We only had a few days in New York as part of a stopover on the way from South America to Europe but we made the most of them.
Day 1: slept at an AirBnB in Newark after arriving late in the airport. Lovely place with Danielle as our host.
Day 2: caught the Path train to Christopher Street, where our Australian friends, Simon and Emily, who we met in Africa, now live. Impressed by their charming neighborhood and how much it looks like a movie set, we retrieved their spare key and drpped our bags off in their surprisingly spacious 5th floor apartment. We met their French Bulldog puppy, Mr Pickles and discovered that the Friend's apartment building and Carrie's place from Sex and the City were nearby. We then wandered up 7th Avenue, stopping at Madison Square Garden for Josh to do a tour of the stadium and Karen to do some shopping at nearby H&M. We then walked through Times Square and up Broadway until Central Park, where we chilled for a bit and people watched before walking back. That night we were reunited with Simon and Emily over a few beers at a very funny stand up comedy show (Colin Quinn) followed by tacos.
Day 3: more wanderings, this time south along the Hudson to the Twin Towers memorial and then the Staten Island ferry. The free ferry awarded nice views of the Manhatten skyline and the Statue of Liberty. We popped into the museum of Indigenous Americans before checking out Wall Street, Town Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge before walking back through the trendy area of Soho to the apartment. We went out for dinner to their local pub that had delicious burgers and cheap beer by American standards.
Day 4: caught the subway to Times Square then visited Simon at work in one of the Rockefeller buildings, so that we could get a nice view of the skyscrapers out of his 16th story window. We then popped into Central Station where we went to the Oyster Bar to have lunch. However, since we only ordered soup, we were kicked out of the restaurant and sent to the take away part, which we hadn't actually seen. New Yorkers - not backwards in coming forwards! Our strolling then took us past the UN building and back up to the Times Square area where we checked out the pub that inspired How I Met Your Mother, McGee's (underwhelming). We then ended up back in Central Park and at the Met Museum where we guiltily snuck in without paying, since they have a pay what you can afford policy and that's not much! We were impressed with the sheer size of the art gallery and the number of exhibits. They even had a reconstructed Egyptian temple! We returned, exhausted, to Simon and Emily's apartment for a night in.
Day 5: we dragged our aching feet out for one more day of pounding the pavement in NYC. We started by walking along the High Line, a raised railway track that had been converted into a linear park. We then stopped by the public library, that was in a very impressive building but was rather lacking in books. We grabbed some pizza at Little Italy then took the scenic route home through Madison Square Park, Union Square Park and Washington Square Park. That night we caught an overnight bus to Montreal, Canada.
As someone who isn't really a big city person and who had never had NYC on her list, I must say I actually really loved this place. It was great to catch up with friends and experience their hospitality, as well as to benefit from their local knowledge. The people watching was fascinating - such cultural diversity and big personalities, and there were so many landmarks and free things to see. People performing everywhere and everything - from busking to ballet to comedy to a mostly naked lady getting people to paint her. NY had an amazing energy and something going on everywhere you looked. But of course, someone waiting for a tip everywhere you looked too.
