Touring New York, our First Full Day: Times Square, the Dakota, Macy's, and the Garment District

Mom and I spent a bit of time touring New York today, we took it easy while we waited for my sisters to arrive and rode a double decker bus. The bus tour was actually very interesting. We saw a lot of spots that we will go back to with my sisters. We started out at Times Square and saw the billboards in daylight, and I had my camera with me. Take this billboard, for instance. The people beside it, the cars on the street, and the surrounding buildings really help to give a perspective of the size of the billboards! The people are on the second level of a double decker bus!

The Dalai Lama is in New York, too. I wish I'd known. I'd like to have arranged to see him! In any case, he, too, has his own billboard, and it is also fairly large! Just saw him on tv he is wearing a ball cap. Maybe he was speaking outside! It was HOT! I got a little pink, today!

We had some great tour guides on our double decker bus. Yes, guides. We had more than one, because we were on for a shift change. One of our guide was born in Harlem, but now lives in Brooklyn. She added a personal touch to our Harlem tour. I got a quick shot of the famous Apollo theatre where they say Simon Cowell from American Idol, would seem like a really nice guy on a Wednesday night...

We also saw the famous Dakota building..famous for a number of reasons, one being that John Lennon was killed there. A security guard now mans the entrance.

In the downtown area we saw the famous Macy's. I liked the side facade with the shopping bag.

In the Garment District, what struck me as interesting were the number of buildings that are built out of cast iron. When they were built in the mid 1800s fairly cheaply as they could be purchased in pieces and put together quickly. They were then given brick and stone facades to give them the look of surrounding buildings. The problem came in the fact that being in the garment district, there were lots of fires and cast iron has a low burning point. There are many that remain, however. In fact there are quite a number that have modern looks on the inside, which have been converted into condos. I took pictures of a few.