Along Fifth Avenue, New York City

It started pouring rain when we exited the Empire State Building, so we found refuge in a small eatery on the Fifth Avenue. Sounds expensive? Not really—we had stir-fry, sushi and a drink and paid less than $15. Food is fairly cheap in NYC, which doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good or healthy (more on that later…).

We decided to walk along the Fifth Avenue, the famous thoroughfare often ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world. Indeed, the street is lined with luxury department stores and prestigious boutiques, but I was more interested in a number of famous landmarks in the neighborhood (plus, my credit cards do have a limit!).

We started by checking out the New York Public Library. The impressive building is the second-largest public library in the United States, and is featured in a number of popular culture movies (anyone remember Ghostbusters?!). I could spend hours in libraries and I loved the atmosphere inside this one!

The Rockefeller Centre is also located around Fifth Avenue. The building is almost as impressive as the Empire State Building, and the Plaza is a good place to hang out for a while, mostly for people-watching. Inside the Rockefeller Centre are intriguing frescos. The story goes, Mexican socialist artist Diego Rivera was commissioned to create a fresco for the lobby, but his work turned out to be too political and too controversial, and was destroyed. Too bad, I would have loved to see a portrait of Lenin on Fifth Avenue!

Finally, we visited the Grand Central Station, the famous rail terminal station. I’m a train person, and I loved the atmosphere inside! It was very busy but the large Main Concourse made people look like small ants. On a side note, it had many very nice eateries at the lower level (better than the ubiquitous Paul and Relais H in French train stations!) and the cleanest public bathrooms ever for such a busy place.

On Fifth Avenue

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