The subway station at night

There's never any reason to smile when you're waiting for the subway fairly late at night, like between 10 pm and 12 am. No reason at all, unless you are standing there in the heat with a friend, able to talk and pass the time over the course of the 10 minutes to half hour that you are waiting. 

I used to defend the subway, even at night. It used to be so reliable, and so much cheaper. But this summer they raised the price of a metro card and slowed down or eliminated most services. And maybe the heat slows the trains down too? Maybe by the time you got to the platform, you just missed it and the next one is delayed because of... the poor economy? (This always happens to me.)

Either way, sometimes you have to get creative and entertain yourself when waiting for your ride home to take you home. There are plenty of people around who are waiting too, but they are strangers, so all you have is your iPod, the games on your phone, and sometimes your camera. Despite the trash and rats and weird leaky things hanging from the ceiling, there are photo opportunities even in this underground dungeon. 

Some are smiling right at you, so go ahead and take their picture!

(light bulbs hanging from the ceiling at the 42nd Street NRW station)

Inside and (outside) the Palace Hotel

The CW's Gossip Girl has had tourists and even locals in NYC visiting the show's famous filming spots. Places seen on the show, like Central Park, The Meatpacking District, Dylan's Candy Bar, Bendel's and The Palace Hotel, have been frequented by everyone fascinated with the characters and luxurious New York backdrop. There are even on-located tours provided for $30 or $40 that start out at The Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st. Most of the 1st season's juicy episodes were shot here, and I stopped by right away to see if I'd be lucky enough to spot the cast filming.

I never did, but I thanks to a tip on twitter, I once saw them filming on East 55th for an exterior apartment building shot at The Milan. All of the cast was friendly except for "Serena"!

Anyway, one night I went to The Palace Hotel with a friend, and I have to say, I wasn't too impressed with the interior or the bar, 'Gilt', which is featured several times in the show. Everything, even in New York, appears bigger and better on screen than it does in person (except for Time Square I have to say).

The 'Gilt' bar


At the 'Gilt' bar

View from inside the Courtyard of the nearby buildings

Night shots

Because it's been so hot out during the day lately, I've been going out in the evenings more when it cools off a little bit. Movies with a view are much better in the dark, and participating in Central Park's Film Festival is easier when the sun starts to go down (especially when it's raining).

Even shopping on a Saturday in the city is easier when you start around 5 or 6 pm. Stores stay open just late enough, but not late enough that you shop too much or as much as you would when it's early afternoon (this is good)!

One of the greatest things about nighttime in the city is the view of illuminated building tops. The lighted points and edges make great photo opportunities and are of course interesting and beautiful.

The Empire State Building, seen from 21st & 6th


Met Life Tower, view from Broadway and 23rd Street

Building in Union Square, on East 16th Street

another building in Union Square, on East 16th Street

Movies with a View

On Thursday nights throughout this summer, Brooklyn Bridge Park has been a host to Movies With a View, out on the lawn overlooking the skyn of downtown Manhattan. Brooklyn Bridge Park is located in DUMBO, Brooklyn (DUMBO = Down Under The Manhattan Bridge).

Last night, Catch Me If You Can was showing and I got there early to get a good spot on the lawn and take in the views before the sun set. Before long, it got crowded and dark, and the movie started. It was a great movie and it felt sort of like camping in the midst of the heat wave New York has been having!

The Brooklyn Bridge and the screen for the movie


View of the skyline and the crowd on the lawn

Rabbit ears

One day on my way to Sheeps Meadow I passed by a mini-photoshoot taking place near the bottom of Central Park near 59th Street and 7th Avenue. Someone in rabbit ears was posing underneath a bridge and I was tempted to believe it might be a Gossip Girl photoshot, A-ha!

It's always fun to come across a photoshoot taking place somewhere in the city, especially on Madison Avenue where the fancy shops and people are.

Meatpacking

There are a lot of great restaurants and clubs in the Meatpacking District, but there are also many great photo opps and artistic sites there too. I used to think that the only time I would ever end up there would be to go to a trendy club or restaurant, but I would never get a chance to do that anyway, so when the new High Line park opened up above the Meatpacking District, running from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, I had the opportunity to make it over there for a little sight-seeing.

Cool mural off of Washington Street



Spotted on the ground on Washington Street, in front of the Standard Hotel




The High Line Park

The Empire State Building

Everywhere I go in the city, I see one particularly tall building from almost every street corner and public park - The Empire State Building. The best view of course is either from an airplane window or from right below it on 5th Avenue and 34th Street, or from nearby in or around Herald Square. But I love to see it when I'm farther away inside a Chelsea art gallery or maybe out and about in the Flat Iron District or the SoHo area. It's always a wonderful and familiar sight!


view from 33rd Street and Park Avenue


view from Madison Square Park/Flat Iron District

view from Bryant Park on 42nd Street between 5th & 6th

view from the elevated subway in Astoria, Queens


view from the Leows movie theater on 32nd & 2nd

Near Gramercy Park

Thanks to a suggestion I received on Twitter (@NYCphotos), I learned about a neat little neighborhood near Gramercy Park. The part of town is called Gramercy and it's below Murray Hill on the east side of Manhattan. I'd glimpsed Gramercy Park from a cab window once before and always wanted to come back and explore. I finally did and though it was raining, it was pleasant to see the beautiful homes, stoops, hotel entrances, etc. 

Central Park animals

I love seeing the animals in Central Park—though I have yet to visit the Central Park zoo! While visiting Turtle Pond, I spent what felt like an hour just watching the turtles swim around near the rocks. At one point, just before it poured rain, there were a bunch of people around, including a little girl, all watching the turtles peek their heads above the water and through the duckweed, looking for food. Most of the turtles were your basic size, but one in particular was humongous! The little girl reached her hand out to the turtle and he almost ate it haha. I felt bad for the turtle because he seemed hungry so later on after I got a snack at Public Fare, the concession stand inside the Delacorte Theater, I brought a little bit of it back to give the turtle, but because of the torrential downpour that just happened, all of the little turtles were gone.

I waited for them to come back, but they never did... 

^(lol, I don't mean to sound sad or serious here, but it's true!)

Turtle Pond

The biggest turtle they had there!

Three ducks in a row in Turtle Pond

Central Park settings

I heard about a place in Central Park that I've never been to. It made me realize that I always only go to the same three places when I go to Central Park: The Pond, Sheeps Meadow and Bethesda Terrace. It made me realize that I have a lot more places to see while I'm here! So I decided to finally venture beyond the terrace, up Cedar Hill and into the area where Turtle Pond, Belvedere Castle and the ball fields of the Great Lawn are (and it's a really large lawn!).

This is a great area. It's located I'd say near the 76th or 79th Street entrance from 5th Avenue, but in the center of the park.

View of Turtle Pond

Belvedere Castle above Turtle Pond

View from Belvedere Castle

*and it absolutely poured rain right after I took these photos!