New York City, USA - Day 6
One of the most memorable images of New York City has to come from the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, stretching 5,989 feet over the East River, connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Upon completion in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, the first steel-wire suspension bridge, and the first bridge to connect to Manhattan. Both the views of Brooklyn and the Bridge from Pier 17 are great. But they do not compare to actually being on the bridge.
It is always busy but always worth walking across. The views of Manhattan are iconic. As an interesting side note in 2006, a Cold War era bunker was found by city workers near the East River shoreline of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The bunker, hidden within the masonry anchorage, still contained the emergency supplies that were being stored for a potential nuclear attack by the Soviet Union! Unfortunately we did not get to see that but worth a visit next time me thinks!
The walk across the bridge is a long one and if you are feeling tired and in need of refreshment on the Brooklyn side you can go to arguably the best pizza restaurant in the world – Grimaldis. The pizza here is the best I have ever had and the restaurant is located just below the bridge with a short walk from another great view of Manhattan!
Seriously cannot overstate how good this place is!
There is also a good ice cream place called Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory for dessert! A wander around the nearby neighbourhood of Brooklyn Heights is also well worth it. The housing and architecture are quite different to Manhattan and the neighbourhoods are quaint. No wonder is to very expensive to live there!
That evening was possibly one of the best in my life! We did not have much planned but I had a yearning for music. Our first stop was Washington Square Burger Bar. Located in Washington Square is a popular outdoor burger bar which serves fast food. The food is good but the location is better with lots of people milling around in a small park decorated with tree lanterns. Idyllic.
A short walk North led us to the Rockefeller Centre. The centrepiece of Rockefeller Center is the 70-floor GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (”30 Rock”) The building is the setting for the famous Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper photograph, taken by Charles C. Ebbets in 1932 of workers having lunch, sitting on a steel beam, without safety harnesses. Unlike most other Art Deco towers built during the 1930s, the GE Building was constructed as a slab with a flat roof, where the Center’s newly renovated observation deck, the Top of the Rock is located, which was first built in 1933. On the 70th floor, reached by both stairs and elevator, there is a viewing area, allowing visitors a unique 360-degree panoramic view of New York City. It is something else. Unlike the Empire State Building where you are penned in behind wire mesh and five deep tourist line waiting to see something, the Rock is open. Only small glass panels warn you are getting too close to the edge. There are few tourists and you can actually see and hear NYC. It was ethereal. We got the last elevator up at around 11.30pm and I highly highly recommend it.
After that I wanted music. One thing NYC is famed for are its late night music bars. They are specifically piano bars - one bar, one piano and a player and singer. We knew of one called Don’t Tell Mama piano bar. Bearing in mind it was the early hours of Tuesday morning so the place was not packed. But there was a very good singer and piano player. Great entertainment and even though they closed at 2 they knew where we could go after. A short cab ride and we were in another piano bar and drinking Tequila with a load of locals. Extremely interesting and fun – although the next day was a bit sore!