New York - ENGLISH

After one week on the West Coast, I found myself on  the plane again, this time with my new host family. Our final destination-New York! My host mom had some work to do there and she decided to take the kids and me with her so we could spend few days in the city, in which my adventure in the US began one year before. If anybody remember our first blog post, they know that my feelings about NYC were mixed and the ideas and expectation I had were not entirely satisfied. But this time was different, I think NYC is the kind of place that you love more and more every time you visit. After few hours of sightseeing on the tour organized by training school I had a chance to see Time Square,5 Ave, Battery Park i World Trade Memorial. After my recent visit I can add to my list several new places. One of them was Empire State Building and thanks to the friend of my host mom who went there with us and who bought some special passes we did not have to wait in any lines to enter the top. Construction of the building was completed in 1931 and for the next 40 years carried the title of tallest building in the world. Today it is placed on the 25^th position in the world and on the 5^th  as the highest completed building in the United States. And the view from the 102^nd floor is simply amazing!

Speaking of tall buildings, the next place we visited was One World Trade Center/Freedom Tower. I remember during my first visit in NY that the building was still under construction and it was completed 3 months later, November 3^rd 2014. Its height is 104 floors. On floors 100-102 its location has the observatory, opened this year in May. As we entered the building I really was not sure what to expect after the place that commemorates the events of 9/11. I was wondering if inside there will be information that reminder of this tragedy and to commemorate the victims. It turned out to be quite different, the building is really modern and after we walked through security we entered the room in which we could listen to comments made by those  involved in the construction of Freedom Tower. In an elevator that takes us to the observatory, animation is displayed that show us how the area, where now the tower is, has changed. And right before the entrance to the observatory another animation is shown, illustrating how much the city itself has changed. All of that creates an amazing effect. In contrast to the Empire State Observatory, in this one we can admire the city through large windows. With sightseeing help special tablets for which you can pay and on the screen look up from up close the buildings  you see on the horizon and find out more information about them as well. My host kids had a blast, running around and pointing to Statue of Liberty or Brooklyn Bridge and finding out some useful information about them. Of course next to the observatory there is restaurant and gift shop. Everything leaves very positive impression. You can feel that the tower is a symbol of the future and changes .

Central Park-place which during my first visit I could  see only out of the bus window, that is why I was waiting so eagerly to finally, actually go there for a walk. Luckily our hotel was only 2 blocks away. From the roof of our hotel we also could admire the green heart of the city. The one afternoon I stayed with the kids by myself I took them right there (I felt like the real nanny in NYC). We spend there over 2 hours and I guess we did not even see a half of the park. Kids of course were interested only in playgrounds and climbing rocks so I had some time to take pictures and observe people. This place looks just like in the movies!

The last place I had the chance to visit just before our flight back to Orange County was  Museum of Natural History. As our time was limited and the museum itself is huge, we saw only a few exhibitions, of course, one of them was a whole floor devoted to dinosaurs. I did not even had a chance to take my camera out. Besides the places I mentioned I spend a lot of time just wandering around the streets and Time Square. I am glad I could see New York one more time because it only made me want to go back there again, and I am sure I will be back in NYC since there is still so many places to see! Especially now when I finally forced Dominika to watch all the seasons of “Gossip Girl”. See you New York!