My Big Bite of the Big Apple

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This is the longest post I have ever written simply because I have seen so much of New York on my first day here! My uncle and cousins enthusiastically showed me around although I know they have been to and they have seen these places many, many times before. Thank you so, so much!

Despite its length, I hope you enjoy reading this because I wish to share with you my wonderful visit to the Big Apple!

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Landing in a NY Suburb

Two hours in a public train from my apartment to the airport; one hour's flight from Chicago to Baltimore; another hour's flight from Baltimore to New York; and yet another hour of delay in between... I finally landed in a small airport in Long Island. Ofcourse, there are far better alternatives to getting to New York. There's JFK and La Guardia, but let's just not get into that. (Ok, ok, I took Southwest and I am trying to earn miles!)

Anyway, It's called the Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, a small town in the middle of Long Island. It did not take me too long to get out of it and meet my uncle and cousin, Sheila. 10pm. As we drove out of the airport, I noticed that the way was not as glaringly-bright as what I see in the movies. Thick lines of trees hovered along the road as we passed by. I asked myself, where are the yellow cabs? Where are the skyscrapers? I must have taken leave of my senses in this afternoon's long travel escapades that I forgot Islip is not Manhattan.

My uncle, and cousin welcomes me to their hometown, Manhasset. It was a quiet and beautiful town. Sheila showed me around in their house and I must say, it was quite a pleasant challenge to get myself comfortable in a big house.

It's the widest skyline I have ever seen!!!

Early this morning, we left Manhasset and we drove east, towards yet another island -- the Manhattan Island. In that half hour, I felt the smooth transition from suburban-y to busy itsy-glitzy city. The reality of my being in New York sank into me when I saw that unbelievably long stretch of buildings and skyscrapers. Chicago's skyline is not even close to a quarter of the Manhattan Skyline that welcomes with wide open arms. My desire to capture the moment in film went down the drain. My point-and-shoot camera is totally incapable to capture that scenery. No offense meant, Ixy.

We drove under a very long underground tunnel. It took us 3 minutes to get through it! It's called the The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, my cousin Joy says. My uncle added that we were actually driving under the East River which separates Manhattan from Long Island. As we sprung out of the dark tunnel, we got stuck in traffic. My NewYorker relatives could have felt annoyed by it (well, maybe not), but not me. I was amused by it. Finding myself stuck in traffic amidst too many apartment buildings, too many building apartments, restaurants, and shops made me feel all the more ecstatic. I am in New York, New York!!! Woohoo!

Starting at Park Avenue

My uncle knows Manhattan like the back of his hand. We started at the Park Avenue which goes around the Grand Central Station. At first, I did not know what it was but, it looked familiar especially the status that adorn a big round clock at the top middle of its roof. I must have seen some movies shot in front of it. It was huge, and I had the hunch that it could be the oldest and largest train station in the US, or maybe in the world. Wikipedia tells me I was right on one aspect: It is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms.

Cruising along with us are the yellow cabs. They were like yellow bees swarming the streets of New York. There were also a few tourist-filled double-decked buses. We passed by The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel that had its name written in gold. It looked luxurious from the outside. It had gold and silver Christmas wreathes.

Central Park

I have always said to myself that if I get the chance to visit New York, I should make it a point to walk at the Central Park, or at least, drive around it. I vividly remember a poster I saw many years ago with an aerial view of Central Park. It was all green and vibrant amidst an also thick mass of gray buildings -- Mother Nature and man made structures in harmony.

So when my uncle said we were already driving along one side of Central Park, I thought I would be seeing the greenery I remember from that poster. But it was Winter. Ofcourse, trees have shed their leaves months before. Anyhow, there were many things going on in the area; and these made up for the missing vibrancy of the trees. There were well-dressed horses pulling carriages. Birds pepper the sculptures and waterless fountains. There were souvenir shops and small food stalls that sell gingerbread and hot apple cider to beat the cold. Everyone in the area was busy doing something. There were even moving statues, men who painted themselves green to look like the Statue of Liberty. At one corner was the Trump International Hotel and Tower with its famous steel globe. But the most interesting for me were the pedicabs. Reminds me of home!

After we picked up another cousin, Amy, we drove around the park. We passed by the American Museum of Natural History which looks pretty busy with a police emergency truck in front of it, along with the dinosaur-shaped shrubs at its entrance. Amy pointed to me The Dakota, the home of the former The Beatles member, John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono.

Lincoln Center (World's Largest Cultural Complex)

At the triad of buildings called the Lincoln Center, we finally stepped out of the car to look around. There must be a play that was about to start because we saw people dressed in dark velvet costumes. They were showing The Nutcracker. There was a Christmas tree where my cousins and I posed in front of. We went inside the Metropolitan Opera House which was the one in the middle of the two other buildings. It has a dramatic staircase with deep red carpet. We went inside the souvenir shop and I stared at a luxurious display of opera glasses with matching elbow-length gloves.

Time Warner Center and the Columbus Circle

South west of Central Park is the Time Warner Center. Is the first mall and business center I got in, here in New York City. From inside, is a very nice view of the Columbus Circle which was built in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the Americas. As we stood outside of the building, I see the big sign of CNN with the current time and temperature.

Glamorous 5th Avenue

I have been seeing a lot of landmarks in the Midtown Manhattan, mostly historical. But I have yet to see another side of New York -- the 5th Avenue, which is lined with extravagantly large and colorful billboards with photos of skinny models and expensive purses, shoes, and clothes. I can feel the flutter of cash flowing through this street.

The walkable part of the street was densely packed with shoppers, locals and tourists. I am glad we joined in! On our right was St. Thomas Church. St. Patrick's Cathedral was on the left. The street was so crowded that pedestrians had to be controlled by traffic aids pulling a yellow tape between them to keep people from crossing unexpectedly. Like kindergartens!

Rockefeller Center

A statue of the Atlas was the first thing that made me realize that we were heading to the Rockefeller Center. A few feet more and we were squeezing ourselves into a crowd of people who want their pictures taken with the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and angels with trumpets. There were a few more sculptures of women riding fish in the area. And I saw one more that I mistook for a mermaid.

It was drizzling but we managed to pose for the camera and have photos taken with the sunken plaza which has the familiar gold sculpture with ice skating rink. I say familiar because, this view is a common background for some news channel I must have seen on TV. My cousins pointed out it was smaller than it used to look on TV. This is where they shoot The Today Show. There are long spanning LCDs around the arena. There are so many flags that line the area. I have never seen that many flags in a cramped, crowded place. What I have seen were not all American flags, though. I was thinking if they have a flag for each of the 50 states but no, the flags were either red or green. Hmm... were those Christmas flags?

Behind the golden sculpture in the sunken plaza (which, according to Wikipedia, is Prometheus), is a huge Christmas tree. Picking the tree was apparently a big deal. I once watched on TV that they have a special selection committee that roams around the US to pick the tree to use for the Rockefeller Center each year. Due to my 'selective short term memory loss', I can hardly recall where they got this year's tree from.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

St. Patrick's Cathedral, as expected, was very crowded. I felt like going to Baclaran Church! People came pouring with varied intentions. Some simply take pictures. Some knelt down in prayer. Yet some, like me, examined the details of its interior, walking around in silence. I decided to light a candle to leave my mark in this grand church. I whispered a short prayer and then moved on. There was a pipe organ and the Nativity, which reminded me of Christmas back home.

Saks Fifth Store

There are two reasons why this store stands out. First, it is the distinct building with huge decorative snowflakes. Second, it has mechanically moving Christmas decors in their windows. It was difficult to look from a distance because of the many people who were standing by it, so we decided to fall in line too. The kids love the fancy snowmen dressed as the Statue of Liberty or those dressed as witches.

I thought the snowman dressed as a witch was unexpected, especially during the Christmas season. But a pedicab on 5th Ave was something I did not expect either!

Across the street is a Friday's restaurant that did not look as new and funky as I used to see anywhere I have been to. Could that be the first branch of Friday's?

We also walked inside the American Girl store. I never knew about these dolls that can be dressed and customized so they look like their owners. Little did I know that they are very popular here. They even had dolls on display with crutches or on a wheel chair.

My cousins and I got in the car. My uncle must have been driving around for so long, in all the traffic. Then we passed by the Philippine Embassy and the Empire State Building, which was under renovation.

DOWNTOWN Manhattan

We breezed through 5th Ave going south and reached Washington Square Arch at the foot of the road. The arch looked like a replica of Paris' Arc de Triumphe. A stone's throw away from it are buildings of the New York University, where Amy graduated from. (Trivia: The Polio vaccine was discovered by an NYU Medical Student in the 1950s.)

We had dinner at an Indian restaurant close to that area. Then we walked around and got myself immersed to yet another side of New York. There were more free form casual art displays in the street -- graffiti. The buildings were smaller and less "commercial-looking". There's something about this place that makes me slow down a little. Maybe because it's where most students form NYU hang out so it's more relaxed walking around here. The roads are smaller and the shops are more eclectic. I noticed a drawing of a small robot in the middle of the street. Free art! There was also a shopping store that had "Station A" etched on its facade and it looked like an old fire station. Ladies and gents, I am officially starting to like this place.

Welcome to SoHo. SoHo what?

My cousins explained to me that we were walking at SoHo or South Houston. (Houston is pronounced as "hauston", not like the Houston in Texas.) They say it's yet another high-class shopping district. We went inside a furniture and art store along Wooster Street and I found exceedingly expensive furniture. They sell sculptured metal tables for $10,000. They had hand-painted plates I would never eat on because each costs more than my rent! What piqued our interest though were the metal sculptures that depicted landmarks of American History. I think we did not bother to look at the price tag this time.

It began to drizzle when we headed back to the car. We took the West Side Highway, passed by Chelsea, which I hear a lot from Rachel Ray of the FoodNetwork. My cousin says it's also called the Meatpacking District. That makes sense why I always hear that at the FoodNetwork.

We also passed by the Holland Tunnel, and they say New Jersey is on our right side. My uncle suggests we go out of the car to see the Status of Liberty from afar through the Battery Park (a reclaimed area). The wind was so strong our umbrellas flipped the wrong way. It was very dark yet we managed to see a faint flicker of light the size of my thumb. We weren't sure if it was Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty. I look forward to going there very, very soon.

New York Stock Exchange, and the search for 'The Bull'

Earlier today, my uncle asked if there's anything in particular I would like to see. I said I wish to see the Charging Bull and the New York Stock Exchange or the NYSE, the largest stock exchange in the world. He must have been tired driving around NY all day to show me around, but he still managed to take me to the Financial District. The streets were much narrower, some were even made of cobblestones. My uncle says these streets were made for walking and for traders in horses. We parked by a "Trader's Deli" since Broad Street was closed. It is the road to the NYSE and I suppose it had been closed for cars for quite a while. Security must have been very strict since, err, the 9/11 tragedy?

Ofcourse, the NYSE was closed. There was a big sign across the street that barred cars to get in. The NYSE had Christmas lights that formed the American flag. It was a big spread, encompassing all of its front pillars, that it lit the street together with a tall Christmas Tree erected in front of it.

Next stop, the Charging Bull. While driving around, my uncle and cousins had a little debate about where to find it. One said it's supposed to be in front of the NYSE. Another said it got transferred somewhere long long time ago. I realize I should have taken the time to do my research. We stopped to ask for directions. It took us a few tries but we found ourselves in front of the the Trinity Church instead! I knew about it through the movie, National Treasure. Cruising the same road, still unsure about the Bull's location, we accidentally ran into it! Yey! It was right in the middle of the street! Too bad, it was already raining hard! No pictures for now. Some other day then. Atleast, now I know it's in the same road as the Trinity Church.

Ground Zero, formerly the World Trade Center

At the formerly known World Trade Center, was a deep hole surrounded by dirt, steel fences, and construction vehicles. We had to walk around its two corners to see through the wire. They were digging. It was very bright. They had pictures of what they envision to build in this site. Who would have known such a powerful nation would be attacked in such unthinkable way? The emptiness of this place, however, would never measure up to the mournfulness of families who lost their loved ones.

We drove out of the area and a few minutes later, my uncle stopped to show me a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge parallel to each other (atleast from my perspective) and over the East River . They are both suspension bridges built more than a hundred years ago (Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883); and I guess these were very important bridges that allowed trade and industry to flourish in New York in those times. Brooklyn Bridge was the world's first steel suspension bridge.


In 1884, a circus owner demonstrated the safety of the Brooklyn Bridge by parading across it with 21 elephants! It was also in East River where the popular escape artist H. Houdini did his incredible stunt in 1912.

Truly, this city never sleeps. Welcome to Times Square!

I almost thought we were done for the day because we have practically seen a lot of New York's landmarks. I am overwhelmed by how much I have seen and learned about this city in one day. We passed by Broadway; and then my uncle warned me to be careful with my purse. I should keep it closed and under my arm because my and cousins and I will be walking the streets at Times Square. Wait! Did he say Times Square? Yehey!!!

A huge mass of humanity choked the streets of Times Square. I couldn't believe there were that much people considering that there were no particular events that night, and it's still days before the New Year's Eve Countdown -- yeah, the one shown on TV every year! We started walking from 42nd Street where we met my other cousin. It was fun roaming the streets with my three cousins!

It was unbelievably bright! The flashing screens and LCDs practically lit the streets! There were puddles of stagnant water, garbage in a few corners, very much like what a city would have in its busiest and most crowded area. It somehow reminded me of walking along Quiapo, back home. I got reminded of my uncle's warning, yet I said to myself, "Ako pa! Taga-Pinas ako!".

There were people in Charmin' t-shirts hollering that we could use their restrooms for free. They were encouraging and festive -- quite weird actually. It was a smart marketing scheme after all, so we all tried it. We took the escalator and had to fall in line for our turn. A guy in megaphone, and a few others were entertaining us, along with the TV screens and Christmas decors in that floor.

After relieving ourselves, we continued on. I remain mesmerized by the lights, the cabs, the mess, the wonderful chaos Times Square was teeming with. I enjoy watching the countless signs of NASDAQ, Reuters, Virgin Cafe, M and M, Hershey's, some movie teasers and gigantic Broadway posters. I think a good field trip for kids starting to learn to how to read, is to go here one night and spend the whole night identifying letters and words! I bet one night is not enough... Tee hee!

Along the 48th Street, we went inside the chocolate stores and bought some that I could take with me to Chicago. Then we walked back going to 42nd Street where there were a lot less crowd to deal with. We passed by the Hilton Hotel with "round little men". We passed by the The New York Times too!

We met my uncle and he handed me a handful of Broadway leaflets, booklets, etc. I came to realize I was wrong in thinking that I have seen it all. I have got to go back someday.

We got inside the car and drove along some freeway, I guess, or maybe not. But they showed me a view of the Empire State Building this time with green, red and white lights at the top. Then my cousins and I walked into Bryant Park which also had a skating rink. The ice had melted but the bright lights were still on. I tried to recall what movies might have been shot in here. But, as I said, I have bad memory, so I stopped right there. At the park was the New York Public Library. We took pictures as we posed under a Christmas Tree.

What's In My Head Right Now

We had a long day of sightseeing. For me, it was a day full of learning and getting a basic understanding, actually, a basic overview of what New York is about. Before this trip, friends who have been to New York say varied things about the city. Most of them say it's dirty, polluted, and too crowded. They were right, actually. But I would like to stress that they were also wrong. To me, New York is a multi-faceted city. What they could have seen is just one part of New York. But there's more about the city than Time Square and 5th Avenue. It has the peaceful Central Park and SoHo, to name a few!

I wish I could see New York (atleast in a movie) in the 1800s and maybe I could pinpoint which structures (bridges and buildings) have existed for that long. So much history of the US could have been affected by New York during those times.

As a state, I think New York is also ideal for beginning families. I have seen the suburb of Manhasset and it is not only picturesque with its beautiful houses but also, convenient in terms of location. They have a lot of train systems that trickle out into the suburbs. This, is very impressive, atleast for me.

Back to Midtown Manhattan

My uncle and cousins went home to Manhasset. Another cousin and I spent the night in their condo in Midtown Manhattan. We had dinner at a Latin or Mexican restaurant where I had my first taste of Chicken Mole and Mojito. Yum!

What's to see tomorrow? Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.

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Photos

New York Cab
Which I, fortunately, did not have to take

3 minutes through the Battery Tunnel
Like in the movies!

Grand Central Station
One of the oldest and largest train stations in the US

Opera-tic!
Inside the Metropolitan Opera House's souvenir shop

A view of the Columbus Circle from inside the Time Warner Center
It had pretty Christmas lanterns that change colors from blue to yellow to red.

Rockefeller Center
Angels and the year-long anticipated Christmas Tree

Rockefeller Center
This is its most photographed spot

An interesting Witch snowman
Window display @Saks Fifth Store along 5th Ave

The Philippine Embassy
Next to the Empire State Building, which is under renovation

Washington Square Arch
... and a Christmas Tree. Built around it are NYU buildings.

At the SoHo
Notice the cobbled street

Is it art?
I saw this in the middle of one of the streets of SoHo

My must-see NY Stock Exchange!
Cars not allowed

Times Square
Its intense lights and signs makes me feel that truly, this city never sleeps!

Bryant Park Skating Rink
And a view of the Empire State Building

Need I say more?
America's first police force (1693)