Walking around Manhattan

So I arrived in New York safe and sound – a bit later than expected due to the gridlock on the highway but really, like I was in a hurry. Found the hotel I was staying at, the Chelsea Star on 30th & 8th (which I can recommend if you’re looking for somewhere cheap and central in NYC, by the way – around $100 USD or less a night for a room with a shared bathroom. Clean, bug free and walking distance to everywhere. Oh, and free wireless for when your laptop isn’t broken. Hard to argue really, when anywhere else is twice the price or more).

As usual I figured that walking was the best way to see the city, so wandered the 30 blocks or so up to Central Park and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening there, following a walking tour that was printed in the good ol’ Lonely Planet. I’d seen a little of this 840 acre behemoth last time I was in NYC, but saw a lot more of it this time round. It really is an awesome place to have in the middle of Manhattan, and well worth taking a few hours to check out if you’re there. I think I saw most of the major attractions in the park except for Strawberry Fields – I was on my way there when the apocalypse hit.

Or so it seemed. Seriously, the sky went dark, the wind started howling, rain, thunder, lightening – the works. I was just listening out for the hoofbeats. Of course, being the rocket scientist I am, my umbrella was safely keeping the inside of my pack dry in my hotel room. Good place for it, as I’m sure you’ll agree. I went from dry to drowned rat in the space of a minute and after a few blocks of playing in the puddles, decided to take the subway back to the hotel. Sadly I couldn’t spot any liferafts sailing past down Park Avenue, coz I’m sure that would have been an easier option.

Clean and dry again, I headed back out (the apocalypse was on hold by this stage) on a mission to find the best, most amazing, fantastic bar in all of New York City. I made it as far as across the street, to the world renowned Molly Wee pub. No, obviously I’d never heard of it either but it had all the essentials – Guinness, good bar meals, friendly locals and a great Irish barman that kept the beers coming. Dermot, I think his name was. So that was a good way to pass the evening…

Next day dawned bright and sunny, so after the obligatory breakfast bagel (hey, I’m in New York after all) I took the subway to Lower Manhattan and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to follow another walking tour around (strangely enough) Brooklyn. I’d gone as far as Grimaldi’s pizza last time I was here (renowned as the best pizza in NYC, just over the bridge), but this time I got to check out a decent chunk of Brooklyn Heights and Downtown as well. So that was cool. Some great old brownstone houses, good coffee and second-hand book stores. and awesome views of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhatten. Oh, and the NYC transit museum, which was interesting without being life changing. And here was me thinking it would be.

Back across the bridge to the World Trade Centre site – I was staying near here last time I was in New York, so was interested to see how much it had changed in the last couple of years. It definately has, but there’s still a long way to go – the excavation/reconstruction still isn’t really above ground level yet. Just in case I hadn’t done quite enough walking, I strolled back along the Hudson River all the way to 30th St & then back to the hotel – a pretty decent hike but it was such a lovely day and the views (both geographical and female…) were just too good to pass up. A quick shower then back down to the water to check out some free jazz on one of the piers – nice location but it wasn’t really to my taste so I adjourned to a nearby microbrew bar for a sundowner. Which was to my taste. Who would have thought?

Back to the Molly Wee (where else) for dinner, more beers and watching the Boston Celtics destroy LA in the NBA final – particularly handy, as it turned out, a couple of days later. I found myself sitting beside probably the only LA supporter in the bar, so she wasn’t having much fun but oh well. As I explained, she should try moving to New Zealand – we’re well used to supporting sports teams that promise a lot and deliver so little, so it’s pretty hard to get upset when they choke at the vital moment…