"Start spreading the news..I'm leaving today..I want to be apart of it..New York, New York..These vagabond shoes are longing for stray...Right through the very heart of it...New York, New York...I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep...and find that I'm king of the hill...top of the heap...These little town blues are melting away...I'll make a brand new start of it in good 'ol New York...If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere...It's up to you New York, New York." -Frank
Well, we did it. We did it ALL. I am completely shocked that we actually did everything we wanted to do while in New York. In fact, we did way more than we planned on doing and every night we came home we both just took off our shoes and crippled around our apartment in pain until we went to bed and did walked the same way that next morning. Our feet killed each night after painting the town.
So here is where we start. This is where our apartment was. You see, we wanted to get the feel that we lived in the city during our stay, so we opted out of the hotel experience and rented some guys apartment in the heart of the Greenwich Village.
The green arrow is where the apartment was
It was an old pre-war walk up building and we were on the fifth floor. Yup that is five floors to walk up each night after already beat from pounding the pavement of the city.
And the hallways in the building (and the stairwells) were tiny!
We had to lug all our luggage up five flights of stairs when we first got there and it sucked.
Here is what we saw out the window of our lovely apartment
Brittany sitting on the incredibly charming steps of a classic row home in Greenwich Village
Streets of SOHO, which was my favorite neighborhood of them ALL!
The streets of SOHO are made of these full-of-character bricks that over time have warn deep holes in the roads that add to the character of the neighborhood.
Brittany in SOHO
Rockefeller Center in Mid-town
Ice rink at Rockefeller Plaza, the blue light fountain is exactly where the famous x-mas tree is
Incredible artwork is all over the Rockefeller Center, it resembles the progressiveness the nation was experiencing during the time the center was designed and built
Me standing next to the actual model that was used to present the design to the Rockefellers
Oh and hugs are free in the plaza if you dare get close to these creepy scientologist protesters
Brittany at "Top of the Rock" looking North, Central Park can be seen in background
Check out these condos that over look Central Park! Stunning.
Looking South toward lower Manhattan and Empire State Building
This is the cutest kid we saw while waiting for the subway at Rockefeller Center. He's adorable.
Brittany standing out front of Grand Central Station with my favorite building behind
Aghhhh "I lika"
Grand Central with Metlife (formally PanAm building) It straddles Park Ave
Inside the impressive grand hall of Grand Central
Here we sit at the center of the universe "Times Square"
Before leaving San Diego, we won tickets to The Late Show with David Letterman
In line to enter the theater to see the show
We saw Ellen Pompeo, Jay Z and Mary J. Blige. I snapped this pic of Mary leaving the Ed Sullivan theater after the show.
Streets of Mid-Town
Brittany giving this old lady some change. Brittany is such a sweet person eh?
Modern urbanism of Mid-Town
A bridal photo shoot in Mid-Town
CHINA TOWN
Wedding in China Town
China Town streetscape
Brooklyn Bridge close up
Check out how the wooden planks for the pedestrian walk were all cut uneven.Awesome huh?
Ground ZERO
Temporary memorial wall of the events of 911
Plans for the reconstruction of the WTC complex with the reflecting pools of the two towers
Construction of the WTC site
Funky colors on the floor of the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art)
Dinner at the fancy french restaurant "Pastis" many stars (including us haha) often are spotted at this restaurant in the hip meatpacking district
"So that's what it looks like under the streets of Manhattan!"
Lion King! An amazing show with excellent dramatic costumes.
The view from the theater was incredible.
As the sun was setting I snapped this shot of a water tower on one of the islands in the river
We had an amazing time in New York
And happy to be back in San Diego!
If interested, you can see all the pics taken on our trip at our .mac gallery
Overall my impression of New York is amazing. I love it. Being in the city, I kept thinking of an analogy of how to explain the city and I found the perfect one:
New York is like sports turf and let me explain. Sports turf is a type of astro turf that is part fake grass and part real grass. Real grass is planted in the ground before the fake astro turf is laid down, over time the real grass grows up through the astro turf to make it sports turf.
New York City is like Sports Turf in that new modern ways of transportation, and architecture is growing up through the old Industrial Revolution style buildings.
Even the grid is like sports turf: The tip of Manhattan is the oldest part, therefore the streets are very narrow. Streets have names (i.e. Canal Street, Spring Street, Nassua Street) and are not connected to an overall grid. As you move north up the island the city adopts a grid with Broadway bisecting the grid on an angle throughout the whole island.
Fantastic, nothing more needs to be said.
