District 1: South Street Seaport and Financial District
Jason and I have found a new favorite place! The South Street Seaport is one of the oldest parts of Manhattan. It is located on the southern tip of the island, not far from where the World Trade Center towers used to stand. The roads are still cobblestone and it is (obviously) on the water! There are old preserved ships that you can tour and explore. If you have ever been to Baltimore, it is similar to the feel that the Inner Harbor has. It is a place you want to sit at one of the outdoor tables and just breath it in! And if you are looking for fresh seafood, this is the place to go! I could spend a whole day in this one place! It is filled with street performers and interesting people watching. Everywhere you look, you see the old architecture and can get a picture in your head what early New York looked like.
After spending some time at the Seaport, we wandered our way up to Wall Street. We had been there before, but the intention was to stop at Tiffany's and get my ring finger sized! :) But unfortunately (or fortunately for Jason), they were closed by the time we got there. But anyway, the financial district is an area that I actually would love to live in. They have done a nice job at redeveloping the area since 9/11. It is an interesting mix of old NY and modern NY. In this area are churches as old as the city, Federal Hall where George Washington was sworn in as President, City Hall, and obviously Ground Zero, which is pretty much a construction site at this time. It is bustling and busy during the day, but slows down and gets quieter at night. Everytime we have gone down there, I am amazed at how calm and quiet it is at night. I think it is a combination of the people that moved out after 9/11 and the empty condos, etc. as a result of the financial collapse last year.
District 2 and 3: Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo, and the Lower East Side
After spending time in District 1, we decided to make our way to the Lower East Side and decided that we would just walk it. In total it was about 2 miles and it was a beautiful evening and a way to see more things that we hadn't before. As we walked further north, the streets became more and more congested. And the moment we came to Chinatown, there was no mistaking it! All of the buildings are labeled in Chinese, even the Bank of America. The streets are dirtier and you see tables set up of vendors selling their fake purses, etc. on every block. It really seems to be what you expect it to be.
As we continued to walk, we made our way through SoHo, which means South of Houston (which is a street). And that is pronounced HOWston, not HUEston. This fact has been made clear to us. It is definitely a shopping area with upscale shops selling all the things you wish you could buy but will never be able to afford. We didn't really spend too much time here and I hope to spend more in the future. So, I don't have too much to share on that.
But as we continued on our journey, we looked down a street and saw a ferris wheel in the middle of the street. So, we decided to check it out. We found ourselves in Little Italy at the San Genarro Festival. We found out this is the largest religous festival in America. I never would have guessed it was religous, though. There were unlimited amounts of vendors cooking up fresh food. Every pleasurable scent you could possibly imagine filled the air. And this food wasn't the traditional fair food, it was like nothing I have ever seen before. Needless to say, Jason was drooling! We started to walk around, but there were so many people that I started to get clastrophobic and wanted to make my way out of there. But from what I could see in little Italy is a festive feel with italian restaurants galore! The next time I am craving pasta, that is where I am going!
After making our way out of Little Italy, we came into the Lower East Side. The small side streets were filled with the kinds of small restaurants that you stumble upon and have to try. The kind that are the secret to the city. But what makes up the LES is the edgy feel that it has. It is very much like "Uptown" in Minneapolis, but to a further extreme. You see all walks of life and it is where people go to party. We have a restaurant there that we go to regularly called Pala. It is the most AMAZING pizza we have ever had. And we like the low light, relaxed atmosphere it has. We have become friends with Olivia, our waitress everytime we go there, and her husband Sam. We actually first met the two of them last November when Jaosn and I were staying at the hotel next door and were looking for places to live. She was our waitress adn they had a place for rent. So, her husband showed it to us the next day. We didn't take the apartment, but it ironically enough was the start of a friendship. But anyway, if you ever get the chance to eat there, DO IT!
I also went to a different part of the LES last Tuesday and tried Thai food for the first time with Olivia. It was so nice to have a girls night, something that was very long overdo. And I had a great time! And the food was amazing! If there is something that New York City has, it is great food! The restaurant was called Klong. It is a great little spot that is in the basement of a building on St. Marks. I fully recommend it.
So, that is the first report that I have. It isn't as detailed on the food and culture of the area as I would have liked, but it is a start. My family flies in on Wednesday, so it may be a little while before we get to somewhere new. Until then...
