Welcome to Times Square James!
We stayed in a small room near Columbus Circle, about a 15 minute walk from Times Square, so it was a fantastic location to explore the City from. We had just missed a snowstorm so we were quite lucky weather wise, and Central Park in the snow was a great sight. No less busy though, especially at Strawberry Fields where a memorial to John Lennon is located. Its a nice little area full of tourists, and a lot with a very familiar accent.When you've been in America for a while hearing a Scouse accent is a bit of a surprise. British accents kept popping up throughout our trip- we were covering the tourist sites and ran into a lot of fellow Brits doing the same, so it was nice to hear some reminders of home. After Times Square and Central Park we had a look at Rockefeller Plaza which is great to see lit up at night. It was full of things to spot- the NBC studios, an ice rink, a Lego recreation of the area, and eventually finding the British flag among the many around the square. this was one of my favourite places in the city as despite being surrounded by skycrapers the condensed feeling it reminded me of London.
The rest of our nighttime tour through the City took us to Grand Central, an iconic train station, a view of the Chrysler building, a visit to Midtown Comics to get some geeky souvenirs, as well as a stop in the New York Public Library. To be honest I only wanted to have a look to see where all the things in The Day After Tomorrow happen, but it turned out to be really interesting. For some reason I didn't expect it to be a fully working library that you took books from and studied and so on but that's what it was, and a very impressive one too. There were also some small exhibitions about Children's literature and the history of AIDS in America which were very interesting. This was part of the great things about exploring a city without a plan, you discover great places you weren't necessarily looking for in the first place.
The next day we had our Statue of Liberty visit timed for midday, so we thought we would fit in a trip to the top of the Empire State Building in the morning. Unfortunately this was the one time the weather was not on our side as those few hours brought clouds, fog and rain and our views weren't exactly the best we could have got. Normally I don't mind the British weather but when you're sightseeing, its a bit disappointing. It was still good to have a look in the Empire State and admire the art deco design, and we saw a bit of New York from above, just a shame we couldn't have seen a bit further.
The weather hadn't improved much by the time we got on the ferry to Liberty Island, but that didn't spoil the sight of one of the most iconic American landmarks, the Statue of Liberty. It was surreal to see it up close after seeing it for years in TV shows, films, video games and comics, and was a fantastic image. And although our view from the Pedestal was again limited the museum area inside was fascinating, detailing the Statue's construction in Paris and its place in American culture. Although you can get the free Staten Island ferry to get a good view of it from the water, I'd recommend going to the Statue of Liberty itself because you appreciate the scale of it so much more. The ferry also included a stop at Ellis Island, where in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries immigrants on the East coast came through into the United States. It is an incredible history- the poem on the Statue proclaims "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", but the record of quotas and restrictions and hardship that these immigrants encountered is staggering. Much of Ellis Island is still closed off following Hurricane Sandy, but being at the site of this story was worth it. Typically, as soon as we got on the ferry to return to Manhattan the beautiful blue skies returned!
In the end we couldn't get any cheap tickets to see a show so we filled the rest of our day with food from the 1 dollar pizza slice place near Time Square (which sounds disgusting but was actually so good), resting our feet in the cinema (The Lego Movie is actually awesome) and a visit to Madame Tussauds. I'd been to the London one before and this was just as good, with obviously more of an emphasis on American figures. It was a fun way to spend a few hours taking embarrassingly posed photos, plus an opportunity to indulge my geeky side and see a mini Marvel 4-D film. You can keep your politicians, athletes and pop stars, the superheroes are always my favourite section. Afterwards we took the subway into Brooklyn so we could walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at night, which was the best part of the 3 days for me. The New York skyline lit up at night is an incredible view, although you'll have to take my word for it as my camera didn't capture how fantastic it looks at night. Still a brilliant experience.
Our last day was a bit more relaxed, as we took time to see the United Nations building, Wall Street and M&M World, all essential New York locations I think. We also stopped in the visitor center (American place, American spelling) in Times Square where you could leave a square of confetti with a wish or message on to be dropped during the New Years Eve celebrations. I had to add a sentimental contribution to it, so on the 31st December a piece of confetti will fall in Times Square, remembering my time at George Mason. I know, I'm getting nostalgic in advance!
The last major landmark we saw on our trip was the 9/11 Memorial. It was perfect weather for it, blue skies and cool, as we arrived to see where the World Trade Center had stood (and has been rebuilt, the new One World Trade Center is spectacular). It was a very strange atmosphere- it is a place of serenity and peacefulness, yet it recalls such a horrific event. Twin pool mark the footsteps of the Towers with huge waterfalls within, and every name of the nearly 3000 killed are inscribed around the edge. One very touching detail is a white rose placed upon the names of those remembered whose birthday it would have been. Being near D.C I've seen plenty of memorials but this one really resonated with me as I can remember the day itself. 8 years old, coming home from school to see it on 4 out of the five TV channels we had, the newspaper covers being one large image of the Towers fall, our deputy headteacher lighting a candle in school assembly. It is such a significant moment to people our age as it is one of the first world changing events we can remember- for some its the Blitz, others its Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, and many it would be the fall of the Berlin Wall. All of these things came to me on my visit, as I wondered how strange it must be for the children visiting here to whom this is all just history. If so, then this memorial is the perfect way for many to remember, and many more in years to come to learn.
It was a packed few days in New York and a great week overall. Thank you for visiting James, it has been great to see some of the U.S with you and I hope you had a great week.
A
No comments:
Post a Comment