USA: New York City 1995

June 22, 1995

New York City comprises 5 boroughs sitting where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean. At its core is Manhattan, a densely populated borough that’s among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centres. Its iconic sites include skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building and sprawling Central Park. Broadway theatre is staged in neon-lit Times Square. The Manhattan Skyline itself is a sad reflection of ur troubled world as our photos show the before and after 9/11 views.

🙂 Fantastic Vibe. Central Park. Time Square. Just being in the Big Apple!

🙁 When we first visited in the 90s it was a dangerous place….

Three things we did not know about New York:

Oysters were so popular in New York in the 19th century that the shells were used to pave Pearl Street. They were also used for lime for the masonry of the Trinity Church.
The United Nations headquarters was established in New York City in 1952 after World War II.
The first pizzeria in the United States opened in NYC in 1895. Since the 1960s, the price of a slice of pizza has been roughly the same price as a subway ride, generating the idea of “Pizza Principle” among economists.

Paul, Trent and I had a first brief visit was in 1995. Our family travelled to NYC again in 2008 with the family as part of a greater Canadian trip and this. This was a stopover for a couple of nights. The girls and I did a ‘girly ‘ trip in March 2017 when friends generously offered their apartment to us on 5th Avenue across from Central Park – how spoilt were we?!

1995:

We were half way through our Around the World Trip and had been staying with a University friend of Paul’s in Falls Church , DC. Her flatmate kindly gave us a lift to the bus station. we took a Greyhound to NYC. We pulled in at about 14h00 – Highly exciting to see the Manhattan Skyline for the very first time, other than on the big screen! We felt a thrill of anticipation. We walked to our hostel which was TINY! Only the bed could fit in! This cost $38!! We fond a subway map and walked to 23rd Street and caught a train to the ferry and took a trip around the harbour marvelling at the statue of Liberty.

Paul got really frustrated as I insisted on walking EVERYwhere and seeing EVERYthing! After all – I was living the dream! Finally in the Big Apple – Wow! We had great views from the Empire State Building. (Post Script: Interesting to see the Twin Towers in our photos. 🙁 ) . We had a nice (expensive) Thai meal in Greenwich Village before heading back to our shoebox to sleep. Really noisy with sirens! The sewers really do steam and stink!