Day 3 : New York: Contrasts Tour & Brooklyn Afternoon: Brooklyn Promenade, Empire Fulton Ferry Park - Jane's Carousel, Brooklyn Bridge, Front Street, Jay Street, Manhattan Bridge
It's 5am when we wake up and we are still, believe it or not, dragging the remains of jetlag and after the first day in New York, in which we went to bed late after watching the NBA game in New York and yesterday we enjoyed a day in Central Park and the Museum of Natural History, even today, we have a day full of visits, with the Contrasts Tour and an afternoon in Brooklyn, we have not yet finished recovering.
The first thing we do is look out of the window and see again the impressive views we have of the Empire State Building from bed, with which we immediately recharge our batteries to get ready and start the third day of this trip to New York in 11 days.
Today, as we mentioned, we have booked the New York Contrasts Tour in advance, one of the best tours in New York, with which we will get to know the other side of the city.
If you want to do the tour with less people you can book the New York Contrasts VIP tour which is done in a minibus for a maximum of 15 people.
We meet at 8:00 am at the Renaissance Times Square Hotel on 7th Avenue, between 47th and 48th Street, right next to Times Square, so we don't linger too long, leaving a few minutes before 7:00 am from our hotel, the Holiday Inn Times Square, to have breakfast at Dean & DeLuca, another of the most recommended places in the area, where we can find a great variety of fresh products, both for breakfast and lunch.
We ordered a couple of pastries plus a cappuccino and a large Americano for 14.92 dollars, the price we have been paying for breakfast these days and which we think is quite reasonable considering we are in the centre of New York and the coffees are also XL size.
Breakfast at Dean & Deluca
Today we don't have too much time for breakfast and although we have the Contrasts Tour at 8 am, today the day has dawned very sunny, so we want to take a few minutes before the meeting to take some pictures of Times Square now that there are not too many people, so with coffees in hand, like two other citizens, we go to one of the most visited places in New York, two streets away from our hotel.
Times Square
At this time of the morning it is a real luxury to stroll through this area of New York and, despite the fact that the city has been open for a few hours, most tourists have not yet arrived in this area, so it is still possible to take some photos without many people and take the opportunity to sit at the famous red tables for a few minutes to enjoy the atmosphere of this more than symbolic place in New York.
Times Square early in the morning
When we realise it's almost 8 am, so we have to run to the Renaissance Hotel where Daniel is already waiting for us to show us where the bus is and we can get on it to start the New York Contrasts Tour in a few minutes. Usually this tour is done in minibuses, which is why we were recommended to do the tour on Tuesday or Thursday, as today the group was 20 people and therefore we would go in a bus. We had the idea of doing this tour at the beginning of the trip, as we were interested in having this experience at the beginning of the trip, to get to know these first touches of the city.
We also took into account that today being Saturday, Sabbath in the Williamsburg neighbourhood, where the orthodox Jews live, the neighbourhood would be livelier and more interesting to visit.
No more than 15 minutes past 8 o'clock when we set off for the Bronx, the neighbourhood that will be our first stop on the Contrasts Tour. One of the things we like most about the tour is the possibility of getting to know first hand, and we have to confess that with great skill on Daniel's part, the history of New York, its districts and a small summary of the city's politics, culture and some anecdotes that we probably wouldn't have known otherwise. Something that confirms our idea that if you want to do the New York Contrasts Tour, it is best to place it in the first days of your trip, as we also indicated in the post What to see in New York by neighbourhoods.
We also found out that tomorrow Sunday, the day we were planning to go to Harlem to enjoy a gospel mass, as it's Easter, most churches will have special masses and won't let in tourists or many people, so it's time to check tomorrow's schedule and check which churches do let in tourists and be there first thing in the morning to be able to follow the itinerary we had marked out for these days.
Before starting the tour, we recommend you read this post about the best contrasts tour in New York.
And so, embarked on the explanations that Daniel is giving us as we go through Manhattan, we start to move away from the nerve centre of the city, making our way to the Bronx, the first district of the Contrasts Tour, where we will make a first stop to get closer and see the famous Yankee Stadium, located at 1 E 161st Street, which has become an attraction in itself.
Yankee Stadium
The current stadium opened in 2009 and was located next to the old stadium, which was later demolished. Although it has a smaller capacity, the current stadium has gained amenities, more shops, a museum and now has better accessibility, as well as being used for other sports, such as football, when the Yankees are not playing.
After a more than complete explanation about the Yankee Stadium and many curiosities about the sport and this team in particular, they leave us a few minutes to walk around the area, take some pictures and above all feel like in a movie again, something that we are sure we will repeat many times during this trip to New York.
Sports next to Yankee Stadium
From here, we cross the street, seeing the elevated underground, so characteristic of this part of the city, to get closer to the graffiti that reminds us of several famous baseball players, to whom this part of the city pays homage.
Bronx underground overpass
Baseball in the Bronx
The second stop on the Bronx Contrasts Tour is the well-known 42nd Precinct, famous for being the setting for Fort Apache, a film that was promoted with the now famous line: "In New York there is a neighbourhood where even the cops are afraid". And this neighbourhood is the Bronx, where we are now and where today, hundreds of tourists come every day, usually on tours, trying to see or get to know better this place in New York where things continue to happen every day and where, in certain areas, it is advisable not to come.
42nd Precinct. Bronx
In this area we find a couple of other groups that are also in front of the 42nd Precinct, where we receive a brief but more than complete explanation of the police situation not only in this area of the city, but also in general, which gives us a closer look at this profession and makes us understand many of the situations or many of the actions that we read about in the newspapers.
Police Station 42
Something that really catches our attention is the explanation of one of the stickers on the police cars, which is the reward given to anyone who identifies someone who has shot a policeman. In the United States, this is a very serious matter, so serious that it could lead to the death penalty if it is legal (depending on the state).
Police car at the 42nd Precinct in New York City
After this stop, we continue the Bronx Contrasts Tour approaching several points where we find the graffiti area of the Bronx, the form of protest of this neighbourhood to society and to events, which are often the most tragic, as deaths of its inhabitants, often unfairly by gang members. The first stop is Naño's graffiti, a well-known Bronx tribute to the man who was murdered for being against gang members.
Naño graffiti. Bronx
As we move from one graffiti to another on the bus, we pay attention to Daniel's explanations, who gives us background information on the most important details of the neighbourhoods we pass through, such as the trainers on the lampposts, which identify dangerous areas of the neighbourhood, the cartels on the houses announcing drug sales or the cartels identifying that the house has been "cleaned" by the police of illegal sales.
The next stop in the Bronx is Simpson Station, home to the famous Bronx graffiti, where you can read the word "Bronx" and each of the letters with famous images of this area of New York inside.
Bronx Graffiti
Here we have some time to walk around the area, so after taking the usual photo, we went to the underground station to get to know it inside and see how is one of these elevated stations, as well as to see the views from it.
Simpson Station
It is 10 o'clock in the morning when we continue the Contrasts Tour, entering some of the most conflictive streets of the Bronx, in the southern part of the neighbourhood, where we do not stop, but we can see them through the windows of our bus and they leave us with that feeling of real danger that we thought did not exist and that was more of an urban legend than a reality.
Bronx. Contrasts Tour
Streets of the Bronx. Contrasts Tour
We can't forget that every day, you only have to read the newspaper or watch TV to realise that certain parts of the Bronx are not exactly the best places to walk around, and even less so when you are a tourist.
Bronx
It is just after 10:30 in the morning when we leave the Bronx and take the highway to cross the East River and enter Queens, another of the boroughs that we will get to know today on the Contrasts Tour, passing through one of the most exclusive areas of New York, the "Malba Borough of Queens", because this borough is so big that we can practically find boroughs within boroughs, although in this case it is one of the most exclusive, so much so that you are not allowed to park if you don't have a house or you are invited by one of the owners, although we can drive around and see for a few minutes how people live here, so close and yet so far away from the Bronx, where we were just a few minutes ago.
Malba neighbourhood. Queens
After this brief tour of houses where security is present in every corner, in equal parts with luxury, we continue our tour to Flushing Meadow Corona Park, the largest park in Queens and one of the most emblematic in the city, also passing by the U.S. Open tennis stadium.
In 1939 the World's Fair was held, for which the Unisphere was designed, a 42-metre-high globe designed by Clarke, which was a symbol of the Fair and is still a symbol of the park today, and is the place where we stop to stretch our legs and, of course, take some photos.
Unisphere. Flushing Meadows
In Flushing Meadows we can also see The Observation Towers, famous for being in one of the scenes of the movie Men In Black.
The Observation Towers
We spend no less than 20 minutes in the area, but the cold starts to do its thing, so it's time to go back to the bus and continue with the Contrasts Tour, this time to continue in the district, but going into the area of the Latino neighbourhoods of Queens, where we make a technical stop to go to the bathroom and have a coffee in the famous local "Cositas Ricas".
Queens. Contrasts Tour
The little that we have been able to see of Queens has left us with a very good taste in our mouths, remaining in our memories as one of the places that we would like to visit with more tranquility and to which we will surely return to soak up the cultural variety and see how incredibly, from one street to the next, the nationality changes and also the shops. It is becoming more and more clear that we will have to return to New York again but with more time.
Queens. New York City
After almost 4 hours on the Contrasts Tour, and now with a much broader view of New York, we continue to Brooklyn, now to enter Williamsburg, where the largest orthodox Jewish community in the city is located and where today Saturday (Sabbath) we can learn about their activities on this seventh day of the week, a holy day of the Jewish week that we were able to experience on the trip to Israel and Palestine.
But before we head into another of New York's most famous boroughs, Brooklyn, we pass by First Calvary Cemetery, which offers stunning views of Manhattan in the background.
First Calvary Cemetery
It doesn't take us more than 20 minutes to find ourselves in the heart of Williamsburg, where we find a Jewish community that today, especially, invades the streets. We have to say that at this point of the Contrasts Tour we have found ourselves with a series of mixed feelings, and this is always something you face when you travel in a group, as logically not everyone can think or act in the same way as us. This is precisely the main reason why we avoid, whenever we can, organised trips or organised tours, preferring on many occasions to pay more but to do it privately and thus not having to encounter some situations that we find a bit violent. Of course we recognize that this is something very personal and above all it is something very peculiar, and we have to admit that in certain aspects, especially those that are beyond our understanding, we are quite closed-minded and even not very tolerant in our opinions, something that as we say, undoubtedly belongs to our personality and therefore we understand that there are many people who do not share it or even understand it.
Williamsburg
The fact is that as soon as we arrived in Williamsburg, 99% of the people on the bus were glued to the windows, pointing, shouting and even, as Daniel gave some explanations, lavishing all kinds of opinions on their culture that sometimes bordered on the unpleasant.
As we said before, we consider these things to be out of place, as we are just spectators, and to feel we have the right to judge so quickly or to see ourselves as having the right to take photos by planting the camera in someone's face, simply because they are not dressed like us, leaving respect at home, we believe that these are not unnecessary acts.
Perhaps it sounds too radical, but we have to say that in the face of these attitudes we cannot help but feel uncomfortable and even question whether this stop in Williamsburg is necessary on the Contrasts Tour.
After the explanations, we were given the chance to walk around the area, crossing a few streets to meet up with the bus and finish the tour. As you can imagine, we left the group, trying to avoid any mishaps as the camera zooms were at full zoom and we tried to take this walk, just to get to know Williamsburg a little, a place that we think we would have preferred to visit on our own, without cameras, just to get to know it a little more closely.
Williamsburg
After this last stop, we set off for the Brooklyn Bridge, where those of us who are left have the option of stopping and staying in this area of New York or continuing on to Times Square, where we were picked up this morning. We opted for the first option because we want to get to know a little more of this area of Brooklyn, which we have read about and which we have been told is truly marvellous.
New York Contrasts Tour
The New York Contrasts Tour is one of the most famous tours in New York and is a great way to see places outside of Manhattan that are not usually visited on your first trip to New York, such as the Bronx, Queens and Harlem.
There are many companies that offer this tour. We recommend this one, New York Contrasts or Contrasts VIP, an institution in this tour, of whom you can read countless positive reviews on the internet and with whom you can get to know that part of the city that you probably won't get to if you don't do this type of tour.
These tours usually start in the centre of Manhattan, in Times Square and go through the following parts of the city:
Bronx: Yankee Stadium, South Bronx, scene of films such as Paul Newman's Fort Apache, 42nd Precinct, graffiti by Big Pun, Uncle Sam, Amadou Diallo, Headache Nelson, Jonathan and many others.
Queens: a multicultural district where more than 50 different languages are spoken, passing through elegant private neighbourhoods such as the Malba Quarter of Queens, Flushing Meadow Corona Park, and Hispanic areas.
At this point of the tour we usually stop for coffee or breakfast at a Latin coffee shop.
Brooklyn: the tour ends in this district where artists such as Barbra Streisand, Eddy Murphy and Woody Allen were born, as well as athletes such as Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson.
At this point we also pass through Williamsburg, home to the city's largest concentration of Orthodox Jews.
The Contrasts Tour ends in this area of the city, where you can either stay, right on the famous Brooklyn Bridge or continue on to Times Square.
The duration of the tour is usually about 4 hours.
We recommend booking the Contrasts Tour or the VIP Contrasts Tour in advance, as it is the most popular tour in New York and you may run out of places.
Another good option is to book the Contrasts Tour which includes the Gospel Mass.
Contrasts Tour - yes or no?
For us, who don't usually do any organised tours, especially not city tours, we have to say that the New York Contrasts Tour was a pleasant surprise, as we got to know places and details, both cultural and political, that we probably wouldn't have known otherwise.
The possibility of going into the Bronx, where we probably wouldn't have come on our own, or Queens, where we really wanted to see more and where we will probably spend a few days the next time we come to New York, have been an added incentive to go on the tour.
Another positive thing is the "quick" tour of the city that you can do by car, a way to see the most important places in these districts in a quick way and to get a first view.
If there is one thing we didn't like, it was the visit to Williamsburg, given the "paparazzi" character that it acquired at various points during the tour, although we understand that this was due more to the character of the group in question than to the organisation of the tour, which at all times showed the utmost respect for the community. We would also like to state for the record that we do not believe that this is better or worse than our attitude towards this fact, we simply have to say that it did not fit in with our way of managing this visit.
In our case, at various times we felt "attacked", seeing how photographs were taken with zooms, how certain comments or judgements were made, which we believe were out of place, and even more so when we knew nothing about the community.
It's a little after 1 o'clock when we leave the rest of the group for Times Square and set off for Grimaldi's, the place we have chosen to eat and where we have to queue for 30 minutes, because it couldn't be that easy to eat a pizza in the fourth best place in New York.
Queue at Grimaldi's
Grimaldi's. The best pizza in New York
Grimaldi's is a New York pizza institution. Considered one of the best pizzas in New York, we recommend that if you're in the area, don't miss it.
There is usually a queue, but it goes pretty fast, so it's worth the wait.
There are 2 sizes of pizzas, small and large, with or without tomato. We chose the small one, which is 6 portions, for 1 or 2 people for 14 dollars and then you add the toppings you want: pepperoni, olives, tuna, cheese, chicken...etc for between 3 or 4 dollars each.
Please note that they do not accept credit cards and you have to pay in cash.
Once we were on the top floor of the restaurant we ordered a small pizza for two with pepperoni, double cheese and onion plus two soft drinks and coffee for 37 dollars, a price that we can say is expensive for what we ate, but without doubt, being in New York and considering the fame of the place, we think it is more than reasonable.
Tipping in New York
Although it may seem unbelievable, the subject of tipping in New York is quite a broad topic, especially for those of us who come to the city to visit. Here are a few things to keep in mind about tipping in New York:
- Tipping in New York is mandatory (or almost mandatory ). Although this is an unwritten law, you have to keep in mind that in the USA you must leave a tip. For this reason, in bars, restaurants, cafes or services, we recommend that you take this into account, as it is usually between 10 to 20% of the total.
- In sectors such as the hotel and catering industry, salaries are quite low, so you will see that waiters in 99.9% of the cases will treat you very well, with a lot of attention, which means that leaving a tip is more than deserved.
- In restaurants you usually leave a tip of 15 to 20%. If you pay with a credit card, something more than usual, you will see that on the ticket at the end you will see the total and on a blank line the word "TIP" (tip) and below it a line with "TOTAL". Once you pay with your card, you fill in the amount of the "tip" line and the "total" line and it will be charged directly to your card. Remember to take your Customer Copy with you.
- Some restaurants are increasingly including a suggested gratuity section at the end of the ticket where they usually suggest three different tip amounts. Don't feel pressured, it's just a suggestion, but it never hurts to be inspired.
- Note that there are restaurants where you will see on the ticket a "mandatory gratuity" or "service charge". In this case, you don't have to leave anything else.
- In chains such as Starbucks, Pret a Manger, Dean&Deluca... they are not so strict on this issue, so if you don't tip, at no time does this imply an offence. Of course, you will see that next to the box there is a jar in which you can leave it.
- In cafeterias it is exactly the same as in the previous case, although it is not such a strict rule, you have a jar next to the box in case you want to be generous.
- One thing to note, the tip is calculated before the tax. If a meal costs 100 dollars + tax is 8.80 dollars, the tip should be calculated on top of the 100 dollars.
- In taxis, you should leave 15-20% of the total fare, whether you pay by credit card or cash.
- Doormen and hotel staff, if they help you with your luggage, are usually tipped between US$1 and US$5 per service.
- Tipping is not allowed in shops.
It's a few minutes past 3pm when we leave Grimaldi's and despite passing by Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, where they say they eat the best ice cream in the city, we think it's better to leave it for a little later and we go directly to Brooklyn Heights Promenade, from where we have the first views of the New York skyline, which, as it could not be otherwise, leave us with our mouths open.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
We can only say that Brooklyn Heights Promenade takes your breath away, especially on a day like today when the sky is blue, practically cloudless and although it's quite cold, the sun begins to caress the face at this time of the afternoon. This promenade became famous for being the setting for several films such as Annie Hall or Moonstruck and has become one of the most romantic places in New York, where it is not uncommon to see marriage proposals, anniversaries or photos of newlyweds.
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
From Brooklyn Heights Promenade we have views not only of Manhattan's skyscrapers, but also of the Statue of Liberty, the first time we've seen her on this Easter trip to New York, and the majestic Brooklyn Bridge.
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Surrounded by flowers, trees, benches and several playgrounds for the little ones, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade is a favourite for tourists, couples, families and of course, athletes who come to run and enjoy one of the most breathtaking views of the city.
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
After spending almost an hour, totally engrossed in the incredible views, we retrace our steps, to continue through the area, but this time in the opposite direction, approaching the Empire Fulton Ferry Park, where Jane's Carousel is located, another of the symbols of this area of the city and from where we can admire the Manhattan Bridge so close that we can almost touch it.
Empire Fulton Ferry Park
Jane's Carousel
Following the walk, we find one of the quietest areas of the Empire Fulton Ferry Park and is the beach of New York, as some call it and where, with the first rays of sun, begins to fill with people and there is no place nicer than this to enjoy a sunny day, in front of incredible views and why not, take a swim.
Empire Fulton Ferry Park
From here and after having our first contact with the impressive New York skyline when we enter the neighbourhood adjacent to Brooklyn Heights Promenade, where the charming brownstones become the protagonists of this area of the city and where the quiet streets are part of the itinerary, arriving at Front Street, a little secret of Brooklyn from where we can enjoy unique views of the Manhattan Bridge, standing out among the brownstones, which give this street an air of a must-see place, which will probably end up in the city's guidebooks in the near future. And if you notice, between the Manhattan Bridge, you can also see, right in the middle, the Empire State Building. Curious, isn't it?
Front Street
Manhattan Bridge from Front Street
It's almost 5:00 in the afternoon when we decide it's time to have that experience that many consider a must-do in New York: crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. So we don't think twice about it and we approach the stairs that give us access to Brooklyn Bridge and we enter one of the most beautiful tours you can do in New York. And if we think of those 100 things to see and do in New York, this should probably be in the top 10.
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge links the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Built between 1870 and 1883, it was once considered the largest suspension bridge in the world as well as the first to be suspended by steel cables and is now one of the symbols of New York.
Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
Taking into account that the Brooklyn Bridge is almost 2 kilometres long and at this time of the year, when the influx of tourists is quite high, it is necessary to go quite slowly and always controlling the bike lane, something to take into account if you don't want to cause an accident, And we almost don't have time to stop and take pictures, when we are approaching the end and a bit overwhelmed by so many people, we decide that before returning, since we still have some time until sunset, to stop for a drink to rest a while, because today is being a very full day.
It's almost 18:30 in the evening when we decide whether to go back to the Brooklyn area crossing the bridge or by underground, but seeing the time we decide to use our Metrocard, arriving a few minutes before 7:00 pm to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade area from where we have stunning views of the New York skyline, with a sunset in the background, which makes this the best farewell we could have imagined for a day like today.
Sunset in New York
Sunset over the Brooklyn Bridge
Despite the cold weather we couldn't resist taking a run up a couple of north-south walks to Empire Fulton Ferry Park to watch the sunset from there. This area is incredible both day and night, so we recommend that if you do the Contrasts Tour in the morning, spend the afternoon in this area of Brooklyn, and then finish the day with an incredible sunset over the Manhattan skyline.
Empire Fulton Ferry Park
As the afternoon progresses and it starts to get dark, the cold also starts to become more noticeable. Today it hasn't been more than 12 degrees all day, but at this time of the evening it's no more than 6 degrees, something that, after all day on the street, starts to require a place to warm up and have dinner, but first we must return to Brooklyn Heights Promenade, from where we have the last views of Manhattan at dusk.
Nightfall over Manhattan
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
It's almost 9pm when we decide it's time to call it a night, so we get back on the underground and make our way to Times Square where we have our hotel and where we will look for a place to have dinner hoping it won't be as crowded as it was yesterday. It doesn't take us more than 20 minutes to get back to the nerve centre of Manhattan, which at this time of day is already completely illuminated and full of people when we approach the Red Lobster, but as we guessed at this time of day it is very crowded and they tell us that we have to wait for at least 1 hour and a half, So we decide that having such a full day as today, the best option is to go to a sushi shop right in front of the hotel and load up with a few trays of sushi, which we enjoy in our room at the Holiday Inn Times Square, in front of the incredible views of the Empire State Building. Come to think of it, is there any better view than this for dinner?
