Just Back From ...

New York City

By Pete Donovan

What to say about New York? Even on my first visit to the city in 1998 everything seemed strangely familiar. The yellow cabs, the hot dog stalls, the New York cops, feature in so many movies and TV shows that I felt I had been to New York many times before. Back then, even the gruff attitude of the New Yorkers was part of the fun. Since 1998, many things have changed, and not just the skyline. New Yorkers today are a very friendly bunch. They have an obvious pride in their home town and are genuinely eager to help any lost-looking tourists.

This time I stayed at the Beacon Hotel on the Upper West Side – slightly further from many attractions but very easy to reach by subway, which is a cheap, fast and (these days) very safe way to travel around. The neighbourhood is mainly residential so the atmosphere is very different from the more business-like Midtown where most hotels are. Our rooms were modern and tidy, and included a kitchenette. Like many smaller hotels there is no restaurant, but our nearest diner was a favourite with the NYPD, a sure sign that the food and the coffee were good!

For people who like cities, this has to be the ultimate destination. New York has some of the best urban attractions in the world. Superb museums, great architecture - plenty to point your camera at! Standing 86 floors up on the Empire State Building’s observation deck, and taking the ferry to the Statue of Liberty are a must. Even the shops are tourist attractions – Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Tiffany’s are all here. For me however, it’s the bit in between the shops and museums that I enjoy most. Just walking around New York is my favourite thing to do. It’s really just a huge collection of little villages, each with a character of its own.

On our last night, sad to be leaving, we moped to our local bar. On TV, the baseball “World Series” was reaching its climax, and after only a short time looking confused at the screen we had several Yankees fans patiently explaining the rules of the game to us. Unfortunately the Yankees lost the game but an evening with some native New Yorkers had cheered us all up no end!