Rossifer's Big Apple

7 hours there and 5 1/2 back. A week in the most awe inspiring city I have ever visited. It is so close to perfection it is scary. The streets are spotless, everyone is accepted, it is home to some of the world's most striking man-made structures, it feels safe even alone at night and is full of truly fantastic randomness.
There is just something so special about New York. Everyone knows the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and the beautiful Empire State building but for me the best part of this great city are the little details and kwirkiness you come across every day. You may have heard of Fifth Avenue, but how about 37th street, I guarentee there are several great shots just on this on street. For those of you who don't know, New York is made up of 5 different boroughs, Manhattan (the long and narrow touristy hub), Queens (where you'll fly into at the JFK or La Guarda airport), Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island. Manhattan is set out (for the most part) in an easy to follow grid system of street's and avenues; the streets run horizontal and the avenue's vertical (up and down). There are several places to go to 'be seen', these include anywhere on 5th Avenue, Soho and Greenwich. You'll find people in trilbys walking like they're trying to hold something between their arse cheeks wearing whatever the latest fashion magazines tell them to.

The 3 main reasons I visited New York were to travel outside europe for the first time, see if any city in the world was greater than London and to visit the basketball mecca - Rucker Park. Firstly for all you non-baller fans Rucker park is just a basketball court but has a history as the training ground for some of game's true greats including 'Skip to my Lou', arguably the best street baller of them all.
On the tourist front, New York has plenty to offer. The first day though you should simply walk around the middle of Manhattan just to soak in the scale of the place. I never thought the whole sky scraper thing would affect me like it did, I just spent the whole morning going "Wow!". I have a picture on my wall of the Flatiron building, New york's first sky scraper which was once the worlds tallest building. It is now dwarfed by just about everything. New York holds at least 4 records for height - Flatiron, Chrylser, Empire State then the twin towers. The towers must have been vast, the site of their destruction is quite haunting I can tell you.

The statue of Liberty is essential just so you can cross it off. For me it's a bit like Lands end over here though, I wasn't really overwhelmed, it's just one of those things you have to see while you're there. Don't get me wrong, the ferry over and the statue itself are great but not the highlights of the trip for me. If you want highlights then go to the two of the 3 best views in New York, Empire state and the Rock.
I did both of these in the same day and both of them were epic. The Empire is a beautiful building from the scale of it to the mural in the entrance. After the security checks you take a life to the 80th floor, walk up 6 more floors and then you are greeted by the best views possible. The Rock is the coolest building in New York. It has so much funky design work I love it. The lift which takes you up and back down is a feature in itself. You can see straight up the lift shaft while a video plays on the glass above you. When you get to the top you have a 360 degree unblocked panoramic view of the city. The top of the rock offers the best views of the city but for me the Empire State just edged it in overall experience, probably because I did it before the rock but it had a greater sense of occasion.

Central Park is a fantastic place. For a city the size of New York to have such a huge green space is very impressive. I wasn't expecting all the features in the park though, as well as a few eating and leisure places it has a zoo and museum of art as well as Strawberry Fields, a chilled out place as a memorial to John Lennon, just opposite to the Dakota hotel where he was shot. There are a couple of lakes where you can take a boat out, musicians play all over the park, you get the feeling this is the place to come and unwind. Everywhere is fast paced except whilst in the park, it's an unwritten law that life slows down here.
I've heard mixed reviews on New York's food, I think it depends very much on how much you're willing to pay. My budget wasn't the best and most of what I had was ok-ish at best apart from the fab breakfasts at the Guy & Gallard cafe down the road from my hotel. There's no such thing as bed and breakfast in New York, if you want breakfast you have to go out and get it. The best place to get lunch or an emergency tea is from one of the many street vendors. New York is actually a great place for getting fresh food from one of the many markets but you wont be able to prepare anything in the box like hotel rooms.

New York is the best city break you can ever hope to go on. I went for the week and saw pretty much everything I wanted to see thanks to plenty of walking. Highlights have to be The Empire State, walking the Brooklyn bridge and that first day coming to grips with the sheer scale of the place. I'd put it second to London though for a few reasons; New York has no true concept on how to make a cup of tea. Starbucks are everywhere but the humble cuppa remains a bit of a mystery to the big apple. They also don't sell Rodda's clotted cream so a cream tea was out of the question. For me London will always have a certain magic for me. I walked through Waterloo the other day and just felt it, without a skyscraper or giant green statue in sight. Whatever you do though I implore you to visit this great city. You will never forget it.

Rossifer x

All photos can be found here: - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143012&id=643774408&l=7a2af26eae

Top tips to surviving New York:-
1. When in Rome...

...do as romans do. I'm a big believer in this. When abroad, observe the locals and do as they do. Try new things unless the locals strongly disuade you against it.

2. Look for bargains

Get late, cheaper tickets to a broadway show, get free papers, take the Staten Island ferry to get pictures of Liberty, go to different souvenir shops to see which sell the stuff you want cheapest etc.

3. Dress accordingly

New York is hot in the summer (trust me!) and cold in the winter. August is not the best time to go if you hate muggy weather. Take comfortable shoes as the best way to see everything is to walk.

4. Food

Have breakfast in a cafe, lunch from a street vendor and tea in a resteraunt

5. Orientation

Unless you're in an uber tourist palce like Liberty Island, try and memorise the manhattan layout before going out. Street's go East to West and Avenues go North to South. Don't worry about jaywalking, everyone does it, just be careful as you cross the road as New Yorkers are not patient drivers!

All photos can be found here: - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143012&id=643774408&l=7a2af26eae