Most of my plans were messed up yesterday. I drove from Saratoga Springs to Albany to check out the architecture at the New York State Capitol building. I had picked out my parking place ahead of time, but it’s very … Continue reading
Yesterday I drove from Lake Placid to Lake George, New York. It was lovely, I was pleasantly surprised! That’s what I love about travel, not knowing what to expect and when you arrive somewhere, finding beauty all around. My next … Continue reading
Yesterday morning on the way to the top of Whiteface Mountain, I stopped to take a few pics. If you haven’t noticed, I like reflections. There’s a fee of $25 per car to drive the 6 miles to the top … Continue reading
Yesterday I drove from Hartford, Vermont to the town of Lake Saranac. The drive through Vermont was exceptionally lovely! I took back roads and really love Vermont. After my deep dive research, I decided to drive an extra hour and … Continue reading
I left Cape May, New Jersey yesterday morning, heading to Mamaroneck, New York for one night. I stopped at Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers, New York. It’s a lovely hidden gem with free entry. My three week eastern seaboard road trip … Continue reading
My first stop this morning was Taughannock Falls State Park. It was an easy 1.5 mile, mostly flat hike. The waterfall has a 215-ft drop. Then I drove into Ithaca, and walked through the Cornell Botanic Gardens. It was small, … Continue reading
I left my hotel this morning and drove 40 minutes to Letchworth State Park, New York. Originally, I was going to do a 4-mile, 1000 ft elevation gain hike, but I ended up driving a mile of it. It’s a … Continue reading
My three-day exploration of New York City ended with a trip to the “Top of the Rock” aka 30 Rockefeller Plaza. If you remember Molly, she accompanied me and we waited in line to buy our $27 ticket to the top. I wanted to see the views before dusk and at sunset, so we timed it just right and were at the top for about 30 minutes.
This is my final shot before taking the elevator down 70 floors to the bottom. You can see the Empire State Building…
I highly recommend taking a guided bicycle tour of Central Park! There are lots of companies to choose from and I chose a company called Must See Central Park for a 2 hour $45 tour. The tour ended up taking 2 1/2 hours because the tour guide was very laid back. There were four others on the tour, not including the guide, which made it nice to be able to stop and take photographs a little more often. The guide informed us that there are 15 entrances to Central Park and it’s 1.5 miles long, with a 6 mile circumference.
A few other tid bits of info…the Park encompasses 6% of Manhattan; 38 million people visit the Park per year ( I wonder how they know?); there are 21 playgrounds; 24,000 trees; 9,000 benches; and the Park closes at 1am and reopens at 6am.
We saw the Conservatory Water Pond where you can rent a sailboat…
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge seems to be a touristy thing to do. I questioned a number of native New Yorker’s about the experience, and none of them had ever done it! I had read that walking from the Brooklyn side to Manhattan was the best way to appreciate it, so I took the subway from Brooklyn into Manhattan, transferred to a train back into Brooklyn to High Street, where you find the entrance to the Bridge. You can either use Google Maps and click on the train/subway emblem for the appropriate subways/times or go to the MTA site. It’s only a mile across and the views are absolutely breathtaking!
Central Park holds a certain mystique for those who have never taken a stroll along one of its many lovely paths. New York City was never on my list of “must visit” destinations, but I have to confess that I was pleasantly surprised. I felt the same way about Rome. Before visiting, I envisioned it to be somewhat dirty and more touristy than it was. Anyway, back to Central Park…after exploring the Rockefeller Center area on my second day in New York City, I had enough time and energy left before heading back to my Couchsurfing host’s home to walk 9 blocks uptown to see for myself what Central Park was like.
What’s not to love about views like this…
Rockefeller Center in the Spring is beautiful! My second day in New York City started with a view of the One World Trade Center, followed by a walk through Little Italy and Chinatown and then a quick subway ride to Rockefeller Center. I stopped a man in a business suit and asked him what there was to see in the area. He told me about this area behind the Center with beautiful tulips and fountains.
All of the information I’ve read about New York City or heard from others recommended taking a stroll through the areas known as Little Italy and Chinatown, so for my second day in the City, I included this in the itinerary! I had good weather Karma with me…the sky was blue and the temperature in the 60’s. If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember I started my day with a view of the almost completed One World Trade Center. You can read about it here.
When I first saw Little Italy, I thought it was very colorful and there were workers in front of their respective restaurants trying to tempt passerby’s with their menus.
Luckily, I turned around and saw this amazing street art on one of the buildings! Is it a miniature “Hulk”?
My second day in New York City began with a train ride from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the D line, exiting near City Hall, with a loose itinerary of walking to the One World Trade Center — Little Italy — Chinatown — then taking a train up to Rockefeller Center – St. Patrick’s Cathedral – Central Park.
This is what I saw on the way to the One World Trade Center. Flower pots overflowing with beautiful tulips and a small cafe…
Bryant Park which is located behind the New York City Public Library is my favorite urban park within New York City! Although it had started lightly raining while I was exploring the area a couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed taking a few photos of the area…
Sherry Lachelle Travels 