Monday,
May 9, 2005, 11:25 am
Hello from New York City (7) - The final
day: Brooklyn's Prospect Park and Manhattan's Washington Square
Park
Yesterday was our last day in New York City and our flight left
at 7:57 pm, so we figured we'd store our luggage at the B&B
for a few hours and head out one more time for one more round of
urban exploration.
Well, one area we hadn't seen much yet was Brooklyn (other than
Coney Island which we explored on Friday). We really liked Brooklyn,
formerly a sleepy suburban area, which has has nicely matured into
one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in New York City, no wonder,
thanks to its stately architecture, multicultural shopping areas
and green mature trees in many areas.
Building in Prospect Park
Our beloved Q train got us to Prospect Park, another masterpiece
by landscape designer Frederick Law Olmstead, although this exhibit
is a lot wilder and more natural than its Central Park counterpart.
Although the day was a bit on the cool side, there were tons of
people jogging, biking, walking and Prospect Park, just like its
big cousin in Manhattan, has big fields with multiple baseball diamonds
and soccer fields. The action was in full swing and we caught a
live performance by a Mexican mariachi band, fronted by a young
girl who was literally singing her heart out.
At the north end of Prospect Park is Grand Army Plaza, which is
dominated by a massive Civil War memorial arch. Across from the
arch is the Brooklyn Public Library, opened in 1941 in a late Art
Deco style, and now blocked off for some renovations. Just around
the corner is the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the monumental Brooklyn
Museum of Art.
Grand Army Plaza.
But we had no time to explore these areas further, we only had
a less than a couple of hours left before we had to pick up our
luggage to head to the airport. Off we went and hopped onto another
subway to head towards Washington Square Park, one area that I had
definitely wanted to see.
It was a little quiet there on this cloudy and cool day and the
Washington Arch, compared to other monuments, seemed a little diminuitive.
We had a quick pizza in one of the cheap student eateries around
New York University and got back to the subway. However, we realized
we were on the wrong platform (for northbound trains), so we headed
back out the subway to reenter on the correct side.
Guess what - our metro transit card didn't let us back in! The
display said "Just used" and there was no way we could
get back in at a different entrance at the same subway station.
I guess that's a built-in mechanism to safeguard against 2 people
using the same transit card. So we had to trekk about 20 minutes
south to Prince Street and use our metro card there. Our $24 transit
pass got major use over the last 4.5 days and when we go to NYC
again, we'll definitely pick up another transit pass. Well, at least
we won't make the same mistake again to swipe the card and then
exit the subway station...
Just after 2:30 pm we picked up our luggage at the B&B and
spent the next 2 hours discovering a new subway line (the N line)
which we caught all the way to Astoria Boulevard, where we picked
up the M60 bus to get to LaGuardia airport. It took us a couple
of hours, but it was great to get one last ride through the New
York City neighbourhoods.
Departing from LaGuardia Airport.
After being thoroughly searched, patted down, having my shoes x-rayed
and otherwise being inspected, we finally got on our American Airlines
ride back home to Toronto and saw one last vista at dusk of the
City that never sleeps.
We will return.......
Useful books for travel to New York City:
Related articles:
"Hello from New York City (1) -
First Impressions of the Big Apple"
"Hello from New York City (2) - Exploring
Mid-Town Manhattan"
"Hello from New York City (3) - Brooklyn
Bridge, Ground Zero, Downtown"
"Hello from New York City (4) - Staten
Island and a Random Act of Violence"
"Hello from New York City (5) - A
Local Expert Takes Us Through Queens"
"Hello from New York City (6) - Checking
Out Coney Island and Harlem"
"Hello from New York City (7) - Prospect
Park & Washington Square Park"
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - small
hotels.
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - hostels.
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - bed
and breakfasts.
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