Trip to New York - part 3

As I wrote in the previous post, on the morning of May 1st hubby, his cousin, and I went to see the Statue of Liberty. At about 2 pm we went to see the Brooklyn Bridge. The last time hubby and I visited New York (May 2005), we had not been to see the bridge. So this time walking across the Brooklyn Bridge was a must-do for us while we were in New York. Afterwards, we visited the Empire State Building.


Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is not only one of the greatest and amazing feats of engineering but is also beautiful. It is one of the most popular and well known landmarks of New York. The bridge is one of the oldest steel-wire suspension bridges in the United States, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. Its construction was started in 1870 by the Roebling family (John, Washington, and Emily), and it took over 13 years to build. The bridge has a total length of 1825 meters. The two towers with large Neo-Gothic arches are probably the most noticeable feature of the bridge. The towers are 84 meters tall, and the distance between the two towers is 486 meters. The bridge was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

We walked from Battery Park up to the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side, and it took us almost an hour to reach the landmarks near the bridge like Woolworth Building and New York City Hall described in our guidebook. We loved the great architectural style of the City Hall. We walked for another 20 minutes or so and then reached the long pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge. The pedestrian walkway soon became wooden planks. While walking on the walkway, we got an extremely wonderful view of one of the towers of the bridge. This pedestrian walkway is elevated which allowed us to walk across the bridge without being bothered by the vehicular traffic that rushed past a level below. While walking further on the pathway, we got a beautiful view of the adjacent Manhattan Bridge. We also got nice unobstructed views of the surroundings on either side of the bridge. While crossing the river I looked down in between the planks that patterned the walkway over the river, and my steps faltered as I felt dizzy to see the river flowing directly below us.

A notice board on the road that indicates the way to Brooklyn Bridge. Woolworth Building is also seen in the photo.

Wonderful architectural style of New York City Hall

Hubby’s cousin and I walking towards Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge tower as seen from the Manhattan side

Vehicular traffic at a level below the pedestrian walkway

Manhattan Bridge as viewed from the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge

Wooden planks that patterned the walkway over the river

After walking for another 15 minutes or so on the pedestrian walkway, we reached very near the tower of the bridge on the Manhattan side, and took a few photos of us along with the tower. The tower looked amazing with so many steel wires supporting the bridge. An inscription on the tower structure describes about the history of the construction of the bridge.

Hubby’s cousin and I near the tower on the Manhattan side

Hubby and I near the tower on the Manhattan side

An inscription on the tower structure of the Brooklyn Bridge

We crossed the tower and continued walking further on the pedestrian walkway. Soon we started getting a wonderful view of the second tower of the bridge on the Brooklyn side. While walking at our own pace, we enjoyed seeing the fantastic views of Brooklyn in front of us. After walking for another fifteen minutes, we saw a few benches along the walkway. It was a very bright and sunny day and we all were tired after walking for almost two hours. So we sat on one of the benches, and relaxed and took in the views. We saw the Statue of Liberty far in the background.

Hubby’s cousin and I on the pedestrian walkway after crossing the tower on the Manhattan side

Hubby and I near the tower on the Brooklyn side

Hubby’s cousin and I near the tower on the Brooklyn side

Hubby’s cousin and I relaxing on a bench on the pedestrian walkway

The statue of Liberty as seen from the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge

We skipped walking the entire way across the wooden pedestrian walkway up to Brooklyn, and started walking back towards the Manhattan side. While walking back, we got an interesting view of the first tower as well as a fantastic view of downtown Manhattan’s skyline. The walk up to the subway station near city hall took about 45 minutes. The walk across the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway was truly amazing and a memorable journey for all of us. At about 5 pm, we had late lunch at a restaurant near the subway station.

The tower on the Manhattan side along with Manhattan skyline in the background

The tower on the Manhattan side along with Manhattan buildings in the background

The tower on the Manhattan side as viewed from far away while walking back to City Hall area

Empire State Building
At about 5.40 pm, we took a train at City Hall subway station near the Brooklyn Bridge. After a few stations, we got down the train, walked for a few minutes, changed to another subway train, and reached Penn Station. Empire State Building is a short walk from Penn Station.

Empire State Building is a famous landmark and one of the main tourist attractions of New York City. A visit to the city is not complete without experiencing the building. The building is a 102-story landmark Art Deco skyscraper located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street of New York City. The building was designed by William Lamb from the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. Excavation of the site began on January 22, 1930, and construction of the building started on March 17. Governor Alfred Smith officially opened the building to the public on May 1, 1931. The building is 443.2 meters high including the lightning rod. The building offers one of the most spectacular views on earth as seen from the 86th floor observatory, which is located at a height of 320 meters. The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

While walking towards the Empire State Building, we looked up and saw that many top stories of the high-rise building could not be seen from a street located so near to the building. We entered the building via the main entrance on Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets. On entering the building, we were in the lobby which seemed to be full of tradition and history. The lobby is an Art Deco masterpiece which is covered in thick slabs of marble with beautiful steel highlights throughout. The back wall of the lobby depicts an image of the Empire State Building set against a map of New York State.

The Empire State Building as viewed from a street near the building

Lobby of the Empire State Building

We wished to go to the observatory of the building, and so we took the escalators on the right hand side to the second floor. While walking towards the escalator, we saw a huge poster with ‘welcome’ written in several languages.

'Welcome’ written in several languages

All visitors have to go through the observatory security check. So we stood in a queue for security check, and after waiting for half an hour we passed through the security check. Next, we stood in a second queue of people waiting to purchase tickets for the observatory. After 15 minutes of waiting, we purchased tickets worth 20 dollars per person. Finally, we stood in a third queue for the observatory elevators. While waiting at this queue, a professional photographer took photos of each group against a green background and then digitally superimposed it with the image of the Empire State Building in the background. Later while going out of the building, we bought this photo for the sake of memory.

Our photo taken by a professional photographer while waiting in the queue for entering the observatory elevator

After waiting in the third queue for about 20 minutes, the remote-controlled express elevator took us to the 80th floor in less than a minute. 16 people can ride the elevator at a time. An observatory employee then directed tourists off the elevator on the 80th floor and took all of us toward the tower elevator to the 86th floor observatory. At 86th floor, the observatory offers panoramic views both from within a glass-enclosed pavilion and also from the surrounding open air promenade.

From the 86th floor observatory, we got the most unforgettable and spectacular views of New York. We were thrilled by the awe-inspiring vision of the city beneath us. In addition to the wonderful vistas far into the distance, we saw displays of skylines, high-rise buildings, bridges, and other prominent structures. The amazing 360-degree panoramic views from the promenade are really one of the most breath-taking spectacles of New York. We took several photos of the city from various positions and angles at the promenade. We loved every moment spent at the observatory.

View of north-west side of New York City from the observatory

View as seen just below the building at the west side

View of north side of New York City

View of north-east side of New York City

Chrysler Building

Far view of south side of New York City

Another view of south side of New York City

Me at the observatory promenade

A bird outside the observatory promenade

Hubby’s cousin and I at the observatory promenade

Hubby and I at the observatory promenade

We inside the glass-enclosed pavilion

After spending about 40 minutes at the observatory, we took the elevator back to the 80th floor of the building. At this floor there is a point where the visitors can take photos in front of brightly lit images of the Empire State Building. We took a few photos of us here.

Hubby’s cousin and I in front of brightly lit images of Empire State Building at the 80th floor

Hubby and I in front of the brightly lit images of Empire State Building

We left the Empire State Building at about 8.15 pm. It was dark outside, and we saw that the top few floors of the building were beautifully lit up in white. We loved the building and the unparalleled views from the building observatory. It seems that the feeling and spirit of New York City is embodied in this building.

Brightly lit top of the Empire State Building as seen from a nearby street

Dinner at Haru Hana restaurant
We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant named Haru Hana located in Korea Town in Manhattan. We had sushi, soy-sauce ramen, and kimchi udon. The food tasted ok but somehow it did not have the taste of authentic Japanese food. It felt more like Korean food probably because the restaurant is located in Korea Town.

A board welcoming customers to Haru Hana restaurant

Sushi

Soy-sauce ramen

Kimchi udon

At about 10 pm, we took NJ transit train and reached back my relative’s home in NJ at 11.45 pm. It was a long day for us and we all were rather tired, and so we retired for the day soon afterwards. The next day we went to Times Square about which I will write in the next post.

Trip to New York - part 2

As I wrote in the previous post, hubby, his cousin, and I had been to New York on a sightseeing trip during golden week holidays. On 30th April, we stayed at my relative’s home in New Jersey. We were all refreshed after eight hours of sleep, and on 1st May we were ready to go sightseeing at about 7 am. We had a nice and heavy breakfast of waffles, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and coffee. The breakfast was too heavy but we knew that we had a lot of walking to do that day, so ate everything.

Hubby having breakfast

At about 8 am, my relative dropped us to a railway station named Metuchen. We took NJ transit and after about one hour of train ride, we reached Penn Station.

Me and hubby’s cousin at Metuchen railway station platform

NJ transit train

Walk around Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station, commonly called Penn Station is a major intercity rail station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. The railway station was massive. Once we came out of the station, we were surrounded by high rise buildings. We walked around the place for about 30 minutes and enjoyed the views. We took a few photos in front of Madison Square Garden. The city is so vibrant and fast-paced. We loved it.

Inside Penn Station

Hubby inside Penn Station

Hubby’s cousin and I in front of Madison Square Garden

Hubby and I in front of Madison Square Garden

High-rise buildings near Penn Station area

After moving around the station area for some time, we went to Penn Station subway and bought three subway passes called MetroCard. For 27 dollars each, we got a one week unlimited travel pass that we used quite a lot during our sightseeing trip of the city. The first few times, all three of us had embarrassing moments swiping the MetroCard incorrectly at the entry gates, the gates not opening, and a big queue of people forming behind us! But during three days of sightseeing, we used the subway a lot and became quite proficient at swiping the MetroCard.

Ticket vending machine

MetroCard

Hubby’s cousin and I standing at subway Pennsylvania Station

Battery Park
From Penn Station, we took a subway up to South Ferry railway station. From this station, we walked for about ten minutes to reach Battery Park. While walking we passed in front of Staten Island Ferry terminal, which offers free half hour ride on the Staten Island Ferry with nice view of Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline. But we skipped this, and walked up to Battery Park. There were many high rise buildings in Battery Park city and we enjoyed viewing them.

Hubby’s cousin and I in front of Staten Island Ferry terminal

Hubby walking towards Battery Park

High rise buildings at Battery Park city

We reached the park after about ten minutes. Battery Park is a 25 acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island, facing New York Harbor. The Park holds much significance in the history of New York City. It started as a fortress to guard early settlers and has gradually evolved into the largest open space in Downtown Manhattan. Along the waterfront, ferries depart for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

At the entrance of the park, we took photos with a mime mimicking the Statue of Liberty. We also took a few photos with Hudson River in the background as well as in front of high rise buildings. We saw a memorial statue of an eagle honoring the soldiers who died in the western Atlantic during World War II. We walked for some more time in the park and then bought Statue Cruise tickets at ticket booths inside Castle Clinton National Monument which is located within in the park premises. Thousands of people visit Statue of Liberty daily, and prior reservation is usually required to access the crown and pedestal of the statue. We were able to get flex tickets, which allows access to the grounds of Liberty Island and Ellis Island. There was a huge crowd of visitors and we had a waiting time of almost two hours for entering the cruise vessel.

We along with a mime at the entrance of Battery Park

Hubby and I with Hudson River in the background

Me in Battery Park

Memorial statue of an eagle honoring the soldiers who died in the war

Ticket booths inside Castle Clinton

A long queue of visitors at Battery Park waiting for the cruise journey

Hubby’s cousin and I walked around a bit in the park. We loved the greenery of the park that was in striking contrast to the high rise buildings around. It was a very bright and shiny day and we got tired just after 15 minutes of walking, and so we returned back to the long queue of visitors patiently waiting to enter the cruise vessel. We bought pretzels from a roadside stall and had them. While waiting in the queue, we saw impressive displays by several street performers. They sang, danced, and performed jaw-dropping acrobatic moves. It was fun to watch them and a nice way to pass the time. As we moved further in the queue, we saw American Merchant Mariner’s Memorial that was sculpted by Marisol Escobar. It was inspired by a photograph of victims of a submarine attack on an American merchant ship during World War II, and was dedicated in 1991.

Hubby’s cousin and I having pretzels

A street performer

American Merchant Mariner’s Memorial

Me and hubby’s cousin waiting in the queue

Statue of Liberty
We reached the security screening area after waiting in the queue for about two hours. Visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island must pass through security screening similar to airport security procedures before boarding the cruise vessel. After passing through a very strict security check, we boarded the cruise ferry. It was a 75 minutes journey that featured the best views and skylines of lower Manhattan and the islands of New York Harbor. As the cruise ferry started, we enjoyed and admired the high-rise buildings of Manhattan from the observation deck.

Me at the observation deck of cruise ferry

Hubby and I at the observation deck of the cruise ferry

High-rise buildings and skylines of Manhattan

After about 15 minutes of cruising, we neared the Statue of Liberty. The official name of the Statue of Liberty is ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’. It was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States for the 100th anniversary of America’s independence, and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, and was dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue was designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986.

As the cruise ferry approached the Statue of Liberty, people in the ferry got very excited and started taking photos. We were also really thrilled to see the symbol of the free world, democracy, and America. We took photos of the towering 93.14 meters high monument from various angles. We also took a few photos of us with the statue in the background. However as the cruise ferry was rather crowded with many people around us, it was not possible for the photographer to move much back, and so we were pretty close to the camera lens while taking the photos. We all look rather funny in these photos!

Several photos of the Statue of Liberty as seen from various angles

Hubby’s cousin and I along with the Statue of Liberty in the background

Hubby and I along with the Statue of Liberty in the background

After another five minutes or so, the ferry reached Liberty Island. The Statue of Liberty is located on this island. However, we did not get down the ferry as we could not get tickets to explore the pedestal or crown of the statue.

Statue of Liberty as seen from the observation deck of the cruise vessel docked at Liberty Island

View of docking area of Liberty Island

After some time, the ferry started moving again and reached Ellis Island. The ferry stopped for some time at this island and then returned back to Battery Park. While returning back to Battery Park, we again passed in front of the Statue of Liberty and took a few photos. Also, we again enjoyed a good view of high-rise buildings of Battery Park city.

I and the Statue of Liberty in the background

Hubby and the Statue of Liberty in the background

Me at the observation deck along with high rise buildings in the background

Manhattan skyline

High rise buildings of Battery Park city

High rise buildings and a cruise ferry near Battery Park

The cruise ferry reached back Battery Park after 75 minutes of pleasurable journey. After getting off the ferry, we took rest for some time in the park and enjoyed an acrobatic performance by a few street performers.

Return to Battery Park

Cruise vessel we used

Video of acrobatic performance by a few street performers

We left Battery Park at about 2 pm, and went to see Brooklyn Bridge. Later we went to see Empire State Building. I will write about these in the next post.