I figured I would categorize my blog into my bucket list items. Yes... I have experienced more... BUT instead of doing a play by play, I thought this might be the best option
#8 on the Bucket List~
Spend time exploring Central Park ~ Strawberry Fields, Belvedere Castle, the Alice in Wonderland statue, the Hans Christian Anderson statue, Bethesda Fountain & Terrace, Bow Bridge, the Carousel... and so much more.
Done ✔️
We could not have asked for a better day in Central Park. The sun was shining... the park had just recently transformed into this magical patchwork of red, orange and yellow.
Before we actually headed into the park, I had pin pointed a bunch of 'must-sees' on my Google Map, and with the permission of everyone present, I became the tour guide.
The horse-faced tour guide.
Belvedere Castle - a fantasy stone castle upon Vista rock, surrounded by the Shakespeare Gardens, with a gift store inside. There was a line up down the main hallway, presumably to get up to the observation deck. We stood there momentarily, but it was far too hot inside to endure a seemingly endless line, that really appeared to be going nowhere! Joining a stationary line of people that seemed to be just as confused as we were, was not on the bucket list... as lovely as the view might have been.
As it was pinned as one of the most iconic and widely visited attraction of New York City, we did our wandering around, ooo'ed and awww'ed over the various view points and took our obligatory picture-taking... but then moved along to the next point of interest. ✔️
There were an abnormal amount of catwalk-style girls, throughout the park, taking selfies for their Tik Tok and Instagram account, so it only seemed natural for us to follow suit.
#19 on the Bucket List
Remember the legend, John Lennon, in the location he was shot - The Dakota Apartments. ✔️
Strawberry Fields - a memorial in honour of John Lennon... directly across from the Dakota Apartments, where John Lennon was shot. Apparently the Imagine mosaic was originally directly in front of the building, but the gathering of tourists paying their respects became too overwhelming for the sidewalk and the traffic, so they moved it across the street into Central Park.✔️
To be honest, I walked right across it without noticing. I was literally looking for a field of strawberries. I'm not too bright, obviously.
Alice in Wonderland statue - by far, my favourite statue of all time. This 11-foot tall bronze statue is definitely a celebration of a beloved children's classic. Worth it. ✔️
As I approach the ever-dreaded 50, I couldn't help but reflect on a quote from Alice in Wonderland. I feel this really embodies everything I am feeling about where I am, where I want to go and how the hell I'll make it all happen.
"It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
Also - just found out that it was designed to be climbed on!
If only I'd known...
Bethesda Fountain & Terrace - LOVED it. We thought it was the Friends fountain, but, as usual, we were wrong. Stuart Little though! And One Fine Day. Both filmed here. This fountain was a good place to take photos though, as the views were breathtaking. It was also the perfect location to take a load off and listen the the beautiful, yet haunting echos of the violin music coming from the Terrace. ✔️
We went everywhere - on the Manhattan side. Bow Bridge, the Carousel, the Mall, Hans Christian Anderson statue... it was all enchanting and a great introduction day to the ciy. Central Park spans 2.5 miles from top to bottom, and it's 1/2 a mile wide. I had always envisioned this absolutely enormous park, but it was quite walkable- and once you were in, it wasn't that big.
Ok... now for the educational part of the blog...
I looked up Amazing Facts!
There are over 18,000 trees in Central Park.
There are 70 works of art in the Park.
Anyone can adopt a park bench... even me!
There is only 1 straight path in the entire park.
It's the most filmed location in the entire world.
Central Park is one of the most expensive parts of the City.
The entire part was built by hand.
New York City purchased the land in 1853.
It's bigger than the country of Monaco.
Pretty cool, eh? ...
