Hi there, in my old stomping ground...
NYC is one of the few remaining pedestrian/people-on-foot places... I
do not have a special place really, but a couple thoughts to share about
the place.
1. Early morning--btw 7 and 8 AM--and evenings--btw 6 and 8 PM--weekdays
and from Mid-town to Battery Park(the "Southern" tip, Wall Street area) are
great times to experience the folks who make that town tick. All neighborhoods
have interesting points: I'd suggest you start a criss-cross, zig-zag walk from
Battery Park up to 57th street, starting at 7 AM... you'll reach Central Park(59th)
to have lunch 😉 Avoid taking a straight line up an Avenue, or Broadway.
The evening walk, then, would be the opposite: 59th to Battery Park... you'll
catch the expressions of how good--or bad--the day had been for folks there.
A much more accurate indicator of the US economy than the stock market 😉
2. Don't forget Brooklyn, or Queens... you can walk across the Brooklyn bridge
in the early evening, making your way, say, to Atlantic avenue to Prospect Park
(and further, if you are an avid trekker). For Queens, I suggest taking the
"number 7 train"(purple line) from Grand Central Sta.; exit the train at 21st Street
and walk around a bit... nice and different views of Manhattan from Long Island
City. Or, again for Queens, take the N(yellow) to Broadway in Astoria... great
food and people there too.
3. The streets and avenues of Manhattan: if you can get up a few storeys, the
streets themselves are fascinating. They're like a thin asphalt patchwork quilt...
it's believed that for every floor in a building, there's a "sub-basement", and
the streets are just a bridge between them. Watch the traffic: cabs darting
about, trucks and vans slowly ambling along, and then the blue(mostly white
by now IIRC) "cop cars"... it's like an odd aquarium.
Hope you enjoy your stay!
rgds,
Dave
