26 Nov Mondays in New York
As the check-in started I think back to my third full day in New York. It started with wind and a bit of cold but as the day progressed the sun came up again and smiled upon the city.
First stop was the Flatiron building, an iconic building in New York showing a special arhitecture and featured in movies and famous tv series. I waited as much as I could for taking a picture, the building being in the middle of a rather busy intersection so it wasn’t the easiest of tasks. However it is really worth a look since it is something so different from the rest of the architecture that surrounds it.
Next stop was the Bull. Yes, the famous statue on wall street. And no, I did not take my photo holding his balls as many tourists choose to.
I was satisfied with getting a picture from the front and moved towards Trinity church.
Now you have to understand that in New York it is pretty hard to take the kind of photography that i enjoy. Simple, clean pictures. Not a lot of subjects and all lines clear and well defined.
An accomplished photographer may work miracles but I am not such an artist yet so I found it very hard to photograph places like this Church lost in the middle of giants, cars on both sides of the road and people crossing both ways without ever stopping.
I let my steps guide me to wall street and then to the NYSE before heading towards the Brooklyn Bridge.
Now as a word of advice. Brooklyn bridge deserves to start the day. Since this is a high interest point it can get crazily busy later on, that being no good to your photos.
Also I suggest two things, one which I did and one that I regret not doing.
First thing that I did was walk all the way across, then down and head on the little shore across the Manhattan view line. That is a beautiful place for taking pictures and I really regret not getting there in the evening for a night photography session, the view from there being incredible.
I reached China Town by metro and let myself wander the streets. No clear objective, nothing. Just walking, taking pictures and watching the people go on about their day.
Tight on China Town sits Little Italy. Or what is left of it. Slowly but surely swallowed by the ever expanding China Town this is a special place also, a place that reminded me of certain parts of Italy, parts that I miss dearly.
I ended the day with a stroll thru the Upper West side enjoying the quiet small buildings that guard each street.
There are a lot of beautiful places in New York and these streets are no exception.
You see New York is not just about the main sights but also about the streets, the little gems, the little shops, restaurants, the kids laughing, the big pancakes and delicious pies.
So if I were to give you an advice is to plan beyond the usual sights, to move deeper in the streets and admire them and try to feel New York on a deeper level.
Third day and I started asking myself questions about the last person left in my life.
Already signs were showing for a long time and I guess I was just waiting for a decisive moment to put a stop to it.
It didnt’t end that day but it sure started ending as the third day slowly reached its last hours.
As usual I will not detail in this post the restaurants or the events I attended on that day but rather keep them for later articles.
Three weeks after my return, on a cold foggy morning, as I woke up and started correcting this post to publish it I think back to my trip to New York and smile.
So many things came to an end since then and quite a few have started also.
Just a little over a month and this year will be history. It has been an amazing ride so far and I am looking forward to 2018 for new adventures.
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