TOP 10 What I Did In New York This Summer #3

3. One World Observatory (opened 29th of May 2015)

While I was planning my trip, I hadn’t been even opened yet.

One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the USA, and for that matter, the entire western hemisphere. The skyscraper ranks third tallest in the world, behind Mecca’s Makkah Royal Clock Tower, which measures some 1,972 ft (601 m) tall, and Dubai’s mammoth 2,717 ft (828 m) Burj Khalifa.

Building Facts

  • Opened October 2014
  • Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (David M. Childs)
  • Tallest of new WTC Complex
  • 104 Stories / 1776 feet high
  • 3 million rentable square feet of space
  • 55 foot high office lobby
  • 54 High-speed destination dispatch passenger elevators
  • Life-safety systems far exceed NYC building code
  • Bound by West, Fulton, Washington and Vesey Streets
  • 55% leased to tenants including Condé Nast


One World Trade Center is the new icon of New York’s skyline and the most recognized and desirable office address in the world.

There are places available

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Watch this amazing video. According to EarthCam’s YouTube page, the team cut together hundreds of thousands of high-definition images captured between October 2004 and Memorial Day 2015 to produce the stunning two-minute video of the building rising into the sky.

One World Observatory on the upper floors of New York City’s new One World Trade Center building opened to visitors May 29. There are absolutely new views to Manhattan from the top floors. Visitors can walk around the floors to see different views – from the southern Battery to uptown and beyond.

I was afraid of huge lines as to Empire State building but there was almost no line at all.

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The Main Observatory on the building’s 100th floor offers an “interactive skyline concierge” that helps to explain what landmarks and neighborhoods you’re seeing from on high. Here you can step onto a 14-foot-wide disc called the Sky Portal to look directly down and see what’s 1,250 feet below.

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Even the elevators (called Sky Pods) that whisk you up to the top are decked out with high-tech walls that re-create the city’s skyline from the 1600s to today. So interesting but very very fast just 60 seconds. I felt ear pressure when we were lifting up and down.

I found elevator video on YouTube and was happy to watch it again without a mess.

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The See Forever Theater on the 102nd floor shows a two-minute video of aerial views of the city.

What was really new – The Statue of Liberty and all those small and big ships.

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A view of New York City from over 381 m (1,250 ft) high

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#2 TOP 10 What I Did In New York This SummerExploring The High Line  – most original urban park in America
#1 of TOP 10 What I Did in New York This Summer – sunrise on Manhattan’s fire escapes stairs

I would recommend this book about how it was built.

One World Trade Center (How Did They Build That?)

TOP 10 What I Did In New York This Summer #2

2. Exploring The High Line  – most original urban park in America

_DSC2547-26Jun2015I found this place in the internet when I was surfing and looking for “something not very popular and special on Manhattan” but it was popular indeed. A lot of people were walking there at the same time. Anyway, I still recommend the place. It is really unusual, especially for those who love trains.

They have many events which you can find on The High Line website. They have Blue Bottle Coffee shop what is also nice. In June it was cold coffee, but I believe in autumn it is even better to enjoy a cup of hot espresso.

And as for now this is amazing to see how it looked like in 1930’s in their blog. If you are going to visit the High Line, check the old pictures before and try to spot those places. i could not do it now.

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The High Line (also known as the High Line Park) is a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) New York City linear park built in Manhattan on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line. Inspired by the 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway), a similar project in Paris completed in 1993, the High Line has been redesigned and planted as an aerial green way and rails-to-trails park.
The High Line Park uses the disused southern portion of the West Side Line running to the Lower West Side of Manhattan. It runs from Gansevoort Street – three blocks below 14th Street – in the Meatpacking District, through Chelsea, to the northern edge of the West Side Yard on 34th Street near the Javits Convention Center. An unopened spur extends above 30th Street to Tenth Avenue. Formerly, the West Side Line went as far south as a railroad terminal to Spring Street just north of Canal Street; however, most of the lower section was demolished in 1960, with another small portion of the lower section being demolished in 1991.

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With the opening of the High Line Park, many films and television shows have set sequences there. In 2011, the television series Louie used the High Line as a setting for one of the title character’s dates. Other works to set scenes on the High Line since it opened include the HBO series Girls, the Simpsons episode “Moonshine River“, and the film What Maisie Knew.

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The trail is made of pebble-dash concrete walkways that swells and constricts, swings from side to side, and divides into concrete tines that meld the hardscape with the planting embedded in railroad gravel mulch. Stretches of track and ties recall the High Line’s former use. Portions of track are adaptively re-used for rolling lounges positioned for river views.

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The High Line’s design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planting designer Piet Oudolf. The design is inspired by the landscape that grew on the High Line during the 25 years after the trains stopped running. The various species of grasses, perennials, trees, and bushes were all chosen for their hardiness, sustainability, and textural and color variation, with a focus on native species. In many places, the High Line’s railroad tracks are returned to their original locations, integrated into the planting beds. Seating elements in – clude the park’s signature “peel-up” benches and riverview sundeck chaise lounges.

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  Some cute private small gardens which you could spot while walking on The High Line_DSC2594-26Jun2015

Check the previous one

#1 of TOP 10 What I Did in New York This Summer – sunrise on Manhattan’s fire escapes stairs

I would recommend this book
High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky

TOP 10 What I Did In New York This Summer #1

  1. Sunrise on Manhattan’s fire escapes

 431556_600  I woke up very early, thanks to jet lag. I was laying and waiting for at least a ray of light from my window. New York slept. Yes, it sleeps at 4-30 am, definitely. Then I found that our bed is right under the window with a fire escape. We tried to open it and voila, I was standing on those romantic stairs ever, just awaken still in my lingerie and with disheveled hairs. I felt I was inside of one of those Hollywood films just like Richard Gere or many other film heroes. That was so amazing!

 Jolly well, we made a photo shooting there. The stairs like that is a symbol of Manhattan for me. We rented an apartment on Airbnb. It wasn’t neat by the way, but it was on Manhattan, it was in old building and it made me feel so Newyorky.

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I found a piece of history about fire escapes in NYC. I was very excited to know.

The first law was enacted in 1860, requiring all tenement houses to have fire escapes. Then New York Labor – Title 3 – § 273, was enacted after the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911 which killed 146 immigrant workers in a building now part of NYU. The law required that fire escapes on office and factory buildings built after October 1st, 1913 had to be made of wrought iron or steel with the ability to sustain a live load of 90 pounds per square foot or greater with an additional safety factor. Other requirements recommended a “continuous or straight run stairway” if possible, a balcony “firmly fastened” to the building on every floor with iron railings, and unobstructed opening to fire escape of a least 2 feet wide and 6 feet in height.
One thing you notice on street level is that last staircase, which is required by law to go “from the lowest balcony to a safe landing place bene
ath.” The staircase must either remain down permanently or arranged to swing up and down.
Ever wonder why some fire escapes are in fun colors? A later law, which affected fire escapes constructed after April 18, 1929 required every fire escape made of material that might rust “be painted with two or more coats of good paint in contrasting colors… Whenever a fire-escape becomes rusty, the owner shall repaint it with two additional coats of good paint.” The latest fire escape law also has a variation of this rule.

This picture is where we lived. Upper East Side 93th Street

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The second law also had specifications about interior access and where fire escapes can be constructed in general, like in the photo below where fire escapes are permitted “in a court of a non-fireproof multiple dwelling to serve an apartment or suite of rooms which does not contain any room fronting upon a street or yard.” Additionally, it banned reuse of old materials or cast-iron in new construction.
The latest law appears to be 1 RCNY §15-10, available on NYC.gov, which goes through everything in great detail, down to what a “goose-neck ladder” is. But, the fire escape may not be long for the city. In April 2015, the FDNY spokesman Jim Long told the New York Post, “Those fire escapes are going the way of the dinosaur,” because fireproofing is seen as more effective.

Top 10 Thing You Need To Travel To New York In Summer

What to pack to NYC in summer?

Preparing my trip I’ve read a lot of websites with advises about NYC. It is not easy to decide what to pack with you to stay light and to have everything you may need. You never know whats gonna happen there. By the way to pack your New York City luggage is very easy.

What girls need to have in NYC in summer?

  1. Carry-on bag, where you put all your stuff
  2. A pair of comfortable shoes, if you run take your best running shoes. Those are quite nice in black and fit almost with everything.
  3. Comfortable socks. The best are running socks. It will be very helpful to prevent calluses if you plan to walk there. But who didn’t?
  4. Comfortable clothing. I mean jeans or leggings with shirt, something sporty and casual. Here I have a black tee from 2XU and black shorts from Lululemon – also fits almost everywhere depending on jewelry and hairstyle.
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  5. Toiletries TSA-Compliant (Toothbrush, comb and etc. less is better)
  6. Small make up kit. I use one black pencil, bb cream and a lipstick.
  7. Light fancy dress. I have this one from Athleta, which you needn’t iron, and it fits everywhere. Just add some jewelry and hairstyle in the evening.Screenshot 2015-09-20 22.24.04
  8. Pair of comfortable sandals to fit to the dress and which could be useful not just for one night.
  9. Internet in your mobile phone. It will make your life easier. To find a place to eat, to use map, to look for an event – all are quite easy in the Internet. We used AT@T guest SIM card for $40.
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  10. Backpack bag if you walk a lot. I have this one in brown, older model. I bought it when my daughter was born because I needed free hands to manage with her. It is very expensive but I have it more than seven years and I still wear it and it is still fancy. True Italian.
  11. Sunglasses.
  12. Your photo camera and notebook are optional but I had mine with me.

I am back!

Hello, everyone!

I am back after a long trip through USA including Hawaii and then right after we had landed in Czech Republic we started driving to France Atlantic coast. It took me two month to get back home. I plan to tell about it here during this year. I hope so=)

I have not been training for two months also. So, I am trying to be back in form as soon as possible.

I had a 10k race this weekend, which was not successful, as you could understand. Moreover I was so unlucky to be caught on a cobblestone at 9th kilometer and fall with injured knee and elbow but finished with slightly under 54 minutes. I love this race. It takes place in the center of Prague every year.

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