New York City Day 3: A Walk in the Park/1,000 feet above Manhattan

Day 3 in New York City was a criminally insane trek through the better parts of north Manhattan. We started off in Central Park, which is massive in its grandeur. There are so many small subsections to the Park that you just can't visit in one day, so we just walked where we walked. I can tell you one thing about New York City, there are friendly people there. Everyone we asked for for help with directions was more than happy to give it to us. I know this squashes a lot of the grounded rumors about the generic New Yorker attitude, but we asked more than fifteen people (all over Manhattan) for things from directions to subway stations to places to eat and places to find souvenirs, and in my experience it's true. We were lost in Central Park and we talked to a jogger, maybe a fifty to sixty year old man who led us in the right direction and asked where we were from. Turns out he liked Toronto.

We sat on huge rocks elevated fifty feet above ground level, we went to fountains in wide-open areas, we saw break-dancing performers, also we walked barefoot in a large open terrain known as Sheep's meadow in the south of the park, and ate lunch there too. We exited the park from the south side and ended up in Columbus Circle, which is sort of like a roundabout in England. Amazing little spot. The next stop would be the Empire State Building, but before then, we found a small branch of Dr. Jay's clothing (RUN DMC's Jam Master Jay's clothing store) and got some gear. We also bought postcards and souvenirs for the loved ones back home. Nazeem, Julie, Jasmine, Jodi, Abdi, Pradip, and Sarah I hope you guys like your souvenirs :P...Sorry for anyone I forgot I was sort of on a budget :P, I owe y'all one.

We came to the corner of 33rd and fifth avenue and looked up. We found what we were looking for, the Empire State Building. Looking up at the thing is like looking at the CN Tower from directly below it, it's a neck-breaker. Although the CN Tower is taller, the Empire State is definitely a lot to take in at once. So we enter and find a long hallway. We manage to buy our tickets and we get a good deal, but 1 get 3 free. Yeah, you heard right lol. We saved about sixty bucks. That admission ticket also included the skyride tour, which is a virtual simulator tour that describes the history of the Empire State Building, the top attractions to see in NYC, and a virtual ride through NYC with host Kevin Bacon. So we get on the skyride, which is like on the second or third floor. It starts off when a group of about twenty enter a dark room, similar to the debriefing room at Laser Quest. The wall TV's that you didn't know were there and scare the shit out of you when they suddenly turn on begin playing some depressing music and then there is a patriotic video showing the construction of the Empire State and its impact on American culture and its endurance and persistence throughout the years. It was good enough that we all watched it undisturbed. Next you see the top 10 places to visit in NYC, with #1 being the Empire State Building. Ten minutes later, you walk a bit more and take a seat in the virtual skyride. This is a giant platform that holds about twenty or so people and the ride starts with Kevin Bacon taking you through NYC in a helicopter that seems to go ANYWHERE it wants to. The entire platform moves in coordinance with the film on screen. It's pretty fun. We get off that another ten minutes later and go to the elevator to the 80th floor. Here you have to transfer elevators to get to the 86th floor. As soon as we get to the observation deck we see all white. The entire landscape that fell outside of the viewing deck was near-white and clouded over. This frustration was temporary because when you get closer to the fence and look out over Manhattan the haze starts to clear and everything becomes clear, though things in the distance are still unclear. The view from up there is breath-taking. You feel like a God seeing all the little cabs moving so slow down there. It was also a bit chilly up there that day. Each of the four sides of the deck tells what direction you're looking.


We left after about an hour atop the observatory deck and we'd swore we'd go back to our hostel because our legs had been demolished by Central Park and Empire State Building. But we just happened to keep walking some more, eat lunch at the Wendy's just outside Empire State, then found a souvenir shop in the same area. Then we saw the Chrysler building in the background and swore that would be our last stop. We saw it, looked phenomenal from up close. I pulled out the itinerary and saw we hadn't seen Rockefeller Center yet, so made one more walking trip at a hefty pace towards it. Also incredible, much larger when you're at it than what it looks like in pictures and movies. Then on our way to the Subway Station we saw the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, which caught our eye from its appealing exteriors. We went inside and took loads of pictures. Greg said he'd meet me outside when we were done because I knew he wanted to pray for his mother who had cancer. I did the sign of the cross before I left and met George and Farhan outside. This time we really did go back to the hostel, and the whole train ride home we reminisced about things that happened no more than two days ago.

Damn would I miss this city.