As Seen in Central Park

In the still, dead of late winter, I wandered a nearly empty Central Park. This was early in our relocation to New York and I was struck with the beautiful contrast of vast sprawls of woody thicket in the middle of a kingdom of skyscrapers.

Chilifest 2012

For Marah's birthday earlier this year, I got tickets to Chilifest 2012. This is a city-wide competition where dozens of restaurants set up cooking booths in the beautiful Chelsea Market in hopes of being crowned this years victor. The crowd meandered the halls, stopped at booths, talked to chefs, and tasted each offering of chili. Needless to say, there were many amazing, unique, and flavorful varieties of chili. It truly was a delicious evening!

This chili had diced cucumbers that added an interesting flavor and texture.

White bean, chorizo, and cotija cheese!

Ironwork

There are intricate ironwork and clever details everywhere in this city. During our walks here and there, we've seen some beautiful hand railings, gates, and fences. History is everywhere. We love that it's something we get to enjoy daily. Here are some photos from around Manhattan.

 

To prevent pigeons from landing here. 

Around the City

When traveling around the city, we're quick to take photos of the amazing cityscapes that are seemingly perched on every block. New York really is filled with beautiful architecture and dramatic backdrops. It's fascinating to see the collection of buildings that each neighborhood can accumulate over hundreds of years.

Bryant Park in Midtown

East Village

East Village

Upper West Side

If you look, you can see the water reservoir on top of that building. Before modern plumbing, they needed to keep water on the roof so the higher floors would have sufficient water pressure. Water would flow from the top instead from underground.

Downtown

South Street Seaport

South Street Seaport

Near the southern tip of Manhattan, they renovated seldom used piers into a shopping and dining district containing museums, restaurants, and quaint shops. It's a perfect stroll to take on a picturesque night.

South Street Seaport

 Looking at the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan.

South Street Seaport

South Street Seaport

Transportation Museum

Since the subway is such an integral part of our lives (taking to and from work, around town, etc.), it was interesting and fun to visit the New York Transportation Museum one rainy Sunday afternoon. Along with learning how the subway system was planned and constructed, we also had the chance to walk through and sit in the old subway cars from the past century. Old tickets, tokens, and turnstiles were all part of this fun day in Brooklyn.

Old subway map