On a sunny day like today, I thought it was a great day to visit Greenwich Village, or “the Village” as they like to call it. My main reason for heading this direction, is the number of book shops you find here. More independent book shops than the rest of New York, unless I’m mistaken.

My first stop was the Strand, a huge book shop with lots and lots of books: New, used, old, rare… Pretty much “everything”. Actually, they have a whole floor dedicated to rare books, a floor separated from the others. There were even a couple of big, leather bound chairs on this floor, and books safely locked in, just to peek at. First editions, books for collectors…

In between all the book shops I made sure to rest. It really was a perfect day to buy some iced coffee, and sit down in the park to read…

I enjoyed the Village a lot. There were a lot of other things to see as well, like a public garden with small houses for the birds. I also visited Washington Square Park, which was full of life. There was even a guy playing the piano while some guys tap danced to his music. How he had managed to get his piano out there, I have no idea…

I ended my visit in the Village by having my dinner at Le Pain Quotidien, which also had very good coffee. After dinner, I headed back to the hotel, where I started to pack mu suitcase. Tomorrow I head west…

When I looked out the window this morning, it was raining. My instant thought was: This is a perfect day to visit museums! Found out I wanted to visit the Museum of the City of New York.

I thought I had brought a rain jacket, but it turned out it wasn’t exactly working as one, so by the time I arrived at the museum, I was soaking wet. And cold. Not exactly a happy puppy.

I had a walk around the museum, but I have to admit that other than the new part with the current state of New York City and the housing situation and the part with activism in NYC, it wasn’t much. And the activism part was my favourite, with different types of activism. Very interesting! I just wish they had done something similar with e. g. immigration, which I was surprised to find almost nothing about!

After the museum the rain hadn’t stop, and I decided to go back to the hotel. When I was back in the room, it was nice to have a hot shower and put on something dry, as I was wet to the skin.

I decided to stay in my room for the rest of the day, only to go out to have dinner at the diner. The diner has a door to the hotel, so there was no need to go out. Looking out of the hotel room window made it clear: The rain had picked up, so staying in and watching telly would be a great idea! And watching the local TV is kind of getting to know the country’s culture, right?

The main event for today was to visit The Morgan Library & Museum, a place I’ve found in one of the guide books I borrowed at the library before I left home. This really is a “must see” for any book lover visiting New York!

Though there’s a gallery here as well, it was Pierpont Morgan’s library that was my main interest. It’s such a beautiful place, with lots of old books, and beautiful room!

After having had a look at the beautiful library, and the gallery, I decided it was time for coffee, and went to Stumptown, that had been recommended to me. Though the coffee was excellent, I really wish they had seating. So, I just had a quick espresso, before heading onwards to Chelsea.

In Chealsea I mostly strolled around and had a look around. I did stop by a cake shop called Empire, though, where I had a very yummy pistachio cupcake.

In the evening I felt like some vegan fine dining, and headed for a restaurant called Blossom. I had some really yummy food, and the ice cream, that’s made from coconut, was really beautiful!

Maybe not the most eventful of days, in other words, but that’s OK. It was nice to have a more quiet day.

I woke up to a very sunny day today, and figured that a great idea would be to walk down the famous 5th Avenue and head for Central Park. So, I grabbed some breakfast on my way to Fifth Avenue, and the adventure was on!

5th Avenue is a huge shopping street, with a lot of fancy shops. This is where you can find famous brands, but to be honest, I’m not all that interested in that. You can also find a lot of interesting architecture, and a huge Barnes & Nobles, which is an American book shop chain.

Except for the book shop, the only other shop I was interested in was Tiffany’s & Co., mostly because of the book Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capone and the film based on the novel. Coming into the shop felt very strange. The guards were very polite, and everybody were greeted with a good morning. I did have a look at the jewelry, but they weren’t really my cup of tea…

Tiffany’s is situated right by Central Park, and that was my next spot. I have to say, Central Park is probably my favourite spot on the whole of Manhattan. There’s plenty of things to see! It’s also a lot more quiet than the rest of the city. Sometimes you can hardly notice you’re actually in New York City, as you don’t hear much else than birds singing. This is where you can take a break from the busy city life and actually find some peace, even though you sometimes see the city peak over the trees…

There were a lot of musicians performing in the park. I was surprised by the quality of the music they performed. Wonderful! Not to mention the lake you keep seeing on films, where people can hire boats and go for a row. And did you know there’s a castle in the park? And a pond with real live turtles? This, and a lot more, is in the video below.

After the park, I went back to the hotel, and picked up some food on the way. Decided on taking the rest of the day in the room, relaxing. After all, I had spent many hours walking (Central Park is HUGE), and I was tired and had sore feet. After all, I need to be fit for a new day tomorrow, when new adventures awaits!

After first waking up at 4:30 this morning, and then heading back to bed for a few more hours, I went out for breakfast kind of early (at least for me). And what would be more natural than having it at an American diner? I got a stack of yummy pancakes with butter and maple syrup, and coffee.

I decided on doing a bit of sightseeing by foot. I strolled down to Broadway, and followed it all the way down to Time Square. It felt almost unreal to actually be there! I also headed to the Empire State building, which I can see from my hotel room, but decided on not going up.

One of the great thing by walking around, is that you get to see so much more. Things typical for the country or city you’re visiting. Like, for example, the yellow school buses they have here in the US, or the typical fire escape outside the houses in New York…

After having stuffed myself with a large lunch, I decided to head for Staten Island. To get there, you travel by the Staten Island Ferries. The ferry is actually free, and a great way to see the famous Statue of Liberty.

After all the walking, I found out I wanted to have dinner nearby. I stumbled upon a small place, and ordered my meal at the desk to eat in. I was surprised when I was told it was only $3.50 for the meal, including a bottle of Snapple! Another thing I noticed was that I was the only female eating there… The food was really good, though, but probably as far from fancy as you can get.

My feet are sore after such a long day on my feet, with a lot of walking. I’m still a bit jet lagged, so I will probably fall asleep quickly…

I’m sure we all have heard horror stories about American immigration, about how strict and unfriendly they are. Maybe I was just lucky, but the young man who had a look at my passport and looked me up in the system just asked a few simple questions, and when I told him I’m a librarian to his question “What do you do?” he told me he thought that was a very cool job, and there was also an “I adore you!”, while he scanned my finger prints.

I’m staying at the Newyorker Hotel, and my room is a small, cozy and nice room on the 25th floor. The view is wonderful:

I haven’t done much today. I’ve only done a bit of walking around, and am trying to fight the jet lag. It’s past bedtime in Norway, but not so here. I stumbled upon a comic book shop called Midtown Comics, that I enjoyed.

I bought some food stuff to eat in my room. I just thought was best today. I’ll see how long I can hold out before going to bed, and hopefully be fit for fight tomorrow.