Where in the world....

We have traveled for business and pleasure, with friends and by ourselves, to sing with a choir and to listen to various languages abroad. The world seems smaller now than when we first began to travel over 40 years ago. We share these adventures with grateful hearts and encourage everyone to step outside their neighborhoods to have a look around the corner, because the sidewalk never ends.

My Photo
Name:
Location: missouri, United States

Thursday, December 08, 2016

Mini-Me New York City Travel Guide - Day One, going to Brooklyn

Those who love New York City enjoy visiting at any time of year. December brings added fun as the Big Apple rolls into the holiday spirit. We visited NYC in December of 2015 and made a return trip this year early in December to experience the magic and madness of the holiday season once again.

Each time I visit New York I have to force myself not to redo all my favorites. Never enough time for repeat adventures. This year our plan included the streets of Brooklyn, the tastes of the Italian neighborhood in Carol Gardens, a walk through Chelsea, pizza, a tour of the New York Public Library, a Broadway show, pizza, homage to the outstanding Frick art collection, the department store holiday window displays, pizza, music at the legendary Iridium club, and all the ambiance around us along the way. The days would be filled with miles of walking, which is good because pizza must not be permanently absorbed on the hips or belly. Armed with a FitBit, our daily walk tallies exceeded 10,000 steps a day by the thousands. In every respect, a successful trip to New York City.


Our hotel accommodations at the Marriott Marquis meant that holiday merriment met us the moment we stepped outside the doors onto the sidewalks of Times Square. This location provides a central point to begin and end each day. The Marquis brimmed over with hotel guests this year. Fortunately our agenda kept us away from the elevators and gratis breakfast buffet during the peak hours. Our plan did not make room for lolly-gagging at the hotel. We had pizza to eat and miles to walk before each sleep.

Up and down the streets of New York and around the corner of every avenue we found ourselves fully immersed in holiday cheer. The city opens up to throngs of visitors from around the world every day, and during December the number of people standing at any given spot on Times Square seems multiplied by 10. The taxi horns honk, the car engines hum, holiday music pours out of open store fronts, saxophones weep "White Christmas" dreams, and the excited voices of window shoppers fill the brisk dry air. Nothing is silent about the Christmas season on the streets of New York.

Following the advise of friends, native to the area, we headed for Brooklyn where we could gaze across the East River with quiet wonder at the majesty of the glass and steel skyline towering above the tumult in the streets. Tourists can hop on any number of trains from Times Square for a short trip across the East River. We chose the Times Square subway station* as a point of departure and rode 2 down to Court Street in Brooklyn. From there, we enjoyed a short walk from the subway station to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.


Coming up out of the subway station in Brooklyn Heights, we immediately noticed a huge difference from the streets around Times Square. Peacefully, the brown stone buildings surrounded us,  whispering their welcome. We did not walk far before glimpsing the pillars of the mighty Manhattan Bridge in the distance. Rounding a few more corners we had our first view of the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge stretching over the river to the Manhattan shore. I resisted the urge to back track to the bridge entrance and walk across to the middle. As this trek was not part of the day's plan, I forged ahead lured on by the promise of pizza and cannoli on Court Street.

*The Times Square station may be intimidating if you have never ridden the NY subway. Just figuring out how to buy your ticket will test your nerve. The system tries to make it simple for you with touch screen vending machines. Just read the screen carefully, make a selection, and push in your credit card or deposit the cash. We purchased one ticket a piece for the ride to Brooklyn. Unless you will be riding more than 6 times on the subway, single tickets will probably be most cost effective. If you plan to ride every where you go for days, definitely buy the metro card first thing and add multiple ticket fares to save time. I always read up on the how to navigate the subway to refresh my own experience before heading to NYC. One guide I find helpful is found here: http://www.nycbynatives.com/visitors_center/nyc_subway_instructions.php

eXTReMe Tracker