New York Travel - Midtown

Midtown

Midtown Subway Map

First I arrived at 42st station.. it was very impressive to me.. everything was really big!!

and that pretty woman made me take the her picture

It was a day we planed to met our cousin so for him and me, my sister prepared Midtown Travel.It was a walking travel.. after having lunch at Korea town, we started to walked along the 42st

Near the Korea town we can see Empire state building.

(It is one of best attractions but I couldn't go there)

Midtown's many buildings are tall but as you can see it is really tall 

Apple shop

Toy store

Rockefeller center

There wasn't christmas tree but there was a skating rink

Bryant Park - Ordinary day there were more people, but it was a week's day so we can find a bench to sit.

Chrysler Building

Grand Central Terminal

I realized why it's name is 'Grand' central..it it really splendid, magnificent.

Time square at night. We can see the LG mark

There were a lo~t of people. I though 50% of people are tourists. I could see really many races. Actually during the travel it couldn't the white people..

There are many theaters. According to my sister there are many pretty girls and boy working around the Time Square to have a dream to be an actor.

Gentle Free Hug man

New York Travel - Upper West Side

Upper West Side - Riverside Park

We just looked around there before took Lion King..

I expected anything of the park..but after visiting 

for the first time I hoped living in Manhattan

The village was very clean and quite place. 

Many buildings looked antique.

Different scenery from the midtown.

It was really beautiful. Even it was winter, many people were running with dogs.They look so relaxed and happy.

the Sunset made me sentimental kk

They say it is a river but for me it looked like a sea. The river was large and broad

Whenever I took picture, it became a wonderful piece.:D

New York Travel - Morning Heights

Travel Morning Heights - Colombia University



Directions

by public transportation


Trains to New York arrive at Grand Central Station or Pennsylvania Station; buses stop at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Visitors arriving at these stations can take either public transportation or a taxi north to the campus.


Campus Map

http://www.columbia.edu/content/maps.html

When I saw it fist, It was not a big school (comparing other universities in US)

Now I know it is on the big area.. I was just thinking other buildings are not school building

That building is called Uris,

It looked a administrative building like inha's 본관 

In the building we could see students but there are offices and university hall

(some people was working to decorate podium)

with Athena statue in Uris

Uris

Bridge..? the road connect the campus

Law school

Like a the Ivy League colleages, many students were studying hard

(I could see the law school library through the window)

The facilities looked very good..It looked really nice places to study

at that time I regretted that I hadn't studied.. and hoped to go a graduate school XD

New York Travel - Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods

To show me a lot of things my sister took me to many places in the Manhattan. Sometimes I felt tired but she didn't stop..OMG but now It became valuable memories. I consider that how I can explain you this Gotham city easily then thought that noticing infromation following each neighborhood is easy way.

Map Neighborhoods

Halem& Moriningside Height
 With Central Park as its the center west side is the Morningside Heights and east side is the Halem. Colombia university and many parks locate at the west side. And Halem was called a crime ridden district at once but if you visit in the day time and do not go 150-160streets, you can see the normal place.

Upper West Side 

The West Side remains a desirable neighborhood with a reputation for attracting intellectuals, and much of the city’s best residential architecture. The creation of Lincoln Center in the 1950s was a great boost, and the American Museum of Natural History is also a draw

Midtown - The lights of Times Square, the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, Rockefeller Center, the United Nations Headquarters, stores on 5th Avenue, museums, theaters, and grand buildings galore – all are found in the midtown area between 34th and 59th streets, extending from the East River as far as Broadway. The concentration of attractions makes this the most important area of the city for visitors, and many a day can be spent taking in the sights.Midtown also reflects the city’s characteristic diversity, with attractions that range from the bustling retail of the Diamond District, to the stately halls of the New York Public Library.

Chelsea -Buildings along 6th Avenue are now occupied by superstores and discount outlets, and to the west, Chelsea Piers has transformed the waterfront. Uptown, the Garment District begins around 27th Street, with Herald Square and Macy’s at the heart of the city’s busiest shopping area.

Union Square&Gramarcy -Union Square, once a hangout for drug dealers and scene of protest rallies, has been renovated and transformed. A Greenmarket fills the square with fresh produce four times a week, drawing patrons from all over the city,Quiet Madison Square, opposite the Flatiron Building, is the site of two of the city’s hottest restaurants and home to the public square, Madison Square Park. 

Greenwich Village - The Village have been home to artists and writers. Jazz musicians, beat poets, and performers like the young Bob Dylan found their places here. Later it became popular with gays, and today cafés and funky shops attract the young from all over the city. The village really comes to life at night, when cafés, theaters, and clubs beckon at every turn

Upper East Side - Most of the older Beaux Arts mansions around 5th Avenue are now occupied by embassies or museums; For visitors, the Upper East Side is home to many of the city’s best museums.

Soho  - SoHo (South of Houston) has also come full circle. The empty loft spaces first drew artists, then galleries, then crowds of browsers and the restaurants to serve them. The new chic image quickly drove up rents and drove out many galleries. Some remain, and the streets are lined with designer clothing and home furnishing boutiques, maintaining SoHo’s lure as the city’s favorite Sunday brunch-and-browse neighborhood. Both areas boast the cast-iron architecture that is a New York specialty.

China Town&Little Italy -  Little Italy has dwindled to a few blocks, but it is still an atmospheric center of authentic Italian food and shops, especially on a warm night, when cafés set out sidewalk tables and the songs of Napoli fill the air. Chinatown up to 150,000 Chinese live there, in crowded quarters. The shops and sidewalk markets overflow with exotic foods and herbs.

Civic Center and South Street Seaport

Some of New York’s finest architecture is found at its Civic Center, the headquarters for city government. Nearby is the famous Brooklyn Bridge, and the old maritime center of the city, South Street Seaport,

-http://traveldk.com/new-york/practical-info

New York Travel - Transportation

Transportation..

There are three major transportations. Subway, Bus and Taxi.

If you want to use subway and bus, you have to take a metro card. There are two kinds of cards.

Pay-per-ride - From 2 dollars to 80 dollars, you can freely choose the cost. It can be used by various people not just one

Unlimitied - You can choose the periods of the card. There are 1 day, 7 days, 30 days passes. If you go many places in short period like me, this card is more economical than pay-per-ride.

1 Day - $7 / 7 Day - $24

But you can not use it with someone and after using this you can not use it for 18 minutes.

How to buy it

You can buy it through the vending machine and clerk windows. But 1day pass(Fun Pass) is only sold at a vending machine or nearby store. You can buy it by cash, debit card and credit card.

When you take it

Subway map

Subways run north and south, uptown and downtown on Lexington Avenue, 6th Avenue, 7th Avenue, Broadway, and 8th Avenue. The Q, N, R, W, E, F, V and 7 trains to Queens run east to west, crossing Manhattan. A, C, B, D, J, M, Z, L, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines all run to Brooklyn. - http://traveldk.com/new-york/practical-info

At first you can be confused the sign.. but if you want to go to North, find the Uptown sign.(South - Downtown)

And there are Express, Local train. Express train stop at major stations so you do not know the major stations.. just taking local train is safe.

Major stations are marked by white.(Look at the subway map)

Sometimes express train changed local trains. So carefully listen the announce.

It looks too old one(I looked rats), but it is really essential transportation for New York people. It is really fast and convenient..

http://mephisto9.tistory.com/374

And!! There are some homeless people in the train. They do not threaten people, but smell.. is so bad..

Bus

Bus is good to move horizontally but I only took the bus twice. I usually use subway because the distance between streets is not far so we usually walked when we had to move horizontally.

Anyway the buses are low-floor and clean!

Taxi

The symbol of New York! Yellow Cap. As you can see there are many cabs on the road. The basic rate is $2.5 and increase 40cent per 1 mile. They take just cash and you have to prepare 15~20% tip.

New York Travel - Grid System

From now,, I'm gonna tell you my travel story and some useful information for your New York travel plan. I went there 2010 winter and stayed there for two weeks. It was my first oversea travel. Before I traveled, I was worried about the trip but New York was very interesting city so now I want to go there one more time..

If you arrive at NY, Before Going Around,

It is really important to learn the street's gird system. Manhattan looks like a tofu which has been cut strictly. Roads are arranged vertically and horizontally so it is easy to find the address of some places.

Avenue means vertical roads and Streets means horizontal roads. The number of avenue increases when it goes down to South part. And the number of streets decreases when it goes to East side.

So, for traveler it is very attractive. Just grab the map you can easily find where you want to go.

Europe Travel - Accommodations

Accommodations

B&B

» Hostels 

Hostels offer the best bargain, and you don’t have to be a youngster to use them. You need to be a member of the Youth Hostel Association or Hostelling International to use affiliated hostels, but often you can stay by paying an extra charge.

» B&Bs, pensions & guesthouses

The traditional bed and breakfast is an institution throughout much of Europe. You’ll find these are usually the most character-filled places, and are typically budget or midrange.

» Homestays & private rooms 

Homestays are often a great way to see daily life and see local people. Make sure you bring a small gift for your hosts—it’s deeply ingrained in the cultural tradition in many areas.

» Hotels 

Big-name chain, midrange stalwart or funky boutique, there are plenty of hotel choices. Remember, hotels in Europe are often small compared to those of other countries. Breakfast is sometimes included, be sure to ask when reserving a room.

Advance Planning

by http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Useful sites for comparing reviews and booking

http://www.eurobookings.com/

http://www.hostels.com/

http://www.hostelworld.com/

http://www.hostelbookers.com/

http://www2.hostelworld.com/hello/

If you join hostelworld, you don't need to pay commission fee for 6 moth. 

Europe Travel -Transportation

Many Korean college students dreams Europe Travel. While America symbolize new land and freedom, Europe shows conventional western societies. I think that's way people tend to go to Europe In Korea, at least 10 years age many people wanted to go Northen places such as England, France, Germany, these days people dream to go to Southern places Spain, Hungary, Italy. Anyway, Europe is attractive place for many Asian so today I will tell you about how can we prepare Europe travel.

Transportation for Getting Around

» Air: The low-cost airlines across Europe has made it easy to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time.

Low cost airline List

Western Europe

Spain - Vueling www.vueling.com

UK - Easy zet www.easyjet.com

UK - Flybe www.flybe.com

UK - Jet2 www.jet2.com

UK - Thomsonfly www.thomsonfly.com

UK - Fly Globespan www.flyglobespan.com

Germany - TUI Fly www.tuifly.com

Germany - Air Berlin www.airberlin.com

Germany - Germanwings www.germanwings.com

Ireland - Ryan Air www.ryanair.com

Netherlands - Transavia www.transavia.com

Northern, Eastern Europe

Denmark Cimber Sterling www.sterling.dk

Hungary Wzz Air www.wizzair.com

the Czech Republic Smartwings www.smartwings.net

Finland - Blue1 www.blue1.com

Iceland Slovakia - Sky Europe www.skyeurope.com

Southern 

Italy - Windjet w2.volawindjet.it

Italy - Air One www.flyairone.it

Greece - Aegean www.aegeanair.com

Turkey - Onur Air www.onurair.com.tr

Turkey - Atlasjet www.atlasjet.com

Turkey - Anadolujet www.anadolujet.com

Train

» Train: With the exception of Greece and Turkey, most of the countries in Europe are well connected by rail.

You can take a ticket on this sites

http://www.raileurope.co.kr/

Useful site for train travel. They inform how to travel by train from the UK into Europe and train times & fares from the UK to other European countries
http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm

» Buses: Long distances by bus may be a tad cheaper, but you’ll trade in comfort. Buses are best used for mountainous or coastal routes not covered by rail, as in Croatia.

More information 

http://www.eurocheapo.com/bus/buslines.php

But you notice the differences of Bus and Coach travel

http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/bus-and-coach-travel-in-europe-understanding-the-difference.html