New York

On our second full day in New York we decided to follow some of 'The Great Saunter', a 32 mile circumnavigation of Manhattan Island. We picked on the section below where we are staying on 45th Street, moving in a clockwise direction. This was not a great choice as much of the riverbank on the lower east side is under construction which pushed us inland through mostly unattractive urban housing estates. Once we were below Brooklyn Bridge things sorted themselves out and we were able to enjoy the extensive parks just like New Yorkers. It's hot at the moment. Roughly 30 degrees celsius with a bit of humidity so the walking is harder.

The following day we jumped on a train to Cold Sping, a small town north of New York (pop. est. around 2000), up the Hudson Valley. There are mountain walks accessible by foot from town so we embarked on the Bull Hill loop which is 5.5 miles with a climb of just over 400 metres. At the trailhead a woman warned us a snake was on the path, not the introduction we were hoping for. Oddly she said you guys are big so you should be ok.

On our final full day we took the metro to Coney Island for lunch. We haven't been seeking out fine dining in New York. The stuff we have sampled is pretty average, and our Kentucky style chicken sandwich sold on the boardwalk was no worse. The waste here is atrocious. Everything is plastic, and recycling options are rare. Despite their best efforts a lot of New York is covered in trash. This is not helped by plenty of bin divers who sift out plastic bottles and cans, which we guess they can sell. They don't do this carefully so items of less interest just fall to the ground.

We also sampled the High Line walkway, a disused rail line that sits above the streets, and is now a public green space. New York has a good amount of green space we think. The High Line led us to Greenwich village which has a different feel to the rest of the New York we have seen.

A couple of changes from our last visit here; cycle lanes are pervasive as is the smell of marijuana which is legal, although smoking in general is widely banned in public spaces 

Time Square early evening. People just hang out here.

The 45th Street West bombers

Near the top of Bull Hill looking back down the Hudson Valley 


Louis Vuitton. You can buy fakes from the sidewalk virtually outside it.



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