Arrived on November 28th, on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a good idea to check the dates before buying flights, but clearly, I don’t do much research. This, however, would have been a useful information. I had never seen New York so desert; when I got to the hostel by subway, there was absolutely no store where I could buy something to eat. I ended up in a fast-food place eating a cheeseburger and fries, but hey, I’m in New York ;)
It’s the third time I’ve come back, the first being in 1989 when I was very young to visit Kristi, my middle school friend who, after a year of school together, returned to the United States and with whom I’m still in touch—it’s incredible. I remember the early days, in the early ‘80s, we used to write letters or aerograms which were cheaper. They took a month to arrive, so when a letter came, it was a special event. This went on until the 2000s when we started communicating via email. Then, by the late 2010s, Skype came along, followed by WhatsApp. We’ve experienced the entire history of communication together, sometimes losing contact but always finding it again one way or another. Unfortunately, Kristi couldn’t come to New York this time, and we didn’t get to see each other. However, we did meet up in Naples a few years ago. I returned to New York in 2009 for a few days in transit to Canada to visit my cousin. The towers were already gone, and Ground Zero was a construction site.
Now I’m back, and I’ve found a city that remains very modern, constantly updating over time, not aging. Even the historic skyscrapers are splendid, well-maintained, shiny, and sparkling. At least that’s what I saw in Manhattan and part of Brooklyn.
There are many new buildings, and still, there are construction sites. I have old photos of New York from 2009, and looking at the skyline, you can see that some buildings are no longer there, replaced by others. I’d love to know how they manage to demolish them in such tight spaces. There’s a skyscraper, the Central Tower, that’s built on top of other buildings. You can see it from all sides but not from the base.
I walked a lot, up and down Broadway, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, and when I got to Brooklyn, I took the Manhattan Bridge back. A beautiful walk that offers a different perspective of the city. I walked through Chinatown and SoHo, which I loved, with buildings featuring fire escapes on the facade. I went to the museums but only to see the buildings; I must say that culture here is very expensive, each ticket costing $30 or more. There’s the City Pass, which allows you to visit 5 attractions at the “modest” price of $146.
Anyway, I climbed the stairs of the Vessel and entered the Guggenheim and the MoMA, also beautiful, timeless. I wanted to enter the Shed, but it was closed. I visited the World Trade Center, which is basically a shopping mall. The building is very beautiful, in the usual style of architect Calatrava. I walked through Central Park and the surrounding area, looking for New Yorkers but found none. I found them later in SoHo, but always mixed with thousands of tourists, though much less than on Broadway where it’s impossible to move, not to mention Times Square, which was packed.
One of my favorite buildings is the Seagram Building by architect Mies van der Rohe, finished in 1958, also beautiful, like new.
I also went to see one of New York’s iconic buildings, the Flatiron. It’s under restoration, inside and out, as I mentioned, everything is well-kept, at least in the tourist areas.
I took a random bus in front of the Flatiron, the M1, which took me to Chinatown. The buses are fantastic, cheap, and at least the ones I took weren’t crowded at all, with mostly New Yorkers on board. Tourists, following Google, are directed to the subway, which is indeed faster. As a tourist with time, I recommend the city buses. I also went to Brooklyn by bus and visited the livable part of the city with a view of New York’s skyline, the Heights neighborhood. A neighborhood with typical row houses, small shops, and a small-town flair. I arrived when the children were getting out of school and finally found a “normal” side of this metropolis, with kids skipping, parents and grandparents with snacks for the little ones just out of school, strollers, playgrounds, all normal stuff. Something you can't experience in Manhattan. Naturally, an apartment there isn’t affordable with a normal salary, but it’s a lovely place.
There’s also a place south of Brooklyn with the most incredible Christmas decorations I’ve ever seen. They are a tourist attraction; in fact, there were groups of people touring around. Anyway, it’s better to go there by bus on your own, the journey is part of the experience.
I'm heading back to Europe.
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