Strawberry fields and farms are dotted around Kent and Sussex with “pick your own” days during the season and cosy tea rooms serving hard-to-resist fruit tarts. But there is another focus on Strawberry Fields across the Atlantic in the form of a 2.5-acre landscaped section in New York City’s Central Park.
Designed by the landscape architect Bruce Kelly, Strawberry Fields is dedicated to the memory of former Beatle, John Lennon and named after the song “Strawberry Fields Forever”, written by Lennon. The memorial is triangular with a circular pathway mosaic of inlaid stones, with the letters of Lennon’s popular song “Imagine”. This special area was created in April 1981, near the Dakota Apartments where Lennon lived with Ono. Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighbourhoods of Manhattan and is the first landscaped park in the United States. It is larger in size than Monaco. A visit to Central Park is where you pass joggers with bobble hats, a carousel, zoo and theatre, manmade ponds, 9000 benches, 50 fountains, 36 bridges and the clipperty-clop of horse drawn carriages.
Once you leave the park, it’s a different pace. New York is the city that rushes through life. It’s big, it’s brash. Steam rising from grids, overpriced coffee on tap and at avenue corners, the iconic street carts laden with corn dogs and pretzels. It’s a city bursting with bagels, burgers and cheesesteaks and everything from traditional diners to fine dining, jazz haunts and Irish pubs.
And rest assured, there’s plenty to do, see and experience at whatever pace you choose. For sightseeing, it’s worth investing in a GoCity and CityPASS which help with itinerary planning and are kind to your credit card.
The Big Bus Company hop-on tours are highly recommended. I travelled on its two routes listening to interesting facts along the way. Did you know that the subway here is the oldest and largest in the world with 472 stops, that the Empire State Building was built on the site of the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Fifth Avenue and became the world’s first 100+ storey building. The tour passed the bohemian neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, home of The Friends apartment building, Soho and Little Italy where tourists chose to disembark for that famed slice of pizza (well, it was lunchtime). Tribeca, once the industrial area is now trendy and attracts the celebs like Taylor Swift. I also learned that Chelsea, the meat packing district, is the origin of the Oreo cookie and Brookland Bridge was the first steel wire suspension bridge, tested for strength by elephants crossing it. We passed St. Paul’s which is Manhattan’s oldest surviving church building, built in 1766. In fact, it’s older than the US itself. The Grand Central Terminal of 1913 looks a little cathedralesque but famed for its meeting place under the clock.
The giant bronze stature of the Charging Bull, sometimes called the Wall Street Bull, is symbolic of the Financial District and a major tourist hotspot for instagramers in the hope it will make them rich. I spotted the Statue of Liberty in the distance, the emblem for freedom and democracy and New York City Hall, the oldest in the US. Later we passed the Hudson River with Pier54 which, in 1912, offered safety for the Titanic survivors. Opposite is the trendy Hudson Yards area packed with restaurants and over 100 shopping options. It’s home to the Vessel, New York’s newest landmark, a climbable, interactive public monument.
For magnificent views of the city, The SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, is a new take on an observation deck. Here there are five multi-sensory installations occupying the top three floors of Midtown Manhattan’s tallest skyscraper topped off with transparent ledges jutting out 1000 feet above Madison Avenue. But do book before you go as this attraction sells out (www.attractiontickets.com).
I popped into the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) which was exhibiting the cultural icon – Barbie ® which charts the 65-year history of the doll’s global impact on fashion and popular culture through a display of more than 250 vintage dolls and even a pink life-size corvette.
It is recommended to pre-book a tour for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. This is a place for remembrance and contemplation. The heart rendering tour included personal accounts from guides on the actual day. Photographs cover the walls of all those who lost their lives. It’s a memorial exhibition which is solemn, quiet and tastefully designed. The 9/11 Memorial Pools outside provide time to reflect on the area where the towers once stood.
On Sunday, early morning, I travelled to Harlem for a neighbourhood tour of the cultural capital of Black America to experience the history and foundations of gospel music (courtesy of my GoCityPass). Harlem was widely noted as the black mecca during the 1920s and 1930s, devoted to the African-American literary and artistic movement and now known as the “Harlem Renaissance”. During this Harlem Gospel Sunday Tour, we walked with a guide through the northern Manhattan neighbourhood and its landmarks such as the Apollo Theatre and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and corner store churches. Joyous and uplifting, we joined a Baptist congregation for a Sunday service featuring the inspiring vocals and soul-stirring rhythms of a gospel choir. Forget Sister Act and Whoopi Goldberg. I left, humming Swing Low and Amazing Grace to myself.
No visit to the city is complete without taking in a show. Check out The Broadway Collection the source for the hottest shows on Broadway and Off-Broadway (plus opera and ballet), popular with visitors from all over the world. Did you know that there are only 4 theatres which sit on this landmark avenue, the others radiate from Times Square. The longest running show is the Phantom of the Opera while the Lion King rakes in the most dollars.
It’s lights, camera and action 24 hours a day in this colourful adrenaline-led city that never sleeps but time in Central Park will bring peace, tranquillity and memories of home and those strawberry fields.
Where to stay
Crowne Plaza Hudson Yards 36. Conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan, steps from Hudson Yards and Madison Square Garden, the Crowne Plaza Hudson Yards 36 is minutes away from New York City’s top attractions and in quieter area. It featuring 251 tastefully designed guest rooms and suites with spacious bathrooms, a workout studio, signature restaurant Burgerology and an outdoor beer garden. It’s contemporary with interesting design features and very helpful, friendly staff.
Hard Rock Hotel is smack in the middle of Times Square so expect to see the billboards from your hotel room. It’s contemporary, atmospheric with rock star memorability decorating alcoves and walls.
Sightseeing
Go City
With this pass, you can visit up to 100+ attractions, tours, and activities in NYC from bucket-list landmarks like the Empire State Building and Top of the Rock Observatory to off the beaten path walking tours like the Lower East Side food and culture walking tour and Catacombs by Candlelight tour. Other attraction highlights include The Edge, One World Observatory, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry, Guggenheim Museum, 9/11 Memorial and Museum, The Museum of Broadway and St Patrick’s Cathedral City
CityPASS
You can save 40% on admission to 5 iconic New York City attractions: The Observatory of the Empire State Building, the American Museum of Natural History; and your choice of 3 of the following attractions: Top of The Rock Observation Deck, Statue Of Liberty and Ellis Island, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and Guggenheim Museum. For shorter stays, consider C3 by CityPASS and visit 3 attractions of your choice at a savings of up to 38%. Tickets are valid for a 9-day period starting with the first attraction visited, and come with a 365-day risk-free return policy.
Transport
Getting from JKF Airport:
AirTrain + Long Island Rail Road (LRR) and subway are the fastest and cheapest options to reach hotels in Manhattan (approximately $15 – $20 and the subway is easy to use)
The flat rate for a taxi from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Manhattan is $70, plus tolls and tip.
