RTW: Exchange in Chile

New York, New York

"Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving today
I'm gonna be a part of it: New York, New York"

The city definately lives up to its reputation. Before experiencing it myself I could not understand why on earth someone would want to walk around in a t-shirt proclaming they love the city.. But it took just about five minutes to get an idea why, and after five days I was ready to join the fan club. That city has it all and more.

Apologies to those that have been looking for an end to the blog (I'm learning that number of people is far bigger I had expected), I have been quite busy the past weeks. Anyway, here goes, the highlights of NYC:

Lower Manhattan from the ferry to Liberty Island:





Lady Liberty:





The Wall Street Bull (made out of 7000 pounds of bronze and originally placed in front of New York Stock Exchange without permission):



Being a business student, I just had to see Wall street and, even though my wet dream does not include it, the NYSE:





The WTC site was quite awe-inspiring despite of the recent outside criticism that New Yorkers are taking their time to fill up the hole in the ground.. The plans for 2010 show that they will end up showing the World that they are not intimitaded by cowardly terrorist acts.





The new photo exhibit next to the site was equally impressive:



Among the things I liked best besides (or, actually because of) its many faces was the food. I was not afraid to spend a little more on it though at this point there was little extra to spend. Best pizzas I have ever tasted were found in the Italian restaurant Grimaldi's in Brooklyn:



I also visited what is seen by many the best steak house in New York, Peter Luger's. However divine the taste was, the 60 dollars spent for the steak and a glass of wine seemed a bit overdoing it after the great steaks in Argentina, which cost about a tenth of it or less.





The Brooklyn Bridge offered some great views:









Due to lack of time, I did not go to many museums, but the sign on this one was enough to lure me in:



Among the must-sees there was the Empire State Building and the sights it offered of the city:



















Curilously, probably the place I was most intrigued by was the United Nations, too bad I had to "just" go on the tourist tour as my friend TP was no longer working there:











Times Square:











Some other places of note:









Besides the museums that I missed, the one I regretted the most was not having a chance to see a Yankees baseball game.. But, there are only so many things one can do in NYC in five days.. And shopping possibilities were not to be overlooked, so eventually a lot was left for my next visit. I was lucky to be able to stay at my cousin Alex's place in East Village so I got to see something refreshing outside the almost-eight-month hostel rally. I was asked which part of the city I thought was the best and I could not decide between East Village and Little Italy, but those two were above others in my book -East Village by the general atmosphere and Little Italy because of the great restaurants there.

Leaving tne U.S.:

Best "national" dish tasted: Pizza at Grimaldi's
Best national beer tasted: Budweiser
Best experience/sight: The UN

posted by Kassu @ 9:13 PM