New York City can be confusing at times to visitors who have come several times including myself. But this last trip cleared up lots of cobwebs in my mind and clarified my understanding. Why? Well, we had to be able to take Yeye to explore NYC with minimal exertion as well explain to him where we had taken him.
NYC follows a grid line roughly. Avenues run north to south beginning with 1st Avenue on the East. Streets run roughly east to west with the bigger numbers up north beyond 200+ streets. Manhattan ( island of many hills in native American language) in NYC is divided roughly into downtown, mid town and uptown areas. Midtown is generally classified as from 3rd Avenue to 8th Avenue and from 34th Street to 59th Street. Let's hit the pavement!
We flew in to JFK airport from Dubai and was quickly couriered to Evens Hotel near 2nd Avenue and 42nd street. Evens Hotel is a strategic midtown hotel and if you walk all the way east to First Avenue, You see the United Nations Complex. Good start for navigation. We bought Big Bus Hop on Hop Off tours that came with 3 rides and a bonus cruise to Lady Liberty. We managed to do the day midtown and downtown tours with the cruise and a special night tour.
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Starting the Big Bus Tour departing from
stop No 17 - the United Nations Plaza. |
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| The only McDonald sign in Mandarin in NYC. |
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| Father and son at the 9/11 Memorial Park. |
We disembarked to see the 9/11 memorial park. Yeye reminded us he wanted to see the financial district and we backtracked to see the Charging Bull. Yeye asked for Wall Street and we backtracked again. We thought we had covered the necessary sites in the financial district but Yeye said "
No, there is a particular building the newscaster always stands in front of . Where is that building?." We had no idea but Yeye showed us that building - the Stock Exchange. Hmm - Yeye is a first time visitor to NYC but he is smarter than both of us combined. He definitely knows what sights he wants to see and reminds us to take him there.
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| Yeye with the Charging Bull. |
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Together with the defiant Fearless Girl
(who is a new face on the block.)
staring down the Charging Bull.
Girls won't be cowed! |
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Yeye strikes an interesting pose. Contrast his pose
with that of the statute behind him. |
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| We searched for the Stock Exchange Building |
We then took the subway to Chinatown where we enjoyed springy wanton noodles with roasted duck. Yummy! Yeye was so happy to eat his first Chinese meal here and to find a Chinese newspaper. He hadn't read a Chinese newspaper for days - a ritual he really missed on this trip. We also bought mini moon cakes for Ken Jon and Francesca.
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| Savoring every bit of the wanton noodles. |
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Red route is the downtown route. We boarded at 17 at United Nations Plaza
and picked up passengers at 1 where the downtown ,
midtown(purple) and uptown(blue) routes roughly merged. |
We walked to Battery Park (near 13) and boarded the cruise. We were so happy when the cruise arrived on Liberty Island, right next to the statute. We decided wisely not to disembark when we saw the crowds lining up to get on board the ship again. We had such lovely sunny weather with clear blue skies and I am truly grateful. The last trip in 2015, the photos of the Statute was so dismal because of the rain and grey clouds.
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| Lining up to get on our cruise ship Miss New York. |
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Yeye turns his head to capture as much
of the Statute of Liberty as he could |
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| We were surprised when the ship docked on Liberty Island |
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The crowds lined up in the hot sun to board the ship on
Liberty Island. We decided wisely not to disembark. |
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| Lovely flowers but they are not orchids |
We managed to return to our strategic hotel and caught some much needed rest before beginning our night tour.
New York by night. We started from the M&M near Times Square. We really painted the town red using the free Big Bus night tour.
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M&M at Times Square is the beginning point
for many tour routes |
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| Yeye amused by the police on horseback. |
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| Broadway on 53rd Street |
The night tour was a non stop route - non hop on and hop off. Seeing New York skyline by line is spectacular and beautiful and quite different from the noon view.
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| Chrysler signature roof top |
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| Empire State Building |
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The real and original Time Square is always
glittering with electronic advertisements. |
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| Little Italy merges into Chinatown. |
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| View of Lower Manhattan from the bus |
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NYC skyline by night
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When we next returned to NYC from Cleveland on the 10th October, we stayed at Rows Times Square,NYC hotel on 8th Avenue,44th Street. This hotel was even more strategic to explore NYC from. We saw the SIA captains and air stewardess stay here by the hordes. We had our favorite Chinese restaurant "The Dim Sum Palace "nearby on 46th Street. Do you know 3-5pm is happy hour dim sum and you get half price off? After our happy hour,we walked to Columbus Circle on 59th Street and entered Central Park. We exited on 5th Avenue near Peninsular Plaza and enjoyed the high fashion on 5th Avenue.
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The weather on the flight to NYC was really good.
From the plane window I could see the river glistening
like gold as the waters reflected the bright sunlight. |
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Yeye at the Columbus Circle.
This is the geographical center of NYC. |
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| Cyclists in Central Park |
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| Yeye on granite rock slab in Central Park |
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| Peninsular Plaza |
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| Sherman Memorial in background |
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| Trump Tower |
We returned to the hotel and left Yeye there to rest while Jason and me walked down to Macy to purchase our luggage bags. We clocked 25,606 steps today. Our smart phones are indispensable in accessing all these places and also in getting the discounts.NYC prices for branded luggage are WAY cheaper than Malaysia or Dubai. Most stores match online prices even though they may not have a sale.The next morning saw us in Madame Tussaud Wax Musuem on 42nd Street just east of 8th Avenue. Yeye was very happy there taking photos with many famous characters. From his requests for photo takes, I realize sports, political figure big on his list. I was surprised when he ask to be photographed with several beautiful famous ladies. Hmmm...Yeye is a very colourful character.
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This was without Yeye. It was also lower than the
2015 record in NYC of 29,000 steps. |
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| At Madame Tussaud. |
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| With Marilyn Monroe |
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| Imitating Charlie Chaplin |
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| Striking the same pose as Einstein |
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| Jason with Picasso and Hemingway |
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| For once I feel smaller size. |
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| Nelson Mandela |
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| Messi would be near to his favourite |
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With our famous Trump
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We had a nice Japanese lunch and proceeded to Grand Central Terminal. We tried out the whispering galley corridor and Yeye was astounded by the acoustic! I and him stood at diagonal arches about 40 feet away. He could hear my whispers on the pillar . Wonders of Physics. Apparently many romantic marriage proposals have been whispered through these diagonal arches. Sorry no video. We enjoyed Rockefeller Center and St Patrick Cathedral. Rockefeller Center has 19 buildings with a central Lower Plaza with the fountains and the skating rink.
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| Yeye at the Whispering Galley in Grand Central Terminal |
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| He's not looking at the camera. Something has caught Yeye's eye. |
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| Wefie at Rockefella Plaza Tower |
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| Autumn golden feel at the Lower Plaza |
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Yeye with the statute of Prometheus amidst the fountains
behind the skating rink. |
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| Huge pumpkins and mums are part of the fall decorations |
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| Yeye with St Patrick Cathedral in background |
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| Standing below Atlas bearing the world |
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The statute of Atlas bearing the weight of the
world on his shoulders opposite St Patrick. |
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| Mum amidst mums |
That night Eugene Tan took us out to a yummy dinner at the Ramen noodles restaurant. Yes, warm Asian food is always lovely! As usual, there were many Caucasians at the Asian restaurants as usual. After dinner, we had time to wander to Time Square again. In fact, I think we went to Time Square at least 7 times this season. My phone shows we walked 25,606 steps but Yeye skipped the journey to Macy.
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| The yummy buns before the ramen. Thank you Eugene! |
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| Times Square always have people dressed in interesting costumes. |
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Lining up (while sitting or standing) to get
cheaper tickets for Broadway is a way of life. |
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| Street art and all kinds of creativity abound in NYC streets. |
We left NYC in a luxury limousine chauffeured by a dapper suit clad driver. The driver was more smartly dressed than us. People watching is quite a fun activity on the streets of NYC.Staying so near the heart of NYC have made us a little bit more savvy about New York. I am no longer blurred as to where we went. I truly enjoy the learning that comes with bringing Yeye around this dynamic town.
