by toombsey

October 19, 2004

From journal A Week in New York

We decided to start our tours on our first full day in the city so that we could get a feel of the place and perhaps find places on the tours that we could later go back to. We started with the uptown tour.

The tour guide on this bus was am energetic elderly lady who had lived in NYC all her life and was very informative and funny. She kept telling the driver to slow down, stop, speed up, and more. As this was an older bus without a built-in microphone, every time someone wanted to get on or off, she had to wind the cable up and escort people up and down the stairs, then re-attach the microphone and start again, which she made very amusing.

The tour started at the back of Times Square and headed out towards the Hudson River where large liners were docked. We then headed to Columbus Circle, which has a couple of glass skyscrapers that are very beautiful and stunning. We then went past the building where Regis and Kelly do their morning show. We were told of many more famous homes and work places, but as Brits, we didn’t know many of those mentioned. After this we headed towards Central Park and went past the Dakota Building, where John Lennon was killed. Strawberry Fields, part of Central Park, is directly in front of this building. Yoko Ono still lives here.

We drove along the west side of the park where there are lots of expensive apartments and where many famous people reside. We then drove into the Harlem area, which from a British point of view, has quite a bad name for itself. However, the area has some beautiful buildings, particularly churches, and some great parks, so it was well worth seeing via the tour. The tour then goes towards Cloisters and then comes back into Harlem and picks up on the north side of Central Park.

You then travel along the east side of the park along museum mile, which, amongst many others, has the Guggenheim Museum. After this, you go along the south of the park, and then back into the centre of Times Square. Keep an eye out for the Naked Cowboy, who strums his guitar in his underpants and is usually surrounded by women having their photos taken with him.

I would definitely recommend this tour, as you see sights that you perhaps wouldn’t see normally because many are quite out of the way, baring in mind that most visitors don’t venture further north than Central Park and most will not go into Harlem, which is a shame as there are some lovely churches and parks there. We were lucky and had a great guide, which made it even more interesting with her funny stories, but you should enjoy this regardless.

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