I'm staring off this blog with the fervent hope that the whole world is rid of the Corona Virus very soon and all of us can go about our life! And a special dose of good wishes to New York the subject of this blog!
New York City is hyped as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, influencing global commerce, entertainment, tourism, art, fashion, and sports etc.
Wall Street Bull here...
Yep, don't forget to touch its balls for luck!!
Like all great cities it requires a week to do NY a little justice. We had just a weekend [March 27-31. 2014] but crammed a lot in 3 days, had an enjoyable time.
Here are a few highlights, starting with the art scene... Annual Flower show at Macy's with the theme of Secret Garden... mannequin dressed fully in flowers...
The incomparable MET with its Faberge treasures made of gold, studded with gems
European porcelain...
original furnishings from European palaces ...
Gold ring from 400-380 BC, Greek, naked dancing girl hammered out of solid gold
The famous Central Park
Brooklyn bridge here... from where we enjoy the skyline
The Art Deco style of the Chrysler Building (1930) and Empire State Building (1931), with their tapered tops and steel spires, represent the beauty of the unique NY architecture..
Street art...
WHEN TO GO:
60 million plus tourists visit NY very
year, 12 million of them international tourists. Along with the tourists, the residents add to the congestion. [With 23 million in its combined
statistical area, NY is one of the world's most populous megacities.] So we can always expect crowds but there is a little wiggle room to experience less crowds by strategically choosing the time of our visit.
June-Aug:
Sep-Nov:
Sep-Nov is a great time to visit NY. In
the early fall the average high temperatures hover in the 60s and
70s. November may have sweet hotel deals. But steer clear of
visiting around Thanksgiving, when visitors flood NYC for the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Dec-Feb:
Dec-Feb is winter. Holiday season sees
sky high prices. If you can brave temperature in 20s, 30s, late Jan,
Feb is low season and offer price advantage
March-May:
Spring ushers in warmer weather –
high average temperatures range from the upper 40s in March to the
upper 60s in May. This is another beautiful time in New York, but
Showers are common.
As said above we visited from Mar 27-31. GREAT CHOICE!
WHAT TO SEE?
The Statue of Liberty on Liberty
Island in New York Harbor is a symbol of the United
States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity
Major tourist destinations include Times Square; Broadway theater productions; the Empire State Building; the Statue of Liberty; Ellis Island; the United Nations Headquarters;
Museums such as
the Metropolitan Museum of Art;
greenspaces such as Central Park and Washington Square Park;
Rockefeller Center; the Manhattan Chinatown;
luxury shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues;
events such as the Halloween Parade in Greenwich
Village; the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; the lighting of
the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree; the St. Patrick's
Day parade; seasonal activities such as ice skating in Central Park
in the wintertime; the Tribeca Film Festival; and free
performances in Central Park at Summerstage.
Major attractions
in the boroughs outside Manhattan include Flushing
Meadows-Corona Park and the Unisphere in Queens;
the Bronx Zoo; Coney Island, Brooklyn; and the New
York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. The New York Wheel, a
630-foot ferris wheel, was under construction at the northern
shore of Staten Island in 2015,overlooking the Statue of Liberty, New
York Harbor, and the Lower Manhattan skyline
Pinned our sights on google map as usual, you can zoom in and read the info on each bubble:
LOGISTICS:
New
York City is serviced by three major airports:
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- Newark International Airport (EWR)
is probably the “best” airport in New
York City.
JFK has the most flights and time options, both domestic and international.
It’s connected to the subway (via the A, E lines and AirTrain). The A and E trains (that’s the blue line) both service JFK to/from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, but we have to connect to the AirTrain to go the final mile. Transfer to the AirTrain at Howard Beach Station (A train) or Jamaica Station (E train). Subway + AirTrain = $7.75: That’s $2.75 for the subway ride and $5 for the AirTrain
- Taxi = $60: If you land late at night and luck out with construction and traffic it can be closer to $40 (depending on your destination). But traffic can make it $70 in a heartbeat.
Newark is notoriously difficult to get
to using the subway and NJ Transit, and a taxi routinely costs
$70-100. It has to do with the fare to get into the city ($15+) and
traffic on the bridges and tunnels.
The next map shows NY's 5 boroughs and
the attractions map shows how wide spread they are.
Tip is to avoid
staying in New Jersey. Manhattan will give the best flavor but is of
course eyewatering expensive. We decided to stay at Queens at a hotel
100 m walk from a subway station. We were fine!
Day 0, March 27, 2014, Thursday,
We boarded the flight at 8 PM, flew non
stop from Houston. Landed at LGA La Guardia airport at 11.20. Took a
cab, Reached Hotel Vetiver, Long island city, Queens. at midnight.
Airport, to Hotel Vetiver distance a
mere 4.5 miles; taxi $20.
Comfy beds, spacious room. The hotel is 100 m walk
from subway station 39th av. after Queensboro Plaza, N/Q/R train reaches Lex
av on 59th st Manhattan the 2nd stop from the hotel. So very easily accessible to Manhattan
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