Photos: New York City

May 9, 2008.

I planned a layover in New York City so I could tire myself out before my trip to Europe... and I'd never spent any time there. Sadly, the weather was nearly terrible... 50 degrees at best, rainy and windy. However, I was determined to at least see a bit of the big apple. Not shown here are the few hours I wasted inside the trump tower courtyard and starbucks drying off and warming up.




First stop, Madison Square Garden. Well, actually the first stop was JFK - that airport is officially weird. Next stop after that was the Jamaica station - where the subway meets the long island railroad which meets the airport train (airtram). Then the 30+ minutes subway ride down to Manhattan - standing room only at 7am.
Next, up to the top of the Empire State Building. The ticket attendent asked me if I was sure I wanted to use my express pass on "a day like today" - thanks to the weather there wasn't a line at all. I had heard the stories of waiting in line for hours to go to the top, so I had purchased my ticket in advance (to save time) and spent the extra money on the "express" pass (shorter lines). Oh well, I was leaving in a matter of hours so I had no real option but to use it... or try to sell it on the street and buy a normal ticket... not worth my trouble. Regardless, the views were still great.
Take note of the girl with the white jacket and jeans... particularly her hair. Step past the corner of the building and it was an instant wake up call.
I spent about an hour or so at the top.. because darn it, I paid enough money for it. I was up there longer than anyone else, and there weren't many others to begin with.
Rainy, windy, and even a few snowfalkes fell. I went outside until I got cold, then came back in to warm up, then went back out to take a few more pictures.
On we go, good 'ol times square. Lots of electronic billboards, tall buildings, shops...
Times square the other direction.
You're Fired!
The Grand Army Plaza, at the southeast corner of Central Park.
Tulips in Central Park
Just in case anyone had any doubts... yes, I was here. This is the 'mall', supposed to be a formal walkway lined with trees. Supposidly its been used in several movies... I couldn't tell you which ones.
A cool little covered bridge type thing in Central Park.
The "Drake" building. Interesting architecture, at 72nd and Central Park West. Ok, I'm cold now... going to find that starbucks and dry out so that I can go back out to find some lunch and the subway and head on back to the airport.