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Published: October 29th 2013
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October 28, 2013
We wake up to another beautiful day in NYC. The sun is shining in a cloudless blue sky and once again we can’t believe just how lucky we’ve been on this trip. Especially since back in the UK at the moment everyone has been bracing themselves for the biggest storm in 20 years!
We split into pairs for the morning. Steve and Sam go west to the US Aircraft Carrier, Intrepid, now home to the Sea, Air and Space Museum down on the waterfront.
Matthew and I head down Broadway and visit a few more shops (purchasing one blue M&M plush toy as you do) as well as having lunch in the Hard Rock Café in Times Square. Something Matthew has been dying to do for a long time!
We meet Steve and Sam who very much enjoyed the Intrepid and we go off in search of the High Line.
The High Line is a 1 mile linear park built on a 1.45 mile section of the elevated former New York Central Railroad called the West Side Line which runs along the lower west side of Manhattan. It’s now an aerial
greenway, planted up and offering a little oasis in the otherwise concrete jungle of this part of Manhattan. Inspiration came from a similar project in Paris.
Back in 1847 railroad tracks were built which ran down Manhattan’s West Side at street-level. But despite horse riders waving flags in front of the trains for safety reasons there were so many accidents between freight trains and other traffic that 10
th Avenue was nicknamed “Death Avenue”. So after years of debates and a great deal of money, in 1929, the city built the High Line, a 13 mile project eliminating the need for the 105 street level railroad crossings.
The High Line opened to trains in 1934. It was designed to go through the centre of blocks, allowing trains to roll right inside the factories and warehouses to pick up and unload without interrupting the flow of traffic on the streets.
With interstate trucking taking over in the 1950’s the southernmost section of the line was demolished and finally the whole line fell into disuse.
Arguments for and against demolition of the entire line took place over more recent years until finally in 2009 and 2011 the southern and
The High Line
Manhattan, NYC northern sections were re-opened as city parks.
History lesson over, the line offers an interesting alternative to walking along the sidewalks at street level and is a lovely attractive garden oasis, which apparently is encouraging a lot more residential development to shoot up alongside.
It’s a long old walk back up to our hotel but we stop off at a café and frequent the many shops along the way to add variety to the trip.
We watch a man picking up after his dog (and more besides, which I shall save the reader from in case you’re eating – thank god I wasn’t) and it had us discussing why anyone would own a dog in this city? I guess in some cases it’s for company and the fact that I can’t relate to this is a good reason not to criticize; having said that (!) where can they really run around? If you live near Central Park then I guess you’re getting warmer but although you can take a dog into some areas of the park, apparently it has to be on a leash between the hours of 9am and 9pm (and who wants to go into
Empire State Building
From the High Line, Manhattan, NYC the park outside these hours anyway?).
I guess it’s a little like bringing up kids in the city. On the side of a mini-storage building were the words, “Raising a baby in an NYC apartment is like growing an oak tree in a thimble” (see pic). I’m not sure why a mini storage company feels the need to judge but I can’t help thinking they’ve made a valid point.
Another trip to the Fairways Food store and we enjoy our last evening meal of this trip unless you count whatever food is given to us on our flight home tomorrow night.
Our last night awaits but we’re feeling fine about going home. It’s going to be tough adjusting to a work routine again but the idea of not living out of a suitcase is a wonderful one. I am very much looking forward to opening a wardrobe and choosing from more than just a couple of pairs of trousers and a few tops!
And New York is a great city but it’s a tiring one. I’m not sure I could live with the noise, pollution and general commotion of the city for more than a few
days. I feel the same way about London though. Love spending a day there but always glad to go home afterwards. Guess I’m just not a city girl.
New Yorkers have the reputation for being rude so it's hard not to keep an open mind or make assumptions based on this unfair generalisation (all generalisations are unfair aren't they?) before arriving in the city, especially when we have the warmth and friendliness of San Francisco to compare it to! On the whole the people we've come across are mostly friendly (there was no hesitation when the woman in a tiny deli pointed us to the staff toilet at the back when I asked if she knew of one - and we hadn't bought anything at that stage) however there are perhaps less common courtesies than we experienced in the west. I think a lot is simply down to people just trying to get on with their own lives in this crowded and busy city. We were, however, quite concerned to see a fire truck with sirens blaring and lights flashing, unable to pass just 3 cars that could have moved. Anywhere else cars would have moved heaven and earth
to get out of the way. With so many sirens constantly assaulting your ears in Manhattan that perhaps they’re just not taken as seriously as they ought to be?
All in all we've really enjoyed our time here and are so pleased we added on these few days in the Big Apple. It’s been wonderful to show the boys all the iconic buildings, attractions and places they’ve read, watched and heard so much about. The Hotel Beacon has been fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone coming here.
Tomorrow we have the whole day before our flight leaves at 10pm. The plan is to visit the Natural History Museum and a bit more of Central Park (and maybe the odd gift shop!). Another pretzel would be good...
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