New York City -- Day 2

Isn't it amazing how time flies?  It's Christmas one minute and the next thing you know it's a whole new year once again.

I'm not quite done with my travel posts, but I'm trying to do my best to blog about them as much as I can because they're so long overdue...  Anyway, this is about my second day in New York where I spent the whole day out trying to see the city on a bus.  Now I like bus tours because you get to see most of the skyscrapers and other attractions the city is famous for from the outside, so even if you aren't able to go inside a particular store or building while you're on the tour bus, at least you'd know it's there and can walk back or hop off to check it out some other time.

I had no one to accompany me to go around the city since my friend was busy with school and work, so thank God my sister suggested me to book a bus tour.  It definitely was a life saver and I only had to get on the subway whenever I had to go back to my friend's place or go to Times Square in the mornings.  I thought the bus tours there would work the same way as in London which it was for the process of hopping on and off, but in London, I've (along with my family) experienced being able to listen to a recording about the city and its famous landmarks while in New York, we had to listen to a real live tour guide and you know, they were all just different.  Some of them were lively with a good sense of humour while others were witty with a hint of seriousness.  Oh, there's something you have to remember, though and that "It is customary to tip in America" so I had to drop a couple of bucks every time I hopped off the bus, but it was alright because they tried their best to do their job anyway.

Now I had an agenda for myself (a list of places to visit, how long I should spend my time in a certain place, etc.) which I was not really able to follow except for the first and the second landmark below.

1. The Empire State Building

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when people say New York?  For me, it would be Home Alone and Sleepless in Seattle where they did a scene on the top of this wonderful skyscraper overlooking the beautiful city of New York.  I'm not sure how much it costs to get up here upon arrival but I had booked the hop on-hop off bus tour with Grayline for 120 dollars and had 3 tourist attraction tickets included where people are allowed to use it anywhere they like.  I chose to use the first one here.

Oh, the view was spectacular!  Try and imagine how amazing the view would be at sunset or at night!  I bet it'd be awesome and I did hear it from one of the tour guides that sunset would be the best time to go (especially with your loved one(s)!)

Being alone at the top of the Empire State kind of reminded me about the time I climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris (alone, too) and it made me think about what I was doing in such a beautiful city on my own.  Oh well, I still had an awesome time, though and this will be an adventure and a great experience I'll never forget (not about the photo-taking part because I had to keep asking random strangers to help me get a snapshot of me with the view and they didn't always turn out the way I wanted them to so I only have a few photos of myself).

After hopping on the bus again, we passed by some random neighbourhood where they had those fire escapes just right outside the apartments on each floor that NYC is known for.  I honestly must say that even those old buildings look stunning!

2. Brooklyn Bridge

Aaaah yes!  I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and I'm not so sure as to why I underestimated the distance from one end to the other because trust me, I was out of breath at some point, but it's alright because I got to pause in between to take some shots of the view.

3. Grand Central Station

Now where did I first see Grand Central Station?  Aaah yes, in Gossip Girl (where Serena van der Woosen appeared in the first season) and Friends with Benefits.  I had no plan of going there on that day, but I missed the last ferry going to the Statue of Liberty so I had to change my plans.  I did not have a minute to lose as there was just soo much to see!

I had dinner in Times Square after this and hopped on the night bus where we were taken around a bunch of places such as China Town, Washington Square Park and Brooklyn (where we were able to see an impressive view of the skyline.)

4. Washington Square Park

I'm afraid my photo of the skyline did not turn out great, but it was hard to take nice photos in a moving vehicle. :P

It's been a while since I last blogged and a lot had happened on my second day, so I apologize if it was a little bit too wordy, but I hope you like the photos and au revoir!  Till next post loves!