Getting around
Manhattan is a place where you can
see a lot on foot, and getting from
point A to B is an experience in itself.
For example, we decided to walk
from the Lower East Side back to
Times Square and we did it by going
from one lovely square to another:
Washington Square Park / Union
Square Park / Madison Square Park
(
next to the famed Flatiron Building)
/
Greeley Square (and from this point
Broadway became a pedestrian area
festooned with food sellers plying their
gorgeous bounty, from fresh smoothies
to falafels.) Then we zigzagged to the
east to get to Bryant Park – another
lovely, chic spot – before heading back
to our hotel.
But we didn’t wear out our shoes:
I also purchased online a three-day
New York Pass with bus voucher,
which was posted to Hong Kong
before our departure. With this pass
we were able to get free admission to
a wide variety of tourist places and,
while I have learned from past travels
that summertime is not the best time
to visit tourist spots if you don’t like
crowds, we do not regret doing them.
We did the NBC Studio Tour and
a visit to “Top of the Rock” – the
observation deck of the Rockefeller
Center, with its art deco splendour
and great views of the Empire State
Building and the Chrysler Building.
We also availed ourselves of
several double-decker open-topped bus
tours, which were very informative,
with different smart-alecky “New
Yawkers” as our entertaining and
knowledgeable guides. These bus tours
start near Times Square, in front of
the company’s offices located inside
Madame Tussauds. (Yes, we went
there too, but only because our New
York Passes gave us free admission.
The kids loved it!) Now my girls and
I are very familiar with every nook
and cranny of the island, from Harlem
in the north to Battery Park at the
southern tip.
On our own steam, we took the
Staten Island Ferry. I’d heard it was
free, and I knew it would give us a
chance to see New York from the
water. I didn’t know that everyone
was thinking the same thing as I was;
hordes of people get on that ferry,
every 15 minutes, to make the crossing
to Staten Island, exit the boat, then
head back through the turnstiles for
the next ferry back to Manhattan.
We also walked across the Brooklyn
Bridge (it took a good 25 minutes) then
made our way to the river’s edge (that’s
the East River – the Hudson River is
on the west side of Manhattan) and
caught a water taxi back to a pier near
Times Square, free of charge to New
York Pass-holders.
Famous places
One lovely morning was spent walking
through Central Park, just in time
for the start of a multiple-charity
running-race, the pack of runners
stretching for a good 20 minutes. We
visited the Metropolitan Museum
of Art and the Museum of Natural
History (of Ben Stiller movie fame)
which is quaintly anachronistic, but
still packed with interesting things to
see. Since Central Park is only about
a 15-minute walk from Times Square,
we walked back and had lunch at the
famed Carnegie Deli, across from
Carnegie Hall. I was able to indulge in
pirogues, a staple from my own East-
European homeland. I was also told
to try the cheesecake there. I am not a
cheesecake fan, but I thought if I ever
were to try New York cheesecake, the
Carnegie Deli would be the place to
do it. It was so rich and delicious that I
wanted to eat it all. I couldn’t, though,
not even with the help of one of my
daughters.
As it is with most people’s travels,
some places you say “been there,
done that”, and happily check off
your bucket list. Some places you
may wish you had not bothered with.
But there are some places that really
make you want to come back for
more. For us, Manhattan is just that.
We have a list of things we will do
next time: go to the 9/11 Memorial;
visit Brooklyn; take a ferry around
the island; visit the UN; see another
show; walk along the High Line (a
revitalised old train track, now an
above-ground park); and the list goes
on. We’re not worried that it will
never happen, because we know we
will get back there at some point, and
we’ll take Dad next time.
January 2013
41