New York, New York

I love New York and it has been way too long since my last visit. I am having serious withdrawal symptoms. As soon as the governments end the lockdowns and lift the travel bans, I am heading to the Big Apple with my partner, Justin. We have both been there before but not together and I want to create beautiful memories with him in this beautiful city.

We would start by taking in the views from Top of The Rock, an iconic, 849 feet tall skyscraper, where you will get unobstructed views of mid- and downtown Manhattan as well as the Central Park. Top of the Rock viewing platforms take over three levels - the 67th, 69th and 70th floors - of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. I have visited The Empire State Building as well but for me Top of The Rock is the clear winner. It was a more relaxed experience and you get the bonus of a fabulous view of The Empire State Building.

From there we would head over to the west side of Manhattan to walk The High Line. It is a 1.45-mile-long walk along a historic freight rail line that has been converted into a public park. It is elevated above the streets and offers some stunning views. Visitors to The High Line will experience nature, art and design.

We would probably be starving after all that walking and sightseeing and what better place to head over to indulge on delicious pizza than Little Italy. The area is filled with fantastic pizzerias but I would take Justin to my favourite, Lombardi’s. It has been serving pizzas in New York since 1905 and is the oldest pizzeria in the whole of United States. And it’s no wonder they are still going because their pizzas are amazing. Make sure you have an appetite when you visit Lombardi’s because the pizzas are huge.

After stuffing ourselves with pizza, we would head over to The Bowery and wash the food down with a few drinks. The Bowery is just short of a mile and hosts a large selection of bars making it a great location to sample New York bars. I have learnt the hard way to be careful with spirits when in NYC; their measures are a lot more generous than here in the UK.

A trip to New York would not be complete without a day spent in Central Park. The park covers 84s acres between The Upper West Side and Upper East Side. While in Central Park, we would visit the John Lennon memorial in Strawberry Fields within the park. I love to just sit in the park and watch the world and people go by.

We could also visit some iconic locations within the park. Like the Bethesda Terrace in the heart of the park. It has stunning architecture including 16,000 patterned tiles and also offers amazing views. From there we could check out Belvedere Castle in Vista Rock or maybe hire a rowing boat for an hour. If we were feeling energetic, we might hire bikes as that would allow us to cover more ground. There a various one-way system cycle loops around the park.

From the park we would head to another New York landmark establishment, P. J. Clarke’s. It has been serving New Yorkers and visitors to this splendid city since 1884. Located on the corner of 55th Street and 3rd Avenue, it has hosted many famous faces including Buddy Holly who proposed to his wife there. He had only met her five hours earlier!

The food there is so good my mouth is watering as I write. I would probably go for the grilled salmon salad and I know Justin would opt for the Cadillac Burger. It got its name when Nat King Cole declared their bacon cheeseburger to be the ‘The Cadillac of burgers’. Even the prohibition didn’t stop P. J. Clarke’s from serving their customers. To satisfy the punters, they would serve bathtub gin and whisky bootlegged from Canada.

Another must is a walk across Brooklyn Bridge, once during the day and then again at night. I like to walk over to Brooklyn in the morning and then wander around Brooklyn Heights. The view towards Manhattan is fantastic from Brooklyn. You get to see that famous skyline. Last time I was there, I discovered a really great clothes shop. They had lots of beautiful dresses at very reasonable prices. I left with four new dresses.

Once on the Brooklyn side, I would take Justin over to Coney Island. It's crazy that its beautiful sandy beaches are just a subway ride away from Manhattan and its skyscrapers. When you get off the subway at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station, it is like entering a totally different world. My favourite things to do at Coney Island are to walk the length of the boardwalk and have a pint at Ruby’s Bar & Grill with the locals and people watch.

After a day at the beach, we will take the subway back to the foot of Brooklyn Bridge and stop at Grimaldi’s for a pizza. Note to self: remember to bring cash as Grimaldi’s only accepts cash payments. If you were to ask me which one makes better pizza, Grimaldi’s or Lombardi’s, I could not answer. They are both on my top ten places for pizza in the world.

As the day would turn to night, we would head back over the Bridge. Seeing the lights of the Manhattan scyscrapers come on is magical. As is seeing the skyline reflected on the water. 

New York is also full of culture. I love the theatre so one evening we would go to see a Broadway show. The only problem would be deciding which one to see; I’d want to see them all. And then there are all the museums and art galleries, MoMA I have visited already but if you Justin would like to go, I’d be happy to revisit. Or we could go to the Guggenheim, which is stunning for its architecture alone. 

Other places to visit for the architecture are The Grand Central Station and The New York Public Library. I get shivers being surrounded by some many books in the Library and standing on the very same steps where they filmed the wedding scene in the first Sex and the City Film. Talking of Sex and the City, I would have to drag Justin to see Carrie’s house even though I have been there already. On each of my visits to New York. What can I say, I’m a superfan!

So many places in New York like the Grand Central and the Public Library feel oddly familiar. Even when I visited them for the first time, I felt like I knew the places already. So many films and TV programmes are filmed in New York that parts of them have become familiar to me, to us. 

One thing I would love to do this time in New York, would be to go to an ice-hockey game. Growing up in Finland, I grew up loving ice-hockey. My favourite NHL team is The New York Rangers and I would love to see them play. I have yet to fulfil this dream because my previous trips have not coincided with a Rangers' home game. I might have to plan our trip around the ice-hockey season to make sure I can make this dream reality. 

There are so many things to do and experience in New York that to list them all you could fill a whole guide book (and obviously people have). Most of all, what I love to do when I go there is take in the unique atmosphere of this wonderful city. 

If you enjoyed my article, show it by giving it a like.

If you really enjoyed it, show it by sharing it on your social media.

If you loved it, show your love with a tip.

You can also follow me on Instagram for updates on new articles, short stories and the progress of my debut novel.