If you thought yesterday was a lot of walking, just wait until you see today’s total! We started the day doing what we had planned to do yesterday morning: check out the views at Top of the Rock, high atop 30 Rock (30 Rockefeller Plaza), home of The Tonight Show, SNL, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, The Today Show, and more.
Top of the Rock
Our 9:20am timed entry to Top of the Rock was perfect. It allowed us plenty of time for breakfast, and there weren’t as many people as there would have been later in the day (especially around sunset, for obvious reasons). There are three levels you can visit, but I don’t really see the point of the lower two levels – just go to the top for the best views. They also have two rides on the top level (for an extra cost): Skylift and The Beam. My advice (and the advice of one of the workers we spoke to) is to skip The Beam. Skylift is better in every way. It’s a round platform this spins slowly as it lifts up on a central pole, bringing you to the highest point you can get at Top of the Rock. We all agreed it was worth the extra charge.
Here’s a short video clip from Skylift:
On our walk back from 30 Rock, we saw these two fun statues:
Walking The High Line
The High Line was originally built to raise trains on the Manhattan’s West Side 30 feet above the ground to make them safer for pedestrians. Opened in 1934, the elevated rail line delivered meat, produce, and goods directly into warehouses and factories.
As trucking replaced rail transport in the mid-20th century, use of the line declined, leading to its final closure in 1980. The abandoned structure was left to decay, with wild vegetation growing through the tracks, and faced imminent demolition in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1999, residents Joshua David and Robert Hammond founded the nonprofit Friends of the High Line to advocate for the structure’s preservation. After years of campaigning and design competitions, the first section of the park opened in 2009, transforming the industrial relic into a world-renowned elevated urban park and greenway. It’s now a 1.45 mile walk filled with greenery and art.
Teresa and Shelby decided to take a nap (all the walking yesterday took its toll), so I did the walk alone. I started at the south end, at the entrance near the Whitney Museum, and ended at Hudson Yards/Vessel. It was a very nice walk, with art installations along the way. I like that they left the old tracks intact, and most of the plants are what grew naturally over time (although they’re now kept trimmed so as not to overgrow the walking path.)
Hudson Yards is filled with eateries and shops, and Vessel is a 150 foot tall structure that’s part architecture and part art. You can climb the stairs (all 2,500 of them), but I chose to admire it from ground level. About 1/4 of the way along the walk (if going from south to north), you can get off and explore Chelsea Market, another popular spot. Since I was ending at Hudson Yards, I decided to skip Chelsea Market.
Photos of the High Line (click to enlarge):
Photos of Vessel (click to enlarge):
Lunch at Mercado Little Spain
One of the eateries at Hudson Yards is Mercado Little Spain, which is a market filled with several Spanish inspired eateries. Everything from a steakhouse to churros. I ate at Mr. Lopez Burgers & Bikinis. (Spanish Bikinis are basically fancy grilled cheese sandwiches.) The burger was topped with thinly sliced cured ham, and was delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I failed to get a pic! If you click the previous link to the website, you’ll see a photo of the burger. Try not to drool!
Grand Central Station
Teresa joined me after lunch, and we began by visiting the iconic Grand Central Station. We stopped at Grand Central Oyster Bar and Kitchen to have a cocktail. It’s very old-school. We didn’t spend too much time at Grand Central (Oyster Bar notwithstanding), but it’s worth seeing.
New York Public Library
Very close to Grand Central Station is the New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building). We had hoped to see the iconic Rose Reading Room, but it was only open to researchers while we were there. We didn’t realize that it’s only open to the public from 10am to 11am, so it’ll have to wait until next time. (You’ve seen the Rose Reading Room in movies such as Ghostbusters and many others.)
We were able to see the Treasures exhibit, which we enjoyed quite a bit. We saw the writing desks of Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë, the actual stuffed animals owned by Christopher Robin Milne that inspired his father to create the Winnie the Pooh stories, and a lot more. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Flatiron/NoMad
After the library, we headed to the Flatiron/NoMad area to meet Gus and Maddie for dinner at their favorite Lebanese restaurant. We were a little early, so we spent some time in Madison Square Park (which forms the boundary between Flatiron and NoMad (short for North of Madison Square Park).
Dinner was at Ilili NoMad (they have another location in Midtown, and one in DC as well). It was fantastic! Very nice restaurant, and the food was legit. We enjoyed visiting with my Gus and Maddie, and got a few more recommendations of places to visit, since they both live in NYC. Gus told us about his podcast: Queercore Podcast, which we plan to check out.
I (once again) forgot to get a photo of the food (or the restaurant, or Gus and Maddie)…all the steps must have been getting to me! Here’s a photo from the Ilili website:
Daily Steps
This was a big day: 27,924 steps (a whopping 13.7 miles)!
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