Central Park

If you aren’t from New York, mentions of Central Park probably trigger imagery of trees and maybe even fields. Being within the large park proves that it in fact houses a lot more.

Last weekend, Alex and I walked over to the park, which luckily for us is only about four streets west of our apartment. Our goal was to walk throughout and then visit the zoo. What we found was so much more.

First of all, just about every 30 yards, you will find someone expressing their musical talent to try to earn a quick buck. We encountered everything from a fiddler, a guitarist, and violinist, to a man with a cart full of toys that was spinning a plate on a stick while balancing it on his chin. These aren’t the only characters you will find. You will also pass bike tours discussing the history of the park and kiosks set up of people selling artwork, t-shirts, magnets or cold drinks and street meat. Not to mention the randoms such as the lady on stilts dressed in full Statue of Liberty garb or the man walking around dressed like Elmo.

Since this is such a big tourist attraction in the city, it is no wonder that the park can’t simply be a park. There is also the zoo that has everything from penguins to ants (still not sure about that one), and an amusement park with rides comparable to the local fair. Also, in the park close to The Dakota where John Lennon lived and was assassinated, is a memorial dedicated to him. Now don’t get me wrong, disregarding the few restaurants and the tourist sites that aren’t really park-esque features, there are very scenic parts of the park, also. There are several ponds, the Great Lawn, many baseball diamonds, and a path for bikers and joggers to get in their daily workout.

One feature of the park that is great in some instances and frustrating in others is that there are hardly any roads linking the Upper East Side to the Upper West Side of Manhattan that go across the park, and no subway lines take this route, either. This means that if I want to get from East 65^th Street to West 65^th Street via the subway, I need to go south then transfer to a line that goes west, and finally go north. Although this can be a stressful travelling route when the easiest way would be to cut straight across the park, the quiet getaway that the park is from the bustling city makes me understand why the system is set up as it is.

Central Park is beautiful and very calming in comparison to the heavy traffic of cars and people in the city.

It’s a nice place to get away especially during a Summer day.