Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is the cliché-st thing to do in Brooklyn

But hey! We all get desperate.

While Brooklyn Bridge is a part of everyday life for every New Yorker it is also a famous tourist spot for, not just for tourists from all over the world, a newbie New Yorker (like me!) and you can’t get rid of that.

The good thing about it is I got reunited with York St, which I first step foot on a couple of months back (refer to my previous post) while exploring Brooklyn.

It was the same station we got off on.

We walked toward the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge. I thought we’re gonna walk the Bridge from where it literally starts but we ended up finding a clump of tourists and decided to follow them and they lead us to a stairs under the bridge and there hangs a sign that says “entrance.” The stair goes up straight to the walkway for tourists.

While to many, especially those from other countries, Brooklyn Bridge is just for private vehicles – and yes, you’re correct. So you’re probably asking what the hell am I talking about? Right? In the middle of the Bridge is a walkway especially designed for tourists so they can walk without having to worry getting hit by a passing car. We can really say that Brooklyn Bridge is not just for a four-wheeled vehicle but also for two feet.

The walkway is divided in to two parts; the “walk lane” for people who prefers to walk and a “bike lane” for those who wants to ride their bike.

walk lane (right) bike lane (left)

Putting up a bike lane was pretty annoying. Majority of the people wants to walk and the space of the walk lane was not enough so the tourists were walking really close to each other and there were instances when you and your friends will not notice that you’re already walking on the bike lane, because you want to take some photographs, until these annoying bikers ring the bells attached on their bike to signal that they were coming (and coming fast!) and that you will make you step back on the walk lane.

Remove the bike lane!

On a lighter note, it was, without a doubt, an amazing experience. A few years ago, Brooklyn Bridge was just a landscape picture hanging against the white wall in my living room and the experience of crossing it was surreal.

The mandatory tourist-y post

It was comfortable enough, despite the annoying bikers, there were benches that you can sit on when you’re tired of walking. The great thing about this is that your coffee break has just become cooler. If you work close enough to Brooklyn Bridge I suggest you drag your friends during your break time and enjoy your cups of coffee on the Bridge. Ditch the cozy sofas of Starbucks! Get out and enjoy a great view of the Manhattan Skyline, the East River and everything in it. How wonderful is that?

Sorry Starbucks I love your comfy sofas but I will always choose this.

If you’re from New York and thinking about going to Paris Love Locks or Korea Namsan Tower to “lock” together with your partner guess what? You don’t need to fly three thousand miles.

Brooklyn Love Locks

Spotted: a dozen of love locks locked to the Bridge. This ritual is done by, obviously, lovers and they throw away the key to the East River to symbolize unbreakable love. It is also famous in a lot of countries particularly Paris being the first city to popularize the love lock culture.

and there are vandalisms too!

NYPD’s are also sprinkled in the walkway making sure the safety of everyone. Let’s just hope that they won’t remove any of the locks!

I enjoyed walking too much that I didn’t notice we’re already in the borough of Manhattan. Turns out that Brooklyn Bridge was not too long as I thought. It’s hundred percent walkable (is that even a word?).

From Brooklyn with Love

Another day, another place, another adventure, another borough explored.

It was a hot Saturday afternoon and it would be a waste not to take advantage of the summer while it lasts. I decided to take the train to Brooklyn. I haven’t been to Brooklyn all my life so I figured it would be great to step foot there and see the Manhattan skyline from the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a 30-minute train ride to York St. station.

And from there I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I usually don’t bring a map with me when I travel because I like the feeling of being lost and really “travel” I mean, I like asking people questions and directions. I enjoy interacting with strangers though sometimes when it’s late GPS becomes my best friend.

When I was walking to my destination the first thing that I noticed was the roads. They were so ancient just like the ones in Wall Street and not only that, embedded in those roads are old and rusty train tracks that we no longer use. It’s so different from Queens where I currently live; it’s also full of art galleries and stores that sell musical instruments.

For an artist like me it was difficult not to fall in love. It was the perfect neighborhood.

After a couple of minutes, I reached my destination. The first thing I saw was the playground and Jane’s Carousel from afar. I’m saving that for later. I went to the park where the playground is but I didn’t go inside and play, instead, I went further towards the bank where my feet touch the shallow ends of the East River and enjoy the view of Brooklyn Bridge from where I’m standing.

I even took a picture of my shadow.

It was early in the afternoon and I have lots of time to explore around while waiting for everything to be silhouette and golden yellow.

To begin with there are lots of people, tourists and locals, but not crowded. There’s a couple of photographers armed with their tripods and expensive DSLR’s I bet they are also waiting to capture the beauty of Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. There are also professional photographers doing photo-shoots of a wedding.

Maybe this is a good place to have my own photo-shoot one day.

I walked and walked and explored whatever there is to explore until I reached the other side of the park where the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream is. I wanted to taste the ice cream but the line was longer than that of a blockbuster movie. It’s crazy how some people wanted to buy the ice cream just to take a picture of it with the Manhattan skyline as the background and post it on Instagram. It’s even extra funny to just walk and observe all the people you’ll be surprised by your own observations.

On the deck where BIC is there’s an overlooking too. Lot’s of kids are playing and running and some are taking turns to take a picture of each other. The view is great over there. It makes you appreciate the Freedom Tower on the other side.

You can also rent bikes and there’s a charging station if your iPhone or Smartphone is desperately in need of a battery.

The most magnificent view is on the other side of the park. It has a long walkway with barricades overlooking the East River and benches that you can sit on.

I walked through the end of the walkway observing and taking pictures of the great view before me. As I reach the end, I saw a massive staircase that leads somewhere up there. By the stairwell, covered by leaves and plants, is a smaller stairs that connects the two.

I went up the small stairs and it opens to a lawn where lots of people are laid on their backs under the scorching heat of the sun. The left side leads to the upper opening of the massive stairwell…and the view up there is extra beautiful. It’s more leveled up and you can see the tiny silhouette figure of the Statue of Liberty.

I explored further and further and discovered more hidden stairs and explored each of them. One stair leads to a road with another set of benches overlooking a ramp that joins the river. Lumps of woods are sticking out of the river which, I assume, are used for the yachts to stay in place. I sat on the benches because I thought it would be nice to photograph that view wherein the camera shutter opens for 30 seconds focuses on the lumps of wood with the skyline as the background and the smooth still water. But I have a crappy camera so I wasn’t able to capture it like I imagined it.

I went back and forth to kill time. I have to say that the park is much bigger than I expected. There’s a lot of hidden pathways, small and large lawns and different re-creational activities.

I went back to the big stairwell and sat on the top most step against the railing. I watched the sunset until it transitions to a muted shade of orange and yellow.

I continue to sit there and wait for the night. I wanna see the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. As I wait, looking at the sunset, different thoughts entered my mind. This is a good time to reflect and think about things and plans and life and everything in between. It’s just impossible not to think of any with that kind of view.

Moments later, the glass windows of the buildings in Manhattan light up one by one until it illuminates the river. Private yachts passing by playing up beat music people in there are partying and enjoying the weekend. Wow! I would love to experience that one day.

I sat up and went down back to the walkway through the benches by the railings and took a picture of the famous skyline. I took a couple of shots until I’m satisfied.

Until next time Brooklyn!

Profound: Manhattanhenge 2014

We all have a thing for sunsets. Whether it’s a beach kind of sunset, mountain sunset, side-mirror-in-your-car sunset, bus or subway sunset or just a simple sunset by the rooftop of your house. We love to take a picture of it and post it in our social media accounts, specifically, Instagram. Yeah, who wouldn’t love to get many likes on Instagram?

I, myself, have already lost count of how many golden hours I posted on my personal IG account. I just love the feeling of posting something profound other than, #foodporn, #throwbackthursday and #selfie (not that I hadn’t done any of those). But the thing is I feel like I always post the same kind of sunsets. Not literally the same. The photos were taken in different places but it’s monotonous.

I’ve been waiting to post something more special. One that my eyes wouldn’t see everyday. Something like Valentines Day, Christmas, Halloween, New Year. We wait all year round for those events because they only happen once a year, which makes it special. There’s something about waiting that makes something different and extraordinary.

In New York, a “thing” called Manhattanhenge is an annual event that happens twice a year during spring and summer. It’s when the setting sun is perfectly aligned with the East and West streets in the borough of Manhattan. As per my research, West 34^th and East 42^nd render the most beautiful view of Manhantanhenge. I chose to go to West 34^th because that’s where my favorite building in the City is, The Empire State. I always imagined it would look magnificent silhouette against the sunset.

I arrived an hour early and the first thing that I observed was there’s a lot of locals and photographers setting up their camera’s on their tripod to capture the sunset. Clearly, I was not the only one excited for this. It feels alive to be part of something. And as the time closes to 8:30 in the evening, West 34^th street was swamped by New Yorkers and tourists.

They were everywhere, in the sidewalks, in the middle of the road and wherever they can get a perfect angle. They don’t care about the traffic at all. Yeah, who cares right? I felt like I was witnessing something that could go down in history.

And there it is.

The sunset that I’ve been waiting for.

(I’m right. Empire State looks stunning in silhouette.)

It’s only a half sun but it’s enough to amaze me. It really is aligned perfectly with the street. And suddenly, the click of the cameras and smartphones around me was such a beautiful sound. The oohs and ahhs of the people around me confirming that I was not the only one experiencing this for the first time makes me relax. The experience was worth it…except that I’m alone (okay, cue dramatics).

I always wanted to share a sunset like this with someone. That would be extra lovelier. Hopefully, next time I have someone with me to take a picture with.

 

New York. It never fails to amaze me in every turn.

I got DC’ed

They say if you’re waking up in your own bed for far too long it’s time to go and wake up somewhere else. I don’t mind sleeping in someone else’s couch for days and see a different view each time I wake up in the morning.

To cut the long story short, I have a high school batch mate in Washington, DC and after 5 or so years I decided to have a little high school reunion with him and meet the rest of his group. Since I have a friend who also works there, Angela, a place to stay is not a problem.

I arrived an hour early in the Megabus station in West 34^th West Side Manhattan. I thought I would be the earliest bird but some people were already in line. The station was near the Hudson River and most of the people in line were shivering. I felt relieved when they finally checked our tickets and gave us a red card for boarding. The bus was a double decker bus. I thought I was only going to see these kinds of buses in London and since it’s my first time riding a double decker bus I chose to ride in the top bunk.

(that’s the double decker!)

The bus left at exactly 9am. This is it! I’m leaving The Concrete Jungle for four days and three nights!

As the bus picked up its speed at Interstate 495 I put my earphones on and concentrate on the beautiful views outside. Majority of the passengers were sleeping. They didn’t know that one of the best parts of travelling is the ride. The joy of leaving one place and getting to another.

Manhattan from New Jersey was spectacular. I’ve never seen it from afar before. The buildings were small but still visible rendered black and white by the fog. Then we crossed Newark; still part of NJ, and the first major thing I noticed was the Newark Airport. Our bus was close enough to the airport runway I saw a plane in taxi getting ready for take off. It’s different when you’re inside the plane experiencing it all but when you’re outside and you see the whole process of a plane in taxi until it took off and in close up it’s amazing.  

We were in Interstate 95 and outside the window was a blur of green. I never thought that I would see vast greenery, tall grasses, crops and really big trees in the continental US especially not too far from the omnipresent noise of New York. I always thought that US was all about tall buildings and all that stuff. It almost felt like home.

We stopped at Baltimore. Some of the passengers got off the bus. I’m an hour away to Washington and I’m feeling the excitement building up. We’re still at I95 speeding up and they announced that we’re a couple of minutes away from Union Station in DC.

We were driving in H Street now and the houses and establishments were small and looked like a mini castle it’s like a piece on a chessboard. It’s more quiet and li-low. I missed this kind of quietness. We reached Union Station and the bus went up to the parking lot. I retrieved my bag from the rear of the bus and followed the instructions that Angela gave me.

I have a habit of not panicking when I get lost so it’s not a problem with me I just go and go and I reached the Metro. Next thing was how to use the ticket machines? it’s not the same as the New York ones. I was standing there like a kid pressing buttons figuring out how to make it work and I did it! But the fucking machine was asking for a fucking 20 bucks for a fucking one-way ticket. It’s crazy. Finally the next guy in line noticed that I dunno what to do and offered his help. “Can I help?” this British guy said I could tell by his accent, “Yes, please” I automatically replied. Then he asked where will I go down and pressed the down switch? Button? to reduce the amount to 3 bucks. Whoever that is Thank you!

I went down to the platform and wait for a Red Line Metro train that will take me to Gallery Place. The train stations here are very different from the Subways. It has a Hogwarts vibe; it’s cleaner and more pleasing to ride.

(@ Eisenhower Ave.)

(My travel bag on the platform)

At Gallery place I waited for a Yellow Line to Pentagon City. Little did I know that there are two Pentagons. As soon as I saw Pentagon Station I got off right away and realized that Pentagon Station is different from Pentagon City. When I went out at Pentagon Station I found myself in a place called Pentagon Memorial in a bay of buses. I texted Angela that I was there. She was on her way to pick me up in a car with her officemate Moses but they got pulled by the Police because of using GPS while driving. And Moses’ license was suspended and he’s not allowed to drive in Virginia. So if his friend will not be there in 20 minutes to drive for him the police will have to tow his truck and Angela has to walk to find me. We were on the phone giving each other directions. I told her I was wearing all black and she was wearing her hotel uniform. And in a snap of a second I saw a white figure in a hotel uniform! I called my mom and told her I was already with Angela and Angela called her dad to say she’s already with me.

We have to get back to Moses who was still stranded with the police. Moses was a black American and he told us it was okay and we should probably go because it will take time. I insisted on staying because I was feeling guilty but he said it’s okay. Angela checks on him every now and then though.

We took the Yellow Line to Pentagon City. Finally. And took the free Hilton Hotel shuttle bus to Hilton Hotel. It was a long shuttle ride and we talked like we haven’t spoken for 5 years.

At Hilton Hotel we walked to her apartment. It was also a long walk. We talked still. And I finally had the chance to observe around. There’s a lot of trees and greenery around. There are not so much people. I felt like it was a province but not completely a province.

Both of us were hungry so we ordered a to-go 20 pieces chicken nuggets at McDonalds and walked a couple of blocks more to Angela’s apartment.

Our stomachs were screaming for food when we arrived so we immediately re-heat the brown rice in the microwave and ate our stomachs out. I finished most of the nuggets, surprised how hungry I was, and Angela wolfed down her spicy chicken from Jollibee. We had dessert afterwards and watched TV.

We got ready by 7:00pm because Ishmael, Sancho’s friend which is my high school batch mate now friend, is going to pick us up to have dinner with the rest of the group at a Japanese resto called Kenji Fusion.

Ishmael arrived at exactly 7:30. We hopped on his car and Angela introduced me to him.

“So you’re the famous girl huh?” he said.

“Famous? I’m not famous.”

“Everyone’s waiting for you.”

I don’t know what to expect. Just go with the flow is my thing. And I’m really happy to meet new/old friends and Filipinos too.

We arrived in Kenji Fusion moments later and joined the rest of the group inside. I met Sancho for, probably the first time in five years, we graduated high school 2008 but were never classmates. He was part of the honors section and I, well, non-honors section. I met the rest, Brandon and Josh; they’re both Filipinos who grew up in US. Ishmael is Bolivian but with his looks he could pass for a Filipino or Asian. He’s quiet most of the time.

They’re very cool though. Josh could understand a little bit of tagalog but, probably, if one would speak tagalog very fast he wouldn’t understand it. When he speaks in Filipino it sounds different. And it’s because, he told me, he’s been living here since he was nine and he hasn’t been back since.

Brandon had a hard time understanding tagalog. He knows some words and maybe basic sentence. I think he was born and raised here.

We ordered from the menu. I forgot what I ordered but it’s like a sweet and sour chicken.

They’re very happy people and fun too! We spend the time debating who’s the best team between Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Angela and I favor Miami while they are all Spurs fans. Gahh. I don’t understand why they hate the Heat so much. Okay I will agree I hate Lebron too but LeBron doesn’t represent the whole Miami.

Most of the time Brandon would ask questions like which do you prefer this or that? He has his own way analyzing your answer psychologically. He asked Angela what songs she listened to and when Angela went out for a smoke with Josh he asked me the same question. I told him my favorite bands like Guns n Roses, Coldplay etc. etc. Ishmael suggested that I listen to this guy called Led Zeppellin. According to him, their music is like of those in Guns n Roses but it’s better.

After that we joined Angela and Josh outside. Sancho had to go home because of his curfew and the rest of us went to Breeze, a Korean café.

(sweets in Breeze)

Ishmael, Angela and I arrived first and we wait for the others before ordering. And to prevent the awkwardness I asked Ishmael questions about his college.

He was still quite quiet. He told me he was not actually that quiet he was just tired from work. Soon enough the others arrived. I had iced green tea, which tasted like water by the way. And Brandon continued asking his psychological questions.

(Us in Breeze)

It was drizzling when we left. I bid Josh and Brandon goodbye and Ishmael dropped us off in Angela’s apartment.

I really enjoyed this day. Travelling and meeting new people is like bread and Nutella: A good combination.