Walking Tour of Manhattan

Beginning of another scorcher of a day here in Manhattan. Forecast calls for temps in the low 90’s and no one talks about the humidity. Got to be really up there. Full day of walking so after a good buffet breakfast, on our way. First stop, Rockefeller Center and the Top of the Rock observation deck.

Got here a little early so we thought we’d take in a bit of the Today Show being filmed here in Rockefeller Plaza.

OK, time for us to go to the top. Located on the 70^th floor of 30 Rockefeller Center, the Top of the Rock is one of three well known observation decks in Manhattan. The other two observation decks are the Empire State Building and One World Observatory. Our Sightseeing pass includes free admission to the Top of the Rock saving us a cool $38.00. Interesting note: Rockefeller Center consists of 19 buildings situated on 22 acres of prime Manhattan real estate. Building started in 1931, with 30 Rockefeller Center being completed in 1933. That’s pretty amazing when you think of the construction technology back then and being able to complete a 66-story skyscraper in 2 years. Just goes to show you what money can do!

A bit of haze was still around when we got to the top but that doesn’t spoil the amazing views. BTW- the elevator covers 66 floors in 43 seconds! We’re both a bit smaller now. To reach the top we needed to transfer to another elevator for the remaining floors. Here’s a few snapshots of the city.

Back down to street level and our next stop, the Museum of Modern Art, or MOMA as locals know it. Again, as part of our Pass, admission was free. Great air conditioning! It’s only about 10:30am but the heat is coming on fast! Glad the museum wasn’t too far from Rockefeller Center.

Not sure why the name of this museum centers on “modern” art, we saw art from famous artists that were from the 1800s. Monet, Cezanne, Munch, Van Gogh all have paintings, drawings and / or sculptures on display. That’s where we started, here’s a quick look at the classics.

So now, this is why it’s called the Museum of Modern Art

All this viewing makes one hungry. Fortunately for us, we remember our Fika training from Scandinavia and head for the museum café. Grabbed up a reasonable couple of cappuccinos and tasty pastries to enjoy over the next 45 minutes or so.

Back on the streets we decided to walk to the Morgan Museum just because of the name. Unfortunately, the Morgan Museum is not park of the Sightseeing Pass so we’re going to pass on going in. That’s fine, instead we’ll walk by the Empire State Building and see how long it takes to get back to our hotel. We have reservations to go to the observation deck at 8:15pm tonight, so we’ll be back.

Takes about 30 minutes to walk to the Empire State Building so off we go for our 8:15pm appointment. Got there a little early but since there was absolutely no line, the lady at the door let us in early. Pretty cool sights of Manhattan at night. Here’s a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Tomorrow we head back to the financial district to catch the 911 Museum and One World Observatory. But for now, that’s it.