[USA Trip] Day 02 - Exploring New York City: SUMMIT One Vanderbilt + The High Line

Good morning New York! We woke up at 8am to start our day. Our accommodation was located at W 41st Street, which was just behind Bryant Park and the New York Public Library. We made our way by foot to the popular deli - Broad Nosh Bagels Deli & Catering for breakfast. The distance was around 10-15mins. It was a great place for a morning bagel! The deli is always busy and do expect significant lines during peak hours. 

We were lucky to be able to get a table the moment we stepped in. Although it was crowded and cramped inside, the eatery place was clean, and the service was efficient too! 

The famous Rockefeller Centre in Midtown Manhattan is a NYC landmark that comes as no surprise to be one of the more popular tourist attractions in NYC.

I had fun at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Centre. In the store, shoppers can play with the game consoles freely, and no one will give you any weird looks. This is ultimately what I like best about the United States. Nobody really bothers about what people do around them. In short, no one really bothers how you dress, how you act, or what you do, as long as you don't get physical or be a nuisance.

The skyline of Manhattan has one of the most beautiful views of modern society and skyscrapers in the world, and to fully experience this, we had a booking for a visit to the new observatory at the Vanderbilt Building. However, prior to that we made a trip down to the famous american toy store, FAO Schwarz to check out the JELLYCAT series which was having a showcase at the Rockefeller Centre.

 

Prior to our trip, we did some research and studies online, and we discovered that there is a new observation deck attraction in Manhattan which opened in October 2021. SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is New York City's newest landmark, and it blends elements of art and technology to take us to an entire new level of the New York City ‘observation deck’ concept.

What attracted me to this place was that it was not just a conventional observation deck. They boasted various unique experiences and themed rooms that seemed very interesting. 

I chose a morning slot on a weekday at 11am and booked my tickets from their website a week in advance. At around 1045am, I proceeded to the entrance and thankfully the lines weren't that long. There was a swift bag check, and we were also provided with shoe covers so that the glass flooring at the observatory would be protected and clean. We took the lift to the observation deck, and it was an extremely swift ride as we reached the top (ninety-first floor) in less then ten seconds.

We entered the first room - 'Air: Transcendence'. It was a truly 'transcending' experience to just look around and see glass everywhere and the reflections and illusions it created were something I had never seen or experienced before.

The views of Manhattan were stunning, especially the Empire State Building.

The next room after that was 'Reflect', which consisted of metal droplet-styled art installations

The next room was my favorite - 'Air: Affinity' which had numerous floating ‘orbs’. These orbs were balloons but were chrome in colour and this room was amazingly fun.

People were having a lot of fun in this room bouncing and sending the orbs upwards and taking a lot of pics. However, I had a minor peeve as what turned me off slightly about this room was that the balloons constantly kept bursting and the security guards constantly needed to warn people who were too rough with the balloons. It's not really something major, but it was a slight annoyance for me! Nevertheless, it was a great place to get some Instaworthy pictures. Baby and I soon got used to the loud sounds and got some good shots for our Instagram posts and reels.

We proceeded to the cafe to have some cocktails. 

To sum up my experience, this place is a wonderful observation deck, which allowed for amazing views of one of my favorite cities in the world. It did not seem chaotic despite the crowds, as it was well-managed. I visited on a weekday in the morning so do keep that in mind as well when you plan your visit. It was a truly unique experience for me! 

Next, we visited the famous High Line - it has become a must-see in the last few years and this 'park' was a beautiful, suspended walkway built on the route of a former railway and is about 1.45 miles long. It offers some of the most beautiful views of New York City while providing a privileged walking environment.

The High Line is one of our absolute favorite parks in New York, and we really enjoyed our walk. We loved all the sculptures and wall arts. The good news is that the High Line is a totally free activity!

New York City's 150-foot, honeycomb-like structure - The Vessel offers an iconic New York City experience from every angle! 

After leaving the high line, we walked towards Chelsea neighbourhood, and ended up at Chelsea Market. It is a wonderful place to pop in to grab a quick snack/refreshments, or to have a full meal.

We ordered a sharing portion of Fresh Oysters before leaving the premises! I enjoyed the laid back feeling of spending time here, while indulging in the awesome gourmet food found at Chelsea Market!

We left Chelsea Market and headed down to Greenwich Village for dinner. We heard many rave reviews on L’industrie Pizzeria serving delicious pizza in slices. We were in line for about 15mins and waited another 15mins for our order to be ready. The eatery place was pretty small with standing tables room to savor our slices at the premises.

The crust was thin and crunchy, the tomato sauce was not too overwhelming, and the base had beautiful fresh cheese and pepperoni.

I would say L’industrie pizzeria has one of the best pizza by the slice which I've ever had!

That pretty much summed up my second day in New York. Stay tuned for my next outing!