Summer days, and the livin’ is easy….I can just hear the bluesy voice of Ella Fitzgerald.  I think of farms, and apple picking and the breeze blowing through my hair.  This is so not happening for me this month.

Summer days typically for me are on the beach and Richard playing the laid back Jimmy Buffet.  But this month it most definitely was not.  No this month we picked the hottest weekend to visit New York.

Why New York in summer.  Well it goes back to connecting with my brother again.  He was off to Philly but wanted to spend some time in New York. I opted to skip Philly and cross off another item on my bucket list and visit New York, along with a grumbling Richard.  I will give him credit – he always said never again – but he hung in there and went along with the plans.

The Castle in Central Park

I am going to use this blog to kick of the New York trip images.  What can I say New York, New York,  I was glad to cross it off my bucket list.  First impressions are that the transportation is fantastic, but at times you feel like a sardine in a tin can.  The people are friendly, so we found on the buses and at restaurants.  The streets are dirty, smelly and busy.  The traffic flows, despite the enormous amount of congestion caused by the taxi’s stopping at random.  The honking drivers certainly lived up to my expectations.  New York City is just that, a bustling city.  Tall buildings, endless construction and a large amount of people.

A view of the city from Central Park

Street Vendors outside the Natural History Museum.

One of the many city streets

That said there was a lot to see in New York, that was incredibly interesting.  Just plan well.  Do yourself a favor, buy a metro ticket.  The subway and the bus system were a great way to get around.  For just $33 we got a pass for 7 days and we really used it.  Just a reminder that if you are flying in to LaGuardia Airport you will need to get your metro card and then a ticket at the bus stop before you get on the bus. Not sure why because you do not pay any extra.  They just use your metro card around the city.  If you are heading out of JFK just remember that the subway going to the airport will not take unlimited metro cards.

The subway from the Staten Island Ferry to Dumbo

Just one of the many city reflections

We were in New York from Saturday to Wednesday.  We flew into LaGuardia airport and caught a bus to the cross street below our destination.  Our destination was West Harlem.  Richard, as per usual, said it was just a short walk to our rented Airbnb.  Hats of to Shama for an awesome apartment.  However, we had to get there first, and our short walk was directly uphill, in the stinking hot weather, dragging carry-on luggage and a heavy backpack thanks to camera equipment.  30 minutes later, sweating profusely, gasping for air (that is me not Richard, and I am totally convinced I am now asthmatic), we crest the hill and it dips downwards ever so slightly and I am beginning to think that maybe, just maybe I will be able to breathe again.  That is before I realized that we had to take our tired selves, the carry-on and backpack up three flights of steps to the apartment.  But what a pleasure it was to finally be able to stop and enjoy the beautiful apartment we had rented.

State of Liberty

New York City

We took in the city sites.  This blog is just a kick off coverage of around 2000 images taken in the city and there will definitely be more blogs on our adventure.  Instead of going to the Statue of Liberty, at a cost of $21 and getting caught up in long lines, we opted instead to take the free Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty instead.  The boat ride was about 45 minutes each way, and we got to see a small portion of Staten Island as well.  We were also able to get a view of New York from the ferry as we got further away from the mainland.

Dumbo

Manhattan Bridge

We caught a subway under the ocean and headed to the town of Dumbo, where we had to stop in at an underpass to have a beer, before we took on the Brooklyn Bridge, with its multitude of people. Rehydrate, rehydrate, rehydrate, not that beer does that but you get where I am going. Dumbo is apparently an up and coming area and I was encouraged to make sure we passed through it.  I loved that I was able to get some “from the ground” up images of the bridges.  When crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, watch out for the bicycles in the cyclists lane because they do not watch out for you.  When you come from Boca, where pedestrians have the right of way, and hit New York, where you are last on the pecking chain, beware of those cyclists 🙂

Brooklyn Bridge

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge took longer than I thought.  I kept loosing the other 3 because they are not photographers and they have not grasped the concept that you need to stop when something catches your eye and not just take the pretty people pics.  If you are walking the Brooklyn Bridge carry water, especially when it is hot.  You will go through it pretty quickly.  Also wear comfortable clothing and shoes. It is an interesting bridge and if you look closely there is graffiti on the railings.  My favorite image was a sign that said in red writing “this is not a lock bridge” and directly below attached to the mesh was a red lock.  The wiring system on this bridge is incredible.  I could have spent all day looking at the bridge.

World Trade Center – inside

911 Memorial

On the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge, we walked onward, and I will confess tiredly stopping briefly to watch some street artists.  My feet were killing me, but we labored on until we reached the World Trade Center.  Wow, what an incredible inside to the building.  I was captivated when I looked at the design outside but inside was even better.  And then on to the 911 Memorial site.  It is sobering to know that buildings once stood at this site and so much devastation and loss occurred here on 9/11/2001.  The same day I was in hospital with Cameron, post op his first surgery of many in the USA.  We had just switched on the TV and watched in disbelief as the events unfolded.  This picture just shows a few of the many that lost their lives that day.

Street Art – Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi

The Vessel at Hudson Yards

We took in the Chelsea Market, and ventured up the High Line, strolled along the waterfront, had a super expensive lobster roll, before heading across town to catch the bus back up to northern Central Park.  If you are heading to Chelsea Market, head there early for breakfast or a bit later for lunch.  There are lots of interesting places to stop and grab something to snack.  The High Line is an unique overview of the city, built on old train tracks and leading through the city buildings.  You are able to see some captivating art.  You will also see awesome reflections on the various buildings.  And finally you will arrive at the Vessel, a unique piece of art found in the Hudson Yards.

This was our action packed 5 day {Summer Days} and this is just a small snapshot of our days in New York City.  There were other streets and alleyways that we ventured down.  There was up time and some serious down time at the end of each full day of walking.  Dinner in West Harlem was great, we ate curry the one evening, and stopped by a great Italian restaurant the other night.  The upside of renting an apartment we could eat at “home” if we were too tired.  The area I am told is an up and coming area, very eclectic, interesting people, and fun places to hang out at.  Look out for the blogs of New York coming up soon.

In the meantime, I am dying to know how everyone else has spent their summer days this month.  This is a circle blog and I encourage you to follow the links and see what the others have for you.    My friend and fellow blogger Katherine of Cobert Photography follows me and she is super talented and I know I am heading over to see what she and the other bloggers have shared.

Don’t forget to head over to the Facebook Page and the Instagram Page and leave us a photo showing us what your {Summer Days} look like.  Tag it #sharesix_summerdays.