My kind friend is bringing us around the Big Apple today and highlight was food :D
We first started off with Dim Sum brunch in Elmhurst, Queens area before ending up in Central Park around 1pm. The funny thing was I needed to use the toilet urgently and the first thing we looked for was huge shopping malls like in Singapore. But my friend was like there was no such thing in NYC as many stores were stand-alone! Plaza Hotel saved me from embarrassing myself though hahaha Also, the hotel's basement has food court in case you are looking for one in the area.
We first started off with Dim Sum brunch in Elmhurst, Queens area before ending up in Central Park around 1pm. The funny thing was I needed to use the toilet urgently and the first thing we looked for was huge shopping malls like in Singapore. But my friend was like there was no such thing in NYC as many stores were stand-alone! Plaza Hotel saved me from embarrassing myself though hahaha Also, the hotel's basement has food court in case you are looking for one in the area.
Charismatic horse carriages at your service to make you feel like a princess!
Central Park was huge!!! We could easily spend the whole day there, relaxing, enjoying picnic or exploring the park on bikes. But time was something we didn't have in abundance, considering the number of places we wanted to visit in NYC T.T So we stayed for 1 hour instead of 1 day.
My friend said winter time in Central Park was absolutely breathtaking so yes, that's gonna go into my bucket list when I visit New York again.
We then headed out to THE CUBE. It was absolutely the most gorgeous retail space I have ever visited. The sight of the glass cube from street level was already amazing. The circular staircase then brought us to basement level to unveil the beautiful Apple products. Of course, Mister and my friend made fun of me for including a store in my itinerary, but let me assure you, it was unquestionably the right choice.
Have you read about the history of this retail space at New York's GM Building? The then-aspiring property mogul Harry Macklowe purchased GM building for US$ 1.4 billion with loans and he was at a loss as to what to do with the wasted space in the form of open plaza outside the GM building, facing the Fifth Avenue. He relentlessly approached Apple Inc's then Vice President of real estate, which secured him a meeting with Steve Jobs. The late Jobs' original idea was to create a 40-feet foot glass cube, which was deemed too big by Harry Macklowe. After many rounds of negotiations and convincing through the scaffolding mock-up , the 32-foot glass cube was unveiled to the public on 19 May 2006. The success of the Cube was so massive, Apple's revenue was an astounding one million a day in their first year the Cube's operation.
Full Story can be found here if you are interested:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/story-behind-the-apple-store-cube.html
Despite the phones' launch date on 19 Sep, there were STILL 2 lines outside the store! When I went into the store, employees told us that both phone models were out of stock in all colours and sizes. So, I was pretty amazed by the determination of those waiting in lines!
Our next item on agenda was to exchange our New York Pass. We bought 2-day unlimited use New York Pass for US$ 129.99 online so we needed to get physical cards from one of the collection locations. A short subway trip (4 stops on line N, R or W) brought us to the Big Bus Information Desk at 306 Fifth Avenue.
A 15-min jaunt in Manhattan brought us to Shake Shack Burger. Despite its humble beginnings as a food cart at the Madison Square Park in 2004, it is not an enormously successful fast food chain. Even at 3pm, there was a long line and no seat! Lucky for us, by the time we got our food, we managed to get 3 seats at a long table. Burgers were delightful but do not get ice-cream. It was just dreadful.
Another short ride through New York's subway network landed us in Bowling Green Subway Station & Battery Park around 4pm. Battery Park was named for the artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years to protect the settlement behind them.
The flying eagle statue serves as the landmark of East Coast Memorial inside the Battery Park. This memorial commemorates the US servicemen who died in coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean during World War II. A total of 4609 names were inscribed on 8 granite slabs.
Statue of Liberty can be seen from the East Coast Memorial. After a few minutes, we walked over to the famed Wall Street, hoping to spot the wolves :D
Completed in 1907, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is home to the George Gustav Heye Centre's National Museum of the American Indian. The museum is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history and arts of the Native Americans.
The renowned Charging Bull of Wall Street
This massive 3.5 tonnes bronze bull was designed by the Italian American artist Arturo Di Modica. In the early hours of 15 December 1989, Arturo placed the Charging Bull under the Christmas Tree of the New York Stock Exchange, as a memorable Christmas present to the city. His idea was to "celebrate the can-do spirit of America and especially New York, where people from all over the world could come regardless of their origin or circumstances, and through determination and hard work overcome every obstacle to become successful."
Did this action really bring him good luck? Perhaps. Or maybe not. Nonetheless, this Charging Bull must have one of the most fondled testicles in the world!
NYSE was founded in 1792 and moved to its current location in 1903. Security was tight at NYSE, unsurprisingly.
Federal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, as well as the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States under the Constitution. It was also where the United States Bill of Rights was introduced in the First Congress. The building was demolished in 1812.
Federal Hall National Memorial was built in 1842 on the site of the old Federal hall. In 1882, John Quincy Adams Ward's bronze George Washington statue was erected on its front steps, marking the approximate site where he was inaugurated as President in the former structure.
After walking around the whole day in a rarely used pair of ankle boots, they were falling apart! I had to stop at a shoe store to buy a new pair of flats. We then stopped at a cafe for a short rest around 5:30pm.
After half an hour, we headed out to meet up with 2 more friends in SOHO area. Our destination of the evening? Central Perk.
Do you know the American sitcom called FRIENDS, which spanned for an extraordinary 10 seasons? 6 friends always met up and chilled at a fictional cafe called Central Perks. As a 20 year anniversary of the show's first episode (which aired in 1994), Warner Bros and Eight O'Clock Coffee collaborated to bring Central Perk to life. Fans could visit the iconic cafe at 199 Lafayette Street from Sep 18 to Oct 18.
Sadly for us, the line was too long when we reached at 7pm. While we were not allowed to join the queue anymore, organizers so kindly agreed to take photos for us outside the store's window.
Knowing I have such a sweet tooth, my friends then brought us to a pastry shop, quite unassuming shop specializing in cheesecakes called Eileen's.
17 Cleveland Place, New York, NY 10012
Upon entering the shop, I wasn't expecting much, since I had already tried the acclaimed Cheesecake Factory in LA. We agreed to just get one plain 6-inch cheesecake for 5 of us to share. Oh my, if I had known exquisite this cake tastes, I would have insisted on a 10-inch, or half of 10-inch at the very least!!!
Dinner was a platter of chicken over rice with white and red sauces, at the leading food cart of NYC - The Halal Guys. They have been around for over 25 years in NYC and their dishes were brilliant! Be careful of the red sauce though as they can be pretty hot.
This heavenly cheesecake made it worth all the calories we gained from eating just before bed :D
Adios!
xoxo
Miss N
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