NEW YORK | A CHILDHOOD DREAM

Hello Again!

I know it's only been a day since my previous and first post, but I thought I might as well do another one seeing as I'm off today for Holy Monday. On that note, Happy Easter everyone! Hope you're having a chilled time at home with family & friends, that's what this season is all about.

As I said in my previous post, there has been no better time to start this blog, as my New Years Resolution was to travel more, so the next post, naturally, had to be of my trip to New York in January. I hope this post gives you an idea of things to do, places to eat, sights to see, etc. if you're planning on going to The Big Apple.

I can't even begin to explain my fascination with this city. People that have known me for a long time will know... Back in the days of "MSN", my display picture on it used to be the New York skyline. I had a ton of posters in my room. I watched every New York movie under the sun. I even played Spiderman on the Playstation 2 (remember that game?) purely to swing around the skyscrapers. In summary, I was a loser, totally obsessed with the city and I don't know why. I think this city has given me my current love of architecture, art, design and Hip-Hop. It's a fusion of all those things, and walking around the city, you can really feel it.

In January, my friend Laura had told me she was visiting our friend Emma (who's been living in NYC for the past 2 years now) in Queens. I cheekily tagged along with my friend Grace, as we knew we couldn't pass this trip up. The date was set: January 26th, and it was finally happening; the dream was now a reality!

TRANSPORT

The easiest way to get around New York is of course, the infamous Subway. We got 7 day unlimited metro passes for less than 30 dollars. Well worth the buck as you'll be hopping on subways constantly, this is not a city that you can walk from start to finish, it's huge! The other alternative is a cab/taxi. You won't miss them as they're yellow and everywhere! Just remember to tip the taxi driver. But don't miscalculate your tip and tip the taxi driver 50% like I did on my first day, jet lagged and confused with the dollar... Someone had a great day.

Times Square

THINGS TO SEE & DO | MIDTOWN MANHATTAN

The first stop of our sightseeing was Times Square. If I'm honest, I was never too attracted to Times Square, as I always found it too touristy or to have nothing of substance. But I was pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend doing it as your very first sight. It really is overwhelming. We got off at Times Square 42nd Street Station, and the second you emerge from the subway, you're forced to look up. You always look at pictures of New York and the buildings, and yeah they look tall, but you can never quite picture how they look in person. The height, and also the amount of lights and colours emanating from the adverts and billboards on the square is an attack on the senses. The roads are also littered with the famous yellow cabs. You don't know where to look, it's chaotic but incredible.

Grand Central Station

Empire State Building

Chrysler Building

We then walked. I know I said it's not really a city to walk around due to its size, but the Midtown area has a whole lot of sights packed in relatively short distance to each other. We wanted to go up a skyscraper to take in the views, so we headed towards The Rockefeller Centre or Top of the Rock. On our way there, we took in the skyline. We spotted both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building along the way. You see both of these buildings constantly due to their height (over 300m), and they're an iconic part of the New York skyline. These two buildings, along with the Rockefeller Centre and many other buildings dotted around the city, are classified as Art Deco architecture. Art Deco became popular in the 1920s and 1930s (when these buildings were built) and it represented luxury and grandeur. You can see it both in its external and internal structures, with high ceilings and walls, crystal chandeliers and marble floors.

We then stumbled into Grand Central Station/Terminal. Again, it's a sight that takes your breath away. The doors open to this huge concourse, with tall ceilings, ticket booths, an information booth with a $10 million dollar worth brass clock on top and bustling crowds running to catch trains to upstate New York and beyond.

We then walked and shortly arrived at Rockefeller Plaza:

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Plaza

Top of the Rock

Rockefeller plaza is where the famous Christmas tree from Home Alone is lit up every Christmas, as well as an ice skating rink. There is also the Lego Store (deep breaths). We then went up the 70 or so floors up to Top of the Rock. 

Note: We each bought New York city passes. I highly recommend getting these if you're planning on doing lots of sightseeing, as you save a good bit of dolla. They're around $122 and you get entry into Top of the Rock, The Empire State Building, The MET Museum, the Gugenheim, Ellis Island or Liberty Island, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and many more sights. I will link it here: http://www.citypass.com/new-york

Well, the view from Top of the Rock was needless to say, outrageous. It's probably my favourite view of the city, as you can see Central Park and the Empire State building really well. I never wanted to come down. Though I'm sure someone with a phobia of heights might say otherwise... 

We spotted St Patrick's Cathedral, which is right opposite The Rockefeller Centre, and decided to go there next. 

St Patrick's Cathedral

We decided that our skyscraper climbing wasn't done yet, so we decided to do a night time trip up to The Empire State building.

I highly recommend doing this. The city at night is something else entirely, it's so beautiful. We took two lifts up to this point and this is the view from the 86th floor. There is also an observation deck on the 102nd floor, but you have to pay extra.

THINGS TO SEE & DO | LOWER MANHATTAN

We headed off to Lower Manhattan and started off at the World Trade Centre and 9/11 Memorial. This is also known as Downtown Manhattan, and is at the southern tip of the island. It's the centre of finance, culture and government. The buildings here are much different than in Midtown, with most of them being modern and glass. There's a pretty cool vibe in this side of the city. We got off at the World Trade Centre subway station, which houses the Oculus.

The Oculus

Ground Zero or 9/11 Memorial

World Trade Center

As soon as you emerge from the subway, you're greeted with the new towering World Trade Centre, standing just beside the 9/11 Memorial. This was truly haunting. The city is constantly filled with the noise of car horns and the chatter of people, but standing beside this memorial, all you can hear is the rushing of water from the fountains. The 1-acre squared pools, which represent where the Twin Towers stood, display the victims names, which are adorned with flowers. The complex is also surrounded by trees and you can't help but stand there and reflect on the awful tragedy that took place there, it didn't feel real.

We then headed in to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. We spent the guts of 4 hours in here, you just can't tear yourself away. The Museum showcases artefacts from the tragedy, from construction beams of the original towers to clothes belonging to the victims, as well as photos, videos and excerpts of both the history of the towers and the attack on 11th September 2001. I can't recommend this place enough, it's an experience.

Lower Manhattan

Statue of Liberty

Staten Island

We then decided to take the free ferry to Staten Island. We had been told that this is better than going out to Liberty Island, as the queues are long and you can still see Lady Liberty very close from this ferry, which was true. The view of the city from the ferry and from Staten Island was incredible, and provides a different perspective. We also got a bright and sunny day which was perfect. As we got the ferry back and the sun began to set, we decided to venture to Brooklyn Bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge

This was probably one of the highlights of the trip for me. The view from the bridge is second to none, particularly around sunset/night time. Next time, I would love to do the length of the bridge and walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

THINGS TO SEE & DO | CENTRAL PARK, UPPER EAST & UPPER WEST SIDE

It was time to hit some more museums. The way the city is laid out is very efficient, in that all the sights are near to each other. We started out at the MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) in Upper East Side. This was also another highlight for me. So many movies/tv shows (Gossip Girl anyone?) were filmed on the steps of The MET. And the museum itself is extremely impressive. I had never seen collections from Ancient Egypt before.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET)

We were only just starting to get to see all the exhibitions, when it started to snow! We couldn't resist so we left the MET and set foot for Central Park (which is right beside the MET). In order for us to get to our next destination, which was the American National History museum, we had to cross central park in the snow to get to it. It couldn't be more perfect. This was THE highlight of the trip.

Central Park

We finally reached The American National History Museum, which, like the MET, was huge. Supposedly it would take you 1-2 days to fully walk the museum. We got our Ross Geller on and took a look at some very impressive dinosaur replicas. We also did the planetarium which is within the museum which I highly recommend if you're into astronomy! Sadly, I wasn't allowed take pictures there. We left the museum and then took a walk around the Upper West Side, which has the famous Upper West townhouses. These are house goals.

The American National History Museum

Upper West Side

We also couldn't resist going ice skating in Central Park. This was another movie moment, despite us falling on our asses.

WHERE TO EAT

The city has an obscene amount of restaurants, bistros, lounges, pubs and nightclubs. It's a bit overwhelming. Usually, I'd pay a lot of attention to food while I'm away as I'm a bit of a foodie. However, we did so much sightseeing that food became a rush and necessity, so we often went for the first place we could see, however not one disappointed. The majority of our breakfast/lunches consisted of a big ol' American stack of pancakes, with streaky bacon, eggs and maple syrup. I couldn't get enough of these! You can get these practically everywhere. Also, one can't go to New York without trying a New York hot dog... For breakfast/lunch, I highly recommend:

• Igloo Cafe in 2226 31st St, Astoria, Queens.
• Nectar Cafe in 1022 Madison Ave, Upper East Side
• Park Cafe in 861 7th Avenue, New York
• Sweet Spot in 22-72 31st St, Queens

The Park Cafe

Fish Tacos at Sweet Spot, Queens

S'mores at Sweet Spot, Queens

WHERE TO DRINK

We didn't get to go to any nightclubs during our time at NYC, as we were so tired from all the sightseeing. However, we did go to dives, bars and lounges.  The ones I recommend are:

• The Mean Fiddler in 266 W 47th St
• The Dead Rabbit in 30 Water St
• 230 Fifth Avenue Rooftop Bar
• Wicked Willy's in 149 Bleecker St

The Mean Fiddler is a Karaoke dive/bar near Broadway and Times Square. Think of your shitty bar/club at home that is so bad but you can't help but love it i.e. Coppers. This was great craic.

The Dead Rabbit is an Irish-owned cocktail bar/lounge. It's a short minute walk from the World Trade Centre. I absolutely loved this place, it's very chilled and dimly lit and the cocktails are expensive but delicious. It's reminiscent of the Vintage Cocktail Club in Temple Bar.

Wicked Willy's is a dive bar/watering hole in the Village with beer pong tables, live bands and you get glow sticks upon entry. 

230 Fifth Avenue Rooftop bar is just by the Flatiron Building, and features a rooftop bar with incredible views of The Empire State Building and the midtown skyline. They have igloos on the rooftop in which you can enjoy the views in warmth and they also give you blanket onesies. 

230 Fifth Avenue Rooftop Bar

The Dead Rabbit

I think that almost covers off everything. There is a few more things we did but I don't want to ramble. There are also so many things we didn't do - Greenwich Village, The Meatpacking District, The High Line, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, Coney Island, Washington Square Park, the list goes on! Though I feel like we did all the tourist things which you have to do on your first trip and I'm more than happy with that. This city is packed full of things to do and see and I will 100% be making a second trip to see the more subdued and "real" New York. I said it then and I'll say it again now, but the trip was honestly one of the best weeks of my life. My expectations were already high, with it being my childhood dream, but it was even better than I imagined :)

I can't end this blog without thanking my friend Emma who was so kind enough to let us stay in her place in Queens and made the trip even more special.

Until next time, NYC!

Tom.