not a handbag-girl anyway.
The first thing we did, since it was lunchtime anyway, was searching for an authentic restaurant. We found this marvelous Pizza Place that according to cut out newspaper articles on the wall had found critical acclaim in the past. However, it was more the absence of tourists, the presence of many New Yorkers and the great smell that persuaded us to enter. Also, it turned out that the Diner’s prices were relatively inexpensive and its location very close to the Empire State Building. That is exactly where we went next.
Outside the Empire State Building
The fee for going up to the viewing platform was quite expensive. There are two platforms, and we decided to just pay the entrance fee for the lower one, which was still pretty high. It was worth it. The inside of the building is beautifully decorated, we didn’t stand in line for two long and the view from the observation deck (86th floor). See for yourself:
After we were back on the streets, we just strolled along 5th Avenue for a while. The commercial district is quite beautiful. I took a lot of picture, but I don’t want to overdo it. Window-shopping can be fun, but I believe in front of a computer screen, without being there yourself it’s probably not as entertaining as in person.
I bought a new pair of sneakers and a few postcards during our stroll through the city (which I still haven’t sent out yet. Sorry, guys!).
On 5th Avenue
Being a huge fan of NBC’s TV-series ‘30 Rock‘, I had to stop at the Rockefeller Center to take some pictures in commemoration of Liz Lemmon.
The sea of flag in front, Jeff Koons‘ giant rocking horse head sculpture, and the huge Lego Store around the corner, as well as the billboards in front of the NBC building definitely made the stop worthwhile.
Jeff Kons Sculpture in front of the Rockefeller Center
The weather was really nice, so we didn’t really want to spend much time indoors. Instead we tried to see as much of the city as possibly on one day (and on foot). Obviously, the Central Park was at the top of our agenda.
Central Park
Bridge in Central Park
We sat down in Central Park for a while and gave our feet a rest. It was still warm, and the trees around us muffled the noise of the city pleasantly. Now I understand why this park is mentioned in so many narratives that are set in this city. It’s frankly said in my opinion the only place, where one can get a quite minute. People here would probably go insane without it in the long-run.
After we left the park, we headed for Columbus Circle, where we went into some of the shops in the Time Warner Center to bridge the time until nightfall.
msigelfeld 