NYC – 77 of 90

So, after surviving the parking debacle, we finally made it to New York City. The following is a collection of photos (a few taken by me but most taken by Katie) of Saturday’s adventure.

Grand Central Terminal really is a cool place. The bustle of all the people and the (usually) efficiency of the trains is enjoyable. During the trip, we took a few subway rides as well. I really came to enjoy using the subway as a means of navigating the city quickly.

Radio City Music Hall was one of the first major landmarks we saw as we trekked the city.

I took the NBC studio tour the last time I was in New York (2003) and really enjoyed it. There’s just something very cool about the Rockefeller Center. I was also greatly amused by the fact that each color of the NBC logo at the front of the store was composed of M&M’s.

Me standing with the Indiana flag at Rockefeller Center. The ice rink, which normally would be behind and below where I stood was filled with a bunch of food vendors or something.

The door to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Apparently they were shooting scenes for a new Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie around here Saturday. There were a bunch of trailers lining the street around the cathedral. No celeb sightings though.

More of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

The Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center.

My noble attempt to be creative as a photographer. Successful? Eh … I guess you’ll be the judge.

And Katie with the statue. (No more Atlas statue, promise!)

We took the subway to Chinatown. While the crammed streets, hundreds of little shops (in which there are some pretty good deals if you’re willing to look around and have a discernable eye for quality vs. cheap knock-offs) and general atmosphere is something special, I was much more entranced by Little Italy. There was just a much more laidback feel to it, as people roamed in the street and there weren’t people soliciting you every three steps.

We had cannolis for dessert after eating lunch in Chinatown. Delicious — although I made quite the mess with the powdered sugar.

Katie seemed quite enthralled with the pigeons and chased a couple of them. I can’t remember if this one suffered a disruptive fate.

We found this fountain near city hall and decided to sit down for a few minutes to rest our feet. We left and went on way — we were traveling down Broadway at the time. About 30 to 45 minutes later, I realized that I left the bag of souvenirs I had purchased at the bench we were sitting at. We raced back to the fountain, and incredibly, the bag was still there. Lucky me!

I know it’s really “touristy,” but I really enjoy Times Square. There’s enough space that all the people don’t quite feel jammed like in Chinatown. And while all the solicitors for the shows and “authentic” items can be a little annoying, I suppose it has its charm. I just think it’s a fun environment.

Found the Ed Sullivan Theater, so I had to get a picture.

Our last site for the day was Central Park. We didn’t have a ton of time (had to catch the train back to Connecticut), but we wanted to walk through it for at least a few minutes. Central Park is a pretty cool place — I think one intern referred to it as an oasis amid every else that is the madness of New York. We didn’t see a lot…

…except for this rule-breaking pigeon…

…and this Simon Bolivar statue. Saturday was his birthday, so a few people apparently decorated it.

All in all, it was a lot of fun to go to New York. Don’t know if I could live there, but it’s certainly a fun place to visit.