Tres noches en Washington D.C. y nos salió una entrada bastante larga. Dos noches en Philadelphia y también salió una entrada para dedicarle un ratito leyendo. No quiero imaginar lo que puede salir de esta última parte del viaje de navidad, que fueron nuestras seis noches en Nueva York. En fin, empecemos y a ver lo que sale jejeje.
Three nights in Washington D.C. and we wrote quite a long post. Two more nights in Phlidelphia and we also did a post to read for a while. I don't know what we're going to do with the last part of our Christmas trip, because we stayed in NYC for six nights. Anyway, let's start and we'll see what happens.
Como buenos previsores, llegamos con tiempo a la parada autobús que nos llevaría desde Philadelphia a Nueva York. Llegó el autobús previo, que salía como una hora antes pero iba con retraso. El conductor nos vio con cara de pena y puesto que llevaba sitios libres, nos invitó a subir. Ni billete ni nada, estos americanos son muy estrictos para algunas cosas, pero para otras...
We're a little bit farsighted, so we went early to the coach stop from Philadelphia to NYC. The previous coach, not ours, was late and arrived once we were there. The driver saw our faces and as he had empty seats, he invited us to get on that one. He didn't ask for tickets or IDs. These Americans are quite worried sometimes, but in other occasions...
Una vez te vas acercando al final del viaje, la magia del famosísimo perfil que forman los rascacielos de Nueva York te atrapa. El Empire State y el One World Trade Center son lo primero que ves, seguido del resto de enormes edificios que definen esta ciudad. Tuvimos suerte de coger el bus más temprano, pues el trafico de entrada a Nueva York es terrible, y nos llevó un buen rato cruzar el río Hudson bajo tierra a través del túnel Lincoln. Una vez sales del túnel, ya estas en Manhattan.
Once you're approaching your destination, the magic of the famous NYC skyline takes you. The Empire State building and the One World Trade Center are what you see first, followed by the rest of the skyscrapers that define this city. We were lucky about taking the previous coach because the traffic to get in the city is terrible, and it took as a while to cross the Hudson river through the Lincoln Tunnel. Once you're out of the tunnel, you are in Manhattan.
Y una vez allí, moverse es lo mas fácil del mundo con el metro. Compramos una tarjeta válida para una semana y nos fuimos a buscar la que sería nuestra casa durante los siguientes días. Estaba localizada en el distrito de Brooklyn, más concretamente en la zona de Williamsburg. Nuestra zona era una barrio residencial donde de mezclaba población latina, caucásica, afroamericana y judíos ultraortodoxos. Como diría una amiga, aquello era la ONU.
And getting around NYC is the easiest thing in the world with the subway. We bought a Metrocard valid for a week and went to the house that will host us for the next week. It was in the Brooklyn borough, more precisely in the Williamsburg neighborhood. It's a residential area with a mixture of different people: latin, caucasian, african-american and orthodox jewish. As a friend normally says, that was the UN.
Nueva York es el único sitio de los Estados Unidos en el que habíamos estado previamente, ya que en 2015 pasamos una apasionante semana descubriendo la ciudad. Tanto en nuestra primera visita como en esta ocasión, nos ha guiado bastante un blog que encontramos, "Nuestro Nueva York", que nos ayudó a aprovechar al máximo nuestra visita a esta impresionante ciudad, y que desde aquí recomendamos. Así que esta vez nos tomamos estos días de una manera distinta, sin la presión ni la necesidad de ver determinadas atracciones turísticas, como la Estatua de la Libertad, Central Park, o Times Square. Queríamos vivir un poco más la ciudad en sí, la noche y alguno de sus bares, terrazas o locales para bailar. Y por supuesto vivir la nochevieja más famosa del mundo.
NYC was the only place in the USA we had been before, since in 2015 we stayed there for an intense week discovering the city. Both in 2015 and now, it helped a lot a blog we found, "Nuestro Nueva York", getting the most of our two visits to this awesome city. We strogly recommend reading it before going to NYC. So this time we decided to take those days in a different way, without the need of seeing certain lardmarks or tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty, Central Park or Times Square. We wanted to live the city, its nights and some bars, rooftops and dancing places. And, of course, we wanted to enjoy the most famous New Year's Eve of the world.
Así que la primera noche, una vez instalados, nos fuimos a bailar al Club Caché, que es una de las referencias en Manhattan en cuanto al baile latino se refiere. Lo pasamos genial bailando salsa y bachata con gente de medio mundo. Otra de las noches subimos a la terraza del número 230 de la 5ª Avenida, un sitio que nos quedó pendiente en nuestra anterior visita, y que esta vez no íbamos a dejar pasar sin disfrutarla. Desde dicha terraza hay unas vistas espectaculares de Manhattan, especialmente del Empire State, mientras disfrutas tomando algo. Subimos un poco antes de la puesta de sol, con lo cual pudimos ver el contraste entre las vistas de día y de noche. Una pasada.
So the first night, once settled, we went dancing to Club Cache, one of the important clubs in Manhattan for latin dancing. We really enjoyed ourselves dancing salsa and bachata with people from different countries. Another night we went to the rooftop at 230 Fifth avenue, a place that remained pending from our previous visit, and this time we didn't want to miss it again. From this rooftop you can have a drink while enjoying the breathtaking views of Manhattan, specially the Empire State building. We went there a little before the sunset, so we could see the differences between the day and night views. It was awesome!
Y ya que estamos hablando de la vida nocturna de "la ciudad que nunca duerme", otra de las noches nos decidimos a bajar los escalones que ahora os enseñaremos, para adentrarnos en un oscuro callejón en el cual jamás hubiéramos entrado de no haber sabido lo que nos esperaba al final del mismo. Tras ese oscuro camino se encuentra un bar llamado The Back Room, uno de los dos bares de la ciudad que operaban durante la época de la ley seca, y que todavía están en activo.
And now that we're talking about nightlife of "the city that never sleeps", another day we decided to go down the steps that you'll see after this paragraph, to get in a really dark alley, where we never would have gone without knowing what's at its end. By the end of this creepy alley there's a place called The Back Room, one of the two bars in the city that worked during the prohibition time, and are still working.
Tras cruzar la puerta, nos encontramos con una cuidada decoración de los años 20 en un local que nada tiene que ver con lo lúgubre de su entrada. De dicha época de prohibición todavía se mantiene el servir las cervezas en tazas de café, y los cocktails en tazas de te, para que en caso de aparecer la policía, podamos disimular y no parezca que sirven alcohol en el local. De esta tradición viene el cambio de nombre de las mesitas de cocktail, que en la actualidad todos tenemos en casa pero les llamamos mesitas de café.
After crossing the door, we found a carefully decorated place, 1920's, that has nothing to do with its dark entrance. From the 1920's prohibition they took the way of serving beers in coffee mugs and cocktails in tea cups, just in case some police officer gets in, so it looks they're not serving alcoholic drinks. This is why nowadays we call "coffee table" that piece of furniture everyone has at home, and that was called "cocktail table" before the prohibition.
After crossing the door, we found a carefully decorated place, 1920's, that has nothing to do with its dark entrance. From the 1920's prohibition they took the way of serving beers in coffee mugs and cocktails in tea cups, just in case some police officer gets in, so it looks they're not serving alcoholic drinks. This is why nowadays we call "coffee table" that piece of furniture everyone has at home, and that was called "cocktail table" before the prohibition.
Pero nuestra salida nocturna más importante fue en la última noche del año, Nochevieja. Para esta especial ocasión compramos entradas para una fiesta en los cines AMC de la calle 42, junto a Times Square. Ver la bola caer en la calle en pleno Times Square no era una opción, ya que tienes que estar allí desde bien temprano por la mañana, y no te puedes marchar porque pierdes el sitio. Conforme se van llenando los espacios para el publico, esa zona se cierra para la entrada o salida de personas. Con la entrada a al fiesta, se te garantiza el acceso a las zonas cerradas para poder acceder a la fiesta.
But our most important night moment was in the last night of the year, New Year's eve. For this special occasion we bought tickets for a party at the AMC movie theaters at 42nd st, next to Times Square. Seeing the ball dropping from the street was not an option, you need to be there from very early in the morning, and you cannot move because you lose your spot. As the areas for standing people fill, they are closed for any people going in or out of them. With your tickets for the party, you can get in your street even though they are closed for traffic and pedestrians.
But our most important night moment was in the last night of the year, New Year's eve. For this special occasion we bought tickets for a party at the AMC movie theaters at 42nd st, next to Times Square. Seeing the ball dropping from the street was not an option, you need to be there from very early in the morning, and you cannot move because you lose your spot. As the areas for standing people fill, they are closed for any people going in or out of them. With your tickets for the party, you can get in your street even though they are closed for traffic and pedestrians.
El problema que nos encontramos aquella noche fue que la organización era un poco desastrosa. Para acceder a la zona restringida había una única cola, que cuando llegamos nosotros, una hora antes de la apertura de puertas, ya era bastante larga. Y sin información alguna. Eso hizo que mucha gente que quería acceder andando y sin entrada se uniera a la cola a sin saber ni para que era. El otro problema es que estaba diluviando, literalmente. Y claro, tu vas del metro a la fiesta, con lo cual se supone que no vas a estar en la calle esa noche, así que otra vez, ni paraguas ni nada que se le parezca. Por suerte, pudimos "solucionarlo", y con eso me refiero a que pudimos hacernos con dos sacos de basura que hicieron las veces de chubasquero... no eran muy chic, al principio nos miraban raro, pero cuando los ponchos de 1 dolar empezaron a calar, fuimos la envidia del lugar y conseguimos entrar a la fiesta en unas condiciones bastante decentes.
The problem we found that night was the awful organization. To get into the restricted area there was one line, and when we got there, one hour before our scheduled time, that line was soooo long. And there was no information at all, so lots of people were joining the line to try to get in the area, but they had no tickets. To make it worse, it was pouring down. You ride the subway, and you plan to cross the street and enter the building, so nobody attending a party carried umbrellas. We were lucky and could solver the rain problem. We got two big trash bags and covered ourselves with them as a raincoat... they were not very fancy, in the beginning everybody stared at us funny, but when all the one-dollar-ponchos stopped working due to the amount of rain, everybody envied us. Finally we managed to get in our building in quite a good condition.
The problem we found that night was the awful organization. To get into the restricted area there was one line, and when we got there, one hour before our scheduled time, that line was soooo long. And there was no information at all, so lots of people were joining the line to try to get in the area, but they had no tickets. To make it worse, it was pouring down. You ride the subway, and you plan to cross the street and enter the building, so nobody attending a party carried umbrellas. We were lucky and could solver the rain problem. We got two big trash bags and covered ourselves with them as a raincoat... they were not very fancy, in the beginning everybody stared at us funny, but when all the one-dollar-ponchos stopped working due to the amount of rain, everybody envied us. Finally we managed to get in our building in quite a good condition.
Como hemos dicho antes, era en un edificio de cines, con 25 salas, en las que desde las 7 de la tarde hasta la madrugada, podías disfrutar de las ultimas películas de estreno, cena fría, música con varios DJs y barra libre. Nuestra zona era de música moderna, con algo de hip-hop. Nos encanta cómo lo vive y lo baila la gente de aquí. Al llegar la medianoche, nos salimos a la terraza desde la que se pudo escuchar la cuenta atrás de la gente de Times Square, y también vimos la famosísima bola cayendo, la cual estaba situada en la terraza de uno de los edificios cercanos al nuestro. Fue una noche de lo mas completo. Video 1. Video 2.
As we said before, it was a 25 movie theater building, where you could watch any movie since 7 pm thru the 2 am. At the same time, dinner, several DJs and free drinks. Our area DJ played modern music and some hip-hop. We love how local people love it and dance it. At midnight, we went out to the terrace and we could listen to the people in Times Square counting down and we saw the famous ball dropping. It was located on the rooftop of one of the buildings nearby. It was an amazing night. Video 1. Video 2.
As we said before, it was a 25 movie theater building, where you could watch any movie since 7 pm thru the 2 am. At the same time, dinner, several DJs and free drinks. Our area DJ played modern music and some hip-hop. We love how local people love it and dance it. At midnight, we went out to the terrace and we could listen to the people in Times Square counting down and we saw the famous ball dropping. It was located on the rooftop of one of the buildings nearby. It was an amazing night. Video 1. Video 2.
Aparte de la vida nocturna de la ciudad, durante los días también aprovechamos muchísimo nuestra estancia. Uno de ellos paseamos por Central Park, y pudimos ver el enorme contraste entre el invierno y el verano, comparando los recuerdos de nuestra anterior vez en la ciudad. Queríamos entrar en el Museo de Historia Natural, pero las dos veces que fuimos había una cola tremenda, de varias horas de espera, por lo que decidimos dejarlo para cuando volvamos de nuevo. Y también visitamos un tradicional punto caliente de la navidad neoyorquina, como es el Rockefeller Center, con su enorme árbol de navidad y su famosa pista de hielo en la plaza central.
Apart from the nightlife, during the daytime we did a lot of things. One of the days we had a walk at Central Park, and we could get the contrast between summer and winter by comparing our memories from our last trip. We wanted to visit the Natural History Museum, but twice we got there and the wating line was for a couple of hours, so we decided to let that visit for a future trip. We also visited one of the important spots in NYC in Christmas, Rockefeller Center, with its huge Christmas tree and the ice rink.
Apart from the nightlife, during the daytime we did a lot of things. One of the days we had a walk at Central Park, and we could get the contrast between summer and winter by comparing our memories from our last trip. We wanted to visit the Natural History Museum, but twice we got there and the wating line was for a couple of hours, so we decided to let that visit for a future trip. We also visited one of the important spots in NYC in Christmas, Rockefeller Center, with its huge Christmas tree and the ice rink.
Como ya os habréis dado cuenta de anteriores entradas, me encantan los aviones, los barcos y todos los cacharros que vuelan, navegan, con o sin motor. Es por eso que no quería dejar pasar esta visita a Nueva York sin pasar por el Intrepid Museum. El Intrepid es un portaaviones jubilado de la armada estadounidense, anclado en uno de los muelles del río Hudson, y sobre su cubierta y dentro de sus bodegas, se pueden admirar decenas de aviones, algunos de ellos mitos de la aviación militar y civil, ademas de material de la NASA. El propio barco en si ya es una pasada, y anclado junto a el se encuentra el submarino Growler, de los primeros que existieron con misiles nucleares, que también visitamos en su interior. El transbordador espacial Enterprise, el conocido Concorde, y cazas y bombarderos tan famosos como el F16 o el Black Bird son algunas de las estrellas de dicho museo.
As you have seen in previous posts, I love planes, boats and any aparatus that can fly, sail, or move, with or without engine. That's why I wanted to go to the Intrepid Museum. Intrepid is a retired aircraftt carrier boat from the US Navy, anchored to a pier on the Hudson River. On its deck and in the hold you can see tens of airplanes, some of them myths of the aviation, as well as some pieces from NASA. The boat itself is amazing, and next to it there is the USS Growler submarine, one of the first carrying nuclear weapons, which we visited too. The Enterprise space shuttle, the famous Concorde, F16 or Black Bird are some of the stars of the museum.
As you have seen in previous posts, I love planes, boats and any aparatus that can fly, sail, or move, with or without engine. That's why I wanted to go to the Intrepid Museum. Intrepid is a retired aircraftt carrier boat from the US Navy, anchored to a pier on the Hudson River. On its deck and in the hold you can see tens of airplanes, some of them myths of the aviation, as well as some pieces from NASA. The boat itself is amazing, and next to it there is the USS Growler submarine, one of the first carrying nuclear weapons, which we visited too. The Enterprise space shuttle, the famous Concorde, F16 or Black Bird are some of the stars of the museum.
Como en su día ya hicimos un tour por Manhattan, en esta ocasión decidimos hacerlo por Brooklyn. El tour empezó cruzando el conocido puente de Brooklyn hasta el famoso distrito del mismo nombre, dando luego un agradable paseo de casi dos horas y volviendo al mismo punto en el que empezamos, haciendo paradas en ciertos puntos de interés, y tomando fotos realmente bonitas de Manhattan desde el otro lado del East River. Como ya hemos dicho en otras entradas, siempre intentamos hacer este tipo de tours andando, ya que muchas veces al visitar una ciudad sin que te cuenten un poco sobre ella, queda una sensación de viaje incompleto. Como siempre, tours gratuitos, como este de Free tours by foot, en los que al finalizar el mismo, dependiendo de tu satisfacción, das la propina que consideres oportuna al guía.
As we did a tour in Manhattan in 2015, this time we decided to do on in Brooklyn. The tour started and finished crossing the Brooklyn bridge, and was a nice walk around the borough for almost 2 hours, making some stops at interesting places or to take nice pictures of Manhattan from the other bank of the East River. As we've said several times, we like doing these walking tours because a visit without nobody telling you about waht you're seeing, is a little incomplete. As always, free tours, like this one from Free tours by foot, deciding by the end of it the tip you want to give your guide.
Como colofón a este viaje, sólo nos queda hablar de la subida al observatorio situado en las últimas plantas del One World Trade Center, el nuevo rascacielos que se construyó hace unos años juntos a los solares de las torres gemelas, hoy monumento homenaje a las víctimas de los atentados del 11 de septiembre de 2001. Equipado con la última tecnología, la visita merece totalmente la pena desde que tomas el ascensor que te eleva más de 100 pisos en unos 40 segundos, hasta que ves las alucinantes vistas de la ciudad desde todos los ángulos posibles. Otra vez programamos nuestra visita para antes del ocaso, con lo que vimos la ciudad tanto de día como de noche. Brooklyn y Queens al este, el resto de Manhattan al Norte, New Jersey al Oeste y la bahía con la isla de la Estatua de la Libertad al sur. Para nosotros, bastante mejor que la subida al Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) que hicimos en 2015.
To finish, we need to talk about the One World Trade Center observation deck, at the top of the new skyscraper that a few years ago was built next to the place where the twin towers used to be, which today is a 9/11 Memorial. Equipped with the last technology gadgets, it is worth the visit from the very beginning, when the elevator takes off and gets you over 100 stories in 40 secods, until the moment you see the amazing views of the city from any possible angle. Again, we scheduled our visit before the sunset, so we could see the city from up there both at day and night time. Brooklyn and Queens in the East, the rest of Manhattan in the North, New Jersey state in the West and the harbour with Liberty Island in the South. For us, this observatory was way better than the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) that we visited in 2015.
Hubo otros edificios o lugares que no quisimos dejar pasar, tales como Grand Central Station, el edificio de nuestra serie favorita Friends, Washington Square park, o la tienda oficial de la NBA. También tomamos, por gusto, el ferry gratuito desde Manhattan hasta el distrito de Staten Island, el cual pasa bastante cerca, pero sin parar, de la Estatua de la Libertad, y desde el que hay unas geniales vistas del sur de Manhattan desde la bahía.
There were other places or buildings that we also visited, such as Grand Central Station, the building of our all-time favourite tv show "Friends", Washington Square park, or the official NBA store. We also took the free ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island, which passes close to the Statue of Liberty, also letting you see a breathtaking postcard of the South of Manhattan from the harbour.
Y hasta aquí llegó nuestro viaje de navidad, y hasta aquí nos ha llevado contarlo tal y como queríamos, sin prisas y con detalle. Y es que este blog lo escribimos tanto para la gente que lo lee ahora, la gente a quien pueda ayudar en un futuro, y también para recordarlo y leerlo nosotros mismos en unos años, ya que este curso está siendo tan intenso de viajes y lugares nuevos que es fácil que se olviden detalles que realmente no queremos olvidar. Llega el momento de despedirnos, pero ya sabéis que habrá más. Y es que ya tenemos la maleta preparada para un viajecito en esta semana de vacaciones de primavera que empieza hoy mismo. Os adelanto la ruta: Gran cañón del Colorado, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon y Las Vegas. ¡Vámonos!
That was our Christmas trip, and that was our way of telling it, our way, detailed and with no rush. Because we write this blog for the people that read it know, for the ones that it may be useful for in the future, and for ourselves, to read it in a few years time, as this year is going so fast and we don't want to miss any memories. It's the moment to say "see you soon", because you know it will be more, as we have our luggage ready for a new trip that starts just today, Spring Break! I can tell you our route in advance: Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and Las Vegas. Let's go!
As we did a tour in Manhattan in 2015, this time we decided to do on in Brooklyn. The tour started and finished crossing the Brooklyn bridge, and was a nice walk around the borough for almost 2 hours, making some stops at interesting places or to take nice pictures of Manhattan from the other bank of the East River. As we've said several times, we like doing these walking tours because a visit without nobody telling you about waht you're seeing, is a little incomplete. As always, free tours, like this one from Free tours by foot, deciding by the end of it the tip you want to give your guide.
To finish, we need to talk about the One World Trade Center observation deck, at the top of the new skyscraper that a few years ago was built next to the place where the twin towers used to be, which today is a 9/11 Memorial. Equipped with the last technology gadgets, it is worth the visit from the very beginning, when the elevator takes off and gets you over 100 stories in 40 secods, until the moment you see the amazing views of the city from any possible angle. Again, we scheduled our visit before the sunset, so we could see the city from up there both at day and night time. Brooklyn and Queens in the East, the rest of Manhattan in the North, New Jersey state in the West and the harbour with Liberty Island in the South. For us, this observatory was way better than the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) that we visited in 2015.
There were other places or buildings that we also visited, such as Grand Central Station, the building of our all-time favourite tv show "Friends", Washington Square park, or the official NBA store. We also took the free ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island, which passes close to the Statue of Liberty, also letting you see a breathtaking postcard of the South of Manhattan from the harbour.
That was our Christmas trip, and that was our way of telling it, our way, detailed and with no rush. Because we write this blog for the people that read it know, for the ones that it may be useful for in the future, and for ourselves, to read it in a few years time, as this year is going so fast and we don't want to miss any memories. It's the moment to say "see you soon", because you know it will be more, as we have our luggage ready for a new trip that starts just today, Spring Break! I can tell you our route in advance: Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and Las Vegas. Let's go!
No comments:
Post a Comment