New Years Day in NYC

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What a fabulous day to begin 2015! The sun was out - shining bright - it was a cold day -2c this morning but the wind chill made it feel like -7c.

After a great breakfast and a chat with Rick - we picked up some more tips for today's travel. First we jumped on the local bus M2 to the East Village - included in the metro card price - travelled the length of 5th Avenue - past Central Park and museum mile and got off at the last stop in The East Village. We had a chuckle as we watched all the tourist buses going by with people paying $50 for a day pass for the on/off buses. We are seeing all the same places for the price of a MTA ticket $2.50 per ride or free if using a 7 day unlimited pass! Living like a local - that's us!!

The East Village is a quiet part of Manhatten and has loads of old fashioned types of shops. A laid back atmosphere and prices much cheaper than downtown. Lots of cheap eatery places - a great place to explore.

Next we headed to Central Park. We had planned to visit the Natural History Museum but Rick advised against it - being a holiday he said it would be ridiculously busy - and it was! Line ups outside for 1/4 mile or so...we have decided that in order to do justice to the museums they deserve a lot more time than a few rushed hours - unfortunately that means we will have to visit NYC again but hey we are not complaining.

So off to Central Park - Middle Section - a "Free Tours On Foot" 2 hour tour.

This tour focuses on the middle part of Central Park, starting in front of the beautiful American Museum of Natural History. From there we entered the park and explored, seeing everything from a castle to the wild-looking Ramble. we saw the Ancient Egyptian obelisk otherwise known as Cleopatra's Needle. We also visited The Swedish Cottage, Shakespeare Garden, Belvedere Castle, Turtle Pond, The Delacorte Theatre, The Great Lawn, Cleopatra’s Needle, The Ramble, The Lake, The Conservatory Waters, Bethesda Terrace.

We finished off by a look around strawberry fields (our 3rd visit to this part of the park) - it is so so difficult to get a decent photo here as it is alway extremely busy. Another place difficult to photograph here in Central Park is the Alice In Wonderland Statue. Such a magnificent bronze statue but always covered with children.

Off again on the train down to the Chelsea area for a walk along the "highline". The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues. As of September 2014, the park gets nearly 5 million visitors annually.

The park's attractions include naturalized plantings that are inspired by the landscape that grew on the disused tracks, and views of the city and the Hudson River. The trail is made of pebble-dash concrete walkways that swell and constrict, swing from side to side, and divide into concrete tines that meld the hardscape with the planting embedded in railroad gravel mulch

Rick recommended B&H for a good camera shop, on 9th avenue between 33rd/34th....well we have never seen a camera store of this magnitude ever before. 2 levels of all types of electrical gear. The camera section includes new, used and refurbished equipment and the staff are extremely knowledgeable. Even saw a few drones! Looks like we will be returning here tomorrow as Geoff wants some bits for his camera.

We finished off the day by walking up to the "Hell's Kitchen" area looking for somewhere to eat. We found a Thai restaurant on 46th Street, "Yum Yum Too" where we enjoyed a 5 course fixed menu $18.95 each along with $3 Singah beers. Food and service was great.

Seriously you could eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner every night of your life here in NYC and still never have eaten in the sane restaurant twice! The food in this city is unbelievable - anything and everything you could ever want or need is here.

Let me once again reinforce how safe this city really is. It is one of the top 3 safest large cities in the World. Yes NYC did used to have one of the highest crime rates anywhere but the City has worked hard to clean up the crime. These days every single culture resides in this City and there hasn't been one place that we have been in our 3 visits where we have felt unsafe in any way shape or form.

This is one amazing city and we love it here...more to come tomorrow ???

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Comments

[Linda Turner]

NYC
Me so envious.

[D MJ Binkley]

Safe in the city
A few years ago Mayor Ed Koch managed to change the crime in NYC and as you say it is now a safe city. Endless things to do and places to eat. Glad to hear you are taking the local buses. Central Park is a special place. Glad you are seeing all the sights.

[GeoffandJudy]

Nyc is breat
Hubby and I love it here! It has become our "go to" place when we are in US...can't keep us away! Coming back 2016!