In order to avoid any hassle on my roommate's part, I decided to train to Montreal (where she now lives) so that we could leave the next day without any additional confusion and setbacks (on top of the Montreal bridges and lane closures that have made Montreal transportation a nightmare). Also, in order to save on costs and skip lines we decided to purchase the NYCpass (and would pick it up the first night in Times Square). At the time that we bought this we were able to get 3 days for the price of 2!
Day 1: Montreal - New York City
The drive was quite pretty as it was through the Adirondacks. We didn't have to cross into any other States so it was a pleasant drive (even though I did none of the driving). We had a picnic along the way as we had made sandwiches and brought snacks and the scenary was gorgeous as we were in an area with a lake as well as many forests. As we were approaching New York City the driving got a lot worse as the other drivers on the road seemed more crazy (even more crazy than Montreal driving and I did not think this was possible).
We stayed at the Club Quarters Midtown location which was centrally located on 45th street between 5th and 6th avenue. The room was decently sized and me and my roommate slept on the pull out couch which actually was not that bad. Our hotel faced the Rockefeller building and just up the street was the famous 5th avenue. After we all got refreshed we decided to walk down 5th avenue to see some of the shops. We saw the Sephora and Saks. We stopped at the NY public library (which was in the film The Day After Tomorrow) to head to Bryant Park for a quick bite.
From Bryant Park me and my roommate walked to Times Square. It was so bright I had never seen anything like it. I thought Paris was bright but nothing compares to the huge tv screens and advertisements that are flashing before your eyes. We stopped at several souvenir stops as well as the famous red stair case... which to be honest I had no idea existed until she told me they showed it on Glee (too bad I don't watch the show).On our way back we inquired at the Rockefeller building about going up to the top for their "top of the rock view" but they were all sold out for the night so we would have to return in the morning.
Day 2: New York City
Me and my roommate woke up bright and early in order to head to the Top of the Rock. It was practically across the street from our hotel so it was very easy to get to. It had rained a bit the night before so there was some low cloud cover when we got to the top but it still had an amazing view. There were several levels you got to go to but you could even see most (if not all) of Central Park!After viewing the city from the Rockefeller Observatory we decided to walk along 5th avenue to see some of the sights. We first saw some shopping sights such as Saks 5th avenue and Sephora but when Catherina needed a caffeine boost we decided to go to the Starbucks in Trump Tower!
From Trump Tower we walked North on 5th avenue to head towards Central Park. Our destination was the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) but we decided to take a stroll through Central Park on our way there. On our way into the park I found a hot dog stand and decided I should try one so I can compare which city had better street meat, as Toronto and New York are compared to each other. In my honest opinion, I found Toronto's street meat to be much better (and I'm not just saying that to rep Toronto). We passed by the zoo and even though we didn't pay to go in, we saw several animals such as a tortoise, an emu and a polar bear (from afar). We also passed a pond where people were playing with motorized boats. It was a neat little sight to see in this huge park
The MET was a really cool museum that had tons of artifacts! Since we had the NYCpass we got in for free and, most importantly, got to skip the huge line! There were Greek and Roman statues, paintings and even tribal outfits! It was really cool but definitely nothing like the Louvre (even if I was only in the Louvre for 30 minutes). Not saying it was bad but I definitely had different tastes when it comes to museums. On the upside, once we were in the museum it was not as busy as the line had made it seem so we were actually able to see the displays instead of fighting out way through (ex. at the Louvre). Once we were done we were able to sit on the steps outside the MET and take in a bit of NYC culture. There was a musical group of soul singers who were performing at the foot of the steps as well as taxis honking in the background and of course vendors for hotdogs, pretzels, wraps and... cupcakes even!
From the MET we walked back into Central Park as we had to cross it in order to reach our next destination which was the American Museum of Natural History. Now this DEFINITELY has to be one of my favourite museums of all time since having visited it. We again go to skip an even larger line (as moments after we entered a downpour happened) and not pay for the ticket. This museum had everything! From dioramas of animals around the world to prehistoric hunters, to aztec ruins, to various rocks, to life-size dinosaurs replicas, etc. Obviously for me the most interesting parts were the meteorites & gems exhibit, the dinosaur exhibit and the skeletal remains of the anthropological find "Lucy". I even found a dinosaur that was found in Alberta!
After we were done at the museum, we thankfully missed any rain and decided to walk down towards the famous Dakota Apartments. It was here that John Lennon was shot outside his apartment. His wife Yoko Ono still lives here and outside the entrance there are guards as this is one of the most prized residential apartments to live in New York. Right across the street is Central Park. At first it doesn't seem to be a great place for a memorial . . .you can hear the buzz of NYC life outside with the taxis and pedestrians, the vendors and people who are trying to offer to take you around the park in their carriage . . . but once you step a foot inside Strawberry Fields you understand why. It is a very green, peaceful and serene area. There is the Imagine memorial that gets decorated each day with different flowers and petals. When we went in there was a crowd of people taking turns getting their photo taken. There was also a man there who was "enforcing" everyone to take a photo showing the peace sign as that is was John would have wanted, so as you can see in the photo, I am following orders. |
| Times Square area to the right of the photo |
After we had explore Central Park we took a cab back to the hotel where we would have a quick nap. After our nap we decided we were going to head to the Empire State Building to meet her parents. On the way there we also stopped at a famous bakery Magnolia Bakery and I bought a delicious red velvet cupcake. Once we got to the Empire State Building we went on a "ride" for free which was hilarious and also got a headphone set to hear information from different view points at the top. Again, this was all included in our NYCpass. The view was spectacular and offered an amazing view of all of New York City! You could even see the bright lights of Times Square (see both photos... The picture on the right is a clearer image of the buildings which I am posing in front of.) I would HIGHLY recommend going up the tower for any visitor to the city!Day 3: New York City
Today we all decided (Catherine, her parents and myself) to go to the United Nations Visitor Centre together. Now I have already visited the one in Geneva, Switzerland before so I already had an idea of what to expect and to be honest, I preferred the Swiss one better. This UN was not nearly as ornate and elaborate as the one in Switzerland although it did have an entire section dedicated to the UN's Millenium Goals which I really liked. It even had display kits of their "school in a box". It also had some cool artifacts such as the statue of Saint Agnes which was still standing in 1945 in Nagasaki, Japan.
From the UN we walked over to Grand Central Station. It is huge. Massive in fact. We stopped here to have lunch as the food court had a lot of selection, the only downside was that it was horribly wasteful in that there were NO recycling options. Even the trays you were served your food on were styrofoam so not only were you bound to throw out the pop bottle, plastic plate, plastic cutlery, napkins and excess food, but your tray was non-reusable either! None the less, the indian food I had was delicious. I was also hoping to be there during a flash mob but unfortunately I didn't get to see one :(From Grand Central me and Catherine decided to take a subway down to Canal Street, aka NY's main Chinatown street. It is in no way a comparison to the Chinatown of Toronto but it was WAY better than that of Ottawa or Montreal. There was also more of a focus on this street for purchasing items such as clothing, jewelry, handbags, perfume and luggage rather than food (such as on Spadina in Toronto). I picked up a couple of good deals including some I (heart) NY shirts. From Canal street we continued down toward the financial district. Here we saw the World Trade Centre Site and the famous St. Paul's Chapel that was still standing even though it's proximity to the original World Trade Centre towers.
We stopped at a small Italian eatery and had some soup and pizza before we headed toward the Pier to board out sunset cruise.We decided to go on this as it was a) included in our pass, b) we got to see a lot of highlights by boat, c) dusk was gorgeous!We first left the pier seeing the NYC skyline from a downtown / financial district perspective but you could still see the empire state building (see picture at right). We also got to see the place where the Titanic was supposed to dock had it not unfortunately sunk in the Atlantic (also in picture at right in the top left corner).
We continued a long until we came near the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We were told the history of both these places and circled here a bit as it was an obvious tourist photo for everyone to take. Someday I hope to return and I want to actually visit the Statue of Liberty and go up it.
On this boat cruise we also got to see some of the many bridges of New York such as the Brooklyn Bridge. Although I definitely think I should return here one day and walk over it.
The cruise was about an hour and a half and afterwards we decided to taxi back to our hotel as we were far downtown. Once we were back at the hotel we took a nap as we were exhausted. I eventually woke up close to midnight and decided to go see Times Square again one last time to pick up some last-minute souvenirs for my family. It was a quick walk to Times Square and it was buzzing as it was the other night. I also got the pleasure of seeing a barely clothed and not quite talented "naked cowgirl". After I had grabbed all my souvenirs I headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.Day 4: New York City - Montreal
Today was our last day here and we decided to quickly do one last museum in order to make our NYCpass worth it. We decided on the MoMa as it was the closest museum to us. We were there before it opened and we actually got a free gift from the giftshop as well just for showing our ticket for that day!Even though I am not much of a visual art person there were some really beautiful pieces inside the gallery. I was really happy that there were some Warhol pieces including the famous Elvis one. We only had a limited amount of time but we were able to do the entire museum!
After the museum we waited until Catherine's parents came to get us in the car and from here we would start on our trek home. For most of the drive I slept as I wanted to avoid any car headaches. I didn't seem to notice how long it took but then again I did not partake in any of the driving responsibilities.
It was an awesome trip that has made me want to return to NYC again!
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