New York Must Sees

New York

We moved back to Diana and Lilian’s place to continue our exploration of New York from the now familiar streets of Chelsea.

Diana and Lilian's apartment in Chelsea

Over the next few days we experienced all the elements of New York that had previously just been images in my mind.

Riding the subway

We walked through Washington Park and the University down to Wall St and the Stock Exchange, gazed up at the tower that is being build to replace the World Trade Centre from the Atrium of the Finance Building, discovered quirky stores in Soho, and joined a crowd in the street that had gathered to watch a highschool basketball game.

We passed Radio City on the way to the Rockefeller Centre and the Top of the Rock to enjoy the expansive views south towards the buildings of lower Manhattan and north over Central Park (much bigger than I anticipated!). We dreamt of big journeys at Grand Central Station, joined the crowds along at Times Square and were engulfed by the collection of modern brand names at Broadway before appreciating the collection of artist brand names in the Met. We grabbed hot pastrami sandwiches from the PastramiQueen on the Upper East Side, and took a nap in Central Park.

My favourite was joining New York Outriggers for a session on the Hudson from Chelsea Pier, as it made me feel like part of New York, rather than just being an observer.  We joined the girls on an interval session that took us all the way down to Tribeca and the Financial District. They seemed just like PDs – friends who paddle together, they had a race one of the crews was preparing for on the weekend… and they also were potentially about to lose the lease on the pier where they store their canoes.

Thanks Carol for coming down from Montauk to say hello – it was awesome to see you, and we’d love to take you for a paddle when you’re next in Sydney! I was pretty knackered by the end of the session – it was tough going into the chop and the current – and wolfed down a bowl of meatballs afterwards. Delicious!

We spent a day embracing what New York was originally all about – a mixture of cultures thrown together in the same location, making a fresh start. Starting at a nearby French café for crepes and bowls of coffee, we then caught the No 6 train to Jackson Heights in Queens. The area is an eclectic mix of communities – Columbian food stalls, Indian dress shops. We peered in the window of a Polish grocery store to check out the selection of sauerkraut, and bought ultra cheap berries from a Chinese fruit shop before sitting down for lunch at a Columbian corner store. On the return trip to Manhattan stopped to admire the Five Points graffiti warehouse – home to a huge array of artists. Finally, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Café Gitane – a great recommendation from Nick.

It's been a busy, but fun week in the city! Now time to head to Baltimore for the last stage of our trip - Tuugi and Puje's wedding