Today proved to be a day of walking - in fact, I ended up doing close to 19000 steps according to my fitbit.
We decided to head up the Empire State building before the crowds got horrific. This proved to be a well-thought plan on our part. There were massive crowd control devices set up (as well as some very boring displays designed to occupy your time as you stood in line for hours) to deal with the crush of people. We just rushed on past it all and popped up the elevator to he observation level.
The Empire State Building in New York City stands 1454 feet tall and is currently the 9th tallest building in the world and the 4th tallest freestanding structure in the Americas. It has 102 stories, and was the first building to every have more than 100 stories. The Empire State Building NYC was also named the 7th wonder of the world by the American Society of Civil Engineers. This likely explains why it has attracted 120 million people to its New York observatories - nearly 3.6 million visitors a year! A cultural landmark as well as a New York landmark, the Empire State Building has been in more than 90 films, including North by Northwest, Annie Hall, and of course, King Kong.
The observation tower proved to be incredibly popular after the building opened - in fact, it was the only thing which saved it. Opening at the start of the depression proved to be challenging timing and for years it was known as the Empty State Building. The profits from the visitors to the observation tower kept it afloat.
I'm not sure what those profits do now but they must be huge - it cost us $ 104 to go to the two observation decks. The view was stunning but at that price this isn't a daily event.
Once we were delivered safely to the ground again we headed East to the High Line. The High Line is a unique NYC park that was recently converted from an abandoned railroad to a lush new greenspace overlooking the Meatpacking District, the West Village and Hudson River. Spanning over 1.5 miles (with hopes of further expansion in the works) through the West Side of Manhattan, The High Line Park gives NYC tourists one more way to explore the Big Apple. The High Line Park in Manhattan is a beautiful break from the traffic lights and speeding taxi cabs below.
It was at this point that I had a moment of confusion. We got off the High Line at the Chelsea market because I thought we had booked a walking tour of the market. It turns out we had booked a walking tour of Greenwich Village. Opps
We raced to the meeting place and made it with time to spare (an iced coffee purchased en route providing the necessary energy).
I was ready for a nap by this point but our wonderful guide Barri got me going. Soon we were off wandering the tree-lined streets of NYC's historic West Village. We stopped at classic "mom and pop" specialty food shops and charming neighborhood restaurants.
Barri explained the history, culture, architecture, and entertainment offerings that makes Greenwich Village so unique from the rest of New York City. It was interesting to hear how waves of immigration shaped the area and the architecture of the buildings.
At the start of the tour we were advised that we would finish the tour full - Barri was not lying! Along the way we tried pizza from one of the top pizza joints in New York's, olive oil and bread from a top bakery, truffle pop corn, arancini, Italian cured meats, eggplant involtini, a nice glass of chianti, quinoa salad with fresh local veggies, a fresh from the oven cookie, and a tasting of cheese from a local cheese shop. Barri paced things well and along the way she filled us in as to movies and TV shows shot in the area, stories of famous local residents, and the history of the neighbourhood.
All in all it was a brilliant way t spend three and a half hours ( we went over time).
It was threatening to rain at this point so we decided to take the subway back to our hotel - a good decision as it was teeming rain by the time we emerged from the underground and walked the two blocks to the hotel.
It was nap time!
We got up in time to head out for dinner at Gato - a Bobby Flay restaurant. More on that later . . .
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