Visiting New York for the second Time and loving it more than ever

#TRAVEL REPORTS

This visit to New York was divided into two, as I had a trip to Tokyo, the first part of the visit to New York was on the way out to Tokyo and the other part on the way back, it would be one day on the way out and two on the way back, not much for a city as spectacular as New York, but enough to visit the most emblematic places.

Arriving in New York (I arrived at JFK Airport) is always a patience test experience, getting to the Hotel took me almost 3 hours!

I stayed at the Double Tree Metropolitan on Lexington Avenue, the stay was ok, nothing spectacular, but I felt it could be better, as I only booked the hotel to sleep as my flight to Tokyo was early in the morning and I needed to leave the hotel at 4AM in the morning.

So I left my things at the hotel and went directly for a walk. I walked for our around Midtown and Times Square.

Midtown, Times Square

Walking through Midtown, like walking all over Manhattan is something that I enjoy a lot, walking through Madison Av., visiting the Grand Central Station, Bryant Park and Times Square, walking up Park Avenue to 42nd to make shopping and walking, not much else than that since I didn't have much more time. But I recommend it a lot, you can´t avoid this part of the city.

The return

I arrived from Tokyo on a Friday night, just at midnight I arrived at the MarriottCourtyard New York Manhattan/Midtown East on 3rd avenue. The staff was great as I arrived late at night and they were very helpful recommending two places to eat, PJ Clarke's and Cassiano's pizzeria.

I decided on Pizza because when I passed by PJ Clarke's there were so many people that I decided to continue, I always liked New York pizza, and of course, I enjoyed Cassiano's pizza, a simple place, nothing fancy, but exquisite pizza.

This second part of the visit consisted of visiting Brooklyn Bridge, the Oculus and WTC, Central Park, Madison Ave., and walking all around Manhattan.

Brooklyn Bridge

I already had in mind to go for that walk, I took the subway line 4 and arrived at Borough Hall since I wanted to walk a bit through Brooklyn too, I reached the Brooklyn Bridge, the number of people on a Saturday morning is impressive, but no matter when you go, to cross the bridge it is something you have to do when you travel to New York. The sight of the city from the bridge is amazing.

 

Oculus and WTC

I arrived on the other side of the bridge, and I continued straight to the Oculus and the WTC, the Oculus is impressive, it attracts attention as soon as you see it a few blocks before arriving, huge, but also attractive, the architecture of the place called my attention more than anything else, it is immense, when you get into the Oculus there is a shopping center and it continues with connections with several subway stations and also with one of the entrances to the WTC building.

The 9/11 Memorial in commemoration of the victims of the attack on the twin towers is something you have to visit, I was not able to do it on my previous visit, as it was not finished yet, but it is emotive. So it was something he had to do. I was moved to see the names of the deceased on the monument.

 

Madison Av.

If you have to do shopping, you have to walk down Madison Ave. The main stores are on this avenue, from Uniqlo, Nike, Adidas, to many more, as well as being able to visit emblematic places of New York such as the Rockefeller Center or St.Patrick´s Cathedral.

 

Times square

At night you have to go to Times Square, it is the living image of what New York is at night, lights, spectacle, many people, the dazzling brightness of the city.

 

Central Park

Another of the typical places that you must visit, I had already been on my previous visit. But there are always corners that one does not get to see, I had gotten into my head that I wanted to see the John Lennon Memorial, so with the help of Google Maps (an indispensable tool for traveling) I looked for the path that took me there, and the route in warm June day is beautiful. Central Park is a paradise within the concrete jungle that is New York.

 

On the way back, I went through the west side of Central Park and passed near the Trump Plaza, Columbus Circle, and continued again to Times Square, this time during the day. You never get bored with New York and its places. The most amazing thing about New York is its architecture, and going without a specific destination also helps you find architectural gems that you would not see otherwise.

This was my second visit to this spectacular city, and every time I fall in love more, but surely there will be many more visits since I still have many more places and secret corners of this incredible city to visit.