I haven’t been into the city since I started working from home before L’s arrival. I didn’t know about the new development at Hudson Yards until recently. My dad and I decided to make a day of it to go in and explore — and to introduce L to Manhattan at the same time! When we saw the forecast (finally no rain) we decided this past Monday was the day.
I was surprised on the walk over the Vessel’s size in comparison to the building housing the shipping space to the side. On the all over from Penn Station, you can’t even see it — but once you approach the area west housing the Hudson Yards subway station there it is!
In my opinion, it looks like a giant pine cone. You could see movement all around each of the rings as people made there way up to the top. I’m sure the view was great yesterday with it so close to the Hudson. The sky was bright and number of clouds was minimal. Since we had L along with the stroller, we didn’t choose to get tickets to go up to the top. They do allow you to purchase tickets to go up if you wish to do so.
The shopping center portion was interesting as well. The stores went from more reasonable (H&M, Zara, Uniqlo) straight to upper end (Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Dior, Cartier).
There are a number of interactive art installations throughout the space which they’ve named Snark Park. I really enjoyed this one where you could move the sequins however you chose. I added L’s name to the wall in honor of her first trip in. She unfazed continued sleeping in her stroller through it all.
After walking through the space and checking out all the food options (from Shake Shack to Bouchon Bakery to Mercado Little Spain, so many interesting ones!) we chose to go with some fried chicken at David Chang’s Fuku. So good.
Loved how the chicken itself was slightly spicy and that the waffle fries had a jalapeño salt on them. Small details that brought some big flavor. Only complaint is that the fries were a bit cold, likely because we were not eating during the proper lunch rush. We each had it with their sweet peach iced tea, which was perfect for a warm spring day.
There is so much to do there that we actually missed a bit! I got home before realizing we did not walk over towards The Shed, the new concert / event space at Hudson Yards. There are restaurants there as well, such as Danny Meyer’s new restaurant Cedric’s. Next time!
After we finished checking out Hudson Yards, we walked up to Rockefeller Center. The last time I was around there was Christmastime. The space looks so different when it’s warm. They were still in the process of setting up the outside cafe where the rink is during the winter months.
There were a couple of interesting art installations between the two strips of stores that go down to the center area where the cafe / rink is. This large white one with the person covering their face was really stunning to see in person. The bright white makes it stand out so much from its surroundings.
On the way back to Penn Station, we made a quick stop through Bryant Park. It’s one of my favorite spots, in part because it’s not too far from where I work and where I last lived in the city.
We grabbed a quick bite at Waffles and Dinges as well — something to get us through the hour plus ride back. All-in-all we walked over 7.5 miles, watching our way across the city and taking in as many sites as we could squeeze in — my favorite way to experience the city!
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