Fantastic First Day in Manhattan
Greetings,
Apologies for not writing this in real-time but I was having a really good time and as a result, had to prioritize. Do you see what I did there?! Anyways, Manhattan is a special place but you don’t need me to tell you that, you already know that. It’s almost overwhelming really as there is so much to do and if you ask 100 people you’ll get a few hundred answers as most people are more than happy to give you some suggestions…
I decided to follow the advice of a distinguished gent who is from the area and head straight to Frick House. Around the world, I love visiting the estates of titans from yesteryear. Also, I was in New York for business so sightseeing wasn’t really the focal point whatsoever. Finally, it was winter and who knew what kind of weather I’d get? As it happens the weather was fantastic and perhaps ~8 degrees and sunny which for late January is out of this world, one believes.
I was staying at the Lexington Hotel which is at the corner of Lexington and East 48th street so I headed to Park Avenue and strolled my way up to East 70th Street where I’d find Frick House. What is this Frick House you may be wondering? It’s the house of late Henry Clay Frick which has been transformed into a museum. This gent bought a block of real estate on 5th avenue between East 70th and 71st street near the turn of the last century for a cool ~$2.5 million and turned it into a mansion.
Upon his death it became quite obvious that his plan was to turn it into a museum and while he was still alive he stacked it with countless incredible works of art. The place is awe-inspiring on countless levels and I’m going to stop talking about it because you aren’t allowed to take photos inside the building really except in the courtyard. It’s a shame but I also understand where they are coming from. If you like art and walking through the halls that housed business titans of the past, you’ll love it!
This spot also happens to conveniently be in front of Central Park on the Upper East Side which is one of the more sought after areas in New York City. From there I strolled through Central Park and I had a really weird feeling of excitement. I’m always excited to travel but I often go to places whose name I can’t pronounce until I’ve left and I know very little about. This time I was in New York and all I really couldn’t believe it; even seeing the NYPD in uniform made me smile; odd I know.
After spending sometime in Central Park I made my way south towards B&H which is without a doubt the most incredible electronics store I’ve ever visited or dreamed of. To say they had everything would be an understatement and I totally geeked out while buying all sorts of new toys I had been looking at for quite some time. To get there I took the subway to see what that was all about. I’ve taken a few underground in my time but Manhattan had what appeared to be numerous lanes as though it was a highway under the city; unreal.
Following that I made my way home stopping in for some sushi and even meeting my first big city crazy. This gent that just wouldn’t stop talking about this, that, his girlfriend, the time he met a celebrity, Jason Kidd being his cousin and insisting on showing me photos of the basketball team he was coaching. He seemed harmless enough but when he told me he was showing me the photos of his basketball team I almost turned around and said “No, you won’t be because I could care less and I’m trying to enjoy this sushi” but I decided against it; fun looking team.
From there I made my way home before linking up with a friend for a drink later in the evening. I hadn’t seen this friend in ~15 years or so. Where does time go? Make sure you’re using your time wisely and enjoying your life because everything seems to be moving as fast as a New York minute(sorry, couldn’t help myself) and at this rate; a few more blinks and the odd squint of the eyes later and we’ll all be in our final season. Anyways, enough of that… This was my first day in Manhattan and was left hungry for more.
On the topic of hunger, let’s talk about food quickly. Seems like every corner has countless places to eat at. I’m sure if you really wanted to, you could go a few years never eating at the same place in Manhattan even if you eat out for every meal of the day. Also, everything is so convenient that you can tell it’s a city built for people on the go and find yourself consuming like there is no tomorrow but maybe that was just me? Definitely not just me, NYC seemed like a place where you could earn countless coins but would have a heck of a time managing to move even a few to safe keeping for later…
I took my first bite out of the big apple and I loved it.
Tips hat,
P.S: Life moves fast, make it count.
