"NEW YORK...NEW YORK...WHAT A WONDERFUL TOWN...!" Top 5 Page for this destination Manhattan Island by aphrodyte

I started my NYC visit on my Manhattan Island pages. I mean...that's where we were at during most of our visit and that's where most of the NYC icons are as well. However, it seems that VT has lumped everything in the NYC section so I am opting to put my info on both! So if you've seen this page it will be almost identical to my New York City page...OKAY...cue to my story!

A little bit of green...Central Park

We arrived in New Jersey/New York during the beginning of the second week of our grand vacation. I was recovering from a congestive cold that had consumed me since the ride on the SS Badger carferry. However, I still wasn't able to breathe through my nose. I couldn't taste much of anything and I couldn't smell a thing! No amount of aloe-absorbed kleenex could stop the flood nor the pain of having to constantly take a tissue to my nearly raw and sensitive nose. (It was like I rubbed a whole top layer of skin off my nose!) It was excruciating! It was damn inconvenient!

Armed with a huge roll of toilet paper (because I thought carrying a box of kleenex would be too bulky, and I was right!) we set out on a sunny yet very humid July day to explore the Big Apple. Despite this temporary infliction, it was very thrilling to be there.

We lived in Manhattan, KS (dubbed "The Little Apple") for such a long time, it was very interesting to see what a fast paced, high energy, distinctive city Manhattan, NY was. It was like night and day. I don't think New York ever sleeps. In little Manhattan, lights are out around 10 or 11pm. Our excitement was dimmed somewhat because of our experiences with the NJ Transit from the night before. But that soon diminished when we took in the sights and sounds of Manhattan.

It was just how I pictured it...loud, alive, and pulsing with people from all walks of life. Tourists and locals mingling in one massive sea of bobbing heads, lights and signs.

I read somewhere that , "you can tell a local from a tourist...tourists look up." You can't help but look up! These structures are enormous! Some are architectual masterpieces and others are just plain tall. The largest structure we've ever been on was the CN Tower in Toronto, Can. The CN Tower pales in comparison to the buildings here. Not one building looked like another nor was there any organization to their look. It was a cacophony of the old, the new, and the refurbished.

I guess I would hav to compare Manhattan to an impressionist painting. To look at an impressionist painting up close, see the individual brushstrokes and dots, you would not be able to comprehend how mere individual dots produce any formation of any sort. It's not until you stepped back and looked at the overall, that you realize that everything is truely in its right place and it really is a portrait. So where do you go to see the overall unique portrait of Manhattan Island? The Empire State Building...of course *grin*

It's us...taking a breather!

more on this later....

• Pros:24 hour EVERYTHING! So cool.
• Cons:Advertizes here and Advertizes there...here an Ad, there an Ad...everywhere an Ad - Ad...Old McEmmy had stack of flyers Ee-I-ee-I-oh!
• In a nutshell:I rate this puppy 5 out of 5 cheesecakes. This chick is coming back. --er maybe when it's a tad colder.