I (Heart) New York
The drama of moving now behind me, I'm really loving living in NYC. I've been to the city lots of times, but usually for some specific reason -- to visit someone, go to a museum or play, or most recently, to see like seven foreign movies in 48 hours. But I've never really had time to just poke around and explore the city until now, and it's way fun.
The weather (until today) has been gorgeous, perfect for walking around and playing tourist. I'm trying to do a lot of tourist stuff now, before school starts, because somehow going to the Statue of Liberty after living in NYC for a while just seems lame.
Given my limited financial means, I'm trying to do as much fun stuff for free as I can, and I think I've done a darn good job. Apart from food and subway fares, I've only paid cash money for the tour of the U.N. and the Statue. And yet I've done all of these things:
* Grant's Tomb -- Who's buried there? No one, as it turns out. U.S. Grant and his wife are in big stone caskets sitting on the marble floor, not underground. I never really knew what this place was before, I guess I expected a big headstone or something. But no, it's a *huge* marble dome, maybe 50 feet high, and looks like a cathedral inside. It's modeled on Napoleon's Tomb in Paris, which I've also visited. Very cool exhibit on Grant, who I didn't know much about, only that I didn't think he'd get such a royal treatment in death.
* Church-O-Rama -- Four churches so far. St. Patrick's I've been to before but is very pretty. St. John the Divine is right by Columbia, and is "the world's largest cathedral," according to the sign. Maybe it is, but it was hard to tell since it's under extensive renovation after a fire five years ago. The highlight of Trinity is the grave of Alexander Hamilton, where he ended up after that famous duel. St. Paul's is right next to Ground Zero, and is devoted to honoring the 9/11 relief workers. It's almost unbearably moving.
* Ground Zero -- I'd been here several times, but not since work began on the new tower. The site looks pretty much the same as it did six months ago, only with more construction noises.
* Brooklyn Bridge -- Here's something I've never been to before. It's worth the trip to walk across the raised middle part as cars whip by below. The walkway is wooden and feels like you're on a boardwalk, kinda precarious, but I guess it's okay if it's been there for 130 years.
The weather (until today) has been gorgeous, perfect for walking around and playing tourist. I'm trying to do a lot of tourist stuff now, before school starts, because somehow going to the Statue of Liberty after living in NYC for a while just seems lame.
Given my limited financial means, I'm trying to do as much fun stuff for free as I can, and I think I've done a darn good job. Apart from food and subway fares, I've only paid cash money for the tour of the U.N. and the Statue. And yet I've done all of these things:
* Grant's Tomb -- Who's buried there? No one, as it turns out. U.S. Grant and his wife are in big stone caskets sitting on the marble floor, not underground. I never really knew what this place was before, I guess I expected a big headstone or something. But no, it's a *huge* marble dome, maybe 50 feet high, and looks like a cathedral inside. It's modeled on Napoleon's Tomb in Paris, which I've also visited. Very cool exhibit on Grant, who I didn't know much about, only that I didn't think he'd get such a royal treatment in death.
* Church-O-Rama -- Four churches so far. St. Patrick's I've been to before but is very pretty. St. John the Divine is right by Columbia, and is "the world's largest cathedral," according to the sign. Maybe it is, but it was hard to tell since it's under extensive renovation after a fire five years ago. The highlight of Trinity is the grave of Alexander Hamilton, where he ended up after that famous duel. St. Paul's is right next to Ground Zero, and is devoted to honoring the 9/11 relief workers. It's almost unbearably moving.
* Ground Zero -- I'd been here several times, but not since work began on the new tower. The site looks pretty much the same as it did six months ago, only with more construction noises.
* Brooklyn Bridge -- Here's something I've never been to before. It's worth the trip to walk across the raised middle part as cars whip by below. The walkway is wooden and feels like you're on a boardwalk, kinda precarious, but I guess it's okay if it's been there for 130 years.
posted by Ryan Davis | 12:58 PM
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