Tag: New York

Day 2 New York

Ange BowmanLeave a comment

We got up early again and after breakfast we set out to walk to central park. Down Fifth Ave with a stop in at the Trump Tower, hard to believe that this is or was owned by one man.


 

 

Before we arrived at Central Park we dropped in at the Apple store which was under wraps. So many people and so much beautiful technology in one place.

 

When we arrived at the entrance near
Fifth Ave and organised a carriage ride through the Park. Our Irish driver (most of the carriages are Irish owned) has been in New York for 11 years. This was fun and gave us a small insight to the park and some of the things happening in the park.  It was good weather and a lot cooler than the previous day. After we tipped our driver we set off on a long walk through the park, there is so much to see and there was no hope of us seeing it all. We did get to see
the Zoo and many off the sights at the Downtown end of town.

How big is Central Park?

Our Irish Carriage Driver
  • 843 acres or 6% of Manhattan’s total acreage, including:
  • 150 acres in 7 waterbodies
  • 250 acres of lawns
  • 136 acres of woodlands

How many playgrounds are there in Central Park and where are they?
There are 21 playgrounds scattered throughout the entire park.

Where is…?

Horse park himself like this
on command
  • Balto – East 67th Street near the East Drive
  • Alice in Wonderland – 75th Street just north of Conservatory Water
  • Hans Christian Andersen – 74th Street just west of Conservatory Water
  • The Obelisk (Cleopatra’s Needle) – 81st Street behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art

There also are 48 other fountains, monuments, and sculptures in Central Park.

How many trees are there in Central Park?
24,000, including 1,700 American Elms.

How many benches are there in Central Park?
Over 9,000, which would stretch 7 miles if placed end to end.

How many bridges and arches are there in Central Park?
36

How many species of birds are there in Central Park?
More than 275 species of migratory birds have been sighted in the Park, a major stopping point on the Atlantic flyway.

How many fountains are there in Central Park?

Gazebo in used in Home Alone 2

There are seven ornamental fountains and approximately 150 drinking fountains. The ornamental fountains are:

  • Angel of the Waters at Bethesda Terrace
  • Burnett Fountain at Conservatory Garden’s English garden to the south
  • Conservatory Garden’s Italian garden in the center
  • Untermyer Fountain at Conservatory Garden’s French garden to the north
  • Cherry Hill
  • Sophie Loeb Fountain
  • Pulitzer Fountain at Grand Army Plaza
Central Park Zoo 
After the park we headed back downtown with a stop off for lunch at John’s Pizzeria. The pizza was the best I’ve eaten, the base was just perfect and we had the John’s Pizza (cheese and John’s special tomato sauce) with added pepperoni and black olives. Did I mention it was huge but oh so yummy?
We continued to stroll back towards the hotel walking off our lunch there is so much to see but the best part is just experiencing the sites and sounds of such a busy place. We headed back to the hotel around 4 for a rest and catch up on email and calls home etc.

We decide we would have Korean BBQ for dinner, there were plenty in the same street as our hotel to choose from. In the end we settled on Wonjo. The BBQ meat (BBQ at our table) was really good and the accompanying sides were fun to try and we liked everything they dished up. The meal was finished with the sweetest orange I have ever eaten.

Day 2 Walking 4 miles

An early night as we are planning to head to times square to watch the Good Morning America morning show.

Hot Dirty Smelly New York – I Still Love It!!!!!

Ange BowmanLeave a comment

After a near flawless drive in to the big apple we had delivered the car to the valet and the bags to the doorman (too early to check in) we set off to walk downtown to take the ferry to Staten Island.

It was a long walk but we made it all but the last 20 odd blocks a total of 71/2 miles. We were a bit foot sore but recovered enough to walk another mile to Tony Di Napoli’s for dinner.

This place came highly recommended by brother-in-law Scott and he was right on the money. The anti pasta was the best we’ve ever had and the Lobster Ravioli in creamy tomato sauce was equally good.

One of 5 new Towers
Ground Zero

Back to the walk and the ferry. It was very hot walking but worth it as you get to see so much more. Ian was able to eat at least three yes that’s right three hot dogs on the way down. He bought them off the street vendors and gave them the thumbs up.  We were purchasing lots of water which was readily available for every vendor and really cold.

We spent quite awhile at ground zero they are making great progress on the new towers . It is hard to imagine what it would have been like on 9/11.

Remembering Ladder 24
Firefighter that died 9/11

A memorial called “Reflecting Absence” honors the victims of the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The memorial, designed by Peter Walker and Israeli-American architect Michael Arad, consists of a field of trees interrupted by the footprints of the twin towers. Pools of water fill the footprints, underneath which sits a memorial space whose walls bear the names of the victims. The slurry wall, which holds back the Hudson River in the west and was an integral part of Libeskind’s proposal, remains exposed.

Ladder 24 Fire Station

Walker and Arad were selected from more than 5,000 entrants in the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition in January 2004. Construction of the memorial is due to be completed by September 11, 2011.

Eventually we made it to the ferry just in time to take the next ferry to the island. It was a pleasant crossing and it was a chance to sit for awhile and watch the city recede into the distance. We disembarked and waited for the next ferry back again.

Staten Island Ferry

We decided against exploring the island as the main purpose was to actually catch the ferry. We enjoyed the return trip and then set off up town it was now 98 degrees but felt hotter of the street. Not the hottest I ever been but it was warm. Last time we were in new york it was -5F which is -11C. I think next time we will come in autumn or spring.

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Three

 

Wine with Dinne
Tony Di Napoli’s 

As previously mentioned dinner was great and I would highly recommend Tony’s to anyone, we were lucky to get there early enough to avoid a wait but by the time we were leaving they were out the door waiting on a table. We have a very nice local wine with our dinner as recommended by our waiter Gregorio.

Tomorrow we are off to explore Central Park and of course I HAVE to visit the apple store.