Tag: Lifestyle & Travel

Just because this NYC was timed as a graduation present to myself, doesn’t mean I didn’t want to bank some knowledge whilst I was in town…

One of the places I knew I had to hit up was the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition. I had already read some fantastic reviews on the exhibition, which showcases pieces from James’ work throughout his career, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

I’m not able to showcase too much – I was told off twice by security for taking sneaky photos #Oops – but as you can see the reproductions of the James’ designs are set against a spotlit all black backdrop, reminiscent of a runway show and dissected on small screen in front of each model.The whole exhibition was fascinating but was just the tip of the iceberg that was the entire Met Museum!

I didn’t have a guide or specific part of the museum I wanted to visit, so I let myself roam the corridors for pretty much the entire day. The great thing I soon found out about The Met is the ability to walk down one corridor and find yourself surrounded by medieval armoury and artifacts, then walk down another see a 10ft huge Ancient Egyptian temple, and then down another find yourself face to face with works by Picasso or an entire wall of Chinese calligraphy.

Another museum I found that was great for this type of browsing and finding wonderful things was the Museum of Modern Art, in Midtown Manhattan. I went on a particularly rainy day and was content to while away the hours wandering the floors and stumbling upon some fantastic artwork by the likes of Pollack, Monet and Mondrian. My absolute favourite moment was walking into an exhibition area with a crowd of people and seeing ‘Starry Night’ by Van Gogh front and center! MoMA is also a great place to discover lesser known works, I know I personally found myself drawn to their Lygia Clarke and Sigma Polke exhibitions.

The last big museum I hit up was the Natural History Museum. Again, like the Met and MoMA, it was a great places to let yourself wander and discover different parts of the exhibits as and when you came across them. I did book in some time to go to the Hayden Planetarium to see a screening of Dark Universe, which immerses you in a surround screen arena and makes you feel like you’re flying through space. I also spent some time under the belly of the famous big Blue Whale in Ocean Life hall – if you ever visit the museum I highly recommend lying on the floor underneath it (loads of people do it so you won’t look weird!), space out for a minute or two. It’s oddly relaxing. 

Despite the museums being some of the highlights from my trip, it’s so easy to just walk the streets of New York and spot some cultural sites and random pieces of art for yourself in the city. I got spend some time in Chinatown and Little Italy with some relatives, recommend hopping on one of the many open top bus tours if you want a little more historical or cultural insight into the city sights, and, of course, taking in a Broadway show – but more on that in an upcoming post ;). 

One of the great things about New York is that it’s such a hub and melting pot of people, so the best ways to experience it is by talking to locals and other knowledgeable tourists whilst you’re there. Of course as a solo traveller, I had to be a bit wary of what I was telling them but the longer I was in the city the more I found myself chatting to others in queues (how British of me!) for the TKTS booth, waiting at stage door at shows, sat in cafes, and whilst browsing Chelsea Market (one of the stall owners loved my Ravenclaw necklace ^_^), I was even got chatting to a family from Belfast on the open top bus tour!

Of course the biggest and most impressive to see was Central Park. I visited early on a quiet Sunday morning when the only other park goers were enthusiastic runners (I definitely regret not bringing my trainers to run the routes!), small families, an occasional tourist and some early rising softball players. I picked the perfect day to wander round as the sun shone the entire time, with the trees providing just the right amount of shade from the heat. I, of course, had a few places I wanted to see and photograph but for the most part I let the paths lead me to quieter spots and surprise landmarks.

Amongst my favourite spots were Bow Bridge, made famous by countless rom-coms and where I spotted a newly married couple taking their wedding photos ^-^; Wagner Cove, just by Bow Bridge, it was a small little alcove with a shaded veranda by the lake; and Bestheda Fountain and Terrace, another gorgeous piece of architecture and sculpture.

As well as taking in the sunshine, by far one of my favourite moments whilst in the park was at Strawberry Fields. I was expecting a place of complete peace and quiet but as I approached the path I could hear the faint sounds of ‘I wanna hold your hand’ being played by a busker. There was quite a group gathered by the time I reached the Imagine mosaic and whilst waiting my turn to take a photo a school choir had struck up a conversation with the busker and started singing along to ‘Let It Be’ with him. It was a really touching moment and I found myself glad the so called ‘designated quiet zone’ rule wasn’t heavily enforced that day! (You can see a little clip of it on my Instagram!)

I also visit the park on a rainy day in search of a couple of literary landmarks I didn’t get to on that previous Sunday morning. I found both the Hans Christian Anderson and the Alice in Wonderland statues, and allowed myself some time to read the Lewis Carroll quotes from the novel around the statue.

Whilst Central Park is certainly the most famous park in the city, if you’re in town I’d also highly – har de har – recommend the High Line. Suspended over Chelsea, the newly renovated, formerly disused railway line was a really lovely way to spend my early afternoon, having spent some time in Chelsea Market. The whole layout and structure of the High Line feels so fresh and modern compared to a lot of the parks in New York, and it’s also a really cool way of seeing the city views. I also loved the little alcoves and wooden seating areas all along the route, seriously made me wish there were more places like this around England!

Another park I really loved was Washington Square Park. Famous for it’s tribute to the Arch De Triumph and fountains, the park is in the heart of the NYU campus – so if you visit the city during term time you can be it’s populated by cool New York Uni students! Again, my time there was totally relaxing, having spent the morning hitting some bigger tourist spots, and the long park benches were just beckoning me to sit down and chillax…at least for a minute before I let the concrete jungle swallow me up again ;)

R.xoxo
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When people talk about their trips to New York City and the surrounding boroughs, you often see a rattled off list of the typical tourist hot spots – Empire State Building, Times Square, Statue of Liberty etc etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with this but when I was planning this trip I knew I wanted to do little bit more exploring than usual. Now don’t worry I certainly hit up the breathtaking sights we know and love – more of that in a few blog posts time! – but I also found a few hidden gems of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn that I fell for.

Chelsea Market | If you cast your minds back to my NYC bucket list, both Chelsea Market and the High Line were on the list for me to visit during my stay. Thanks to the unpredictable weather I did manage to get down there for one of the sunnier days in the city and boy do I regret not revisiting the area more. This area on the west side of Manhattan is in a booming regeneration phase and is one of the more picturesque and ‘artsier’ areas of the city. Chelsea Market is a central hub for this borough and total foodie heaven! Walking through you’ll definitely find your mouth watering at the diverse range of restaurants, cafes and bakeries. I settled on fresh pasta…and then proceeded to the doughnut stand – where they batter and cook mini doughnuts with cinnamon and icing toppings fresh on the day ^_^. The whole market has a really cool underground Camden feel and ends with ‘Artists & Fleas’ of Chelsea, a collective of indie stalls with local boutique businesses selling jewelry, art and clothing (it’s also where I finally picked up my graduation dress!).

Bookish Finds | I soon discovered New York to be a city were I just ‘stumbled upon’ literary sights walking around the streets to get to the ‘bigger’ tourist spots. My finds included the Charles Scribner Building along 5th Avenue (you have to crane your neck to see the sign!), an exhibition on children’s books at the New York Public Library (see more about it in my Blogger’s Bookshelf post!); the SoHo Scholastic Building and store (which had a cool statuette of Harry Potter from the US editions of the book in foyer!); and for all you comic book nerds, Midtown Comics just by Times Square. Then there was, of course, Strand Bookstore with ‘over 18 miles of books’, stacked in shelves that reached the ceiling and lined entire walls across three whole floors.

Brooklyn’s Here | My cousin was also lovely enough to let me stay with her in Brooklyn and I found myself wandering round Williamsburg on a sunny morning taking in the area. I eventually found a park and indulged in a little writing, plus some proper American mac and cheese at Brooklyn Mac (yes, there is an entire diner dedicated to mac and cheese). Brooklyn, and more specifically the Bed-Stuy area, is another area I really want to explore more. It’s full of boutique shops and local cafés, plus the bar scene – which I only got to experience very briefly wandering round with another cousin – is much less crowded than the central Manhattan area!

‘Stumble Upon’ in IRL | Other casual finds during the trip were Rivington Street (formerly home to a young Lady Gaga); incredible street of the famous ‘kissing sailor and nurse’ whilst walking along the High Line; and a little kiosk branch of Strand Books right by Central Park.

So those are my little finds from exploring New York, there’s obviously plenty more where that came from so keep an eye out for more in this series!

R.xoxo
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