Here are a collection of the best photographs which I took on my recent trip to NYC.

 

       

  

Well the time has come to head back over the pong from where I came from.
I have to say that I've had the most awesome of times here; it's been a great experience and I have made sure that I still have plenty to do... a return trip is a must sometime.

In the past couple of days we’ve been to St. Patrick’s cathedral, walked along Brooklyn Bridge which was a very worthwhile experience indeed, and spent time in Greenwich village. Also made sure that I topped up my wardrobe in Abercrombie & Fitch (love this store) and used some present money to buy a special souvenir from Tiffany’s.

Now in free limousine to the airport! Not long to go now until 2009! x

Source: Myself today. :)

Extraordinary. Never thought I'd sit in a Starbucks on Christmas Day! Not as bad as it sounds - the city is alive and buzzing - totally different to what I was expecting.

After opening the pressies we went for a long walk in Central Park. Lovely scene. People playing and families chatting, skaters skating and me photographing :P. Beautiful day, not too cold and wonderful blue skies yet again. Later on we headed down to 5th Avenue which was totally packed full of people again, quite amazing; would never see that back in the UK. Went to Starbucks for a coffee (or in my case a Hot Chocolate – how can you beat that, surely?)

Oh, I must mention my present. My parents gave me a real gold chain – a very expensive one looking at it – which I already love. Have always wanted one and will keep it on as much as possible now. I’m a lucky boy… will give me something to sell if the Credit Crunch gets much worse. ;-)

  

Myself and my sister in the Waldolf=Astoria, and below a photo of a man about to fall over in Central Park…

*teeth trembling*
COOOOLLLLDDDD!! is how I would describe today... I think my toes are still defrosting. Blue skies again in NYC today however the temperature took a nose-dive to -12C; perhaps the coldest I've witnessed in my 19 years on this Earth...

…What then better to take an open-top bus tour!! It was kinda pre-planned but we should have changed it into retrospect. Anyway! Today we took the bus tour down to Lower Manhattan which was delightful. Through Greenwich Village and SoHo – very nice to see the New Yorkian versions; nice and edgy.

Finally we arrived in the financial district and had a look around the Ground Zero. A bit too frozen to appreciate it I think so hopefully will go back some time in a warmer climate! However we did go into the little old church next door which miraculously survived pretty much in tact. Some very moving accounts of 9/11 inside.

Also discovered a bell that the Lord Mayor of London had presented to New York as an act of friendship; very honourable.

Later on we took a look around Wall Street – a wonderful little district in my opinion – reminds me very much of The City in London. Here’s the photo to prove my visit:

Hey all! Just at the end of my second full day here in NYC. What can I say? Just wow. I can certainly see why this and London are considered world cities. They have a totally international culture and have a special wow-factor.

Today was a lovely day with beautiful blue skies and not too chilly. Snow seems to have all gone. With this in mind we decided to take the opportunity to ascend the Empire State Building.

Luckily I had decided to pre-book tickets online because when we arrived there was a 4 hour queue! So definitely recommended as we got to skip every single queue all the way up the tower.

I found the elevators particularly impressive; they rose 80 stories in the same time as the one in my halls does (only 15 stories), and with less rattle. To be honest, if you were blind you wouldn’t realise that you are moving. The Art Deco original interior is also impressive – glad they have kept it all! We went in late afternoon and stayed until sunset, which again I recommend. It was stunning!

Just arrived at a very snowy JFK Airport in the USA! :D
First time to New York having only been to Florida in the past. Now sitting in the back of a yellow taxicab travelling in the evening rush hour. Will take about half an hour to get to our hotel in the centre.
Will report back in a few days with some photos!

Last night I wondered down towards the Thames to take in the atmosphere before I leave for New York this weekend. Was lovely, if a bit chilly, down at Trafalgar Square where the Mayor had organised some carol singers from local schools to sing.

Parents, tourists and Londoners began to gather around the tree as the singers sang all the usual suspects. It is a time like that where you can really appriciate humanity and your confidence in it is restored.

On to the Rockefeller Center!

Yes, you heard it right, take a look for yourself…

The laughter is delightfully like a sitcom.

Today, as part of my architecture course, I visited Leadenhall Market in the City of London. I had come here before but it was obviously chosen as a place to visit on my course for its almost unique Victorian character. It truly is a wonderful place to stand in, especially during the working week where the City bankers still get their shoes 'shined' by hand under the market's cover.

The layout of the current market has actually been here since the 14th Century - very impressive - but did you know that it also stands directly on top of the original Roman Forum? Thus trading here has been going on for 2 millennia and so I can see no place more fitting than for this area to host the modern trading floors of 21st Century markets. The market recently posed as the backdrop to the Diagon Alley area for the first of the Harry Potter films.

It's a beautiful day and I'm currently having a wonderful walk around the Broadgate Centre, adjacent to Liverpool Street station in central London. The current development is a 1980’s construction of mainly Post-Modern style office blocks arranged around a pedestrian circus. For its era I think that it is actually quite successful, a pleasure to walk around today and its lack of focus on the car is very refreshing indeed.

The site does have an interesting past however. Did you know that it was once the site of a big train terminus named Broad Street?

Opened in 1865 it had swiftly become the 3rd busiest station in London and served as the terminus for the North London Railway, now the London Overground. According to Wikipedia, “at the start of the 20th century, more than one train a minute arrived or left the

station during the morning rush hour, with over 27 million passengers in 1902.” Over the 20th Century though, the station suffered a gradual decline with more passengers converting to the new tube lines and bus routes, and thus by the 1980’s it was decided the few remaining services be transferred to Liverpool Street and the station closed.

Sadly no parts of the station survive today but there are a few images:

  

Photographs taken by myself today.

My term-term address is:

Room 15/D
Marylebone Halls of Residence,
35 Marylebone Road,
London,
NW1 5LS

Last night I moved into my Halls of Residence on Marylebone Road. It's a 21 storey highrise immediately opposite Madame Tussauds. Baker Street tube and Marylebone Station are literally across the road from me and so I can be home in an hour and a half, or in Canary Wharf in 20 minutes on all Jubilee Line. Oxford Street is a 10 minute walk down Baker Street, and Regents Park is just a few minutes away.



I'm on the 15th floor of the building and have a West-facing room. The view from my window extends from Knightsbridge in the South, over Hyde Park, Notting Hill, Maida Vale and Wembley Stadium in the distance. Below my kitchen window is Madame Tussauds and Regents Park.

From the corridor there is a fantastic view past the BT tower, over The City cluster and on to Canary Wharf.

I've set up this blog as a diary of my time and experiences in London over the next year. I'll hopefully update it as much as possible as I study first year Architecture at the University of Westminster.

I'll include personal experiences, my ideas for the city and life, and my Architectual studies also.

Happy reading...