Bryant Park and a Nighttime Times Square

It’s been so much fun wandering aimlessly around one of my favorite cities ever. After leaving The New York Public Library, Bryant Park was my next destination.

It’s right next door, so it just made sense.

And, because I apparently can’t get enough of it, here it a parting shot of the Chrysler Building as we make our way west.

Bryant Park is such a neat place, with tons of offerings for patrons and guests. I’ve seen old men playing checkers and chess, and today I saw young men playing on one of the many free ping pong tables.

Who does that?! Who makes a ping pong table available in the middle of a park? It’s pure brilliance, I tell you.

And, had their language been a little cleaner, I probably would have stayed longer to watch these guys play.

Bryant Park is a comparatively large spot of green space in the middle of the city. I mean, it’s no Central Park, but it is nice and big!

I love this old black-and-gold building, The American Radiator Building. It was built for a radiator company in 1924 and sold in 1998 for $150 million. It is now a hotel with one-hundred thirty rooms and a theater in the basement. Pretty neat, huh?

Can you see the Empire State Building peeking through, too? It’s still one of my favorite landmarks in the city, but I’m sure that everyone says that!

That big building is the back of the library, which I just left. In fact, in the 1980s, they needed more storage space for the library’s collections. So they dug up Bryant Park and built a huge underground fortress underneath. Then they rebuilt the park on top.

In the summer, they host lots of concerts and cultural events in this green space.

It’s a great part of town to come relax while enjoying a hot chocolate or lunch from work.

Lots of the taller buildings in New York City also act as antennas on top to transmit radio signals abroad.

These skyscrapers are some of the tallest in the world, so it makes sense to use them for double-duty!

Here we are facing south on 6th Avenue before making our way back towards Times Square for the evening.

Do you see that sign that says, “No Standing?” Apparently, in this crazy city, that actually means no parking.

You would totally get that from the sign, right?

I feel badly for the poor tourists who discover that information the hard way.

Guess where we are now!

This sign is kind of funny…last month, the store was out of Hubby’s usual Old Spice Body Wash, so I tried this exact Irish Spring stuff for him.

In case you’re wondering, it smells delicious! Maybe this sign a month previous to purchase is what subconsciously inspired me?

No. My nostrils inspired me, since I smell them all to make my selection. It’s one of my favorite things to do in life…smell men’s body washes.

Is that creepy? The people in the store seemed to think so…

The sun was disappearing, but the crowds were not. Even in this chillier weather, people were out in full-force in Manhattan this evening.

Who knew that McDonald’s could look so cool all lit up at night?

And this is a cool shot of a famous landmark…

Can you see it?

It’s the ball that drops for New Years Eve! I used to think that it would be fun to experience that event once in my life in person. But I’m singing a different tune now. The crowds are just too crazy!

I would like to point out my favorite clothing store on the right. Hi, LOFT! I love you!

In fact, since I had forgotten to pack a skirt for church a few days later, I did a little shopping at LOFT while in Manhattan. It was so fun to get a skirt and necklace here, since I will always remember that they are from Times Square!

The evening sky is so pretty with all of these lights.

And all of these cars! Look at them all! I would hate to drive in this city.

These workers were really burning the midnight oil. Or the nine o’clock oil. It depends on which clock you’re using…

Isn’t it a pretty building all lit up, though? It reminds me of something from Iron Man.

I soon left Times Square behind to begin my walk towards the Port Authority Bus Terminal. My feet are telling me that we’ve had enough for one day.

And we get to come back again tomorrow, so why not head back to New Jersey for a little rest tonight?

Whenever we came to NYC for my old job, my boss would get a Junior’s Cheesecake to bring home to his family. Now I know where they are!

And it’s the most famous restaurant, apparently.

I love watching Guy Fieri from the Food Network, and he has a new restaurant near Times Square. If it wasn’t so derned expensive, I think that it would be really fun to try a place like this!

Or one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants, since I like him even more…

It’s about ten o’clock at night, and it’s time to catch a bus back to my hotel on the other side of the Hudson River.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal is a zoo at any time, but it’s even trickier when the information booths are closed down. Luckily, I’ve done this a few times now and can guestimate which terminal is mine.

Hasbrouck Heights is where I’m bound, so it’s looks like I’m in the right spot!

See you tomorrow for Day Two of all this fun action.

I love you, New York City!

Grand Central Terminal and The New York City Library

After seeing The American Museum of Natural History just long enough to warm up, it was time to head outside again and enjoy some more of this beautiful city.

Have I mentioned how much I love visiting NYC?

I love the scaffolding all throughout the city. There are always buildings being built or improved. This just feels like New York City to me.

I’m at the very southwest corner of Central Park, looking towards the Marriott Essex House with the Trump Tower right behind me.

Old and new in one picture. Can you imagine living in that tall building going up? What a view!

Sometimes I wonder if I accidentally arrived at Universal Studios when I see this giant metal globe. But, happily, I am still in the heart of Manhattan! It must have just been a neat way to decorate all over the country back in the roaring twenties.

This globe is located right next to Columbus Circle. Pretty, huh?

Speaking of Columbus Circle, there were lots of skateboarders and roller bladers enjoying the cement benches today. I sat to rest my feet and watch them for a few minutes.

Did you know that Columbus Circle is the point from which all official distance measurements are taken in the city? I didn’t know that!

This statue, dedicated to Christopher Columbus, was erected in 1892 during the 400th anniversary of his arrival to the Americas.

The place looks just a little different now. I love this picture from Wikipedia!

As I continued my walk, I began to look for a place to eat an early dinner.

I passed one of my favorite stores and waved. I’m just happy to see it represented so well here in NYC!

I went into Hale and Hearty to check out their menu. I wish that I would have gotten one of these sandwiches.

I love sandwich places like this. For some reason, I decided to not eat here.

I promise that these cupcakes weren’t the reason that I finally selected a bagel sandwich shop as my dining location today!

Though they do look pretty tempting, don’t they?

These piles of glop aren’t more cupcakes…they are flavored cream cheeses for bagels!

I think that it’s very safe to say that I would never want tofu spread on my bagel. Are we all in agreement on this one?

I decided to get a fresh-made sandwich and went with the Ham and Cheese. Because I’m exciting like that.

And this was my meal.

I know! I don’t know how that cupcake got there, either!

Unfortunately, it wasn’t very good. I only had a few bites before deciding that it just wasn’t worth the calories.

Appearances were deceiving, in this case. Because it looked like it should taste amazing!

After eating half the sandwich, I headed back outside to continue exploring the city.

I really felt like I was in the thick of things when I passed this window full of NYC pizza!

Which one would you pick?

I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do it, with such wonderful public transportation available and all, but there are several ways to park your car for the day/month/year. This was one of the more structured ways, which an actual building. Most of the parking sites are just metal elevators that move cars up and down to stack them on top of each other.

It would just be a logistical nightmare to figure out who needs their car when! Can you imagine paying $50 a day to park? That adds up to a whole lot of money after a month of leaving your car behind!

One word: subway.

I loved this little cluster of shops with such bright colors. It felt like an older building that had been left alone to shine.

It would be fun to live on the upper floors of these short guys.

But I must admit…I would prefer the view (and the distance from the noisy streets) on a much higher floor!

Beggars can’t be choosers, right?

I made my way down to the Avenue of the Americas and found a lovely bench on which to rest.

Unfortunately, the bench was made of granite and was not the warmest option available. But it felt good to give my feet a little break while watching people quickly wander past!

It amazes me how much people pay attention to their electronic devices instead of to other people. No one even looked up to see those around them. It makes me sad.

Isn’t this building just beautiful?! Look at all of that detail!

Way in the distance, you can see my next targeted destination.

Can you see the green roof? Where am I going?

Hi, Grand Central! You haven’t changed a bit.

This is the world’s sixth-most visited tourist destination and receives over 21 million visitors each year.

And look who’s turning 100 years old this year!

That birthday is only for this latest version of the station, which is called Grand Central Terminal. There have been trains and stations here since 1871, but they have constantly changed, evolved, been torn down and rebuilt, and finally finished in 1913.

Amtrak used to be based here, too, but is now located in Penn Station a little further south.

Ah, the Chrysler Building.

There was quite the race in the late 1920s to have the tallest building in the world. For almost an entire year, this was the tallest. Then along came a little place we like to call the Empire State Building.

The Chrysler Building, which was intended to be the headquarters for the Chrysler Corporation, was built incredibly fast at four floors per week! And not a single construction worker died during its creation, which is quite a miracle on its own.

Another chair to sit on while I watch people!

Lots of locals and visitors alike walk the streets of Fifth Avenue. This H&M store is new.

My chair was in the courtyard for the New York City Public Library, which is such a beautiful building inside and out. I had never been inside, so I took my chances today and made it through the entrance.

The New York City Public Library is the second-largest in the country (behind the Library of Congress) and third-largest in the world. It was a treat to see it all in person today!

And, like every other building in New York City, this place was decked out to the nines. Look at that ornamental ceiling from which hang those awesome, original lights!

I want these lanterns for my patio. Wouldn’t that be cool?

This is one of my favorite pictures from the day because of those little fairy lights adding pizazz to the shot.

It almost looks magical! Almost.

I went upstairs to see what I could find in this massive building.

The cornerstone was laid in 1902 with an expected three-year building period. However, it took a year just to move the books from two other libraries (the Astor and Lenox)! Over seventy-five miles of shelves were installed!

The building finally opened its doors for public use in 1911 after a modern-day equivalent of $1.4 billion from Andrew Carnegie was given to build the library.

And it’s just breathtaking. I can see why it took so long to build with such incredible detail in every turn!

I mean, just look at the ceiling! Can you imagine painting those little tiny gold details, and then doing it about a million times more?

It is so pretty, though.

There are lots of gorgeous stone carvings throughout as well.

If you have trouble focusing on one thing, then this is just the building for you!

I’m sure that the library rotates through visiting art displays, but I happened to catch it during a tribute to artist Mary Cassatt. It was neat to the see the initial sketches from some of her famous paintings.

In one of the library reading rooms, all of the walls were covered in ancient artwork in original frames. So I wandered around the room to admire them all, trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) to miss the squeaky floor boards.

And then I found a picture of one of my favorite men from American history.

George really is all that.

Two marble lions guard the entrance to the library, and they are named “Patience” and “Fortitude.” This one looks pretty patient, so I bet that’s who it is.

It was fun to see inside such a beautiful building today! That was certainly something new for me. Did you see anything new for you?