Summer Vacation August 2007, Days 1-3 New York City

New York has always been on my must-see list, however I did not have many expectations before arriving. This is partly because I was too busy prior to the vacation (like always) to have time to expect anything. The only pre-conceptions of New York was what I gathered from movies and media. My pre-conceptions were pleasantly mistaken.

I did not see the dirty, heartless, graffiti filled New York that has traditionally been portrayed. Instead I saw a beautiful, bustling city full of history, culture and pride. I saw kindness and friendliness. Many times, there were people on the street that openly offered their assistance to us; and this is without us asking for it. They aren't friendly in a soft, Canadian sense, but in their own New Yorker way which I have never seen in other countries. Because I have never been here, I cannot compare to pre-911. However, I do suspect the now historic event has changed their attitude for the better.





New York city has a lot of culture; not just in the arts, but also their architecture. Being an older city, alot of the buildings were of early 1900's architecture. This is a delight because I appreciate old architecture and buildings in this era is not as abundant on the west coast. Thank God for digital photography, because I've taken way too many photos of the buildings.


New York is rich in sight and sound and it's true that even if I did not sleep, I would not have been able to visit all the sights. In my short 3 day stay, we managed to visit some of the main stream tourist sites: Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Ground Zero, Rockefeller Centre, Times Square and a "viewing" of the Statue of Liberty from Manhattan's Southport harbour. I also did one of those Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tours on the last day. The bus tour was better than I expected because it was an effective way to get a quick glimpse of the city, plus the tour guide naration was especially informative. It's the Coles Notes version of travelling. If I can do it again, I'd do the bus tour first then pick and choose which sights I would want to explore.






One of the more "off-beat" experiences was watching Maroon 5 perform live on the NBC Today show at the Rockefeller Plaza. The show started at 7:00 in the morning and I managed to convince Janey to wake up with me at 5:30pm. What a trooper! The trade off was I go Outlet Mall shopping with her the next day.


I did not get a chance to experience the culinary side of New York because I did not get a chance to do research prior to the trip. Plus I didn't have a local friend like I do in my other travels.

If I get a chance I would be sure to visit New York again. Even though we've seen alot of the sights, it's one of those cities that I would like to experience as a local. Each local food, frequent local places, and really know what it is to be a "New Yorker".