| Product: |
New York City |
| Date: |
22/07/08 (21 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Boredom doesnt exist in New York, a WAG's/normal person's shopping heaven
Disadvantages: Driving around Manhattan is suicide, expensive to live and eat out
I've just walked three blocks across the spine of Manhattan, and I've been told by four different hot dog vendors they offer the best hot dogs in town. How can I cope with all that choice?
With not a single Marlon Brando-esque gangster in sight, New York City has dismissed its image as being a seedy hotspot for the poor and Sicilians alike. In fact nowadays, New York is considered the place on Earth for business, entertainment and luxury. All of these attributes are squeezed into Manhattan, an island in the middle of the Hudson River, only 13 miles long and 2 miles wide. The surrounding areas of Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Staten Island each have their own unique feel and atmosphere, but it's Manhattan which is the jewel in the crown. Manhattan is alive with people working in the clouds and yellow taxis zipping around the streets like Scalextric cars with the sidewalks bustling with briefcases and Starbucks coffees.
And to think a place with this amount of class and order was originally a Dutch settlement. Yes back in 1614, a Dutch General purchased the entire lower Manhattan area for a mere $24. In the early 20th Century, New York became the 'Gateway to America', with 1,000's of immigrants from Europe and Africa passing through Ellis Island and being welcomed by one of the finest and most recognizable statues in the world. And rather than branch out into the wide open lands of the United States, many of the immigrants decided to settle down in New York. Manhattan could indeed be considered as a microcosm of the world, with Italian, Chinese, Korean, Dutch and British districts being scattered amongst the skyscrapers, with some only being divided by a single road.
My journey to America's version of St. Peter's Gates began at John F. Kennedy airport, which is actually situated 40 minutes away from Manhattan in the Queens district. You don't feel as though you're somewhere special when you exit the airport, in fact you could really be in any part of America. However, as the taxi maneuvers its way through the eight lanes of Brooklyn Bridge, you can see the landscape of steel towers that pierce the East American sky, and you know then that there is no other place like this on Earth. My hotel is situated just a few blocks from most of the action, just south of Central Park. The Blakely Hotel looks like a very large English house, sandwiched between two very large American skyscrapers. Fortunately, I wasn't looking to spend my entire time in New York in the hotel, so I dropped my bags off and headed straight for Times Square.
To say it's a bit of Las Vegas condensed into a 'square' is an understatement. You know if you've made it in terms of setting up a successful business if you can advertise in Times Square and not look out of place. All of the big names are present, and there's even an indoor Ferris wheel inside of the world's largest Toys'r'us (not that you can see a great deal).
Moving away from the 'wackiness' of Times Square, and you can find yourself in the more relaxed Fifth Avenue. Not many people other than entrepreneurs or corrupt Government leaders can really afford to shop down here, but the Pound/Dollar exchange rate isn't too bad at the moment, so maybe you might be able to ask for a bag from either Gucci or Louis Vuitton just to look as though you belong on Fifth Avenue.
Next on my list was to do some general sightseeing. After London, there isn't another city on Earth which possesses as many famous landmarks as New York, and so what better way to do so than from on open top bus. The tour guide is a 'true' New Yorker, in that his car is a taxi and he eats from a microwave. He recounts his own experiences of September 11th as we soak up the New York summer sun on the bus's top deck. It's a harrowing tale, and the thought of suddenly seeing two planes glide into view is quite moving and terrifying. However, this feeling is quickly banished as the tour guide continues to crack jokes at every street corner. The tour extends into the evening and it travels across Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn. Having shrugged off its image, Brooklyn is one of the most fashionable areas in the New York state. And the parting gift we got from Brooklyn was truly epic, as the whole tour bus gazed in awe at the Manhattan skyscrapers, which were lit up as though they were on fire. That evening I went and saw a Broadway Show. It was one of the last showings of 'We Will Rock You' and the atmosphere from the show and audience was truly astounding. To exit the theatre and still receive the same buzz walking to the hotel from the surrounding atmosphere as though you were still sat in your seat demonstrates the nature of Manhattan.
It would be unjust to skim over everything New York has to offer, because the depth and wealth of the landmarks and attractions is staggering. I really believe that New York could appear on the awful 'Holiday Showdown' and still please the family who believe that a good holiday involves something quite obscure. But this journalist firmly believes everybody should take a bite out of this apple before other external influences (the economy) take the sweetness out of this urban fruit.
Summary: Don't die before you've visited NYC
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