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A bite of the …
September 18, 2007 | 26 Comments
Big Apple in today’s postcard.
Our Postcards Series is about extending a handshake across cyberspace. Read about it here.
Please accord a warm welcome to our guest contributors. They will try to respond to comments and questions.
Sharmi @ Neivedyam – the beautiful and melodious blog – grew up in a small town in India, and lives in New Jersey with her husband and son. She studied Information Technology, but her real passions are food, music and travel. She is a talented potter and painter. (Check out her hand-made Ganesha .)
In her words, “My passion for food started at the age of 8. Since both my parents were working, my younger brother and I had to come home before them from school. I had a huge stepping stool on which I would stand to reach the gas stove and make milk and dinner for me and my little brother.
One day, I saw my Dad cutting some veggies like eggplant and potatoes and putting them in water so that they don’t darken. So the next day I cut okras and dropped them in water. That day my Dad taught me about veggies and how they are supposed to be cooked. That was when my journey to learn and explore about food began ….”
In this postcard, she brings a visitor’s perspective to wonderful, heady, addictive New York City.
I feel privileged to send this postcard on behalf of my family to Bee and Jai.
I lived half my life in a place in India filled with scenic views, serene, a quiet and peaceful environment, mountains and trees everywhere. It was a very small town in a hill station where the population was so small that every one knew each other. Time seemed to move very slowly. Hence, I always loved to experience fast track city life.
After coming to the United States, the Big Apple amazed me. I live in north New Jersey and it takes about 45 minutes for us to get to New York City. Most of our short trips during weekends are to NYC and its outskirts.
Once, we had planned a visit to a temple in Flushing, NY. We lost our way and reached a very beautiful dead end. It was a park at the Hudson riverfront with a spectacular view of the George Washington bridge.
We crossed the George Washington Bridge while I took a pic from my car. In traffic it took us 1 hour to cross the bridge.
There are many instances where my husband’s dear friend Ms. GPS has mislead us and taken us to Nowhere to Go Land, meaning “dead end”.
We love to spend our Christmas evenings at the Rockefeller center. It gives me goosebumps to see the crowd coming to see the giant Christmas tree.
My eyes go wide open looking at the lights and the crowd at Times Square. After 2-3 trips it was easy for me to get around the downtown area. The place is of such extremes that one cannot easily describe it in words until it is experienced. The people are tough, adaptable and fast, yet humble and helpful.
Once I got in to a cafe to get some milk for my little one. I asked them to warm up the milk in their microwave. The lady looked at me and said, “Never put plastic baby bottles along with milk into the microwave. It is not good for the baby”. It was so nice of her to show a little concern, taking a minute off her busy schedule .
Being a vegetarian finding a restaurant also was never a problem. There are a huge choice of restaurants to experiment with my taste buds. All the same, we never risk it because of our 3 year-old and make sure to pack some food with us during all our trips.
This was our trip to Bronx Zoo, where I packed some Idly/tomato chutney and poori/aloo.
The city has everything one wants, from busy Broadway to serene Central Park.
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
View of the city from the south end of Central Park reservoir. Picture: Wikimedia Commons
As for New York State, it is an intriguing collage, with everything from the romantic Niagara falls to the wonderful vineyards in the fertile Finger Lakes region.
Recently, we visited the famous Empire State Building. The Elevator takes us to the 86th floor in a few seconds, which in itself is a great experience. The fastest elevator ever. After reaching the observation deck, we enjoyed the view of a busy panorama of asphalt, lower Manhattan and skyscrapers.
It is a spectacular sight of Lower Manhattan from where one can see the Statue of Liberty.
A helicopter view showing the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The Empire State Building and the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Taken in July 2001. Picture: Wikimedia Commons
Downtown’s rich and varied history, from Colonial settlements to the urban complex, spans close to four centuries. This compact area at the tip of Manhattan Island – half of it built on land reclaimed from surrounding waters of about one square mile – has played an out-sized role in the development of both the city and the nation, and is rich in both memories and monuments.
This satellite image shows Manhattan, with Queens and Brookyn to the south east and New Jersey to the west. Central Park is visible in the center. To the west of Manhattan is the Hudson River, to the east is the East river.
Brazilian, Chinese, German, Irish, Italian, Korean, Mexican, Polish, Russian, South African, Vietnamese. These nationalities represent the ethnic spice that adds zest to the New York City melting pot. Famous among these are Little Italy and Chinatown. The Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan — a borough of New York City — is an ethnic enclave with a large population of Chinese immigrants, similar to other Chinatown districts in American cities.
Union Square Park (also known as Union Square) is an important and historic intersection in New York City, located where Broadway and the Bowery came together in the early 19th century.
Union Square is noted for its impressive equestrian statue of George Washington, created by Henry Kirke Brown and unveiled in 1856. Other statues in the park include the Marquis de Lafayette, created by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, Abraham Lincoln, created by Henry Kirke Browne and James Fountain, donated by Daniel Willis James and sculpted by Adolf Donndorf.
A newer addition, in 1986, is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the southwest corner of the park. (Picture: Wikimedia Commons)
Madame Tussauds wax museum was another great experience where I pictured Diana, Princess of Wales.
Its been three years now, since I started exploring New York City. The enormous number of people, pace of life and stark urban landscape cannot be explained in words until one experiences it on his/her own.
Forgotten NY
New York-style pizza
Overheard in New York
Filed Under: Big-Apple, lifestyle, Manhattan, MUSINGS, New-York-City, Postcards, TRAVEL
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26 Comments
Hey Sharmi, you are such a sweetheart! Thanks for bringing back the lovely memories of NYC! The view from Central Park reservoir looks grogeous! and aren’t the Chinatown and MainStreet grocery markets fabulous!
Thanks, Bee and Jai!
lovely pics. especially like china town
Beautiful writeup Sharmi… NY is my favorite city in the US… especially Soho…
Sharmi, Big Apple is so different from any other city. I would love to stay in a place like this.seems like the city is always in motion and never sleeps. Your picnic lunch looks so delicious. thanks for the virtual tour !!!
Sharmi, Bee & Jai, nice post – I’ve visited but would like to keep going back!
Lovely write up Sharmi and great pics too..I’ve visited NYC for a short period and your post took me back to those lovely days…this post card series is so interesting..thanks bee n jai
I love this series. May be I shud write one!
Nice Post… and Nice pics!!!
wow lovely postcard sharmi… ive always wanted to visit new york… and now this postcard makes me wanna go more!!
that ganesha you made is excellent too!!
bee jay and sharmi…love all the pics
i didnt get the princess diana pic at madame tussads in the middle of new york pics…?
wow thanks for sharing those beautifull moments with us Sharmi. Bee and Jai thanks
I must congratulate jai and bee for starting their post card series… we get to learn about new place and culture and always takes me on a virtual trip. :bow:
Sharmi, beautiful write-up… u made NYC come to life with your wonderful writings and pictures…
Brings back some very fond memories…thank you Sharmi and Jai-Bee.
I remember crossing the Hudson Bridge.Phew!!:D
Great post with beautiful pics.We loved the National Museum there,would like visit again for Broadway shows.
But as much fun as NY is, I would love to come back home to my small town,polite people and laid back life!:D
Sharmi you guys do go to NYC a lot !!! We hardly do, because the hubby hates crowds and cities
Very beautiful pics and nice writing
NY is such a vibrant place and a great melting pot. We love to explore NYcity armed with our lonely planet guide and we have found some great places to eat with help from food bloggers. Love the Indo-Chinese places on Lexington Ave.
Yet to see the Union Square farmer’s market.
Lovely pictures! I think all great cooks start very young!! :laugh:
Sharmi, Bee and Jai,
Thanks for posting this one. Brings back such wonderful memories. Right after marriage I had the fortune of living right in Times Square for a couple of months while DH worked there. It was and is my best experience ever. The vibrancy, the people, the restaurants and the sheer number of places you can explore, like the museums & the art galleries and ofcourse shopping, its just unbeatable! You got to live there and experience it once in your life time!!
I’m sorry, I forgot to include my name for the last posting.
Lovely pics..Newyork is simply beautiful!!!
that a lovely post Sharmi, n thanks J & B
Very lovely post Sharmi. The pictures are amazing and there’s so much to see! My cousin also lives in NJ and works in Times Square, we hear about NY and its wonders almost every other day
Your idlis look delciiously soft
Thanks Jai and Bee for bringing this to us.
Thanks so much Bee and Jai for making this postcard so beautiful. I am honoured *hugs*
Great post! I love NYC too. Near my work in London there is a really nice statue of Ghandiji, I going to take my camera there next time I have a moment.
I am inspired!!
Sharmi, it was a pleasure to see a little of New York through your eyes. Thank you dear one.
I so love NYC. the write up is gorgeous. The ppl, crowd, noise etc is so like mumbai. Love gyros at 40th street, Broadway Ave.
Gini Me too drool over Chinese Mirch at lexington Ave. I can just go on n on n on….
Sharmi nice read thanks for sharing. J& B thank you.