Tag: Central Park

June 2026, New York City

On By LToddIn New York, Photography, States, Travel1 Comment

Hooray! We’re finally back online.

In December 2025, our last post, I wrote we’d be on hiatus. I never thought it would be nine months later. But here we are in September 2026. The year 2025 was one health issue after another for Jon, which curtailed our travel plans for a year and a half. Finally, in June 2026, a window opened up between all the procedures, doctor appointments, labs, and PT appointments. Where did we decide to go?

New York City. Specifically, Lincoln Center on Manhattan Island. What inspired us to fly across the country? Sting, the rock star, and former lead singer and bassist of the rock band Police. He wrote and composed “The Last Ship,” an autobiographical musical, which we saw in April 2020, a few weeks before the pandemic shut down San Francisco Bay Area. We were eager to see it again in a larger venue like the Metropolitan Opera House.

We boarded a plane on June 7, 2026, for a six-day adventure of exploring and eating our way through the island.

The view from our room at the Empire Hotel was of Dante Park, a triangular-shaped park, with trees providing plenty of shade. Across from our room and on the base-side of the triangle, rental bikes filled every slot in the morning, and by late afternoon only empty slots remained. It might have been fun to ride a bike had traffic not been so heavy. Instead we hoofed it most everywhere we went.

Monument to honor Dante Alighieri created in 1921 by Ettore Ximenes. The Empire Hotel stands in the background.
Tourists and residents walk past the “Time Sculpture” at Lincoln Center created by Philip Johnson

The Lincoln Square Business Improvement District maintains the park and provides benches and small tables and chairs. During breaks between our sightseeing, my favorite pastime was watching the activity in the park from our hotel room window. Pedestrians rushed by to reach their destination. People gathered to chat, play cards, chess, or board games. Other people ate their lunch, read, or watched humanity stream by.

With Lincoln Center across the street, we didn’t worry about walking long distances between the Metropolitan Opera House and our home base. We also found the location within walking distance or a short metro ride to Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, Times Square, and other sights. Having Central Park only a few blocks away was also a bonus.

We immensely enjoyed The Last Ship for its music, storyline, and scenery. The opening scene with Sting and Shaggy singing while standing on a girder and descending from the ceiling over the stage took my breath away as did the launch of the ship at the end. We were so glad we made the trip.

We made good use of our time while in Manhattan by making a grand attempt to see all the sights. Although we didn’t see it all, we crossed off several on our list.

Surrounded by first-rate restaurants assured us we’d not go hungry. In fact, I cannot think of one meal we had that was a disappointment.

  • Rosa Mexicano offers breakfast and dinner.
  • Italian dishes at Cafe Fiorello serves lunch, dinner and weekend brunch
  • The Smith Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  • PJ Clarke’s Lincoln Square serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Read the history of the restaurant and the 1868 building on their website.
  • Café Aroma supplied us with a quick breakfast and cups of coffee.
  • The Flame Diner reminded us of the diners of the 1950s and 60s. They’re even open 24 hours.

Our first foray into the wild took us on the NYC subway. We thought it similar to the BART system in San Francisco, except cleaner and more comfortable, even when we had to grab a pole.

A glimpse of the old and new through the entrance of Castle Clinton National Monument.

Near the South Ferry/Whitehall Street Station, we searched for the Castle Clinton National Monument. After a few wrong turns, a maintenance person pointed us in the right direction.

Our timing didn’t match up with the tour times, but we were able to look at some of the exhibits inside the compound and the surrounding area and the rest of our visit included gawking at the surrounding high rises.
Luis Sanguino (1934-2026) created this sculpture in Battery Park near Castle Clinton. Castle Clinton processed immigrants arriving in New York from 1855 to 1890.
The historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal.
Across the Hudson River, the tall building on the left is the Goldman Sachs Tower in Jersey City.
The Staten Island Ferry is free to ride. Taxpayers fund the costs of operating the ferry through city taxes. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is behind the ferry. The ferry and the island is on our list of things to do during a future visit.

I had big plans for our second day, mapping out our walking path to visit six different must-see tourist sights. After several misdirections and backtracks and only seeing three sights, we stopped for lunch. Sitting in the air-conditioned deli eating our sandwiches, we decided three sights would be enough for one day. We hopped on the metro and went back to the hotel.

We started day three with a walk through Central Park and a ride on the carousel. I can’t pass on an opportunity to ride a trusty steed up and down and round and round. Jon even joined in the fun. Then we walked around Fifth Avenue, rode the elevator to Top of the Rock’s 70th floor observation deck for a 360-degree city skyline view toward the East River and Hudson River.

We arrived early and had to wait for the carousel to open.
Patience, my dear.
Looks like he’s having fun.
Mighty large trees made me wonder how long they’d been there.
I prefer the Art Deco style of architecture over the squared off buildings.
The Ballfield’s Cafe
The short and tall, old and new
Exterior is done, interior still under construction.
While enjoying nature in the park, the skyscrapers remind nature lovers that the city abounds
Which is your favorite, Art Deco or the shiny glass and steel of modern architecture?
Abandoned shoe waiting to be found.
Granite boulders are part of the Manhattan schist found running down the center of the island.
Columbus Circle
USS Maine National Monument at Merchant’s Gate on Columbus Circle. The sculpture was dedicated in May 30, 1913, to the men killed aboard the USS Maine battleship when it exploded while docked in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898.
The risky business of window maintenance pays on average around $42,000 per year. A person with specialized skills and more danger, could bring in $60,000 to $100,000.
The white structure is an urban umbrella that protects pedestrians and sidewalks from mishaps above during maintenace and repairs. They’re even lighted at night.
Easy does it, buddy.
The 21 pear trees growing on the living terraces make for a unique architectural element to this building.
Our driver pointed out this building when we came into the city from the airport. Not a building, though. It’s a facade to shield the renovation and expansion going on behind the scenes of the Louis Vuitton’s flagship store.
Columbus Circle Globe by Kim Brandell

Rockefeller Center was our main attraction for the day. How we missed it the first time, I don’t know. I even stopped to take a photo and then we kept walking. More backtracking.

The bronze Atlas statue was installed in 1937 and is the largest statue in Rockefeller Center.
The gold sculpture Prometheus created by Paul Manship in 1934 is a prominent fixture at the lower plaza of Rockefeller Center.
Radio City Music Hall building with Art Deco medallions created in 1932 by Hildreth Meiere and Oscar B. Bach. The medallions symbolize the performing arts of Dance, Drama, and Song.
The waiting area for the elevators to the Top of the Rock
A stop at the theater first.
On to the views.
Central Park and lake
Statue of Liberty in the Hudson River
Mid-photo caught a glimpse of Queens, East Channel Roosevelt Island, and West Channel
The black building on the left is the JP Morgan Chase building. Was it inspired by shiny black flip phones, or the Jacob’s Ladder toys I remember from my childhood days.
The H&M Building (formerly the Conde Nast Building). Should the spires be counted in the height of the building? From street to roof it measures 809 feet. The antenna adds an additional 309 feet. Nine feet more than the length of a football field.
The Cityspire Center
One of 21 bridges connected to Manhattan Island
Central Park really is Manhattan’s playground
Here’s a place we’ll have to visit on our next trip, St. Patrick’s Cathedral dedicated in 1879.

I tried to fit our entire New York City’s Manhattan Island visit in one post. After deleting photos and making cuts here and there, I gave up. So stay tuned. We’ll be back with more in our next post.

Safe Travels.