Dance Parade

Due to the jet-lag we have been waking up around 6am each day so Matt had been planning our route for the day before we left. We had breakfast in Madison Square Garden and there was a family fun day going on so there was lots of stalls, kids and dogs everywhere. I got some pictures of the Flatiron Building which was just across the street but the sky was white so it was hard to photograph. There was loud music and cheering coming from a nearby street so we went to investigate and stumbled across 'Dance Parade' which was a parade of floats showcasing all different types of dance. The costumes were amazing and the atmosphere was electric and I couldn't help but walk around with a huge grin on my face. Matt had to drag me away as I would have stayed all day watching the dancing and we had other things to see.

Our next stop was the Flower District which was nice but nowhere near as good as Colombia Road Flower market. It has started to rain as we walked on to the 'High Line'. The High Line is an elevated freight rail line transformed into a public park on Manhattan's West Side. Its runs for about a mile and was a lovely walk giving great views of the city whilst being surrounded by lots of greenery.

We carried on to the West Village but the rain was getting worse so we stopped for lunch at a little cafe to try and sit it out. When we left is was down to a fine mist and we had a walk around the area and found a range of local street markets and festivals. I really like this area of town as it has a real community feel to it. We then carried on walking down to the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 memorial. The last time I was in New York was 2002 the year after the attacks. The area today is clearly very different due the redevelopment and I think the Freedom Tower will look stunning when its finished. We didn't know you had to have a ticket and pay to visit the memorial so we had to miss out on seeing it. We carried on via Wall Street to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty. It had been wet and drizzly all day so visibility was rubbish across the harbour but I was happy as I had seen an alternative statue earlier in the day!


Dance Parade, New York