We started our day in the beautiful neighborhood of Soho. Here, the houses are smaller and the shops are not as focused on sales. It feels more like a cute little town rather than walking through a part of Manhattan. There are many sweet little parks. The charm of this neighborhood is probably the variety, with boutiques featuring French or Italian fashion right next to second-hand shops.
But today was a completely different special day. Today, the Gay Pride event was taking place. It is the most famous event for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people. We had noticed Rainbow flags hanging all over the city in the past few days. The Gay Pride started around noon, and celebrations were taking place particularly in the Chelsea and West Village neighborhoods. Of course, we didn't want to miss this event. First, there were motorcycles decorated in all sorts of colors. People proudly sitting on them, announcing their wedding dates or their identities. Later, there were floats on which people celebrated, and public figures were presenting themselves and supporting the parade. In the end, the NYPD band also performed.
I thought it was great to be a part of this event and to see how open-minded people are about this topic here.
Since we spent the whole day on the streets of New York, we escaped to the harbor in the evening, where we had the opportunity to ride the speed boat. The ride takes about half an hour and goes to the Statue of Liberty and back. Despite its short duration, I would recommend this experience to anyone who enjoys a little adrenaline rush. For Chris, it was one of the best things about the whole vacation. The Harbor Lights Tour started at 7:30 pm, which is a 2-hour tour around the southern tip of Manhattan. I recommend buying the tickets a day in advance and being at the harbor a little earlier than 7:30 pm, because they fill the boat from top to bottom, and being on the deck provides the best view. The last stop of the evening was Times Square, because it's only at night that the lights really come alive, and you can appreciate the charm of this bustling place. 26.6On the agenda were Central Park and MoMA. We wisely explored Central Park by bike because it would not have been possible to cover it on foot, as it is quite large.But it's definitely worth getting off the bike for a while, as you can only enter the park on foot from the street and explore all the little spots. We found it quite difficult to find signs that indicated these spots or to follow the signs accurately, but that also provided a lot of amusement. Everyone knows the Beatles and their world-famous music, but unfortunately, there are also tragedies :/.In Central Park West, you can find the Strawberry Fields, where there is a mosaic inlaid in the ground with the word Imagine in its center. It is meant to commemorate the assassination of John Lennon, who lived here in Central Park and was shot :/. Later in the day, we visited the world-famous MoMA. Let's just say that the art was sometimes really beautiful but also questionably so.I don't know much about art and therefore cannot determine where art begins and ends. But even I have recognized quite a few works of art and I am happy to have had the opportunity to see them in person rather than just in a photo. Full concentration 😂 (continued in part 3)(Image rights reserved)
