New York City

From Philadelphia we went on to New York City. We drove to where we would be staying, at an AirBnB in the South Bronx, with a plan to leave the van parked there for the week and relying on public transportation. For the most part, this worked out fine. I had checked with the AirBnB host in advance regarding the parking situation, and they said there was “plenty” of free street parking in the neighborhood. What they didn’t mention is the parking restrictions – one side of the street was restricted from 9-11 am on Tuesdays, and the other side on Thursdays. So we had to move the van (i.e., search for parking) several times while we were there. However, despite the density of the housing, there seemed to be relatively more parking available than in Oakland, CA, where I worked for many years. My theory is that car ownership is expensive and inconvenient in New York City and there are a variety of public transit options available, so a smaller percentage of people own cars.

We parked our van and relied on public transportation

I am not a city person. I grew up in the suburbs in Southern California, and then as an adult I have spent my life in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area. I have worked for many years in Berkeley and Oakland, which are very urbanized, and while I enjoy the culture, the restaurants, museums, and the constant buzz of life in these cities, my real comfort zone is back home in the suburbs. Surprisingly to me, during our week in New York City, I found it to be very, what I call “liveable”. We met neighbors near our AirBnB in the Bronx, we found every type of food imaginable, we felt like we could get around to anywhere we wanted via public transit in a reasonable amount of time. We were impressed by the overall quality of life we experienced during our week in New York.

There is so much to see in New York that we didn’t even consider trying to fit everything in. We took our time visiting places we were interested in – the Metropolitan Museum, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, the World Trade Center / 911 Memorial, Wall Street, Battery Park – and did our best to enjoy ourselves, without rushing through everything.

A beautiful, early spring day in Central Park
Two days later, Central Park was covered in snow
Brooklyn Bridge, without showing the crowds
A rose is placed on the names on the individuals’ birthdays
NYC High Line Park
Amazing building projects in New York

Philadelphia

When we left Niagara Falls, we planned a route south that took us through the amazing countryside of central Pennsylvania. I find this to be some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, with gentle rolling hills, small family farms, horse-and-buggies on the road, and many other great views. We passed through on our way to Philadelphia, where we only stayed there for two days. If I were to do it again, I would plan to spend additional time there. We found much more of interest in this area than we expected. Of course, this area is full of historical sites, but the art museums were also richly endowed. We only got a brief look at some of the sites, and hope to return again in the future.

Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
Betsy Ross House
Van Gogh Sunflowers – one version

Hanging Gardens

We found a couple of buildings in Mexico City covered with hanging gardens. The perspective in this photo makes it look to me like rows of crops growing in a field…

Hanging gardens

But it’s actually hundreds of small succulents growing on the sides of a building. Here’s a wider view:

Hanging gardens from a distance

Mexico City

We decided to get out of our small town for a while, so we drove to Mexico City and spent ten days there. It’s a thoroughly modern, cosmopolitan city which also happens to have a lot of history visible at every turn.

We stayed on the 32nd floor of a high rise just a couple years old (it’s the red one):

Mexico City apartment towers

Here’s a view of the sunrise from inside our apartment:

Mexico City sunrise

We were within walking distance of every amenity – multiple grocery stores, shopping malls, Starbucks, the Soumaya Museum of Art:

Soumaya Museum of Art

The Soumaya Museum of Art was funded by Carlos Slim, one of the richest people in the world. It contains art from around the world representing many genre’s and eras. We went back a second day because we didn’t get to see everything on our first visit.

We visited the National Anthropology Museum, the pyramids of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan, the basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and more. Sometimes we drove, sometimes we walked, and we rode the metro. Walking to the metro was a lot like walking on the Iron Horse trail to BART. Here’s a photo of the path:

Walkway to the subway

Overall we had a great time, but as they say, “it’s a nice place to visit”. Even though it had everything you could possibly want, just as in any other large, cosmopolitan city around the world, it was a bit large and crowded and busy for me. That’s not to say we won’t visit again, but as for living, I’m enjoying our small town life for now.