Lao Tzu said:
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
NYC HERE WE ARE
I have never been to NYC.
That is now going to change.
20 countries but never NYC.
That is now amended.
2020 trip had to be cancled.
Due to COVID 19 pandemic.
2021 will see it accomplished.
NYC here we are.
We will see your trees.
We will pay your fees.
We will wake up in your
Greenwich Village.
We will wake up in your
Staten Island.
We will wake up in your
Lower East Side.
We will wake up at your
Times Square.
We will snap your scenes
to share.
On the way to NYC
This lovely, soaring sculpture is between concourse A gates and concourse B gates in the Albuquerque NM airport which is a relatively small international airport. Of course, we had to go to the last gate in the concourse (B10). This is a Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta Georgia and then to NYC.
On the E line of the NYC subway from Jackson Heights to Penn Station of Manhattan. We had to take the Q 70 bus from La Guardia Airport to Jackson Heights subway station to get on this car.
FIRST NIGHT IN NYC.
Since we did not get through the airport and checked into the Aloft Hotel until 2330, we decided to use Uber Eats to get food. The driver, Hammel, maybe from India or Pakistan, was very nice so I gave him a $6.00 tip. The food was from Sammys' Halal Foods and it was amazing. It was rich and extremly delicious. Chicken on rice and lamb on rice were both abundant. We were unable to eat everything. The cost was $30.00 including the bottle waters I ordered. There is a bit of red chili in one corner of the food container and some white yogurt (maybe a type of tzaiki or raita?) sauce covering part of the rice. The Marriot Aloft airport hotel has a microwave oven in the lobby so I ate the left overs for breakfast. The food from Sammys' is very similar to meals I have had in mosques during Ramadan. It is very authentic and I recommend it highly. Their place of business is located in Jackson Heights Queens so it is close to the transportation hub where one makes connectons between La Guardia Airport and NYC.
Arriving at The Jane Hotel after having left the Aloft airport hotel. Details about this hotel can be found on my Practicalities page. The first night we were there was quite noisy until around midnight because there is a private party venue on the ground floor. The second night was just fine since there was no event booked that night. We did like the atmosphere of the hotel. The staff wears period themed uniforms and comport themselves in a professional and friendly manner. One warning; the hallways are similar to a maze 😀. I found it very interesting that if I did not pay strict attention to the doors needed for entrance and exit, we would have to bravely search out the proper escape from the hallways. It was actually fun trying to remember what door accessed the elevator and what door accessed the stairwell down to the ground floor. @thejanehotel and I would return...
This is the first restaurant that we ate at in NYC. It is a cute, cozy cafe that the locals love.
We are now inside Jack's Wife Freda. We had a great breakfast here. We had the Mediteranean Breakfast and one orange juice. It will cost about $40 for two breakfasts with juice and tip. Not bad for the good quality food served here.
IN THE LOBBY OF THE WYNDHAM NEW YORKER HOTEL. IT IS LOCATED IN THE HELLS KITCHEN NEIGHBORHOOD OF MANHATTAN. IT WAS COMPLETED IN 1930 AND WAS BUILT IN THE ART DECO ARCHITECTURAL STYLE. NICOLA TESLA LIVED HERE FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS UNTIL HIS DEATH. BENNY GOODMAN AND TOMMY DORSEY PERFORMED HERE WITH THEIR BIG BANDS. SPENCER TRACY ALSO STAYED HERE AS WELL AS JOAN CRAWFORD, MOHAMMED ALI, AND FIDEL CASTRO.
New York City has so very many iconic street scenes I am overwhelmed trying to get as many as I can. This photo is across the street from the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel.
This sculpture of a tailor at a sewing machine is a few streets south of Times Square. Or it can be a few streets west of Times Square. I am not sure because I was always lost in NYC. The sculpture of a tailor and a giant pin cushion are significant because this is the Garment District which once was dominated by textile factories and shops. There are a few textile shops still here.
A second view of the Tailor at his sewing machine sculpture near where the Garment District meets Times Square. This sculpture is actually called The Garment Worker.
This is one close up shot of Saint Patricks' Cathedral on 5th Avenue. Bob brought us here during our NYC Greeter tour but the doors were locked.
One more view of Saint Patricks' Cathedral. This photo was taken from across 5th Avenue. As I took this photo, I stood behind the Atlas Statue which is located at Rockefeller Center.
Birthday dinner for Farida at The Beeckman rooftop restaurant. We both ordered the Roast Duck Breast three coarse dinner. It cost $95 for each of us, with drinks costing around $15. @thebeekmanhotel was a great evening and I highly recommend it..
Another view at the 9th floor fine dining venue at The Beekman Hotel. Temple Court is the name of this restaurant and the chef, Tom Colicchio, is quite renowned in NYC.
I have heard that one should avoid Times Square in the day time hours because of the heavy tourist crowds. But we were here rather early, following a NYC greeter before noon time. The crowds were not bad at all yet. The greeter, Bob, mostly showed us Wyndham New Yorker Hotel which has a small museum in the basement floor. It is quite an iconic NYC original for sure. Bob also showed the Garment District, Saint Patricks' Cathedral, then the Theater District, and Times Square, with the history of each, favorite restaurants, and favorite shops. He likes Bens' Kosher Deli, Juniors' Bakery, and the Hershey Store (the largest I have ever seen and probably ever will see).
Washington Square Park is in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. It is located at the south end of 5th Avenue. Many famous people lived around here. Eleanor Roosevelt once lived in the area. Bob Dylan and Joan Baez lived in an apartment that overlooked this park.
Close to Washington Square is this branch of Joes' Pizza. There are 4 or 5 locations in NYC. I had the pizza at the Fulton Street and at the Carmine Street locations. This branch is smaller than the one on Fulton Street. Joes' Pizza is quite famous in NYC. Both of these locations have photos of well known people who have frequented Joes' Pizza. Some well known people who have eaten at Joes' Pizza are: Matthew McConaughey, Jimmy Fallon, Anne Hathaway, Bill Murrey, Kevin Bacon, Leonardo Di Caprio, Danny Devito, and Conan O'Brian. The location photographed here was used in the Spiderman movies as the place where Peter Parker worked when he was delivering pizzas. During the filming of Spiderman movies, this branch was located at 233 Bleecker Street and recently moved here to 7 Carmine Street. This 7 Carmine Street location is 3 buildings away from its original Bleecker Street location which was used in Spiderman 2. Oh, and the pizza is very good.
And here are just a few of the photos.
We are at the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park. I post this photo as Russia is invading Ukraine. John Lennon wrote in his song "Imagine"; 'Imagine there are no countries...Imagine all the people sharing the world...Imagine all the people living in peace...It is easy if you try...' There are guitar players who take turns singing John Lennon songs. We sat on one of benches and listened to a couple of the musicians. I just do not understand why men can not "GIVE PEACE A CHANCE"... There is a video from here that I posted on my videos page..
At Mr. Purple
@ExperienceIHG
Here is one view from Mr. Purple.
There is a really large collection of Egyptian art and artifacts in the American Museum of Natural History. The very large museum is located in the Upper West Side of Manhatten at 200 Central Park West.
Also in the American Museum of Natural History is the largest dinosaur skeleton we have ever seen. It doesn't even fit in the room it is in. 😀
Here is another photo that I took in a museum. This is George Washington Crossing the Delaware River. When we were in NYC, this painting was being displayed at the MET..
18 / AUGUST / 2022 UPDATE
I just heard on the news that the 11th September 2002 Museum will be closing soon and the materials that are in the museum will be stored someplace else for safe keeping. It seems that there were just not enough visiters here after the COVID 19 pandemic slowed down.
On the streets of NYC.
We were always amazed at how awesome are the skyscrapers of NYC. They truly are awesome. Farida wanted to take a photo in front of the Flatiron Building so here we are entering the Flatiron District. The Flatiron building is surrounded by 22nd Street, Broadway, and 5th Avenue.
Here is one of the photos we took in front of the Flatiron Building. After taking about 20 photos here (when my wife says "to take a photo", she is really saying "to take 20 photos"), we went to a nearby Italian food market called Eataly. Eataly is a fantastically large and diverse indoor market with everything italian one might want to eat or buy. I consider Eataly a must do and not just because I am 48% Italian😀 It is kitty-corner from the Flatiron Building, just cross 23 Street then cross 5th Avenue. Or cross 5th Avenue then cross 23 Street, depending on which traffic light turns green first.
On my video page, I included a video of the NYC skyline while standing between One World Trade Center and 11 Sept. 2001 memorial. Here is a photo I took at the same location. On the left is the Oculus shopping Mall. I believe there is an Eataly location there. The shopping mall is called Oculus Center. It is quite large and underground.
The previous photo was taken at the base of the One World Trade Center and this photo shows a view from the TOP of the building which is the tallest in the western hemisphere although there is a new building in NYC that will be thinner and taller still. I do not think it is finished yet..
Built in 1766 with a Late Georgian Church architecture, this is Saint Pauls' Chapel from the sidewalk. It is the oldest surviving church building in Manhatten and it is known as "The Little Chapel That Stood" because it remained standing during the collapse of World Trade Center Twin Towers in 2001. Quite miraculous I would think. The new World Trade Center can be seen towering behind it. There are a few tombstones around the chapel because a few military figures from the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain and a few political figures of that time were buried here..
STATUE OF LIBERTY.
The statue of liberty was created in Paris France and was gifted to the USA as a commeration of our success in creating a democracy after the end of the civil war. The French historian Edouard de Laboulaye proposed the creation of such a gift in 1865 and was finally completed and dedicated in 1886. French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue. Paris also has a few Statues of Liberty but theirs are smaller (ours stands 305 feet or 93 meters high). Their name for the statue is "La Liberté éclairant le monde" which means "Liberty enlightening the world". Gustave Eiffel designed the metal framework inside the Staue Of Liberty. As can be seen from his last name, he is the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower. Liberty is depicted as she walks forward away from a broken shackle and chain that lie at her feet. This commemorates the recent abolition of slavery after the end of our civil war.
The Statue Of Liberty stands on Liberty Island which was originally known as Bedloes' Island.
On the way to the Statue of Liberty. There are several ships like this one that will take you to her. You can click on one of the links on this website to buy tickets for the tour. The Get Your Guide ticket buying link is at the bottom of the first page and at the top of the PARIS page. The statue was modeled on the Roman Goddess Libertas.
We can not picnic on the grass here but there are benches here and there so relaxing and snacking is quite possible.
After leaving the One World Trade Center area in Lower Manhatten, I walked up Hudson River Park Walkway. I came to this area which is at Pier 25 and Pier 26. Jersey City is on the opposite side of the Hudson River. Continuing to walk up this paved, well maintained Park walkway, I was able to reach the Jane Hotel where we stayed for two nights.
And here is the entrance to Eataly Flatiron District. The sign calls it a cafe but it is much more than that. Inside these doors are several cafes and delis making for good sized Italian bazaar.
The TV show FRIENDS starred Courtney Cox, Jennifer Anniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc. The building that was featured for the show where some of the characters lived is shown in this photo. THE LITTLE OWL is a very good cafe. This location is in Greenwich Village.
And here we are eating at THE LITTLE OWL which is located at the Greenwich Village building that was used as the exterior setting for the residence of some of the FRIENDS characters. We are sitting at one of the sidewalk tables.
On a rooftop of the Whitney Museum of American Art which was only two streets down from the Jane Hotel where we were staying at this time.
This photo is from the roof of the Whitney Museum. A person can easily walk up the Hudson River Park Walkway and reach the Whitney Museum.
From inside the Whitney Museum Of American Art.