Manhattan Bridge

To see great views of lower Manhattan without the crowded chaos of Brooklyn Bridge, I recommend walking across Manhattan Bridge. Cyclists have a dedicated lane on the north side while the walkway on the south side is for pedestrians only. And there are few, if any, tourists. If you don't mind the roar of the subway trains every few minutes, it is worth the spectacular view of Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO and Manhattan. It's worth the 1.3 mile walk across.

View of Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan over East River

Graffiti written over bridge plaque

Plenty of room

Bridge details

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View from bridge on Manhattan side

Rooftops below the bridge, near Chinatown

Why New Yorkers Are in Great Shape

Bodega, Nor'easter & How-sten Street

Bodega. Nor'easter. Houston Street (pronounced How-sten). I'm not in Kansas anymore. Or rather, Fort Worth, where we actually moved from. Nope. Definitely landed on a new planet. From Cowtown to the Big Apple. I've had to learn a few new things.

I have visited Houston (pronounced Hew-sten), Texas, as a child and as an adult. It is the largest metropolitan area in Texas. I attended Sam Houston High School. You can hunt in the Sam Houston National Forest in south east Texas. It's fair to say that the pronunciation of Houston is burned into my vernacular. In NYC, when I first heard the subway conductor say, "How-sten Street" while riding the Number 1 train, I was perplexed. It is spelled the same way, but pronounced so differently. Where was I? I have tried to pronounce it the NYC way, but I feel ridiculous. Not sure I'll be able to adopt that. 

In Texas, if you need to go to the corner store, you call it that. "I'm going to the corner store." It's a store. On the corner. Simple. In NYC, it's called "bodega." Spanish for grocery store and specialty wine store. When I first heard of bodega, it was a radio news clip mentioning where someone went for help after a mugging, so I thought it was a counseling center or something. But then a friend mentioned stopping at the bodega to buy a newspaper. And then it became clear. Glad to get that straightened out. 

The weather here has fluctuated between perfectly calm and sunny to terribly disastrous and miserable. And I've been told that is not normal. After the first week of moving here, there was a tornado along Long Island Sound and Connecticut. I thought it was normal, being a Texan. We replaced the roof on our house this year because of hail damage from a normal, typical Texas tornado. And then Hurricane Sandy hit the North East coast October 29th. That was terrible. And then a week later a nor'easter hit the area. Hurricane I get, but a wha? Nor. Easter. Had to look that up on the weather websites. It's when forces of varying pressure slam into each other at the same time above the North East. Cold Arctic air from the Atlantic mixed with warmer Gulf air from the south mixed with air from the Ohio Valley area. Crazy wind, crazy precipitation. Six inches of snow fell in a few hours. 

So now I know that when you live in New York City you go to the bodega and stock up before a nor'easter. Very useful info. But please don't give me directions to "How-sten" St. You will see this sweet, southern gal cringe with distaste, cover her ears and walk away humming the tune of Texas, Our Texas. 

Around City Hall & Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

Do these work?

Welcome to the Brooklyn Bridge - I think they could add a few more signs just to be clear

A footpath after you cross under bridge and head toward City Hall

Artwork in front of police station behind City Hall

South Street Seaport After Sandy

Went down to check out South Street Seaport after Sandy and there wasn't much going on. People were milling about, mainly crossing through from a ferry to get to their destination since all the buildings were without power and boarded up. It was still majestic to see the ships, the cobblestones and old architecture.

Simpson Street, Bronx, NY - 2/5 Trains

This station has a great view of the tracks so I went to check it out. This is what I saw on a late afternoon in November...

Afternoon light makes tracks look vibrant

View from above, loved the light

View from above

the platform

Sidewalk car ride

Stained glass window on station platform 

Staten Island Ferry

I took the Staten Island Ferry for the first time 12 years ago, as a tourist, to see the Statute of Liberty a little closer. Two days ago, I took the Staten Island Ferry for the second time, as a resident of NYC. I saw Miss Liberty, lots of tourists looking at Miss Liberty, and a beautiful sunset.

Forget the seats, the place to see the view is from the back of the boat, like this.

Loved the light reflecting on these doors.

People pressed up against the glass to catch a glimpse of the Statute of Liberty.

Everyone is looking at the view and this seagull is looking at everyone looking. 

If yellow is your favorite color, this is for you!

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This is what everyone was seeing off the back of the boat - the beautiful setting sun!