MAY 2
alrighty. so i started this day off with a bang by heading down to times square as soon as i was ready to go for my day. i got there and was completely in awe of everything there was to see. part of me had always suspected that when times square is shown in advertisments, movies or on tv that they exaggerate just how grand times square really is. but they dont. it really is just as flashy, bright, packed full of people as what theyve displayed to the world. i took a deep breath and jumped right in.
i walked around. and then i walked some more. i walked until my feet were tired and then i continued walking - all the way to the rockefeller centre - to which they wanted to charge me $20 to go to the observation deck up top. screw that - why would i pay that when its not even the empire state building and i had already seen the statue of liberty for so cheap ($12)? so i left there and stopped off for lunch before figuring i might as well go try to find where the brooklyn bridge was. so i walked some more.
and i walked.
and i walked.
finally, i found a port of which had some old school ships docked there. there was some shops and some booths around so i did some exploring. there wasnt very many people there so it was nice. and then i found a bench and took it all in. i hadnt quite made it to the brooklyn bridge - but it was right next to me, larger than life.
gawd, that bench was nice. that was one thing that i found in new york - there is NO BENCHES anywhere -- no wonder everyone is so skinny and fit. people are FORCED to walk and keep moving because there is no where to sit and relax. they only have seats if you want to go get something to eat or go to a broadway. otherwise, a person is stuck on their own 2 feet. there was many time i was wishing i was old enough to have one of those walkers that has the seat built right into them as i feared that at some point my feet were just going to fall right off from pure exhaustion.
anyway, back to my bench on the shoreline. it was pure bliss. i took it all in and just relaxed. and breathed. and then contemplated why in hell there was no beaches anywhere in sight. new york is an ISLAND SURROUNDED BY WATER. and not once did i see a beach. maybe there is some, i dont know - but they sure werent advertised and even if they were i bet theres a million rules to abide by in order to "enjoy" such a thing as there was with central park.
as it were, i enjoyed my bench thouroughly then started walking again to get to the bridge. from my original viewing point, it looked as though it would be quite lovely to walk across it. well - when i rounded the corner to get on the path that stretched across the bridge, i came face-to-face with a sea of people. seems like every tourist in the world had the same idea. i dont know why i was so surprised at this... it IS a tourist destination. but still, i was a little shocked. it was just people. all crammed into the space for the sidewalk that reached the other side of the bridge. i took a deep breath and dove in. and i walked. all the way to the other side.
by the time i was done the bridge, i was done with people. i was done with walking. all i could think of was my quiet little hostel room across the city that i wanted to get too. so i took the subway back to the hostel, grabbed some fast food grub and went up to my room. i didnt leave until the next morning. i was beat.
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all my new york pics can be viewed at:
album 1
album 2
album 3
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