New York

New York, New York. It's easy to see why so much is made of this city in media all over the world. This city is just amazing and in a very different way to Washington. Where Washington is sedate and majestic New York is vibrant and colourful. In D.C. a sense of planned grandeur is present whereas in NY you get a melting pot of ideas where the 'can do' attitude and competitive one-up-manship has created a mish mash of ever greater and more impressive buildings. New York, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps is a city that is truly alive and really is, at least financially speaking, the capitol of the world!My arrival in New York was less than impressive. Locating my hostel in a poor and dodgy looking area of Brooklyn was perhaps not the most inspiring way to arrive in New York but everything just got better from there on. The hostel I stayed at, Loftstel, was one of the best I've ever been at. Free internet, friendly staff, very sociable and very reasonably priced!

Upon arrival in New York I had secured an unlimited travel pass on the subway (tube, metro, underground railway, whatever you want to call it) for 7 days for just $24. New York's subway is in many ways the best in the world; fast, cheap, extensive, runs 24 hours a day and nowhere near as congested as London's. However, it's also the ugliest, dirtiest and smelliest public transport I've ever used!At one point I visited the New York Transit Museum located in a disused subway station. From an engineering point of view it was fantastic as the bloke running the free tour was a real character describing how the subway and bus systems have evolved over the years. As a point of personal interest I would have liked to hear more about the many very impressive bridges from Manhattan Island to surrounding areas but instead I satisfied my bridge enthusiasms by walking across the famous Brooklyn Bridge. In its day it was a groundbreaking piece of engineering as the world's longest suspension bridge as well as the deepest underwater cassion foundations. I wont describe the details here but rest assured my inner geotech engineering geek was well satisfied! =)On my first full day in New York I started with the clichéd stuff and grabbed a ferry to go and see The Statue of Liberty. Whilst very symbolic and impressive I have to say that there's actually not much to do. You go out on a ferry, the drop you off on the island, they don't let you go up to the top unless you've booked something like three generations in advance, and then you go back. I got some pretty pictures though.However, what was interesting was visiting nearby Ellis Island As well as lots of displays showing you what the immigration process was like they also show you the ethnic diversity of America today and you can trace your Heritage (excuse the pun) if any of your ancestors came through Ellis Island back in the day. Unfortunately I was unable to locate any Heritages as the queues to do so were more than my curiosity could justify.. This is where all those millions of immigrants seeking a new life in America were processed and it's a very engaging museum. By this point I was realising that, whilst they get a lot wrong, Americans do, do Museums well!
The iconic image of New York today is skyscrapers - lots of skyscrapers. Really this is only Manhatten Island but boy is it impressive! The most famous of New York's looming towers are the Rockefeller Centre, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and formerly the Twin Towers. Only the Rockafeller Centre and the Empire State Building offer viewing platforms at the top, according to the guide book, and I decided to go too the 'Top of the Rock' and splash out on a visit to the viewing deck. This was recommended as it was cheaper, less crowded and allowed you to actually see the Empire State Building rather than just stand on it. The view was amazing! Looking north you can see Central Park and Uptown Manhatten whilst looking south you can see the Empire State Building with Downtown Manhatten (the financial centre) in the background and the Statue of Liberty in the distance. To the east is Brooklyn and Queens whilst across to the West is New Jersey. King Kong may have climbed the Empire State Building, but it was the construciton of the Rockefeller Centre that helped America climb out of the Great Depression that was triggered by the stockmarket crash of 1929. It is for this reason that New Yorker's are so proud of the place. It's not the prettiest of skyscrapers by any stretch of the imagination but it's very symbolic, I think, of the positive side of the American attitude.
I also visited Times Square which is very sparkly but perhaps not as much as it seems from the movies. It hosts a large number of 'flagship' stores from some of the larger multinational corporations such as M&Ms World and, nearby, an Apple flagship store.The museum of the American Indian was fantastic but disappointingly small with some wonderfully preserved artifacts. Continuing on the cultural theme there was an Italian Feast Festival which meant a few blocks were closed off for pedestrians and the street market was fantastic and delicious! There was also a Mexican parade for reasons I never managed to discover but it was full of noise and energy as it moved through the streets of New York.I also spent a while relaxing in Central Park which includes a nice zoo, John Lennon's memorial (he was shot across the road from Central Park), lots of squirrels and many lovely spots to just chill out.
A couple of nights out with some of the other guests at Lofstel rounded off an memorable trip to New York. It's a city unlike any other I've ever visited and if you love traveling you'll love a visit to New York. So I'm very glad I've been and had a fantastic time but I have to say that the cliche rings true, "Been there, done that".