Exploring New York

Mar 6, 2011  –  ⁠,

The day after I arrived to New York I went to buy some clothes. While navigating through the city in search of a clothes shop (I’m not too experienced in this field) I discovered how useful the street naming and layout systems they have used are. North South streets are named “1st Avenue”, “2nd Avenue” and so on while East-West streets are named “1st Street”, “2nd Street”, etc. For someone like me who easily gets lost without maps having a deterministic street layout and naming system is a blessing. I felt so confident about my navigational skills that I almost didn’t have to look at the 2 paper maps and the GPS-enabled digital map that I carried with me.

Such street layout along with the flatness of Manhattan helps reducing the claustrophobic feeling of feeling surrounded by skyscrapers as your eyes get lost in the distance in both ends of most of the streets.

A huge secret shop on the right right across the GAP shop were I bought some jeans. On the left some women taking a sunbath seemingly unaware of the surrounding temperature of -1ºC and surrounding noise.
A huge secret shop on the right right across the GAP shop were I bought some jeans. On the left some women taking a sunbath seemingly unaware of the surrounding temperature of -1ºC and surrounding noise.

After shopping I went with a fellow googler to the Metropolitan museum which I found actually engaging. The following photos show some of the more interesting areas that we saw.

They know how to pick my curiosity.
They know how to pick my curiosity.

There was a surreal feeling to this room. After careful consideration I believe it was caused by the amount and layout of chairs. It feels like either they are going to start jumping on you or that there are ghosts sitting on them looking at you.
There was a surreal feeling to this room. After careful consideration I believe it was caused by the amount and layout of chairs. It feels like either they are going to start jumping on you or that there are ghosts sitting on them looking at you.

Again another creepy scene. Why do they have to put all of the statues looking at you? Going behind them was worse as they could turn their backs at any moment and there was no place to escape.
Again another creepy scene. Why do they have to put all of the statues looking at you? Going behind them was worse as they could turn their backs at any moment and there was no place to escape.

The throne of Diablo from Diablo 2.
The throne of Diablo from Diablo 2.

A Japanese room reminding me of some recent scenes. The garden was in front of the room.
A Japanese room reminding me of some recent scenes. The garden was in front of the room.

After leaving the musem we took a walk through Central Park trying to snap a few nice photos but it was already too late and we ran out of light sooner than we expected.

Ents looking after us.
Ents looking after us.

An ice skating rink under the eager look of New York’s skyline.
An ice skating rink under the eager look of New York’s skyline.

Our last touristy stop of the day took place in Times Square (thanks Ian, it was definitely worth the detour!). Memories of Tokyo and Osaka quickly flew through my mind.

Times Square at night.
Times Square at night.

The rest of the week went by very quickly. It’s funny that in some of the streets you can’t spot a single person while others are packed. After such a street layout I was expecting an even population distribution across the streets.

One of the empty streets I walked through every morning. I like its personality.
One of the empty streets I walked through every morning. I like its personality.

The day before leaving the city I went to a high floor in our the New York office and took the following photos.

new-york-skyscraper-noon.webp

empire-state-building-new-york-bw.webp

And with that finished my New York trip as a few hours later, in the middle of the night, I would leave this interesting city and fly towards the East Coast.