One day in New York City

If you are here for the We‘re all ears Challenge reveal , then skip to the end of the post to see the earrings. But if you have five minutes, you could read about my recent  travels and my “New York State of Mind”. 

In a New York State of Mind

My USA journey began with a flight to JFK where I was picked by my Aunt and Uncle, and driven to their home in the picturesque Albertson. It was everything I had read about American suburbs – calm and quiet, yet not very far from the main road, surprisingly dotted with Indian and Pakistani stores. It might as well been a villa colony along the ECR if not for the American flag fluttering in the porch of many a house.
The next morning, after depositing my luggage at a charming place in Woodside, near Queens Blvd I left to board a train that would take me to Hudson yards station, wherein began my sightseeing Trip. They say that New Yorkers walk a lot – and by the time I reached Pier 83, near the Intrepid Air and Space Museum from Hudson yard, I realised the truth behind that remark. It was a long brutal walk, considered peanuts by NYC standards. Thankfully, the warehouses along the way provided much needed shade during that terribly hot day. I soon boarded a cruise boat and after securing a seat at the upper half covered deck, waited in anticipation to see Lady Liberty. 

The Landmark cruise

The Landmark cruise, a 90 minute ride on the Hudson river was a great and comfortable way to see the famed Manhattan skyline even on a very hot day. Within minutes of the cruise I could see the Skyscrapers – all concrete and glass. World Trade Center, 9/11 memorial, Empire State building, Battery park were on one side while the other side offered a peak into New Jersey. Contrary to the note on the Cruise website, the cruise neither goes around the Statue of Liberty nor do we get to see it twice. After a brief glimpse from a good distance we took a U Turn to see the famous Brooklyn Bridge and the Williamsburg bridge. I felt sorry for the folks who did not rush to the deck to take their pictures but waited patiently for the boat to turn around; they never got a chance to take pictures of the SOL after that. Sometimes, patience doesn’t pay.

The commentary was very informative to begin with, but it got boring towards the end with the guide going on and on about the 9/11 memorial, the great “New York rush hour” and Captain Sully’s landing on the Hudson. Maybe with the movie coming up (it has been released now) the guide thought it would be interesting to people, but people got bored and started talking really loudly during the return journey. Instead, we could have spent more time at the statue of liberty as 5 minutes is hardly enough to soak up her splendor. It was however, very interesting, to see people take ferry rides, helicopter rides, go yatching  and yes go jet skiing on the river.

The Metropolitan museum of art

After a quick lunch consisting of a muffin and an apple, I ubered to the Met. The Metropolitan museum of art is heaven on earth for artists, designers and connoisseurs of beauty. I really missed my mom and wished that she got an opportunity to see it as well, so I called her (woke her up in the middle of the night) and described the exhibits as I was walking through the Greek section. People say that those who are not artistically inclined can see 4 sections in a day and those who love art can only see 2. I, on the other hand saw 8 exhibits. I rushed through them as FOMO (fear of missing out) gripped me until they basically threw me out at 5:30 PM. “When am I ever going to get an opportunity like this again”, I told myself, forcing my brain into absorbing everything I saw and wishing that I had skipped the cruise and been at the Met at the opening time instead.

I chose to see only three places in NYC and the last on my list was the “Sunset view from the Top pf Rock”. I had gotten a glimpse of Central Park earlier on my way over to the MET but as I travelled towards TOR, I was able to appreciate Central park once again, this time only for $5 as I was driven along the 5th avenue. Thank God for share -Uber that nobody wants to share 😀 My Driver turned out to be a freelance Graphic designer and so he was happy to point out signages and thematic displays of Fashion stores along the famous street.

Even though I was late for  my TOR appointment I took my time in seeing portions of the Rockefeller center and browsed at Anthropologie to my heart’s content. But I missed seeing the inside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and going through more high end stores on that street. If given an another chance, I would do it differently. 

fifth avenue new york

Top of the Rock

My image of New York city, like most other Indians is  created based on stories of cousins or relatives who live abroad or is crafted through American Television shows. In my case it was the TV shows like “Sex and the City”, “White Collar” and “Castle” that made me visit TOR at sunset. I fell in love with how the Empire state building looked in the “so called evening light” in the shows but only when I actually reached TOR, I realised that the light in those scenes come from the opposite side, meaning that they could been shot during sunrise. I reached the 67th floor around 7 PM awaiting the 7:55 PM sunset but the sun tested all of us by setting at 8:20 PM. By then, both the 69th and 70th floors had become extremely crowded, filled with frustrated people who were disappointed with their dull, unsharp pictures on a very humid and cloudy day. I guess ‘just seeing’ the Empire state building in all its splendor doesn’t hold the magic that it once did in the minds of people.  

Ten minutes after the sunset, I gave the Empire state building one last look and left with a heavy heart for I was leaving New York without seeing my favourite Chrysler building properly. 

empire state building

 My return journey was full of drama for I got lost in the subway maze. New Yorkers, I realised much Chennaites are perfectly capable of giving contradicting directions. GPS was also useless considering the number of roads that had closed due to ongoing construction.  One side of most roads were dug up and it took all of my Chennai street smartness to avoid falling into any of them. I was thankful that I had been a city mouse for a while now. After wandering around lost for nearly an hour I reached the Times square. Maybe I was extremely tired and hungry, but to me it looked like someone had setup huge TV screens in Ranganathan Street. I was once again transported to Chennai and quickly reversed my steps to the station. But in a way I was blessed for I got see another glimpse of the Chrysler building as though it was poking its head to say hello or rather goodbye to me.

empire state building at night

After shopping for band aids for my bruised feet and inexpensive drugstore makeup (which is very good btw) I finally reached the alarmingly quiet Woodside by 10:40 PM and heated up some soup that was to be my dinner. My day however was far from being over. My Airbnb host turned out to be a FIT graduate of Indian Origin and we ended up talking about uptil midnight about design, fashion and our ethnicity despite my blasting headache. She was quite surprised at how much I had packed into one day in Manahattan.

The next morning I packed my bags, bid my host and New York adieu as I travelled to New Jersey and that my dear readers was my day in New York. We have come to the end of a long post, which was supposed to be the first in my US series. At some point during typing this post, I started imagining myself to be Carrie writing her column and got carried away, sorry!

We’re all Ears Earrings

  New York Sunset earrings

Coincidentally, this month‘s We‘re all ears Challenge is all about skyscrapers and the inspiration post features quite a few from New York. So it only fair that I wrote about my New York experience.   Both the earrings – New York Sunset and Boxed up sky scrapers were made using the Niobium components that I made in my Rainforest leaves earrings class with Marti Brown at Beadfest. I have used the boxy rectangular shapes of the buildings and the sunset colors for my earrings. The seed beads represent the lit up windows and the scrunched up textures (and folds) represent the repair and construction work happening in the streets and in the buildings.

That was my Day in New York City,  I hope you found it interesting

PS: If you are like me and like Billy Joel pop over to listen to his famous In a New York State of Mind  Tamil Folks can always listen to New York nagaram orangum neram
 Cheers

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29 responses to “One day in New York City”

  1. Tammy Adams avatar

    Wow, Divya, you really accomplished a lot in your one day in the City. You clearly have an adventurer's spirit in addition to your artist's soul. Your earrings are gorgeous. Love all the colors, which really do look like a sunset sky.

  2. Little Treasures avatar

    Thank you for taking us on this beautiful sightseeing of NY!

  3. Bijoux Gems Joy avatar

    What a lovely little tour of New York. I've never been and never had the opportunity to read about it from a sightseers perspective. The colours in the first pair of earrings just grab my eye. Love both pair though
    Mona

  4. Alice avatar

    Beautiful earrings. I love the vibrant colors.

  5. Kathy Lindemer avatar

    Your earrings are beautiful. Well done!

    I am amazed at all that you did in a long day in New York. I am glad you got to see the Statue of Liberty. She is amazing!

    I just went on my first uber ride. After lecturing my kids on the danger of it, my daughter set me straight on a trip to Savannah, Georgia. She got us an uber driver and I was impressed. It is a safe and very cheap way to travel and a real bargain in New York. You certainly had a great adventure there.

  6. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Alice

  7. Divya N avatar

    Yes Tammy, I am a free spirit, I have still not gotten over my illness contracted during my trip, but here I am in bead dreaming about the next place that I want to see. For now day dreaming is the only release from routine day job

  8. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Maya, I am inspired by the way you describe your travels. I wish that I could write travelogues like you

  9. Divya N avatar

    I am used to Uber in Chennai, so it was easy for me. But while going to Beadfest in Oaks you have to go through the Valley forge reserve park and I felt a little scared the first time as its been quite a while since I had travelled through a forest like area in a cab

  10. Little Treasures avatar

    I am honored <3!

  11. Divya N avatar

    You must visit New York sometime, just to see the MET, you'll fall in love with it

  12. Sarajo Wentling avatar

    Wow, you had quite a day! Love the colors you got in those niobium pieces… your earrings are lovely.

  13. Michelle L. avatar

    Excellent travelogue, my dear! Sounds like an adventure and a little scary to me – being lost is my greatest fear, I am a nervous traveler. But you saw so much and probably had a very NYC experience with a few disappointments mixed in with the good stuff. Love the crinkled earrings!

  14. bairozan avatar

    Your pictures are fantastic and, yes, it's the perfect coincidence 🙂 I love the big city and I really hope to make to it to the challenge, too! The colors of the earrings are so cool, especially the sunset pair! Nature is inspiring but urban landscape can be breathtaking as well!

  15. Divya N avatar

    Sometimes, getting lost is a good thing; we get to see things, places that we never intended to see. Thats the fun in travelling alone. Some places are disappointing because of our expectations and some others are mind blowing inspite of having expectations. In my case that was the museum. I dont think that I'll get bored even if I visit the Met a hundred times

  16. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Rozantia, I had great fun in the Niobium class and experimented a lot. I love looking at night lights, esp from the window seat of an aeroplane while flying at night. Its the one place and time when traffic looks gorgeous 😀

  17. TesoriTrovati avatar

    Holy moly! You did pack a LOT in one day! I have only been to Manhattan once, back when I was about 19 with my family for a short trip around Christmas/New Year's. I was just coming off a bad case of pneumonia but I do recall the awe I felt at being like an ant among those tall buildings! It was bitter cold at that time, but beautiful nonetheless. I also remember seeing the WTC from the bottom looking up and the Statue of Liberty from the inside out! (A LOT of rickety stairs to stand in a crowded space not much bigger than a broom closet to look out the tall skinny windows in the top of her crown.) Love the earrings you made and the stories that go with it! Thanks so much for taking us on your journey! Enjoy the day! Erin

  18. Cinnamon Jewellery avatar

    Love the colours in those earrings!
    I've been to New York twice but would still love to go back again – there's so much to see. Your photo from the top of Rock is really good (completely missed that when I was there!)

  19. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Tracy. The view depends upon the climatic conditions but people say that the helicopters views are fantastic if you can afford the rides

  20. Divya N avatar

    Haa, it was indeed a great and memorable day. Thanks for this particular challenge which inspired me to write this post

  21. Krishnakumari venkat avatar

    Hi divya, a lovely narration which took me to NY. Pictures are lovely,the earrings are cute and finally the punch about the song newyork nagaram urangum neram….is awesome. You have inspired me to write my travelogue.thanks

  22. gloria allen avatar

    Love the earrings and I am so glad you got to see my New York. I live 30 minutes outside of Manhattan and remain constantly awed by it.

  23. Divya N avatar

    I hope to read your travelogue as well

  24. Divya N avatar

    Oh, If I had more time then we could have met 🙂 I like Manhattan but I liked the Suburbs even more

  25. Robin Showstack avatar

    Divya I enjoyed seeing NYC through your eyes! You did so much in so little time. I love the earrings that you made in Marti's class and everything else too!

  26. Bhushavali N avatar

    Graphic Designer turned Driver??? Wow. Its people like them who make our travels… The things we learn from them is so much more than any guide book can provide! //it looked like someone had setup huge TV screens in Ranganathan Street// – hahahaha… I can't stop laughing…… ROFTLMAO…..

  27. Divya N avatar

    When we travel with friends/family we end up talking to the mall the time but when we travel alone we make new friends and meet interesting people and that's what makes my travels so special. I met a women on the train to New jersey who was wearing atleast a kilo of silver on her

  28. […] my last post on “One day in New York City” I wrote about my visit to the Metropolitan museum of Art – the mother of all museums and a […]

  29. […] and destinations. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you? PS: I did visit Manhattan, Beadfest and DisneyWorld in just months after writing this post. Yes dreams do come true if you […]

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