Such a whirlwind couple of days!
began with an incredible view of the sun setting over Manhattan..even the newyorker sitting next to me on the plane said it was the best he'd ever seen :)
after finding my hostel in Chelsea and scrounging some left over cold (but free!) pizza I went for a stroll along the streets..a little dirty as they leave garbage bags on the sidewalk at night and the air coming from the underground subway vents is a bit gross..I certainly wouldn't stand over it and let it blow my dress Monroe style :P but bright, bustling and alive!
Next day I began my sightseeing adventure (aka marathon)..I began with walking along the Chelsea high walk, observing the off street parking whereby cars are essentially stacked on top of each other..checked out Chelsea pier which had a some nice views of New Jersey, had a ridiculous driving range over the water and had some prettttty nice yachts moored..I then walked across to greenwich village and Soho where I visited the famous Magnolia Bakery...walked through Chinatown and little italy where I tried a cactus taco (weird!) then I began to walk across the Manhattan bridge and thought meh, might as well walk all the way to Brooklyn! Thirsty, burnt and exhausted I arrived in Brooklyn where I just chilled for a bit and watched the locals play basketball..back to Manhattan (on the subway this time!) and had a look in the museum of American Indians, which was super interesting (and air conditioned :P)..caught the ferry to and from Staten Island (a free way to view the Statue of Liberty) then had a look around the 9/11 memorial site and world trade centre..it definitely gave me chills..but the huge waterfall memorials they've built where the twin towers stood are really amazing..
walked around Wall Street and saw the newyork stock exchange, had a look at the very impressive courthouse and city hall, had a compulsory shop in Century 21, then caught a subway up to Times Square..now that's a place to overload your senses!! soooo many lights and people etc..found a quiet bar and ended up with the bartender continuously bringing me beers and dessert and then waving the entire bill at the end (perks of traveling alone and sitting at the bar :P)..had a bit more of a look around, saw mounted police (most unnatural place to see a horse ever!!), strolled along Broadway then heading home to crash!
up early again to pack in as much as possible into my last half day..walked up to the Empire State Building and Grand Central Station (very impressive, just like the movies!!) and then headed up to Central Park via the Rockefeller centre..I unfortunately ran out of time to cycle around the park but am happy I got to see at least a little bit of it..so awesome having so much greenery in the middle of a concrete jungle :) hot, sweaty and exhausted I headed back to the hostel to grab my bags and make my way to the airport..super impressed with my efforts to see most things in NYC in a day and a half! Another perk of traveling alone, you can go at your own pace (which for me sometimes meant chilling at a dog park or observing the squirrels (because I can!) or actually running to get up to Central Park before I had to leave :P)..
at the airport I spoke to Maike, my German friend I met when she was at Goulburn high for exchange in 2006, whom so kindly offered to pick me up from Frankfurt airport and have me stay a couple of nights (prior to this I had no idea where I'd be staying!)..my tired legs were definitely looking forward to the flight..little did I know that in 8 short hours I'd be cycling around Frankfurt city.....
