Travel Review: New York City

New York City

New York City consists of five boroughs The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. My fascination seems to be with Manhattan, in particular. I fell in love with the city when I had the opportunity to be in America last year. Obviously, the city's reputation precedes itself. I had heard so much about NYC, seen shots of Grand Central Station, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the JFK Airport, the Empire State Building, United Nations Headquarters, Times Square, and Rockefeller Centre in possibly every Hollywood movie but I was still awe struck when my trip brought me to the Big Apple.

Buzzing with activity, New Yorkers always seem to be in a hurry, walking swiftly, dressed in anything from casual jumpers and sneakers to high end fashionable clothing to corporate attire, all with a cup of coffee in one hand and a mobile phone in the other rushing to finish some work or the other or just jogging at Central Park. The local people just add to the city's personality.

NYC is a shopaholic's paradise, if you've got the dollars. With haute couture fashion stores by the names of Prada, Forever 21, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Ferragamo, Abercrombie & Fitch, Christian Louboutin, Gucci, GAP, Yves Saint Laurent, Victoria's Secret, the city is home to some of the most expensive designer stores in the world. Manhattan alone owns some of the superlatives like the World's Largest Store- Macy's, the Largest Toy Store in the World- F.A.O. SCHWARZ, the Largest M&M Store, and the Biggest Bloomingdale's Mall. The Apple Company of course, has a stand-alone flagship store in the city in a gorgeous glass building.

The city offers a variety of entertainment for tourists in the form of art and theatre. The MET, The Museum of Natural History , The Met, The Guggenheim, MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and The Cloisters are some of the most famous and popular museums in the city. Broadway is a must watch! With outstanding performances, prop work, lighting and music direction on classic films like The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Marry Poppins, Wicked, Memphis, Jersey Boys, Billy Elliot and the rest.

Times Square, nicknamed 'The Crossroads of the World' is a commercial intersection holding the New York Times Building, Broadway and hundreds of thousands of people of different nationalities. It is the symbol of New York. It is witness to the grand Ball Dropping on New Year's Eve! The billboards are gigantic, colourfully lit and attractive with the biggest names and the most recognisable brands.

If you haven't already been caught up with all the glitz, glamour, fashion and entertainment, the city's architecture and high-risers certainly will captivate you! The city boasts of some of the tallest and most beautiful buildings in the world. Two of them being the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, with stunning lighting and fine architecture work. The Trump World Tower, the Conde Nast Building, the Bloomberg Building, and The Plaza are not far behind! Sadly, the majestic Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre are no longer the city's trademark buildings after its destruction in the terrorist attacks that paralised the country and the world.

The city, being the 'land of dreams', is home to many people of different nationalities, looking to make it big. The disparity is in the high-risers and the shabby brownstone buildings, the small residential houses and the big financial skyscrapers, those with regular jobs and those who perform their little acts for a living in Central Park. Everybody wants a bite of the Big City. Nonetheless, the City that Never Sleeps is a financial hub, a commercial center, a fashion capital, the world's movie set, the entertainment epicenter, a technology metropolis, a blinking city with its massive billboards, home for movie stars, a populous city bursting at its seams, a tourist destination and a city vibrant with personality! I'll leave you with the lines of a famous song quite aptly sum up what I've been trying to say:

"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made. There's nothing you can't do once you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you..Let's hear it for New York!"