Touring on a bus through Manhattan

Sunny, 35 degrees Celsius.

That's how most of the day was, but that didn't stop us from touring Manhattan on top of a double decker bus. There are many companies and different packages, but we did the basic: Top View's downtown tour. It worked fine for most of the day, except one stop we waited for more than an hour to get a seat on the bus.

First and best stop of the day for Sofia was the Empire State Building. 

She's first heard of it reading Percy Jackson books and has since asked us to bring her here. I heard her, but didn't realize how much of a deal it was for this child reader. It's incredible how something with no pictures, just letters, can stick in her head and with some imagination, create an enormous desire to be there.  

She felt like on top of the world.

It's not cheap to get up there, but still she wanted me to upgrade our tickets to get to the very top. Most of people would visit the 80th floor. We went to the 102nd floor. You only live once, right?

This is probably the best view we'll have from the Statue of Liberty on this trip. 

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building stood as the world's tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center in 1970; following the latter's collapse in 2001, the Empire State Building reverted to being the city's tallest skyscraper until that title was surpassed in 2012. As of 2022, the building is the seventh-tallest building in New York City, the ninth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, the 54th-tallest in the world, and the sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.

She just loved the height.

This is what the 102nd floor looks like.

Back on the tour, our second stop was to see the Brooklyn Bridge. It was hard to walk on the bridge with Julia few years ago because of the rain, and today we gave up because of the heat.

We took any opportunity to cool down a bit.

"Mom, I want to build a house like that for me," says Sofia at the Oculus. 

This trip has been great for her to appreciate different types of architecture. 

Although she downplays her interest in different constructions, denying my observations that she might become an engineer or an architect, Sofia constantly points out different styles: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Bauhaus... How does she know that? Books again. "I learned reading Iggy Peck, Architect"

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_station_(PATH)

The $4 billion Oculus station house, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, consists of white ribs that interlock high above the ground. The interior of the station house contains two underground floors, which house part of the Westfield World Trade Center mall. The transportation hub connects the various modes of transportation in Lower Manhattan, from the Fulton Center in the east to the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal in the west, and includes connections to various New York City Subway stations. It is the fifth-busiest transportation hub in the New York metropolitan area. The new station has received mixed reviews: although the hub has been praised for its design, it has also been criticized for its high costs and extended delays.

World Trade Centre Memorial.

Second highlight of Sofia's day was shopping - for the first time - at Target. She got a super cute and inexpensive dress. Unfortunately her excitement to walk around with a Target bag was so much, that she didn't want to save it inside my backpack. The target bag never made it to the hotel. It was forgotten in one of the tour buses, causing some tears, of course!

I just love all the modern, old, nice, strange, beautiful, exotic, fascinating visual diversity of NYC.

                                                    

The financial district was also a point of interest for Sofia... and disappointment. She wanted to see the Fearless Girl Statue across from the Charging Bull-  her sister took a picture with her here four years ago - but only the Charging Bull was there, making her mad.  

"They should make a new Fearless Girl punching the bull on the butt!"

PS: A funny piece of information... She refused to walk to the Stock Exchange Building because she was so mad that the Fearless Girl has been removed from the original spot, but I just found out that the cute statue has been moved exactly there: to the Stock Exchange Building. Should I tell her???

                                          

Next stop: Chelsea area. 

We got up to the High Line.  What a beautiful piece of successful urban design.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line

The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf. The abandoned spur has been redesigned as a "living system" drawing from multiple disciplines which include landscape architecture, urban design, and ecology. The High Line was inspired by the 4.7 km (2.9 mi) long Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway), a similar project in Paris completed in 1993.  

Between the buildings: the art of Brazilian graffiti artist Kobra.

More art.

Sofia has a comment about every piece architecture. 

The Vessel was her favourite. 

FROM WIKIEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vessel_(structure)

Vessel (TKA) is a structure and visitor attraction built as part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Built to plans by the British designer Thomas Heatherwick, the elaborate honeycomb-like structure rises 16 stories and consists of 154 flights of stairs, 2,500 steps, and 80 landings for visitors to climb. Vessel is the main feature of the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Hudson Yards Public Square. Funded by Hudson Yards developer Related Companies, its final cost is estimated at $200 million.

The concept of Vessel was unveiled to the public on September 14, 2016. Construction began in April 2017, with the pieces being manufactured in Italy and shipped to the United States. Vessel topped out in December 2017 with the installation of its highest piece, and it opened to the public on March 15, 2019. In January 2021, following three suicides at the Vessel, it was indefinitely closed to the public. The Vessel reopened in May 2021, then indefinitely closed again after another suicide two months later.

The TKA abbreviation in the structure's name stands for "Temporarily Known As". Upon its opening, Vessel received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its prominent placement within Hudson Yards, and others deriding the structure as extravagant. Vessel was also initially criticized for its restrictive copyright policy regarding photographs of the structure, as well as its lack of accessibility for disabled visitors, although both issues were subsequently addressed.

The long but fun day ended with a delicious dinner at Brazilian Churrascaria Plataforma.

You can learn with Sofia: it doesn't matter if you birthday was two weeks ago, you can still get free cake and the staff to sing you happy birthday. Smart girl!

Sunset back in the hotel to frame our awesome day!