The Hit List

So I called this the hit list because I decided to attack some of the major landmarks I wanted to see. I started with Grand Central Station which was pretty incredible. The amount of commuters that pass through this station is insane. I wasn't expecting to be stunned by this place, I was kind of thinking "How can a train station be that great?" but it really was mind blowing. I actually said WOW aloud when I saw the main space for the first time. It was beautiful, I reckon it would be an epic place for a party!

The amazing Grand Central Station

The ceiling is incredible

So fancy!

Hercules, Minerva and Mercury watching over the entrance

Next stop was the NY Public Library, which is another grand old building. That's what I kind of loved about NY, there are so many skyscrapers and modern, nondescript office buildings and then every so often you walk round the corner and there's an early 19th Century building. It makes for a nice contrast but I much prefer the old buildings to the new ones. I think I'm going to have to dedicate a whole post to the architecture I saw because it was just amazing. I absolutely fell in love with one building (which I will talk about later) but just to clarify, fell in love as in, every time I saw the building I would smile and be amazed all over again, not in this way (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_sexuality) you sickos (for those of you too lazy to click the link, it's about people who are sexually attracted to buildings, bet you wish you'd clicked it now! haha).

Anyway, getting back on track! The NY public library...ok so, small confession to make which you're all gonna totally roll your eyes at...The main reason I wanted to go here was because this is where Carrie and Big in SATC were supposed to get married. THERE I SAID IT! ANOTHER SEX AND THE CITY REFERENCE!  GET OVER IT! YOU'LL BE GETTING A LOT MORE!

So, NYPL = amazing. Such a beautiful building, it's just off 5th Ave which is one of the busiest avenues in Manhattan and once you step inside you feel like you've stepped into another time, far from the hustle and bustle of NYC. The main room I wanted to visit - the Rose Reading Room - was sadly closed when I got there :( I was a bit gutted but the building didn't disappoint. There are tons of ornate little rooms, decked out like how I imagine the Prime Ministers rooms in Downing Street to be set out like. All dark mahogany and plush seats, very posh haha. But it's open to the public so you can just rock up with your laptop or books and sit in one of the rooms and pretend it's your own private study, or at least that's what I'd do haha. One thing that really shocked me about this place was that I didn't really see any books! I know that the Rose Reading Room has books in it, but only around the edges, but no other rooms I saw had what I would consider a conventional library set up. No shelves, no check out desks...so strange. While I was walking home I did notice a few branches of the NYPL so I think that the NYPL is mainly just the home of the library but is now more decorative than anything. I guess the reasoning is that they want to preserve this building so they send the masses to the branches that they don't care about hahah. Just to point out, there are security in this building so it's not like a bum can just walk in and crash there. It's pretty well policed, which again, goes with my theory that it doesn't function like a conventional library because they don't want it wrecked! Aside from the beautiful setting, my favourite part of the library was the children's floor. It was more like a museum than a library so there were first editions and original copies of a ton of children's books. Pretty incredible. But the best part by far was seeing the original Winnie the Pooh and friends, so cool! (see picture below)

The lion "Fortitude" guarding the steps to the New York Public Library. The other lion "Patience" is on the opposite side.

Outside the crazy beautiful entrance. You know how short I am so take that into account - the roof is pretty high!

The entrance hall

The beautiful painted ceiling

Looking out from the old to the new!

Just chilling with the actual Winnie the Pooh and friends!

Behind the library is Bryant Park. It's one of NY's many public parks with free wifi (total godsend for a traveller haha). There are chairs everywhere so people just stop by on their lunch breaks or whatever to chill in the greenery and most mornings there are free yoga and pilates classes and also during the summer they hold free concerts most nights. This kind of stuff is what makes a city like NY so cool, I wish we had something similar at home but then again we don't have the population to sustain it. One of my walking guides told me that at any given moment there are over 8 million people in Manhattan, but only around 1.4 million people actually live there. So technically the population is similar to Auckland, but the amount of commuters means that it has to be super city!

Bryant Park

From here I made my way to Madison Sq Park and the Flatiron District. Madison Sq Park has the original Shakeshack, a fastfood outlet which some say has the best burgers in the city so I needed to try one! The lines are huge but it was worth it. The chips were amazing and the burger was pretty delicious but as with most meals I had in America, the portion sizes are huge so I couldn't finish it all. I was planning on getting a peanut butter shake too, so glad I didn't cuz there is no way I would have been able to fit all of that in my tummy! They also do frozen custard which sounded amazing. Verdict: Delicious. Try Shakeshack if you ever go to NY. There are outlets everywhere but Madison Sq is the home! The view is also pretty nice too!

Shake Shack Shackburger - yum!

Burger eating view - Madison Square Garden

Just over the road from Madison Sq Park is the Flatiron District, home of the Flatiron Building! It's so cooool! So called because it's built in the shape of an iron, apparently the offices on the end are quite small but are the most coveted ones. I would definitely love to see inside but unfortunately it's not open to the public. When it was built in about 1905 (I think) it was one of the tallest buildings Downtown, pretty crazy because it only has 21 stories! Now it's eclipsed by the skyscrapers but so much cooler than any of them!

The amazing Flatiron building

From the other side

 

Union Square

The Flatiron Building is the unofficial marker for where Midtown turns into Downtown. Quite close to it is Union Sq which is a bustling little park which I think is the start of the East Village, where all the poets and philosophers and such lived in the 60s. Nowadays it's full of all sorts of people, mainly
NYU students but also still a lot of "alternative" people haha. There's a market there most days too which is pretty cool. What I love most is the streets around Union Sq and the East Village. For the first time I felt like I was in "proper" NY. Midtown is a bit soulless, lots of high rises and high end stores and LOTS of people. Union Sq is still quite busy but people are more relaxed in a way (though NY is never relaxing!) and you start to see more of the old apartment buildings with the fire escapes. I would pick one of these over a penthouse apartment in a high rise any day!

Love the streets around Union Sq

So that's the end of day two, sorry I'm taking so long! Life is busy at the moment haha and I'm actually in England now so I have more time to write but still not enough!

Byeee and thanks for reading x