Hi there! Here is another post about my past travels in the US. This article will be about my first travel there. This was in late June- early August of 2006. We arrived in New York City by travelling 16 hours non-stop by Cathay Pacific, and dealing with jet lag, I went around the city visiting the touristy places.
We only stayed in the city for two days or so, and then we traveled on into the countryside. So watch out for the other adventures as well. And if you're ever interested in applying for a US visa, you can read our article about that here.
New York City wears many crowns. It is known as an epicenter of the arts, dining and shopping capital, trendsetter and others. It spreads an irresistible feast for everyone. Since we were just going to be in the city for a couple of days, I crammed everything I could in those days and tried to see what I can see. Join me again as I take you to places in NYC.
This is in no particular order. But I had to go see Lady Liberty. Since I did not know where I was going, and I was too scared to try taking the subway cos I was told that it could be dangerous, I was always taking taxis during those days! Last time I went I was very comfortable taking the subway, even on my own.
I took a taxi to the Staten Island Ferry terminal, and mind you I was on my own, so I just mustered up courage and asked strangers to take pictures of me. If I was too shy to ask, I wouldn't have had any pictures.
This is way too funny. I asked a lady to take a picture of me with Lady Liberty in the background, then the wind blew and she got this picture. We both laughed and she offered to take another one.
Which was this one. Lady Liberty is a little bit farther already, but at least we still got her in the background. After getting to Stanten Island, I got back on the ferry back to Manhattan again as I did not want to get lost.
This is the one part of the Manhattan skyline taken from the ferry. The ferry operates from the St. George Ferry terminal on Staten Island and the Whitehall Terminal in lower Manhattan. The ferry is free, so you can go back and forth multiple times, ha ha.
The last time I went to New York in 2016, and you can read those articles here, I did not have to go visit as I have already been there. The visit to Ellis Island itself, where the statue is located, will be on another post as it was in a different visit.
I also took time to visit the Empire State Building, which is one of New York City's icons. I took this picture several blocks away.
When you get there, it is just another building, out of all the other buildings on 5th Avenue, but you know it's kinda important because you see the long line of people waiting to get in. I remember joining the long line, being patient until my turn came.
This is the lobby. It was still full of people of course, as the line was just moving forward for all of us to purchase our tickets to go up the observatory. The mural of the building is made of 23-karat gold and aluminum leaf.
I had to take a picture inside as well, so I bravely asked someone to take a picture. That's one downside of traveling alone, if you are too shy to ask other people to take pictures of you, then you don't have any pictures taken at all.
The observatory is on the 86th floor of the building, and it provides an unforgettable 360 degree views of New York City and beyond. There is another one on the 102th floor, but it costs more and smaller than the one on the 86th.
This is the view from the top. I tried taking pictures from all sides but of course I will try to remember from which sides are these pictures. Other buildings nearby looked very small from the top.
This is the view from the south side. From this side, you can see Manhattan's financial district. On a clear day, it is said that you can see the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Discovering the vast skyline at 1,050 feet above ground is truly astounding. The 86th floor observatory, with its popular 360-degree outdoor deck, also has indoor viewing galleries for guests to enjoy the view, day or night, rain or shine.
Here we see the East River separating Manhattan from the borough of Queens. New York City is divided into 5 boroughs, namely, the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The tower in the picture is that of the Chrysler building, another famous building in New York.
Attracting over 3.8 million visitors per year, and that's a lot of people, the observatory offers panoramic views up to 80 miles in every direction.
It could get very windy on top, so if you go during winter time, you should wear enough clothing for you to be able to enjoy the view long enough for you to take pictures and enjoy the view as much as you want.
The other observatory is on the 102th floor, and if you pay to go there, you don't have to be in the long lines, but the observatory on the 86th is better as it affords 360-degree view.
All in all, it was an experience I had to have on my first ever trip to the city, and one that I really enjoyed, so I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to visit this iconic place.
I think I took this picture outside the New York Public Library.
Another iconic thing to see in Central Park are the patrolmen on horses. The last time I went, there was a group of them traveling together. In this picture, it was just one, but cool just the same as the horses are huge!
This is the reservoir of Central Park. This is a running/walking area used by people and the reservoir is in the center of it. To see a more in depth article about Central Park, read the article here. Like I said, we were only in the city for a couple of days and we moved on to other places.
This is the New York Public Library. I also wrote a separate article about this, and you can read that here. I just took a picture of the front as I was just walking past.
This is the Pulitzer fountain, named after the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. This fountain is located on 5th Avenue and 59th Street, in front of the famous Plaza Hotel.
This is the Hell Gate bridge you see. Hell gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands. Hence the name was named for the strait. Not sure why it's called Hell Gate though. Kinda spooky, ha ha.
While there I also wanted to see Ground Zero, a few years after the terrorist attacks. The taxi driver told me there was nothing to see, only a cross. I said I wanted to see it anyhow. And indeed, there was just a cross made from one of the metal beams found in the wreckage. To see how it looks like now, you can check my article here.
It was actually kind of surreal standing there for a few minutes, just trying to take the sight in, as I remember seeing the smoke and the building collapsing on TV a few years back.
That's why I wanted to see it. I knew from news articles that there was only a cross, but I knew it would be an experience to be able to see it for myself, and I'm glad I did, because now it has been completely transformed.
So, this wraps up my two day New York City stint, and from there we moved to a rented cottage in Bristol, New Hampshire, for a week.
I'll just include some of the pictures that I found as there were not a lot. The cabin that we rented was located near a lake, so there were days when we went swimming.
The lake was huge, and there are small boats moored- for fishing and for going to other towns where its possible to dock, and there would be restaurants that sell clam chowder, which I have come to love.
It was quiet and peaceful, as only people with cabins go to this place, and I enjoyed walking in the area. No malls, no heavy traffic, just the lakes and the boats, and the occasional cars that passed by. Idyllic.
This was the view from the kitchen window, and I took this picture just as it was almost sunset.
Watch out for the next installment and for more travel articles, please go to this page.
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