Captivating Capitals

“New York City and Washington DC make for a stunning holiday combination to soak in the true spirit of the United States of America.”

- Aruna Rathod

As we were nearing New York, from the sky, the famous Manhattan skyline was visible. Even though it was a foggy day, the skyscrapers were visible, soaring into the sky. The towering Empire State Building was unmistakable, in spite of the fog.

The city was everything that I imagined. An ultra urban centre, full of interesting sights and sounds, cutting edge speed of operations, full of fantastic luxury dining options and absolutely reasonable ones, endless options for shopping in gigantic malls and each neighbourhood had a charm and identity of its own giving it a distinctive character. Our hotel was located at Park Avenue, one of NYC’s most wide boulevards with some iconic structures nearby. The yellow cabs with their mix of drivers are a part of NYC and you can hail them anywhere. And I was excited to see all those and much more.

The city is easy to get around, but can get overwhelming for the first timer. So, I decided to slot an area for each day that had most spots around it, to cover the maximum.

Sprawling acres of the Central Park

I began with the Central Park – and chances are that almost everyone has seen this fantastic park in some Hollywood film. The green lung of the city, full of activity and each portion has its own set of excitement. Sheep Hill, Bethesda Fountain, walkways, cycling tracks, - it seemed like a green world! Each season lends a different look – in winter you can enjoy the snow, in Fall, the red and yellow foliage, in summer the vast expanses of greenery and in spring the variety of colourful flowers. You can spend right from two hours to 24 hours in this beautiful park.

There are various entry and exit points to the Park and Columbus Circle is a famous junction. You can walk down the millionaire’s mile with the most expensive property in the world (also Trump Towers) and chances are if you are lucky, you could bump into some Hollywood star.