Wow what an amazing place with so much going on. We had such a good time. It has obviously taken years to create this machine. There are 9 million people living in NYC and 27 million in the greater area of New York within 75 miles. Wow! Truly feels like it with all the tourists in Times Square.

New Jersey and a kiwi?
On our first afternoon here we rode our bikes down from the marina along the walkways of New Jersey to Liberty State Park to admire the views over to Manhattan Island and the sun glowing on the towers. Freedom Tower is just so huge standing at 1776ft significant because it was the year that America was founded.

We ended up at a bar on the river where we met a kiwi, Pete and Vito an Italian New Yorker. Turned out that they both had boats at our marina and had come in on Vito’s boat. After a very late night we all hit the Hudson River in Vito’s boat and found we were the only boat out there admiring the skyline of Manhattan. Amazing.
Highline and Greenwich Village
The walking/ food tour along the Highline and through into Greenwich Village was interesting. The Highline is a park built on a section of the elevated former NY Central railroad along the lower West side of Manhattan through arches that used to lead the trains to what used to be the old factories. The park has been so successful they are extending it. There are great views along and down to the streets and you can see the development over the years and change in architecture.

Greenwich has great little streets with interesting homes and restaurants around each corner. A very expensive and desirable area.

Washington Square

The food portions at the various stops were generous so we were full. Some of the places we went to:

Central Park
We rode our bikes to and around Central Park. The bike system is amazing in NY with bike paths and special lanes designated on roads. You mainly have to watch out for pedestrians who walk out in front of you, not traffic. Never thought we would ever ride in NY.

People hang out everywhere throughout the park. Great place to people watch.

Brooklyn

Our bikes once again got a work out as we rode our bikes down through Battery Park on Manhattan Island, passing close to the Freedom Tower. There were a group of kayaker’s out on the Hudson, off Battery Park, crazy. Ferry’s are flying around all over the place and the current can be crazy.

 

Over the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights by bike was a great decision given the crowds of people on the bridge. There is a separate bike lane so that was a bonus for us.

 

Great views at the top over to the Manhattan Bridge and along the East River. There are a lot of bridges in the New York area and they are huge! We will be passing under these bridges when we go to Long Island Sound on the boat. 

It was so nice and relaxing over in Brooklyn Heights with locals running about their normal lives.  The promenade in Brooklyn Heights has great views back to Lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan

It was a beautiful day to walk the sights in Lower Manhattan including the World Trade Centre site which was so different from my last visit 12 years ago. Busy!

Photos at the  reflecting pool in the footprint of the original twin towers. Above Metro being built in background.

Right base of Freedom tower.

There are sculptures all over New York. This red cube sculpture is on Broadway down near the Financial District.

The financial district reminded me of London, England’s bank district with all the suits and hype.

Found a great bar in the area called Fraunces Tavern which originates back to 1719. Lots of stories here from the past. This was also a great dark bar with a huge variety of craft beers to enjoy.

Midtown

We hit all the sights in midtown admiring the architecture and shear size of the buildings including; Madison Square, Flatiron, Empire State, Chrysler, Grand Central Station…..with every other tourist in NY I think.

The views from the Observation deck on the Empire State Bldg were almost worth the wait. So that’s where all these people live… Buildings go on forever.

Shows

When in New York you just have to go and see a show or two. We went to one on Broadway and one off Broadway. Kinky Boots, on Broadway was fabulous and a must see. Loved the whole show.

Shopping
What can I say…. Something for everyone. Crazy crowds out shopping!

Parking?  

It looked like parking was still cheaper than in Calgary.  Alternatively people take one of the many bikes for rent scattered throughout the city.  $99 per year and they are everywhere.  For the non-snow months these would be the way to get around.

Overall we had a blast in NYC.