When my friend Katja called me to tell me she will be visiting New York in November and would love to meet me there. I was like : "what a wonderful idea". I had not since Katja since January. We are good friends that met in London a few years back. Now I live in SF and she is in London. So NYC is an ideal meeting place, about half way between SF & London. I had not been to NYC since 2005, so I was keen to go back to see the Big Apple and catch up with my dear friend Kat.
Our common friend Phung was working for a few months in NYC so he offered to host us for a week in the heart of Manhattan. His flat had great views of the Chrysler Building. My friend Kat had never been to NYC before so it was fun to play tourist with her.
Even though I had been to NYC a couple of times, there are a few things things I had never done before and I will be concentrating on those.
The first thing was to go to the "Top of the Rock" for amazing views of NYC and Central Park. The top of the Rock is atop the Rockefeller Center. We were lucky that the weather was beautiful sunny and warm on that day.
The second thing was Brooklyn. I absolutely loved the beautiful Prospect Park, 225 hectares of woodland, meadows and ponds which make for a beautiful autumn walk. The park was peaceful and unmanicured .After strolling in the park, we stopped by the Prospect Park Cafe talked with total strangers while sipping a hot latte. Along the flatbush avenue we stopped at a small vintage shop where I bought a beautiful 60s red patent leather bag.
The third thing was crossing the Brooklyn bridge, from Brooklyn back to Manhattan. The 1883 neo gothic suspension bridge is just a wonder. Even though, the bridge was undergoing some reparation we had some wonderful views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty. A stroll across the bridge will usually take you between 20 and 40 minutes depending on how many stops you take for photos and taking it all in. We crossed at sunset and the colors were just amazing. Beware though: as tourists you have to make sure to stay in the pedestrians line (the right one) as many people commute to and from Brooklyn by bike and are not very patient with tourists taking pictures.
Another first for me was FAO Schwartz, home to the the Piano, in BIG, made famous by Tom Hanks. The legendary toy store on 5th avenue offers countless sweets, chocolate bars of all sizes, stuffed animals. The Dance-on-Piano, a giant musical keyboard mat, is on the second floor. Don't miss it!
Our common friend Phung was working for a few months in NYC so he offered to host us for a week in the heart of Manhattan. His flat had great views of the Chrysler Building. My friend Kat had never been to NYC before so it was fun to play tourist with her.
Even though I had been to NYC a couple of times, there are a few things things I had never done before and I will be concentrating on those.The first thing was to go to the "Top of the Rock" for amazing views of NYC and Central Park. The top of the Rock is atop the Rockefeller Center. We were lucky that the weather was beautiful sunny and warm on that day.
The second thing was Brooklyn. I absolutely loved the beautiful Prospect Park, 225 hectares of woodland, meadows and ponds which make for a beautiful autumn walk. The park was peaceful and unmanicured .After strolling in the park, we stopped by the Prospect Park Cafe talked with total strangers while sipping a hot latte. Along the flatbush avenue we stopped at a small vintage shop where I bought a beautiful 60s red patent leather bag.
The third thing was crossing the Brooklyn bridge, from Brooklyn back to Manhattan. The 1883 neo gothic suspension bridge is just a wonder. Even though, the bridge was undergoing some reparation we had some wonderful views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty. A stroll across the bridge will usually take you between 20 and 40 minutes depending on how many stops you take for photos and taking it all in. We crossed at sunset and the colors were just amazing. Beware though: as tourists you have to make sure to stay in the pedestrians line (the right one) as many people commute to and from Brooklyn by bike and are not very patient with tourists taking pictures.Another first for me was FAO Schwartz, home to the the Piano, in BIG, made famous by Tom Hanks. The legendary toy store on 5th avenue offers countless sweets, chocolate bars of all sizes, stuffed animals. The Dance-on-Piano, a giant musical keyboard mat, is on the second floor. Don't miss it!
