My favorite New York City activity is back, and no, for once I don’t mean going to the theater. I’m talking about walking everywhere. I shared a few photos recently, taken on my first spring rambles, but what I’m most enjoying is being able to, once again, reliably use my feet as a method of transportation.
I love walking around New York. A few weekends ago a friend and I walked from a bar on the UES in the 80s down to the 50s rather than hop on the 6 train, because it was a warm, gorgeous spring evening and neither of us was in a rush. This weekend a friend of mine was in town and after walking along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and in Brooklyn Bridge Park, we walked all the way over to Fort Greene Park. After a break, we walked a bit farther to get pizza and eat in the Pratt sculpture garden. We could’ve gotten on a bus, but we had a couple years to catch up on, and walking and talking is a lovely way to do it.
There are many, many neighborhoods in NYC I still need to explore, places I would most certainly get lost without a map (or a friend with a smartphone). But I love that in much of Manhattan, and in the neighborhoods of Brooklyn I know well, I can just walk until I’m tired in the direction I want to go and then hop on a bus or a subway and get where I need to be.
My calves are protesting a little, but I know my muscles will toughen up over the next few months. The weather may get too hot, the streets might get stinky, but there will always be early mornings and late afternoon/early evening hours when things cool down a little and we’ll marvel at the fact that we spent months resenting the ten minute walk to the subway.
You know who loves walking even more than I do? My dad! This coming weekend my family is coming to visit and he’s participating in The Great Saunter on Saturday, a walk around the island of Manhattan. I’m not quite up to doing it with him this year, but a few years back we had a fabulous time riding in the Five Boro Bike Tour, which is this Sunday! Keep an eye out for walkers and cyclists when you’re taking advantage of the (hopefully) nice weather this weekend.
As you can guess from my photos (and might remember from this post), I love walking near Brooklyn Bridge. Manhattan looks almost unreal, doesn’t it? The sky is SO BLUE. Where are your favorite places to walk?
<3 walking nyc
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