A walk in new york of course and can not fit in an article. I will dare not to lose my memories, but also to share them with my friends.

The entrance to Manhattan It is good to do it above ground and not underground, passing over the three bridges of unique beauty, the Brooklyn Bridge, The Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge, to form a shocking first impression, proportional to the impressions we had watching the film Manhattan of Woody Allen!

The second World Trade Center (World Trade Center) is the new building complex on the site of the first to be destroyed by the 11/6 attacks. Includes XNUMX new skyscrapers, of which have been completed One World Trade, This makes it a perfect choice for people with diabetes and for those who want to lose weight or follow a balanced diet. Freedom tower, the Four World Trade Center and Seven World Trade Center, the monument and museum for those killed in the attacks and a transport hub Path. The tallest and the main building in the complex, the World Trade Center 1 is the tallest building in the United States since November 2014, as well as in the Western Hemisphere.

In the new complex there is a Mall and below the train station, in an impressive design by our acquaintance Santiago Calatrava.

The monument 9-11 Ground Zero, a simple and unpretentious giant hole with waterfalls, to remember the names of the victims of that frothy day.

Just in front of the spot Zero, one of the most commercial places in the city, the EATALY  emphatically states its presence Italian Gastronomy.

The Eataly in New York is a large indoor mall, at least 2.000 meters in which one can find any Italian taste one desires. It includes countless shops with Italian cheeses, cold cuts and fresh pasta, seafood, meat, vegetables, pasta production workshops, all kinds of delicatessen in terms of raw materials and catering, wine bar, coffee stations, trattorias, pizzerias, patisseries and restaurants! THE Italian gastronomy in its glory (of course a special chapter follows)

Thousands of people parade every day knowing the Italian gastronomy, in its entirety, but also in its individual sections. An in-depth approach to the space required the appropriate time and of course characteristic photos and valuable conclusions will be presented in a special article.

The Highline is a 2,33-mile park in New York City, built on a section of a former freight rail called West Side Line. This railway stretched along its southwestern side Manhattan. The High Line opened to trains in 1934 and connected directly to factories and warehouses, which allowed trains to pass through buildings and transport milk, meat, and other products to the market without disrupting traffic. The development of freight transport in the 1950s led to a reduction in rail traffic, and the last train ran in 1980 with three frozen turkey wagons.

In the 1990s, as the line remained unused, wild grasses, shrubs and trees grew on the gravel along the abandoned railway line. In 1999, the non-profit organization of his friends was created high line,  by residents of the neighborhood who promoted the idea of ​​turning it into an elevated park or green promenade. Ten years later the Highline opened to the public on June 8, 2009. This southern section includes five stairs and lifts on 14th Street and 16th Street.

The park's attractions include naturalized plants inspired by the wildlife landscape that grew up in the deserted lines. The view of the city streets and the river Hudson river through its dense aerial vegetation Highline is really impressive and that is why the route is extremely popular with visitors and residents of the city.

The project of the High Line helped in the regeneration of the neighborhood and in its development, without this not including the problems of the residential development for its old inhabitants (change of uses and values ​​of land, increase of rents). Since 2009, more than 100 projects have been completed or are in progress in the area, one of which is the complex Amor, Love  designed by the famous diva of architecture Zaha Hadid, before he recently passed away.

Something that sets New York apart from other western capitals is its smells. Wherever you are, you will smell cumin, curry, fried garlic and onion and other spices, and you will meet one of 8.000 street food shops, which are daily transported to their hangouts and offer passers-by flavors and aromas from cultures that speak 800 different languages.  The street food is without a doubt one of the most fascinating elements of the American metropolis.

The sizes of the on-board stands vary, as well as the variety of dishes they offer, starting from slices of melon, watermelon or pineapple and ending with a rich menu. However, in all cases they give color, smells and temporary satiety. And it is not uncommon to see queues of 20-30 people waiting to taste their favorite street food.

And as you get out of it macy's - one of the most decent fashion department stores in New York - you fall into a shop that displays the products and with a moving light sign! The Middle East present with falafel, kofta, shrimp, fish all over rice as lamb gyro, chicken on pita and chicken kebab.

Of course, the daily celebration of flavors does not lack Greeks, such as the one depicted "Uncle Gussy's" which since 1971 offers traditional Greek cuisine, with the Parthenon logo based on cutlery columns and the reminder "book your next event with us".

The The Empire State Building (Imperial State Building), ie New York) is one of the tallest and most historic skyscrapers in the world. It is located at the intersection of 5th Avenue, no. 350, and 34th west street, has 102 floors and its architectural style is Art Deco. Has been the tallest skyscraper on Earth for 41 years, from its completion in 1931 to the construction of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 1972 where after the destruction of these towers by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Empire State Building was rebuilt and remained the tallest building in all of New York until April 30, 2012, when it was surpassed by the World Trade Center 1.

In its construction Empire State Building employed 3.400 workers, most of them immigrants from Europe, but also hundreds of Mohok Indians. According to the official report, 5 workers were killed in accidents at work during the construction. Its builders were paid almost twice as much as those of other buildings, but were forced to work at a very fast pace, to the point of endurance. Anyone who was delayed, even slightly, was fired immediately, to be replaced within a short time with one of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed during the Great Depression. As a result, construction took only 410 days. The skyscraper has 6.500 windows and 73 elevators. The stairs from the sidewalk to the 102nd floor are 1.860 and the total floor area is 257.210 square meters.

As you take the elevator to 86th floor, on its roof you see a shocking video lesson which represents your ascent at the time the project was being made, that is, you leave the projectile for the sky and right-left, scaffolding is assembled with demonic speed, metal beams are screwed, floors are laid, floors are covered, and this 86th floor, when the roof is placed there and you calm down that you will not be in space. Fascinating spectacle lasts a minute, as long as the time to climb.

The spectacle from the 86th floor is breathtaking. On a relatively wide terrace-balcony that surrounds the building which continues to the 101st floor, is the observatory of the most beautiful view in the world. View to the north and in the background  Central park.

An artistic landscape, which emerged without planning as a whole, but where the perfection of each element-building, in the process contributed to the creation of a unique composition.

Looking south and into the Financial District where New York's tallest building stands out, the World Trade Center, West ο Hudson river and in the background the Atlantic Ocean, while the movement of the clouds creates games with the constant alternations in the lighting of the city.

The Central Park (Central Park) is the largest public park (3,41 km) in New York. With about 25 million visitors a year, it is the busiest park in the United States. and at the same time one of the most famous parks in the world. It contains artificial lakes, extensive hiking trails, two skating rinks, a zoo, a wildlife sanctuary, an open-air theater, large grassy areas for sports or leisure, and playgrounds.

Rocks, granites on which the huge skyscrapers rested. New York's need for a large public park was expressed by the poet William Cullen Bryant and by the first American landscape architect, Andrew Jackson Downing, who began to publicize the city's need for a public park in 1844. The Central Park finally delivered in 1873, while over ten million loads of materials had been transported out of the park, including soil and rocks. More than four million trees, shrubs and plants representing about 1.500 species were transplanted in the park.

A short passage from the exhibition Volcanics Wines where wines from volcanic countries were represented, and where Santorini was represented by Gaia by Giannis Paraskevopoulos, so that we do not miss the Aegean too much.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York (Museum of Modern Art or MoMA) located in the Manhattan area and is considered to hold one of the most important collections of modern art in the world today, with works by the most important painters of the 20th century. His building MOMA in its current form, it consists of six floors and occupies a total of 58.000 μm housing the exhibits which include more than 150.000 individual pieces in addition to about 22.000 films and 4 million film snapshots.

Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Joan Miro, Piet Mondrian, Paul Jackson Pollock, Salvator Dali Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol are some of its protagonists MoMA Museum, with works that changed the perception of the art of painting.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is an art museum located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His permanent collection contains works of various artistic currents, such as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Modern Art, while hosting special exhibitions throughout the year. The building was designed by the American architect  Frank Lloyd Wright. The museum first opened in 1937, but first opened on New York's Fifth Avenue building in 1959 and was named after him.  Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and art collector.

Ο Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting works of art in 1929 and in 1937 founded the Foundation  Solomon R. Guggenheim where he began exhibiting the works he bought in his apartment. In the early years, he began exhibiting works of abstract art and specific works by artists such as Kandisky, Mondrian, Chagal, Modigliani, Picasso. The museum's collection began to grow, prompting the American architect to ask Frank Lloyd Wright to design the new museum building.

The new museum building opened on October 21, 1959, ten years after his death Guggenheim and six months after his death Wright. The museum building is considered one of the most important works of the 20th century. During the three years 2005-2008, maintenance works were carried out outside the museum, while 2019 is the year of celebration of 60 years. The museological view of the building, where the works are presented along an inverted cone-shaped ramp which on each floor is connected with horizontal conventional rooms, as well as the rich collection of works, made it one of the most important museums in the world.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known as The Met (New York Metropolitan Museum of Art), is one of the largest and most important art museums in the world. It was founded in 1872 and is located on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. His collections contain more than two million works of art and include separate areas of Greco-Roman, Medieval, Islamic, Asian and unique works of contemporary art, as well as photographs, clothing, weapons, armor and musical instruments.

One of his most emblematic works MET is his work Jacques-Louis David  (1748-1825), by the French painter -introduced the neoclassical style and was considered the leading painter of his time- Death of Socrates. The work is a classic example of it, newly introduced by him David, voltage neoclassicism in painting with bright colors, iconic figures and the metaphor of one of ancient morality. The symbolic and aesthetic analyzes in relation to his 12 students and the design engravings between them, have created a huge field of aesthetic data.

Ο mark rothko  (1903 -1970) Latvian painter who belonged to the stream of abstract expressionist painting, although he always denied any relevant classification. He is considered one of the most emblematic and at the same time most commercial painters of our century and his works are in a prominent position in MET.

Ο Angelis Nannos, a Greek boy, was a big surprise for us at MET. A well-traveled and diverse personality, for the last 5 years he has been living in New York and doing various food tour in city kitchens. He took us on a tour of the gastronomic dimension of some of MET's exhibits, where we really got to know unknown ways of approaching art.

Crossing the east opposite bank from Manhattan, at its height Empire Statebuilding, and in its area Brooklyn, on its bank East River, it is located Williamsburg one of the nicest and alternative neighborhoods of New York.

This is exactly where Smorgarsburg, the best foodie market of New York where every Saturday at Williamsburg and every Sunday at Prospect Park (in Brooklyn too), one can see all the cuisines of the world gathered and of course a good picture of the new trends in street food city's. Around  100 scenes are set up in a large open space from 11 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon and above 20.000 people will spend the weekend to taste the flavors of the world.

Here you will find the nursery from which sprung businesses that started with a cart or grilling or frying with a bottle of propane, or a rudimentary food truck and now have stores or chain stores in many American cities. They created whole companies that take over catering for events and do and delivered. The Williamsburg is the place where immigrants live from their jobs and with the hope of the American dream, to become one of the many success stories city's.

And there is no greater joy for them foodies, to top dishes from different canteens, and then, together, sit on the big benches and enjoy the food of the world.

Potatoes have never tasted so good Loaded papitas ("Loaded" potatoes) are offered as Papitas Queso (flavored with fontina, cheddar, jack & aji Amarillo), as Papitas Huacatay (lemon, garlic Aioli), Crispy Papitas (ketchup), Papitas Cilantro (parmesan, garlic & cilantro mayo) and no number. And for her seller's look what to write first?

Among the kiosks we met we singled them out Latin American (Mexico, Bolivia, etc.), the African (Morocco, Tunisia, etc.), of Asian which prevailed (from the well-known Thai, Taiwanese, Chinese to canteens from Afghanistan and the Himalayas), without missing the Italians with their pizzas (they carry them on a wood-fired oven to bake them!).

At a time when most people work in office work, or in knowledge and information management jobs, cooking time is minimal. Few are now embodied works of people, even their memory. Here in the open markets, along with the beautiful flavors, we also enjoy it food creation ritual, which of course is more than just taste and satiety.

The prices of the dishes range between $ 7 and $ 15 while the quantities of each portion are extremely rich, which means that in addition to spectacle and gastronomic biodiversity, served lentils for satiety. It is no coincidence that every Saturday at Smorgarsburg you only get smiles.

The New York City Subway is one of the oldest and most extensive urban train networks in the world, with 468 stations in operation, 337 km of tracks, 1.355 km of tracks in total, with more than 5 million passengers per day, the fourth busiest station in the world after TokyoOf Moscow and Seoul.

Its main feature Subway of New York are the huge trains (4 times bigger than the Athens Metro), its operation 24 hours a day and the frequency of arrival (many times - during peak periods - it is every minute). Of course, due to age and other reasons (many homeless people live in the subway) it does not play a leading role in the field of cleaning. However, it is unimaginably convenient and if you find out, you have the city in your pocket!

Of course there are beautiful routes in the places where the subway is above ground and many landscapes are reminiscent of landscapes like the works Edward Hopper (panel From Williamsburg Bridge)

H chinatown, is a region with one of the highest concentrations of Chinese in the western hemisphere, making it one of the oldest Chinese national pockets outside of Asia. From their first settlement to the present day - Chinese immigrants reportedly arrived in the area in the 1840s - the Chinatown It has gone through many stages of development, but it still remains one of the most interesting places in Manhattan.

At Chinatown of Manhattan, the most "western" Chinese restaurant is Xi'an Famous Foods, as it advertises the same Western Chinese Cuisine. With the open kitchen you can see the dishes being made in front of you, while the architecture and layout refer to a simple western restaurant, store type self-service, with the corresponding cheap prices of about $ 10 each. You read the posted menu with the indicative photos, you order and they notify you with your name. We tried, Spicy lamb noodles in soup, Stewed pork noodles, Vegetable noodres.

The Xi'an Famous Foods is the epitome of the realization of the American dream, and the story of the Chinese small shop that has developed into an important chain of stores can be seen in the video of the store, as described by its fun, cook and author Alain Bourdain.

The characteristic landmarks of New York City in terms of architecture are that in the old buildings of the city of the early 20th century, regardless of style, the creation was imposed external scales for the case of fire, which although they created some deformations in the facades of the buildings finally created a stylistic identity.

In many of the emergency stairwells, you will see, even sadly, the apartment owners sunbathing, or having breakfast while enjoying the view and the cityscape.

The city is beautified by trucks, these wonderful trucks that cross America with their huge carriages and that we have all known from American movies. In New York they circulate with shorter lengths, their main feature is its impressive faces. Whether they are means of transport, concrete mixers or "garbage cans", their aesthetics are impeccable.

Inside Manhattan, all means of transportation have their followers, from skateboards, skates, bicycles, snowshoes and other scooters, of course many harleydavidson, and all kinds of races. Outside of southern Manhattan, in Harlem and its neighborhoods Brooklyn and Bronx one of the most interesting features of the city, is when you see passing cars with African American drivers and music of their homeland in percussion! The same thing happens in his heart Little Italy with the corresponding American-Italians circulating proudly with the Ferrari their, the Porsche  or the Laborgini  with the corresponding Italian songs. In Astoria I did not have time to go and I do not have the Greek experience there.

Our walk in New York ends in a temple of knowledge. The  Columbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States, considered by many to be the most important university in New York. His campus is located in northern Manhattan and was founded in 1754 as King's College by the Church of England and was the first college to be established in New York and the fifth in the 13 colonies that later formed the United States.

It was the first American university to offer studies at Anthropology and to Political science. Moreover, diverse literary and artistic movements, such as Renaissance of Haarlem and Beat movement formed at Columbia University in the twentieth century.

It is especially touching for us Greeks to enter the majestic building of the Central Library of the University and in front of the entrance above the Ionian columns to read in huge letters engraved in marble the names: HOMER - HERODOTOS - SOPHOCLES - PLATO - ARISTOTLE - DEMOSTHENES - CICERO - VERGIL

 

A walk in New York: conclusion

A place that you take in very easily, that swims in art, in diversity and that what happens in the impressive skies of the city, has little to do with what is happening on earth, where millions of people around the world are looking to make their dream come true their.