So, during my Spring Break in March, I took a trip to New York City to visit with one of my close friends who is doing Teach for America in Brooklyn. One of my fellow grad students is from New Jersey, so we split the gas on the way there and back. I walked, roughly, 50 miles (around 10 a day) during the free time I had to myself and wound up coming back to Tuscaloosa with a bad case of shin splints in my left leg (running the length of the Brooklyn Bridge 4 times probably didn't help matters...).
It was easily the best Spring Break I'd ever had. Till I went to NYC, Los Angeles was the largest city I'd ever been to; needless to say, New York was completely different. Although, living so far away, New York had always seemed like this foreign universe that I myself would feel incredibly awkward and out of place in; I was surprised to find that the city was entirely normal (not underwhelming by any means) and I felt right at home.
As I said before, I spent my days walking countless miles, one day even walking from the midsection of Central Park all the way to the tip of Manhattan (I quickly found out that I walk as impatiently as a New Yorker). I also put around 100 miles on the subway, which was incredibly cheap, easy to use, and convenient despite its rough exterior. I've ridden plenty of train and subway systems, but nothing as comprehensive as New York's.
Aside from my movement throughout the city, I took tons of pictures, which is what this thread is for.
Any comments I have about a specific picture will appear ABOVE the image, btw. Additionally, I've tried to adjust the image sizes so that 1) the page doesn't take forever to load and 2) so that you can actually tell what you're looking at
Hope you enjoy!
Well, before arriving in New York, my friend and I stopped in DC for the night and went out for a night on the town.
The next day, she drove me to Philadelphia and dropped me off at Penn, where my friend was attending an info session about a grad program he's applying to. In Philadelphia, I made it a point to see the city hall and have a cheesesteak during the 2 hours I had in the city. Around 5:30PM, we boarded the Acela for The Big Apple. (I took these first two with my iPad, btw)
View of Manhattan from the Acela in New Jersey.
Some views of Manhattan, and the QBB, from the rooftop of my friend's apartment building in Queens.
A Queen from Queens by
ALalto, on Flickr
On to Manhattan!
On my way to the High Line...
High Line time!
Interesting fact: the High Line
lost out to Birmingham's Railroad Park for the Urban Land Institute's Urban Open Space Award.
Next stop, Greenwich Village.
And onward to Lower Manhattan.
Next day, on up to Columbia.
Time for Brooklyn.
Would not wanna have this guy's job....
On to Grand Central, for the third (and last) time during my trip.
My friend finally decided to show me Bryant Park; I'd ridden by it countless times on the 7 train, but I never got off to see it.
Some night shots from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Queensboro Plaza, the station I departed from each day.
On to Flushing.
And finally, my fellow grad student and I stop at Little River Canyon in NE Alabama before heading back to Tuscaloosa.
Well, that is all. I hope you all enjoyed at least some of it, and I pray it wasn't too long!