Throwback: A Day in NYC
- Jun 7, 2020
- 5 min read
We know how COVID-19 has severely impacted the daily lives of the people in NYC. Our hearts go out to the people who called NYC their home and the people who commuted there for work. The pandemic has definitely altered lives and made an irreparable loss to NY. This post is a throwback to one of the amazing times we had when we visited NYC in January before the pandemic began. We never envisioned at that time that the city we love would lose its spirit overnight at the hands of the virus.
It was January 5th, 2020. It was a beautiful day, yet a bit chilly. We were well-protected in beanies, gloves, and jackets. Shreya and I were waiting for the train to arrive at the Edison Station. We are supposed to meet our friend Nehee (the third person in our Trio :)) at the Metropark Station. We were really excited about this journey and it was one that was much-needed. We had well-planned for this day out and wanted to make the most out of this visit. Our first stop from the Penn Station was the much-hyped Vessel. IG stories were flooded with Vessel pics, so we HAD to check out what the hype was all about. And WOW, we sure were amazed by the spectacular structure and the design and it certainly exceeded our expectations. Sadly, we didn’t get to climb the stairs and go to the top of it. Since it is right by the Hudson River, it was SO windy that we could barely take pictures. The wind almost lifted us off our feet. We entered the mall to catch our breath (phew!).
We hurried back to the Penn Station: our next destination was the Washington Square Park. I gave all the directions since I was kinda familiar with how to access the subways times and Google Maps. I have seen the gate monument (IDK what it is called oops) so many times in pictures so I didn’t want to miss it. Sadly, the waterfall in the middle of the park wasn’t on. But, that didn’t stop us from taking cute aesthetic pictures. HUJI app saved the day (HUJI, if you are reading, please sponsor us lol :)). As Shreya says, HUJI is the aesthetic for 2020. After that, we took a stroll around the NYU campus which was nearby. We took pictures of the Stern School of Business. The architecture of the buildings was definitely fine. Shortly after that, we decided we wanted to visit the historic Friends building since it was nearby. I absolutely love the sitcom and it was my dream to visit the building. Surprisingly, the outside of the building looked peculiarly different from what they showed in the episodes. Central Perk has been renovated into a restaurant. We three best friends of course had to strike a pose in front of the Friends building (how cheesy!). Nehee took out her cute polaroid camera and we took some cute pictures to freeze these moments forever in our camera roll.
By that time, we had walked quite some miles and were hungry. We were craving cupcakes and found Molly’s cupcakes closeby. The place was gorgeous, and so were their cupcakes. (As a side note, while I am writing this, I miss those cupcakes so much). We ordered the chocolate cupcakes. Before we could even have a bite of the cupcakes, we, of course, had to take pictures of them against the backdrop of the splendid bakery. Shreya and I took turns posing with our cupcake that we couldn’t wait to have. And let me tell you, the cupcakes WERE SO GOOD! It was the best one I have had yet. After our taste buds were relished, we walked to the nearest subway station. We took the next train to our next stop Battery Park where we planned to see the sunset. We were glad we were ahead of sunset, which allowed us to go to the Charging Bull - a historic sculpture symbolic of financial wealth and prosperity, and visit NYSE and Wall Street.
The buildings around Battery Park had some of the finest and detailed architectural designs I have seen. We spent some time taking pictures before we visited the Bull. There was a long queue of people at the Bull. After we were done taking pictures with the Bull, we made our way to the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street. It was definitely amazing to visit these financial landmarks. After that, we made our way back to Battery Park and walked to the end of the park to view the sunset. The sunrays left the buildings surrounding Battery Park with a golden hue that had to be captured. In the distance, we could see the Statue of Liberty standing strong as the sunshine glimmered on the Hudson River. From a photography perspective, this location provides breathtaking views of the sunset overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Hudson River. We were able to capture these views and the surroundings. Shreya also managed to take a timelapse of the entire sunset. It was becoming so chilly that it was almost impossible to go one minute without gloves. We were numb and cold. Even though we wanted to stay a bit longer and witness the views and absorb the calmness, we had to leave because we were freezing. It was also getting dark and we wanted to go back Uptown.
It was 5:30 pm and our journey wasn’t even close to being finished. We paid a quick visit to Bryant Park since they had a cute Christmas Village and ice-skating rink. I insisted we also go to Rockefeller Center and see the tree. I have been seeing pictures on social media and I sure didn’t wanna miss it (safe to say I am influenced by social media). I want to thank Shreya and Nehee for agreeing to go to the Rockefeller Tree. I know we were all starving by then but I assured them it was going to be quick. The tree is of course gorgeous every year, but this year, we took pictures from all the angles. We also stayed a bit to see the Light Show display.
We were starving. It was 7 pm. We were behind on our schedule. We hurried and took a subway to Grand Central Terminal. From there, we frantically searched for the nearest Taco Bell. We were craving Mexican food. Unfortunately, the nearest one was about 12-15 minutes walk. We sprinted in the cold since we had to reach there and eat by 7:30-7:40 pm so we could take the train from Penn Station to New Jersey by 8 pm. On our way to Taco Bell, we were able to witness Times Square, NBC Studios, and Radio City Music Hall. Thankfully, we got to the Taco Bell on time, ordered food, and reached the 50th Street station. Unfortunately, there was some accident at the rail line and subways were delayed. We hoped we were able to reach Penn Station on time so we can be home by 9 pm. We waited for a few minutes and thankfully, we got the subway. We reached Penn Station, cut through the crowds, and made it just on time. Phew, that was stressful!
Nevertheless, this was one of the best days and a fun-filled one that we would cherish forever. We were glad we were able to squeeze in so many spots and destinations in one day and we certainly were able to get a flavor of NYC. We absolutely love the city that never sleeps, its people that make the city so lively and its amazing bakeries hehe. We can’t wait to go back and experience NYC. Even though NYC won’t be what it was before the pandemic since the pandemic will have its long-lasting effects but we hope it is able to regain and restore its liveliness, its busy streets, the warmth, and the culture in the coming years. We are praying for NYC and its people so that it is able to recover from the effects and becomes the city we all know and love!
With Love!
Kuhu
Comments