Just a simple Seattle girl’s take on New York City during her day trip through The Big Apple.
I’ve been sitting on just the idea of New York City and all that it entails for just about a week now, and I’m still finding it hard to accurately and wholly describe. There are so many people doing so many things amongst so many noises, that it’s been pretty hard to make sort everything out. But that’s one of the things that I love about this place: it truly is The City That Never Sleeps.
---
We started our day at the train station in Hamilton, New Jersey, about an hour and a half train ride away from New York Penn Station. I was trying to think if I had ever been on a train before, and to my knowledge, I couldn’t think of any train trips that I had taken in my life. I have taken the Light Rail from Tukwila, WA to Seattle a few times, but that doesn’t even hold a candle to riding the “real” train into New York City, nor riding the Subway.
Now, I have been to New York City before, nearly 11 years ago now, and it was during a one-day layover to Tel Aviv, Israel. We were only able to be in The City for about 10 hours or so. Around the location of the World Trade Center catastrophe, I remember seeing big blocks of rubble still in mounds, surrounded by a plastic orange construction fence. Whether this was still leftover from 9/11, or if it was breaking grounds for future construction, I’m not entirely sure. I do remember feeling very in awe of the place, like one must pay their respects while standing there, no matter what.
The first building that I saw when I emerged from the underground NY Penn Station was the One World Trade Center, which was built after the destruction of the original Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. It rises above all the other buildings around it (it’s the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere), giving off a beautiful blue glow as the sun hits it. We headed to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, where they have two concave Memorial Pools honoring the people who had been killed on that awful day. It was stunning and haunting all at once. One can read about, watch movies or news clips about the terrorist attacks that happened, but physically being there and visiting the memorial site was a completely new experience.
One of my favorite things about New York is seeing all of the different types of architecture that is all meshed together into tight spaces. 100+ year old churches squished besides skyscrapers and office buildings, not to mention all of the art nouveau (see CUNY’s Graduate Center) and art deco style buildings (think Chrysler building) that make my heart scream with joy when I see them! Oh, my little designer heart wants to go back already and take the time to tour them and see them all thoroughly.
Headed due East, we made our way towards the Brooklyn Bridge, where we were entertained by a troupe of street performers for approximately 2.5 minutes when we figured out that all they wanted was our money. As we walked towards the Bridge, I was in awe of how grand and elaborate it was. Of course I’ve seen its image in movies and in pictures before but, again, it pales in comparison to actually seeing it in person. We walked along in the hot Spring sun towards the middle of the bridge, our destination. It was just breathtaking to be in the middle of the bridge and see Brooklyn to my left, and Manhattan to my right. I kept thinking of people who live in the City who walk or drive over the Brooklyn Bridge frequently. Do they take this incredible view for granted? I certainly hope not. We didn’t have the time to make it all the way over the bridge into Brooklyn, but that’s on my list for next time. I’d love to go visit a Jewish neighborhood and eat at a real New York Kosher deli. L’chaim!
One of things that was on the top Adam’s New York Bucket List was to see Wall Street and The Charging Bull. If anyone knows my honey, he is kind of a math and money-saving fanatic. He was really excited to see Wall Street, “Where it all happens!”, and I think maybe even more so to see The Charging Bull. I learned from Adam is that we are currently in a “Bull Market”, meaning that our market is going up and prospering, and that it has been since 2009. Hurray! On a completely unrelated note to Wall Street, I drank the best bubble tea I've ever had right close by! I. NEED. MORE. BUBBLE TEA.
Right around the corner from Wall Street is where we saw where our nation’s first Capitol building was. I had no idea that it was in New York! Guess I need to brush up on my early American history a bit more. I actually stood in the location where George Washington was sworn in as the United States’ first president. The old, historic Capitol building did look a bit odd and out of place as it faced the much newer buildings of Wall Street. But that’s what New York is all about: meshing the old and historic with what’s most modern and new.
The engraving reads:
"On this site in Federal Hall, April 30 1789, George Washington took the oath as the first President of the United States of America"
Concerning Subways
I must interrupt this post to talk specifically about Subways for a little bit. They almost deserve their own blog post, in my opinion.
I’ve only visited New York twice, and both times I have just to happened to be there when it’s been quite warm and very nearly humid on street level, thus making the underground Subway trapped with a sticky humidity, immoveable heat, and quite pungent smells. I’ve been trying in vain for days now to figure out the exact smell that dwells down in the Subway system, and I can’t narrow it down to just one single answer. The best that I’ve thought of so far are as follows: - Body odor of every nationality, floating all around you in the air, and it never leaves your nostrils
- Old, musty bath towels that are two weeks past washing - The smell of constant Subway brake exhaust and hot tar mixed with rubber
- The faint smell of hot bananas, or perhaps stinky shoes
- A stuffy bowling alley (in both smell and feeling)
One smell that was very distinct every time I inhaled it (yet for the life of me I can’t place a finger on what it was exactly) was the pungent smell of some sort of pollinating flower. Even two hours after we had left the Subway, I smelled it outside in a parking lot, and it took me right back to the stench of the Subway. All of these smells combined made for very memorable Subway rides.
Besides the aroma from down under, the Subway system itself is brilliant. I cannot even imagine owning a car if I lived in New York City. It doesn’t seem worth the stress of driving on some of the busiest streets in the world, especially since there’s no parking anywhere. It seems like you can save so much times and money by just taking the Subway, especially if you know the ropes of it all. I’m so glad my brother-in-law did, because I was so confused with all of the color-coded and lettered trains. Oy vey! Thanks for getting us on the correct Subways every time, Jeremy!
And, speaking of transportation, I must make mention that not only are the drivers in NYC insane, but so are the pedestrians. When walking through the city, you cross the road whenever there are no cars driving near you. It doesn’t matter that the Do Not Walk sign is illuminated. The first few times we crossed the road this way, The Rule Follower in me was definitely cringing, because rules are there for a reason! But after a while, it became totally normal.
To Be Continued ...