Day 2 – March 3, 2024 – New York City
As you’d expect for this time of year, there were plenty of rainy days but luckily our first full day there was sunny and bright. Living on the upper west side of Manhattan has its advantages, for example being close to Central Park. That’s where our first steps led on the Sunday morning, when everyone sleeps and you meet only occasional joggers and dog walkers.
Considering next days were supposed to be whole lot different when it comes to weather, we wanted to spend as much time as possible walking around the city and sightseeing. After enjoying views from iconic places like Bethesda Terrace and walking down the famous 5th Avenue, we found ourselves at the always packed Times Square. It’s such a difference from peaceful Central Park but both places have unique atmosphere which can’t be replicated anywhere else.
One of the famous landmarks of NYC is definitely Empire State Building. Architecture is one of my favorite features of this city and so that we paid attention to all the skyscrapers and unique buildings like Flatiron Building. What used to be offices is now going to be luxury condos and the renovation of the 22-story and 120 years old tower is halfway through.
Slow but steady, we get all the way down to China Town, then take a peek at the Brooklyn Bridge but walking across the East River is plan for another day. It’s time for lunch and the choice was already made – we’ll go to kosher-style delicatessen. Katz’s was established back in 1888 and among locals it’s considered as one of the best pastrami places in New York. The Reuben sandwich was, indeed, delicious and I can fully recommend making a stop there if you get the chance.
After the lunch, with stuffed belly, there was nothing stopping us from continuing our journey. The gigantic building of the United States Federal Court House is breathtaking. It’s divided into two parts, it’s got six-story base and 31-story office tower. Opened in 1936, it still serves its purpose and is now named after Thurgood Marshall, American civil rights lawyer and jurist.
Close to the Court House, there’s also the Manhattan Municipal Building, one of the largest municipal buildings in the world. 40-story building offers about 1 million square feet (93,000 m2) of office space. Next steps lead through streets of the Financial District where we will spend more time later but at least one short peek at the One World Trade Center is allowed, right?
There’s always so much to do in the city and what I missed during earlier visit was taking a ferry. You’ve got couple of options, the most obvious is going to the Statue of Liberty island. But there are more options, either going to the Governors Island, Ellis Island or all the way to the Staten Island. There’s not much to do but the views from the ferry are breathtaking.
An hour was enough to understand the place. Staten Island really is just a place to live and if you want to be entertained, after taking the ferry, turn around and get back on the other side of the bay again. We spent an hour there, right at the Terminal there’s a Nike Factory Store where there’s smaller offering than you’d expect from such a large store. After wandering around, we found one of the typical old NYC cabs, just like the one you remember Phoebe Buffay driving in the Friends show. While waiting for the ferry to arrive, it was a snack time – the Bronx established and now worldwide popular ice cream Häagen-Dazs helped shorten the waiting time.
The week was packed full of great food and music. First night, March 2, there was the Terence Blanchard concert at the Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater. Second night was different, as we went for dinner to the Birdland Jazz Club while watching 18 members The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra play both classic and new jazz songs.
JK Art 
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