Half a Central Park

Before we set off for New York I had visions of spending an entire day at Central Park in Manhattan, a colossal public green space right at the center of a bustling city and surrounded by sky scrapers and towering buildings, and considered to be the 'lungs of New York City'. A huge park spanning 840 acres and much bigger than the giant city park I'm more familiar with which is Hyde Park in London, I was aware that it has different generously spaced sections to explore and with different functions too. And with it still being late summer when we visited I was also expecting to see some of their summer bedding displays and plantings within the park.

Central Park, New York City

Alas, spending an entire day there was not to be the case. We found that there was so much to do in Manhattan that it quickly dawned on us that a week is simply not enough to see and experience all the essentials of NYC. Instead of dashing here and there just to catch a glimpse of what we want to see, we chose a few and took our time to experience and explore them.

Surrounded by skyscrapers and tall buildings on all sides

A generous green space for Manhattan

But even so, the time we had available was not enough. An entire day allocated to Central Park seemed too generous so we decided to allocate only half a day. Perhaps that would be enough to actually all of it??

The Lungs of New York

A fairground within the park

Dream on, it is 840 acres after all so we only managed to see half of it! But it was a fabulous sightseeing and exploring half of a park...

A green space that is vital to the well being of the residents of a bustling metropolis

Sections of the park used to be underwater, of a lake that was drained away in creating the park

One of the many places to relax and contemplate (stunning views too!)

San Remo Apartments

There was an algal bloom that made the water vivid green

A park that caters to different kinds of outdoor activities, like paddle boating, a canoe (or is that a gondola?) ride...

or activities of which one may lose their top...

Or relax and people watch by the edge of the fountain

We may have run out of time to explore it and we didn't even get the chance to see the conservatory area and formal planting, nor any of the summer bedding displays there but seeing the other half is just one of the many reasons why we ought to go back again soon. Who knows?

Mark :-)