HII
FIRSTLY I’M REAL SORRY FOR NOT POSTING ALREADY ABOUT THIS AND SECONDLY I AM SORRY FOR HARDLY POSTING AT ALL THIS TRIP.
Okay. I’ve wanted to go to NYC for a very very very long time. It’s just one of those places I always hear good things about and I had to go. So in roughly October, I booked flights for no reason whatsoever apart from “why not”.
Anyway so I really loved the city. I knew it was massive and crazy busy, but it wasn’t as busy as I was expecting; and I wasn’t overwhelmed by it at all. Obviously it’s a big city but I found it very nice. I also found that New Yorkers were quite nice and helpful when I required it – apparently they’re rude. I think that everyone is rude when you come to their city and don’t try to fit in whatsoever. If you do simple polite things like follow the walkways and stick to the right and you’re generally considerate it’s no issue. You have to be temporarily New Yorker. You have to attempt fit into how they live or you won’t get an authentic experience (hence “Temporarily Canadian”). New Yorkers don’t offer help if you’re lost on the street: they don’t care but if you ask politely, they’ll direct you to the subway/closest Starbucks.
Before I left, I knew there was a lot I had to see. I only had three full days. I had to organise it properly. First day: downtown Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. This included going super south to see the Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial and Museum (very very very confronting), across to Brooklyn and a quick walk around, Wall St, New York Stock Exchange.
I want to discuss the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I was hit hard by this. I’ve experienced dark tourism sites before; but nothing like this. I was very confronted and I got upset about it as well. It was one of the best memorials I have been to, if not the best. The way the event was portrayed, combined with the amount of information and research completed and the delivery were incredible. It was a museum of the event, but the memorial side was very strong too. The part that hit me the most was the room, very high ceilings and roughly 15 x 15m wide which had a small portrait of every person killed in the attacks. The entire walls were covered, and it hit hard. Over 3000 people. You can read news articles and watch news bulletins but you cannot prepare yourself for the many ways these victims were remembered. I’ll remember the feeling forever.
The second day was midtown Manhattan and a bit of uptown (I tore through the things I needed to do). I had bought a ticket ahead of time for the Top of the Rock. It was a clear day and I couldn’t believe my luck: awesome lookout over the city. I also went skating in Bryant Park, and went and saw some Gossip Girl filming locations including the Palace Hotel, Blair Waldorf’s Apartment and the Met Steps. We walked through Times Square and then through Herald Square and onto Chinatown for dinner, and back to the Top of the Rock for the night view of the city (still clear yay!!).
The third day I had scheduled to see Central Park and I woke up and it had snowed and the whole city was covered in snow!!! I could not believe my luck that it was clear the night before for the lookout over the city and to wake up to snow. I walked through Central Park for roughly 3 hours from north to the south – if it was direct it would have been 50ish blocks but I walked from the west to the east, down some, and back to the west and ended at Columbus Circle. Crazy stroll but super nice.
That afternoon I spent shopping, went to the Flatiron Building (which was hard to photograph in the light) and then we went out that night. Overall I enjoyed my experience and did a lot of different things (but I didn’t go to any museums or art galleries because I’m not that cultured).
Here are some pics!
Times Square at night
9/11 memorial
Wall St
Brooklyn Bridge
Grand Central
Top of the Rock looking north
Top of the Rock looking south
Met Steps
Flatiron Building
Skating in Bryant Park
Central Park
Top of the Rock at night
5th ave
COURTNEY'S TRAVELS 