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This is all of us on the first day of our New York vacation. We took the New Jersey PATH subway to 33rd St and 6th Ave, and then we walked up 6th Avenue all the way up to Central Park. At this point David was getting tired, and he really wanted to tide a ride on a horse-drawn carriage, so we hired this horse-drawn carriage to take us through Central Park up to 72nd St and 5th Ave.



Rebecca and the boys taking a break on 5th Ave while walking up toward the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We got off the horse drawn carriage at 72nd St and the Met is at 82nd St. That's ten blocks, but New York city blocks are small because the city is so old, and ten blocks is actually a fairly short walk. One of the things we loved about New York was the fact that it is a walking city: you can walk from place to place and see a substantial portion of the city. It's not like suburbia where walking is something you do for exercise but is not an even remotely practical way to get around.



Rebecca and the boys arriving at the Met! The Met is one of many "must see" tourist destinations in New York. Unfortunately, it was only then that we discovered the Met was closed on this Monday. We don't know if they're closed every Monday, but they were definitely closed this Monday. After walking a total of 36 city blocks to get here, we were ... disappointed.



Rebecca and the boys in Central Park. After being turned away at the Met, we walked up to the 86th St Traverse Rd through the park and meandered our way through, in an attempt to get to 8th Ave on the other side. The Great Lawn is in the background. Central Park is one of the really great city parks in the world, and any visitor to New York really must take a stroll through it, or at least a bike tour.



David hamming it up as usual.



David flaking out on a covered bench on the west side of "The Lake" in Central Park. After leaving the Museum of Natural History, we walked back into the park and strolled down around the west side of the park.



Matthew takes his turn. We were headed toward the southwest corner of the park, where we had intended to find an ATM and get some cash. As it turns out, you really can't get around in New York on credit cards alone. A lot of businesses will only take cash, and that includes the cabbies. We eventually ended up getting some cash down around 57th St, and then we had a cab take us to Times Square. As it turns out, Times Square is at 43rd St and Broadway, so it was only 14 blocks away and we probably could have just walked it, but we didn't realize that at the time. Anyway, we got to Times Square, ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (yes, it's a restaurannt named after the fictional Forrest Gump's company in the movie), and then hoofed it back to the PATH subway station at 33rd and 6th.



Matthew and David in the African Mammal section of the Museum of Natural History. This is one of David's favourite destinations in New York, since he's a big fan of animals in general.



Day Two of our New York vacation: we took the 3 hour Circle Line boat tour around the island with Redimperator and Metatwaddle. You can see a bit of the backs of their heads in this shot.



I was surprised by how nice Ellis Island looked. The spires look vaguely reminiscent of the Russian architectural style to me, although that probably changes when you get closer to them. We didn't bother actually going to Ellis Island; we have no ancestors whose entry was recorded there and we had only a limited amount of time. We figured it was enough to see the place and know a little bit of its history.



Speaking of things we wanted to see ...



Manhattan is surprisingly compact when viewed from the water. That's the thing about its island locale; they couldn't sprawl out the way most cities can, so everything is tightly packed together, and built up vertically. There are other cities in the world which are packed together like this (Hong Kong and Tokyo come to mind), but they generally have some geographic reason for their high density as well. Given the choice, urban planners would generally not do this. But it sure looks cool, doesn't it?



The Grand Old Brooklyn Bridge! This bridge was built before engineers developed a preference for all-steel construction, so it still has that 19th century look to it. There are several bridges crossing this span of water, but this is the only one with that classic architecture.



Of course, it's not as if they didn't use any steel, as the underside of the bridge demonstrates.



Rebecca and Metatwaddle sitting on the boat as we approached the next bridge. This one employs the more modern all-steel construction style.



The United Nations building. For some reason, I couldn't see the black helicopters. Very strange.



All of us at the M&M Store near Times Square. After we got off the Circle Line boat, we took a cab to Restaurant Row on 47th St and ate at a little Italian restaurant called Tramonti (nice place; excellent Risotto), then we walked to Times Square.



Rebecca took my place behind the camera for this one. Check out my shaved head!



The fountain in Washington Square, which we passed through on our way to the legendary Katz's Deli restaurant on Houston St. The restaurants on 46th St are nice enough, but Katz's is where the New Yorkers eat, and when you get there, you can see why. The place is a truly great experience. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to take a picture while I was there, but I consider it one of Manhattan's "must see" destinations for sure. The atmosphere is great (and it's something you can't really capture in a picture anyway), and the food is fantastic.



For some reason, Washington Square park has its own miniature version of the Arc De Triomphe.



The Cloisters: another "must see" destination. I thought this place was fantastic: it's built to recreate the appearance and atmosphere of a medieval abbey, and it contains a wealth of period artwork. Some of the architecture is apparently made from transplanted pieces of authentic original material as well.



As soon as you enter the place, it feels like you're in the real thing.



This is the vaulted ceiling in the part of the building where you pay for admission.



Admittedly, the electric lights and tourists spoil the authenticity of the recreation, but it's still quite the place. Just look at it.



Obviously, everything in the building is built around religious themes.



Rebecca and the boys at the edge of the courtyard area. Look at the intricacy of the carvings on the columns.



The whole place is incredibly atmospheric. Later in the day they even started playing some monastic chants on the building's sound system.



A view outside. The land on the other side of the river is undeveloped: that was apparently a condition of its donation to the city, and it helps maintain the pristine beauty of the park. I would hate to think of what that scene would look like if the other side of the river were covered in condos.



Some of the artwork on display inside. The more you walk through this building, the more you see the great tragedy of medieval religion: so many gifted artisans worked so hard, and yet, because of the religious domination of culture, all of their art looks the same. It is beautiful because of the incredible craftsmanship, but let's be honest: how many sculptures and paintings of the Virgin Mary do you really want to see? There is an incredibly narrow range of subject matter in European medieval art because of this single-minded focus on religion, and when I look at it, I see wasted potential. All of that ability, funneled into such a narrow range of material. Tragic.



Some of the building exterior. There is an area where you can walk outside and look down on the park beyond the walls.



Rebecca and the boys checking out the view.



Another courtyard area.



An exterior garden.



It was actually rainy and overcast for much of the day, but the Sun did come out occasionally. This is a picture of part of the exterior wall near the garden area, during one of those brief periods of sunlight.



My angel.



Here she is again, near the central courtyard.



David in the Egyptian section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is a monstrous place; one could easily spend an entire day just wandering around its cavernous halls.



Another slightly imperfect picture from inside the Egyptian section of the Met. They keep the lights rather low, and they prohibit the use of flash, so the only way to take pictures is to lengthen the exposure. Hence the slight blurriness in many of the photos.



Yes it's me, complete with klunky looking backpack and fanny-pack.



The Great Hall of the Met. The building's designers paid as much attention to their architecture as they did to their artwork.



David in the Arms & Armour section of the Met. He's not much of an art buff and was getting pretty bored, but he perked up when he saw all of the medieval weapons and armour. Those are some nice halberds.



I love the unnecessary ornamentation they often applied to their armour and shields. Look at all of the engraving and the leaf pattern around the central spike.



The same goes for the later weapons, including this classic Colt. They just don't make guns like this any more. Look at the intricate engraving all over it.



Matthew inspecting a similarly beautiful double-barreled shotgun. You can't see it in this picture, but the hammers are actually sculpted to look like squirrels.



No Arms & Armour display would be complete without mounted knights.



Rebecca and the boys in the American wing of the Met. After wandering through other parts of the Museum, it's rather obvious that the early American artistic and architectural style is basically an eclectic combination of styles copied from other eras and locales, such as a preference for the Greco-Roman style of architecture, with French and Italian influences in their interiors. But perhaps that is only fitting and proper, since America itself is based on copying good ideas from other cultures, and its people are immigrants from other lands.



Rebecca checking out some of the artwork in the seemingly endless European art section of the Met. There is room after room after room of paintings. You can get lost in there.



Obviously, this is the Greco-Roman part of the museum. Rebecca and the boys are posing in front of a statue of the Greek God of wine and revelry, Dionysus. The smaller female statue next to him is of unknown significance. It might be there just to support the weight of his arm in a non-obvious way.



Rebecca and the boys (at right, Rebecca is obscured behind Matthew) eating sidewalk vendor pretzels in Times Square.



The same scene from a different angle.



Me and the boys in Times Square. It's an incredibly clichéd tourist picture, I know.



Rebecca and the boys in the gazebo behind our hotel. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Jersey City and used the PATH subway to get into NYC every day. We actually parked our car with the valet on the first day and didn't touch it again until the day we left. That's really the way to go; you don't want to try and drive your own car in New York. The drivers are crazy there, and the pedestrians are just as bad.



Rebecca and the boys on the USS Intrepid!



Matthew in front of the SR-71 Blackbird which sits on the flight deck near the bow of the ship. It's pretty cool seeing one up close.



That's us in front of a Vietnam-era plane. Is that an Intruder? I must admit my knowledge of those planes is not as great as it could be.



OK, this one I know. That's a Falcon.



The Huey! Looking at it reminds me of every Vietnam movie I've ever seen.



Some kind of Russian MiG. I think it might be the MiG-21.



Matthew and David manning one of Intrepid's quad-gun AA mounts



Rebecca and David at Lombardi's Pizzeria on Spring Street! This is apparently designated an historic site, and is supposedly the very first pizzeria in all of the United States. It's something like a hundred years old, and if you look at the picture you can see the very old brickwork to the right, and the wall-mounted air conditioner to the left (the building apparently predates modern ductwork). Lombardi's is another "must see" destination for any tourist visiting New York, and the pizza is excellent (of course).



An absurdly fancy-looking and imposing courthouse. Say what you will about them damned Yankees, but they do make cool-looking government buildings.



The Woolworth building from ground level. All the pictures in this area are kind of dark because the tall buildings block the sunlight, which is why they apparently filmed parts of "Batman" here. It's an unusual feeling; very atmospheric.



And that would be Rebecca and the boys looking at the Woolworth building.



Another picture of the Woolworth building, this time of the main entrance. You can see the intricate sculpted exterior much better in this shot. The previous shot doesn't get close enough to see the amazing work in the building. The whole building looks like that.



Rebecca and the boys in front of the big fountain in City Hall Park. That is real flame in those lamps. There's also some floor plaques in a big circle at the southern end of that square, with period pictures.



Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street! This church was built (after two predecessors burned down) in the 19th century but it was deliberately designed in a classical Gothic style, as you can see from the exterior. It's a beautiful church and one cannot help but be impressed upon going inside. It's very quiet, of course, and there's a weird combination of gawking tourists wandering through, and actual parishioners or other worshippers quietly praying. On the way out, I was tempted to shout "I have something to say! It's better to burn out than fade away!" but I didn't.



A better shot of the exterior. The previous shot is affected by the sunlight from above, and makes the building look darker than it really is.



More of that Gothic-style sculpted exterior.



David inspecting the amazingly ornate doors. It was surprising how many tourists just walked right by the doors without noticing them. I have a suspicion that those tourists were of the "bus tour" variety.



Just look at that! Some come to worship Jebus, but I came to worship the architecture. It is hard to express how difficult it is to take a good picture in that place. It is really dark, and you are not allowed to use flash (not that you would want to; it would wash out the picture). But I did manage to get one good shot of the front of the church; notice the eagle-shaped lectern to the right.



That's the view to the sides of the sanctuary, with those characteristic vaulted arches.



That's the view toward the back of the sanctuary, with the light streaming in from outside. Check out those pipes!



Do ya feel lucky? Punk?

This rather heavily armed cop was guarding the J.P. Morgan building for some reason. Maybe they were expecting an invasion.



Americans are so helpful. If you ever forget which country you're in, they remind you with giant flags!

This is the New York Stock Exchange building.



The cops brought their own lunch truck.



We saw this to the right as we were walking east along Wall Street. In New York, when the streets intersect at an odd angle, you just design a building to fit that angle.



A view down Wall Street from its eastern end, with Trinity Church visible at the end. It's a classic metaphor for the American Way: we worship Jesus and the Almighty Dollar, and we put them right together as if they belong there.



The boys and myself in Battery Park. This was a big walking day; after we left the Intrepid we took a cab to Lombardi's and then we pretty much walked the rest of it. We walked down through Little Italy and Chinatown, we walked all along Wall Street, and we walked through Battery Park around the bottom of the island. You can see a little-known statue in the background. I hear the French gave it away.



Rebecca and the boys at one of the war memorials in Battery Park. Americans are rather fond of their eagles, thus befitting their self-styled status as the new Roman Empire.



Rebecca and the boys in the Empire State Building! This is the main entrance, also known as the only reasonably priced part of the building. We didn't bother going up to the observatory. It was raining, and the outside observatory was closed, yet the price remained the same.



Our last shot in New York City, leaving the city to go home. This is Greeley Square at 33rd and 6th: a place we became intimately familiar with since we went there at the end of every day (the New Jersey PATH subway station was there).



This is a building on the west side of Washington Blvd in Jersey City, viewed from the front entrance of the Courtyard Marriott. We saw this as we came out of a Chinese restaurant next door named "Confucius", and the sky was clearing in the aftermath of a thunderstorm. There was no digital image processing here (nor is there on any of the pictures in this entire vacation photo set). That is the actual colour of the sky that we saw when we came out of the restaurant. Too cool.



If that's worth one shot, it's worth two.

Goodbye, New York! Time to get in the car and go home.

The "Intruder" is actually an F-8 Crusader. Nice pics of the Intrepid museum, you've never been to an airshow before? The SR-71 used to put in a yearly appearance at the one in Abbotsford.

CRUSADER FOR LIFE! And I thought the 'SR-71' was actually an A-12?

Great pics; very reminiscent of my family photos from New York when I was ten. Dad's photos in the Egyptian section of the Met are darker though; taken in the days when photos were $0.50 a shot, so they all came out quite spooky.

Direct from the museum's site, yes it's an A-12.

Anyway, wonderful pictures. Your sons are growing like weeds! At least compared to the last batch of vacation photos you posted here.

And yes, the Cloisters is composed of parts of several different monasteries from Europe.

One of these days I have to get back to New York.

FSTargetDrone wrote:Direct from the museum's site, yes it's an A-12.

Oops! Well, I never claimed to be an aviation expert. Thanks for the corrections though, everyone.

Anyway, wonderful pictures. Your sons are growing like weeds! At least compared to the last batch of vacation photos you posted here.

My older son Matthew will be taller than me by the end of the year at this rate.

And yes, the Cloisters is composed of parts of several different monasteries from Europe.

One of these days I have to get back to New York.

Some of our favourite activities involved simply walking around. The bus tour people are missing most of the experience, by riding a bus from one "notable destination" to the next and skipping by the city itself.

PS. Those shots of the interior of Trinity Church make it appear much brighter than it really is. I stabilized the camera by propping it on one of the pews and used long-exposure shots, so it looks like it's a pretty well-lit room. In reality, it's very dark.

Pretty cool pictures, Mr. Wong. I really like the gun pictures, and the pictures of the bridges. Looks like quite the place, with that kind of architecture.

Darth Wong wrote:The same goes for the later weapons, including this classic Colt. They just don't make guns like this any more. Look at the intricate engraving all over it.

Tell me about it. Modern weapons are designed so... "functional". With none of the iconic artwork inherint to the hand craftmanship that dominated weapon design and engineering for thousands of years. Even WW2 had guns with splashes of artwork and identity.

Darth Wong wrote:Oops! Well, I never claimed to be an aviation expert. Thanks for the corrections though, everyone.

I was wrong too--I thought it was an SR-71 too when I mentioned the Intrepid in your OT New York suggestion thread!

Shame about the rain. We've been getting more than the usual all up and down the East Coast.

Hope your family gets to visit Philadelphia and the area if you're ever down this way. It's smaller than NYC, but also a nice walking city. We have wonderful art and science and history museums, endless kinds of places to eat, lots of open green spaces at Fairmount Park (9,200 acres compared to Central Park's 840!)--you can actually see much more of the Art Museum (which has an extensive weapons collection as well) building itself from the outside since it's at the end of a long Parkway. The battleship New Jersey is just across the river in Camden, along with the aquarium. Though not in Philadelphia, Valley Forge is a great place to walk around in the open. New Jersey has its famous shores and Casinos. Lots to see and do everywhere.

Incidentally, the cabbies have to eat the credit card transactions fees. That's why they don't like plastic. That isn't unique to NYC, of course. Last I heard, though, they have to provide an option for credit for riders.

Chicago is also a pretty neat place to visit - pretty neat architecture, plenty of places to see and things to do.

Actually, I'm not upset about the rain at all. The on-again off-again rain kept the weather pleasant for walking, and I was rarely out when it was actually raining hard. I hate long walks in the blazing sun; it feels like I'm being cooked in my clothes.

Not much to add beyond "Hey, I was there, that was fun, cool museums huh, yeah walking around there is fun! Great food, Bubba Gump is fun".
There's an awesome pizza and hambrurger place 3 blocks from the Nat hist museum, Big Nick's, it's a block behind it towards central park then just walking down south.

Wong, no jokes about the old church in the new altar? . (Wall street Trinity church).

I visited Intrepid on my visit to NYC in spring 2005, which was before the big tow and renovation. It looks like the gave the aircraft a bit of TLC as well as the ship herself. Those are some shiny new paint jobs, especially on the MiG and the Huey.

Did you walk through the Concorde? Aerodynamics are what they are, and the plane hardly hides its figure - but it still felt strange seeing luxurious, up-to-date furnishings in such a narrow fuselage.

Wow, looks like it was a great trip. Working in New York for the last four years, however, has deadened any wonder I might have had for this city, even though it is a truly remarkable place, with a rich, vibrant culture and history. But one thing I still love to do every once in a great while is walk around the city, like you said. You never know what you'll discover.

Incidentally, I take the PATH in and out of the city every day. Though, I imagine the experience is a lot calmer outside of rush hour. Remarkable that it's been in operation for over a century.

Also, I've been to that M&M's place--I filled my my bag with the colors of the Byzantine Empire.

Darth Wong wrote:The Grand Old Brooklyn Bridge! This bridge was built before engineers developed a preference for all-steel construction, so it still has that 19th century look to it. There are several bridges crossing this span of water, but this is the only one with that classic architecture.

It's odd to think about, but when they designed the bridge, there were no steel-framed structures anywhere in the world. The Eiffel Tower wasn't even started until four years after the bridge opened. The Roeblings had to fight just to get steel used in the cables, suspender ropes, and stays, rather than iron. John Roebling would have been laughed out of Albany if he had proposed steel towers--which he never would have, because he was much too conservative an engineer.

Fun fact: John Roebling, who designed the bridge, was killed early in its construction. His son, Washington Roebling, was crippled fairly early on by the bends. Washington's wife, Emily Roebling, essentially became a self-trained engineer and supervised on-site while her husband convalesced at his house in Brooklyn Heights.

Guess whose name isn't on the plaque on the Manhattan Tower commemorating the builders.

For some reason, Washington Square park has its own miniature version of the Arc De Triomphe.

It's a memorial arch commemorating George Washington. The resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe was a deliberate design decision.

Rebecca and the boys in the American wing of the Met. After wandering through other parts of the Museum, it's rather obvious that the early American artistic and architectural style is basically an eclectic combination of styles copied from other eras and locales, such as a preference for the Greco-Roman style of architecture, with French and Italian influences in their interiors. But perhaps that is only fitting and proper, since America itself is based on copying good ideas from other cultures, and its people are immigrants from other lands.

Early Americans definitely saw themselves as heirs of ancient Athens and Republican (not Imperial!) Rome. It shows up not just in the architecture of the period (which is actually known as Greek Revival), but in the names of towns founded or renamed in the early 19th century (hence the abundance of towns named after classical cities in upstate New York).

An absurdly fancy-looking and imposing courthouse. Say what you will about them damned Yankees, but they do make cool-looking government buildings.

Well, we did, anyway. We let the modernists sell us a bill of goods after the Second World War. Now they look like this:

The Woolworth building from ground level. All the pictures in this area are kind of dark because the tall buildings block the sunlight, which is why they apparently filmed parts of "Batman" here. It's an unusual feeling; very atmospheric.

<snip>

Another picture of the Woolworth building, this time of the main entrance. You can see the intricate sculpted exterior much better in this shot. The previous shot doesn't get close enough to see the amazing work in the building. The whole building looks like that.

That is, by far, my favorite building in New York, maybe anywhere. The attention to detail is staggering. The best view of it, I think, is from the other side of City Hall Park, by the Manhattan Municipal Building (itself a work of art). I had a great picture of it lined up and no film in the camera.

Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street! This church was built (after two predecessors burned down) in the 19th century but it was deliberately designed in a classical Gothic style, as you can see from the exterior. It's a beautiful church and one cannot help but be impressed upon going inside.

Taking this post full circle, Trinity Church was the tallest building in New York when they built the Brooklyn Bridge.

RedImperator wrote:

An absurdly fancy-looking and imposing courthouse. Say what you will about them damned Yankees, but they do make cool-looking government buildings.

Well, we did, anyway. We let the modernists sell us a bill of goods after the Second World War. Now they look like this:

Oh sure, pick on poor old Boston City Hall. Our statehouse is classy as hell, anyway:



Anyway, Darth Wong, if you're ever looking for another great walking city with a lot of history, you should come visit Boston. The Freedom Trail makes it easy, and some of the off-freedom-trail attractions are really great too.

Sounds like an awesome vacation! I'd love to go to New York for a holiday.

Awesome. Brings back memories.

Did you hit the HUGE Toys R Us store? (You know, for kids )

That place was amazing. Did they still have that Empire State building made out of lego, with a lego King Kong at the top of it shaking his fist at the robot biplanes suspended by string to the ceiling?

I got my Lego TIE Bomber there back in '04.

I had forgotten all about the Cloisters. I had an Art History trip there way back when. It was a very, very cool experience.

First off Mike I want you to know how INCREDIBLY Jealous I am of you going to Manhattan and NewYork proper.
As a part time "Architectural Slut' I have a deep fondness for Architecture as a whole, especially Art Deco and Classic Gothic Revival. I could spend years exploring the Classic Architecture of NewYork and its surrounding areas and still never see everything.

It looks like you got to some of the best places in NY during your stay. The Woolworth building is one of the best examples of Gothic pre-ArtDeco architecture in the whole city and is a feast for the eyes. Kudos on you getting to the cloisters as well, So many I talk to that visit NY forget that place even exists.

Also Kudos again for bucking the trend of "bus tours" I never understand why people go somewhere, then decide to sit in a small box and be rushed around the city from one place to another. Simply 'walking' around a city is always best, if for no other reason then often your best memories are the unplanned ones where you just happen across something you didn't know was there.

Also, good lord! when on earth did you go daff an shave your head?

Americans are so helpful. If you ever forget which country you're in, they remind you with giant flags!

What about the american flags on uniforms, and trucks?

RedImperator wrote:

For some reason, Washington Square park has its own miniature version of the Arc De Triomphe.

It's a memorial arch commemorating George Washington. The resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe was a deliberate design decision.

We have a similar arch in Valley Forge, PA, dedicated to Washington and his army.

Getting back to the Brooklyn Bridge, if Wong or anyone else here is at all interested, do pick up The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough. Ken Burns also made a nice film called Brooklyn Bridge based on the book. Both are quite accessible and get into all the things RedImperator talked about.

Fun bit of the trivial, does anyone here remember when a cache of disaster supplies was found in the bridge's foundations a few years ago?

DW, the red panties sig goes well with a few of those pictures!

Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. It sounds like you had more fun then I did when I went on my class trip to the Big Apple. It's really cool to look at some of your pictures and say "I was right there!" I also missed out on going up the Empire State Building, I was sick at the time.

And whoever mentioned bus tours... Spot on. Boring as all hell, especially when the damn bus driver can't be bothered to actually pick us up on time from our pre-planned walkarounds.

Ellis Island was a bit of a bore. The history is fun for a little while, but more than an hour there is way too much. Good decision to skip it. What did you think of Chinatown? We didn't get to go to Little Italy, but we had 4 hours of Chinatown. Whoever planned that was a dumbass. I personally didn't enjoy it much at all, especially after the first hour or so. Street after street of fish didn't help my stomach ache at all, either.

We also missed the Met, and the aircraft carrier! Those look like places that you could just spend so much time at either learning about history, or daydreaming about it!

Dark Flame wrote:DW, the red panties sig goes well with a few of those pictures!

It does? I must admit I'm not sure what you mean by that. Rebecca was dressed for practicality during our vacation, not titillation.

And whoever mentioned bus tours... Spot on. Boring as all hell, especially when the damn bus driver can't be bothered to actually pick us up on time from our pre-planned walkarounds.

I actually mentioned the way bus tour people tend to miss out on things, and Crossroads echoed the sentiment.

What did you think of Chinatown? We didn't get to go to Little Italy, but we had 4 hours of Chinatown. Whoever planned that was a dumbass. I personally didn't enjoy it much at all, especially after the first hour or so. Street after street of fish didn't help my stomach ache at all, either.

I find it hard to imagine spending 4 hours in New York's Chinatown when you can walk through it in ten minutes. Chinatown in NYC was actually rather underwhelming, since we have a Chinatown in Toronto as well, and ours is bigger.

We also missed the Met, and the aircraft carrier! Those look like places that you could just spend so much time at either learning about history, or daydreaming about it!

I can't imagine what kind of poorly organized class trip to NYC would skip both the Met and the Intrepid. Who was running this operation?

Crossroads Inc. wrote:It looks like you got to some of the best places in NY during your stay. The Woolworth building is one of the best examples of Gothic pre-ArtDeco architecture in the whole city and is a feast for the eyes. Kudos on you getting to the cloisters as well, So many I talk to that visit NY forget that place even exists.

It's tucked away at the north end of the island around 190th street, so it's definitely out of the heavy tourist district, which basically starts down around Wall Street and goes up to the top of Central Park. That's probably why so many people miss it. It doesn't help that the Met is so huge that it takes pretty much a whole day to go through it, and most people aren't going to pay again to see the Cloisters on a second day when it's regarded as a mere extension of the Met. It's too bad, because the Cloisters is a very special place and totally worth making a special trip to see on its own.

Also Kudos again for bucking the trend of "bus tours" I never understand why people go somewhere, then decide to sit in a small box and be rushed around the city from one place to another. Simply 'walking' around a city is always best, if for no other reason then often your best memories are the unplanned ones where you just happen across something you didn't know was there.

People do bus tours because they're unfamiliar with the place they're visiting, and they don't know where to go. On a bus tour, someone leads you by the hand, so you don't know the town any better after the tour than you did before, but you saw some important landmarks. It's mostly for people who are too lazy or scared to really get to know a place. It does take time. It wasn't until the third day that we finally felt really comfortable, and I felt like I had a good internalized sense of the town. A lot of people seem to be reluctant to do that.

Also, good lord! when on earth did you go daff an shave your head?

Late last year.