The World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

The memorial park across the street from the new World Trade Center building was filled with visitors in quiet reflection.  The new center was opened in 2014 and is the tallest in the western hemisphere.

Standing near the base, the scale of this structure seems outside the scope of my human comprehension. The park and memorial embodies a quiet reverence and honor for those who were killed back on that day in 2001.



This structure, the Oculus, adjacent to the memorial, is the location of the World Trade Center transportation hub and serves train routes and multiple subway lines.

Central Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Of all the places in all the world to choose to live for someone of almost unlimited means, here is where John Lennon chose to live his life in both fame and obscurity. "The Dakota" is a cooperative apartment building constructed in the 1880's and was reputedly named that because at the time, it was so far west and north from the bulk of the city population it might as well have been in the Dakotas.

Central Park is immediately across the street from the Dakota.

And even in the rain, the kids and parents are playing baseball in the traditional springtime ritual of American youth. There are many well-manicured ballfields within the park.

The 850-acre park is maintained to a very high standard, especially considering the number of people that call it their backyard on a daily basis, not to mention adding in the numbers of tourists, too.

On the east side of the park, the world renown Metropolitan Museum of Art welcomes visitors from both near and far. I was intrigued by their fee structure - some visitors are free, some are full fare, some in between - in my case, as a non-resident senior, I paid $17 for a visit. The line was long but moved quickly and efficiently and I was inside without undue delay.



Turning any corner and I was face-to-face with some of the finest art assembled anywhere in the world.



A perfect place to spend a few hours on this rainy day.

The Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

I took another trip to visit the Brooklyn Bridge. It's one of those places that I doubt I could visit too many times. It is such a delight to walk across, turn around, and walk back across. There is an endless but unhurried pace to it all regardless whether on foot or bicycle.



Of course, the honking, impatient cars on the lower deck are another story. I have noticed that in general, New York city drivers are quick to honk at the slightest provocation or imagined sleight.

Here's a gritty black and white manipulation of the scene. The bridge opened in May of 1883 - after years of construction beginning in 1869 - imagine that - back in the day when mechanical assists were few - it was the brute strength of thousands of men and the ingenuity of engineers to conceive, design, and execute such an unheard of structure.

While not up to pre-pandemic levels, tourism is slowly making a comeback - the warming spring weather helps.

Near the beginning of the bridge on the Manhattan side, this municipal building towers above - to me it seemed very old world European in design style.

The View from the Rock, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

There is stiff competition for tourist dollars from visits to the tall buildings with commanding views: Rockefeller Center (the Rock), The Empire State Building, The World Trade Center, The Edge at Hudson Yards, and likely others I don't even know about.



I opted for Rockefeller Center. Being the most northern of those I have listed, it includes in its field of view, the Empire State Building (at center), the World Trade Center (just right of center in the distance), and stretching before me most of the famous Manhattan skyline. A black and white treatment gives it that old-timey feel, too.



As this image demonstrates, tourism has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. A staffer here told me that pre-pandemic, this observation deck would normally be shoulder to shoulder humans along the glass-walled perimeter. I got a chuckle out of that square high-rise building to the left - 6 windows by 6 windows on each floor - I guess when you have a very small plot of land and a lot of money to build on it, you simply go straight up and up and up.



St. Patrick's Cathedral is right across the street from the Rock.

It's one of the world's great cathedrals on almost any list by experts.

I am enjoying such stunningly beautiful sights in a city that is sometimes known more for its grittiness - many diamonds in the rough.

The High Line, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

I walked the High Line each day on this trip - rain, clouds, or sun. It wasn't as busy during this brief rain shower but, a few of us stalwarts were still out and about enjoying the 1.5 mile elevated urban park path through Chelsea.



Here's one of their signboards showing the route and critical features of the park.



Bright spring colors are mostly gone for this season.



The dense greenery takes over but the old tracks are still there to enjoy the memory of a history gone by.



Art installations are curated and varied in both location, size, and duration.



A hundred years ago or so, trains carried goods to New Yorkers along this elevated space. They elevated the track because too many pedestrians were being killed by the endless trains running through the neighborhood on the surface. At one point, they hired cowboys on horseback to ride in front of the trains to shoo away the pedestrians. Now, with train delivery supplanted by other means, it's become a walking path for a new generation of New Yorkers and visitors - and it's free - and very little hazard to use it.

A Great Museums documentary about the High Line at this link. Inspiring and well worth the watch.

Grand Central Station, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Grand Central Station, one of the busiest terminals in the world, has many fewer folks passing through because of the pandemic.



The iconic clock shines brightly in the main hall atop the information booth.

Its 44 platforms host more than 50 tracks on two underground concourses.

This man stood stone still just enjoying the moment for at least the amount of time that I was wandering around. I understand his choice - it's an historic space to soak in - and to hear the gentle echo of footfalls on all that marble.

Speaking of being still, just a few blocks away at Rockefeller Plaza, their golden statue wore a politically correct facemask.

Out and About, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

In Times Square, a Spanish television network was conducting a live broadcast on this particular day.



The Empire State Building towers above even though it's about 30 blocks away in this image.



A random group of musicians jam in Greenwich Village's Washington Square. A city park for 200 years, it's recent fame is after World War 2 when folk-singers, beatniks, hippies, and other counter-culture types often congregate here. The park is ringed with buildings of New York University.



The Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station just opened in January of 2021. It's a grand and elegant space - a dramatic way to arrive into New York City.



Once again, the Empire State Building lurks above and catches me by surprise while on my daily walk on the High Line in Chelsea.

Out and About, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

I have found the subway system to be very efficient for getting around the city. Everyone has been good about wearing a mask and, during the times I have ridden, ......



....it has not been particularly crowded. And the number of odd characters is much lower than I remember about the New York subway system. I thought about taking taxies or on-demand carriers but, the subway system is so iconic I just had to descend those stairways into the underground for the true New York experience.



Back on the surface, that's quite a claim: "the world's largest store," but, I'll take them at their word. It is flower festival week so I stopped by to see what I could see.......

.....and sprouted a pair of floral butterfly wings for the occasion. By the way, I can't tell you how many comments I have received on my hat - though most are from young folks who say it reminds them of their grandfathers. In any case, no one else seems to wear this style much anymore. (I bought it in a little hat shop in Seville, Spain a few years back).

A subway ride later, I was right on the edge of the Chinatown and the Little Italy neighborhoods.



The street markets are bustling with shoppers, buying fresh produce as they have for generations.



Folks are good about wearing masks, too.



And with the acculturation of smartphone cameras, no one seems to mind having his/her picture taken anymore.



It's still slightly disorienting - though I do love it - to turn a random corner and there stands the towering Empire State Building. And in this case, it's the side of Madison Square Garden in the foreground advertising a December reunion concert of Genesis - who from my generation wouldn't like to see those 70+ year old rockers get back together for one last geriatric go-around! (They're supposedly coming to Boston in December to the TD Garden on this tour, too).

The High Line, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Street-level view of the southern terminus of the High Line at Gansevoort Street in Chelsea.



I enjoy walking multiple city blocks without stopping at corners or worrying about getting run over by street traffic - cars, taxis, on-demands, scooters, bikes, buses - some making too much noise, some none at all, some following the rules of the road, some not so much. To have this urban greenway oasis is just magical. The 1.5 mile long path traverses much of the Chelsea district in Manhattan. Great info at their website at this link and a really powerful, professional, and uplifting documentary about the entire project at this link by the folks at Great Museums.



There are well-placed benches, loungers, seats and cut-outs to just relax and hang out. In some places, big glass walls to watch the traffic on the busy avenues below - sort of life imitating art.



The Vessel is actually at Hudson Yards adjacent to the High Line at the northern end.



One of many pieces of art/sculpture along the High Line.



A view from the surface at 30th Street looking up at the High Line.