Monday, September 2, 2024

A Joyful Drive Around Manhattan, NYC!

A view of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn, New York


Usually, the word "joyful" doesn't usually match well with the phrase "driving around Manhattan in New York City," due to heavy traffic, lack of free parking, and expensive parking garages. However, my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful sightseeing car tour of a part of Manhattan when we returned to Brooklyn, New York after our East Coast Princess Cruise in June. We had spent a few days visiting family and friends in Brooklyn and Long Island, and on this particular day, my dear friend Rosemary wanted to spend the day with us and offered to drive around to show us all the old and new sights we had not seen in quite a while. If you have been a long-time reader of my blog, you will remember I lived in Brooklyn, NY all my life until we moved to Colorado eleven years ago to be closer to our children and grandchildren. The first five years of this blog mainly focused on my life in New York City.




This brand new luxury condominium building called Olympia in Brooklyn faces the East River with sights of lower Manhattan.





We drove over the East River on the famous Brooklyn Bridge.






We're now in Lower Manhattan.

Rosemary and I were happily chatting about many things as we drove along, and all the while, I snapped photos with my cell phone.





Rosemary drove on the West Side Highway where we passed many new high-rise buildings and a new elevated park along the Hudson River at Pier 55 called Little Island (photo in the upper right of the collage above)




We continued driving north on the West Side Highway, passing numerous tall penthouse-type buildings and an exclusive-looking senior living facility. (All photos will enlarge in size for easier viewing of details if clicked on)  We drove a bit further north and then traffic became heavy and slow so Rosemary drove east crosstown.






We passed  one of the entrances to Central Park





Some of the buildings surrounding Central Park and one of the many horse and carriage rides that can be hired for a tour inside the park.





As we continued driving south on 5th Avenue, we passed many familiar buildings: St. Patrick's Cathedral on the upper left, the Apple Store on the right, Tiffany & Company on the lower left, and Cartier on the lower right.





Saks Fifth Ave on one side of 5th Ave and Rockefeller Center on the other side





In the distance, I could see the Empire State Building. What was that figure ganging onto the antenna on top? Could it be King Kong??  No, it turned out to be a large dragon that was promoting a HBO TV show called " House of the Dragon."




We next passed the large New York Public Library main branch on 5th Ane with its iconic lion statues, Patience, and Fortitude, in front.






The triangle-shaped Flatiron Building in the upper left was covered with netting as it is being extensively renovated to turn it into luxury condos. The New School building is on the lower left of the collage.





Next, we drove through the Greenwich Village neighborhood and passed the Washington Square Arch and New York University.
We stopped to buy some delicious gelato cones to eat and stretch our legs a bit.




We returned to the West Side where we passed more new very tall apartment or condominium buildings in Battery Park and the elite Stuyvesant High School building which requires an entrance exam for admission although it is a public school.



We were very close to the new World Trade Center complex at this location. The largest building in the complex is called the Freedom Tower. It is hard to see it all when one is close up!




We drove east towards the Brooklyn Bridge and I could see the Brooklyn East River waterfront.




We drove across the Brooklyn Bridge again...






Once we were back in Brooklyn, we had a view of Lower Manhattan in the distance, and we passed the large ETSY headquarters.





We treated Rosemary to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Brooklyn. I've missed their wonderful fish salad! She took our photo but wouldn't allow us to take hers because she had tears in her eyes knowing that we were leaving the next day to fly home to Colorado. She promised me that she would visit us in Colorado again soon, and asked us to wait until then to take photos. I am holding her to that promise!

I hope you enjoyed riding along with us in Manhattan in this post! I have a lot to catch up on this blog with what has been happening this summer in Colorado and I hope you'll be back again next week!  
Happy September!


24 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
What a great tour of New York City. I am sure you enjoyed spending time with your family and with your friend Rosemary.
The new condo building is cool looking. I am surprised there is any room left in NYC to build new buildings. Take care, enjoy your day and the week ahead.

Jeanie said...

I can see why a drive through Manhattan with Rosemary would be loads of fun. I haven't been there in decades and it's always a good time! Wonderful photos, as always!

ellen b. said...

What fun to be driven through your old digs! I'm sure you enjoyed seeing all the sites that were so familiar to you and fun to get to see some new things, too. Happy Labor Day!

carol l mckenna said...

Thanks for the awesome photo tour of NYC ~ Wow! ~ Sounds like a wonderful time ~ hugs,

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Calendula said...

WOW! Impressive buildings!

obscure said...

Did you see the little beach just past Little Island? It's my favorite!

Lowcarb team member said...

Well I certainly enjoyed my tour with you.
Great photographs, thank you.

Wishing you a good month of September.

All the best Jan

obscure said...

They just knock down old ones to build new! ;)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

How wonderful for her to drive you around so you could enjoy the sights and get photos. We've been friends a long time. I remember when you lived there. You're the only person I've know that has shared their life there and I learned a lot. Happy September my friend!

Rambling Woods said...

We used to fly to NY often as my husband is a native. It was $49 dollars. There isn't another city like NY..Michelle

stevebethere said...

I thoroughly enjoyed these photos would love to vist NYC bit like here in London :-)

Have a tanfastictastic week 👍

Joanne said...

You got some really beautiful photos with your cell phone while driving/riding around. It sounds like such a wonderful day of exploring.

Klara said...

great tour of NYC.

Penny Carlson said...

I really enjoyed this post! We spent 4 days in NYC several years back. In fact we tried to get together with you at Eataly but you couldn't make it. We stay at the Hilton on 6th right near Central Park. We visited a lot of the sights you shared including walking from the Hilton over to 5th and walked to the Empire State building.

Lydia C. Lee said...

My husband is just back - your pics make me jealous of what I missed out on! Great city! #TravelTuesday

PaulaShort said...

What an awesome trip. I enjoyed your driving tour of NYC, and I clicked on all of your links and browsed your sites.
Visiting today from Talking About It Tuesday 36 #48,49&50.

EricaSta said...

I never was there. It`s always a dream to visit NY.

Thank you so much for sharing your report of your trip in NY.

Have a wonderful week, greetings by Heidrun

Tom said...

...in NYC the only way is UP! And many of the buildings are gorgeous, Thanks for taking me along to see the sights, now I'm hungry.

mvmaithai said...

I used to love driving through NYC when I was in my twenties. It was so exciting. Now I can't stand the traffic. Going in by train is much more relaxing!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

A car tour is a great idea for seeing NYC. You really got to see a lot of wonderful places!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Wow, talk about the advantages of leaving the driving to others. You saw all the major sites, I bet it was joyful since you used to live there.
I love it when my wife drives so I can take photos.

Lillian "sognafaret" said...

Wow what a place to vissit

Michelle said...

We were in NYC last fall and stayed in Manhattan. Such a great city! I cannot imagine living there, as you did. Thank you for linking up.

Lisa said...

A nice travelogue of photos!