The Big Apple and Beantown

Bitten by the travel bug, I decided it was time for another road trip! We went to New York City this Saturday, and then looked around Boston on Sunday. And the last couple of days were just spent moping :-)

We left 7:30am on Saturday morning after breakfast, half an hour behind schedule. The weather was playing spoilsport, it was pouring big time as I started driving. Apparently, it's not safe for me to drive in the rain (grrr!), so my friend took over. Thankfully, it eased out as we left the New England area. Made it to New York in good time (after paying the innumerable tolls!). We had decided to park outside the Manhattan area and take the subway to the city. Turned out to be a pretty good idea. Took the subway, first stop: Times Square. I didn't quite know what I expected, but this was definitely more than what I didn't know I expected! It's all about edifices, people and more people. Huge video screens with ads and news, towering buildings and a feeling that you are small-town. It's exhilirating...the crowds, the pulse of the city. We then walked over to the Empire State Building, craned my neck looking up at it, got some cool pics too. It was a really long wait there, so we decided not to go up then, and instead headed over to where the WTC Towers once stood. Stupidly enough, the picture I had in mind was one of giant heaps of rubble. But what persists today looks like a construction site. You can see about 50 feet below ground level which used to be the concrete foundation of (arguably) the center of the world's economy. But now, there's just a few cranes and trucks languishing in its depths. I stood there long enough to try and imagine what it must have been on that fateful day. I don't think I can express it. After that rather sobering experience, we decided it was time for some lunch, grabbed a quick slice of pizza and walked over to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Frankly, the statue is not as big as I had imagined. But she does inspire hope and command respect. Some more amazing photography later (no, not by me), as you can see from the last post, we headed back to mainland. Oh and of course, I met one of my Anna U seniors there! (no surprises, uh?). We walked by Wall Street, window-shopped in some rich-and-famous looking stores and found our way to Little Italy. The place is alive! There's live music is some restaurants, and cheer everywhere. Dining there was a great experience, decent food too! It was about 9pm by then. We targeted the Empire State by night. What a crowd! It was just so frustrating. Long queues, a few security checks and 2 elevators later, we were on top! And what a view....a city sparkling with life and vigor. Found our way back to where my dear old rental car was parked and drove back. Made it in great time of 3 and a half hours, reached the hotel at 4:30am! What I didn't get to do was Central Park, but then I did see a lot of New York in one day, maybe more than I could take in. The best part was just walking around and relishing the city. If you ask me, the best way to feel a city is to walk her roads.

Come Sunday, destination Boston! Took the T out to the Prudential center stop. Boston has some marvellous architecture too. We walked over to the Boston Commons, which is like a park, bike paths and all, by the Charles river. Very pretty. You can see sailboats on the river against the backdrop of the Boston skyline. Spent some leisurely moments there, and crossed the Charles River on the Longfellow bridge. We then walked over to the start of the Freedom Trail. We followed the trail until the Quincy Market area, which is abuzz with life. There were also some extra security and a loud band playing. Some of this can be attributed to the Democratic National Convention happening here Jul 26-29. Took the T to MIT. Some more reverend moments and trademark photographs. Also found our way through the Infinite Corridor at MIT. Finished up with a Thai dinner and headed back.

Summary: NYC is amazing. You may love it or hate it, but you definitely want to see it. Boston, I feel is a lot more historic. Both are great cities. Manhattan is about people, Boston is about culture. A great, fun-filled, action-packed two days, yet all too short.

Why is NYC called the "The Big Apple"?
Why is Boston called Beantown?

Now there's some wanderlust for you!