New York Day 2

Day 2 started with letting Lisa sleep in. After a long day yesterday, we didn't have anything planned for Day 2 until late morning. We got started around 10am with a trip to Pick a Bagel up on 53rd and 8th. We had been wanting to make sure we got a real New York Bagel, and we did. Much less dense than the bagels we've been getting in Tennessee.

I had an appointment to meet my counterpart at the Midtown 45 Wyndham Resort in New York, so we decided to walk there instead of taking an Uber or a cab. It took a little longer than I thought, it was about a 25-30 minute walk. If it had been a little warmer, it would have been more pleasant, but even with the chilly temps, it wasn't that bad. We enjoyed seeing the different buildings in the midtown area.


Midtown 45 isn't far from Grand Central Station. We ended up in front of it so we had a quick bite for lunch. We decided to check out Central Park so we hopped a subway uptown and entered the park on the corner of 59th Street and 5th Ave. It's amazing to see a park like that in the middle of such an urban jungle. The hills and rocks and lakes make you wonder what the area was like before civilization. It was an oasis in the middle of the city. We walked for over an hour in the park, moving through The Mall, where we saw a great group of breakdancers, to the Bow Bridge, to Strawberry Fields, then a stop off at Tavern of the Green for a rest and a drink. So many movies and TV shows were made in Central Park, it was a great time to just walk and enjoy.

We ended up walking almost 7 miles in day 2. We also made our first foray into the New York Subway system. As car dependent as we are in Tennessee, I can see how being in New York can almost be freeing from that. Yes, people are everywhere, and sometimes you can't see the sky, but the ease which people can get around is something else. I can understand some of the appeal of being in a city like this. I can also understand how many people could never survive long in the hustle and bustle. It will be interesting tomorrow to see the difference of a city at work. So far, it has just been the weekend. The weekday I'm sure will be different.

We ended the day with a tour called The Ride. The Ride is a normal bus that has been modified with stadium seating. We did a tour of midtown Manhattan, but there were different stops with street performances along the way. It was a great way to get a handle on that part of the city and see things we might not otherwise see. We past Carnegie Hall and the Chrysler Building and learned more about both. It was very entertaining and well worth the cost. I highly recommend it if you are in the City.

That wasn't quite the end. We did stop for a slice (Pizza) and a piece of New York Cheesecake. That splurge was hopefully made up by the 17,500 steps we took today. I hope so, my feet sure can feel it!

Tomorrow our daughter Allison comes to town and we have a full day. We are doing a food tour in Chelsea Market, going to the 9/11 Memorial, and ending the day with a night tour of midtown. I'm sure it will be another day of thousands of steps in the city that doesn't sleep.