Queens Walking Tour

Globe at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Today after having a lazy morning I picked myself up out of bed and headed out to Queens for the first time. I decided to take Lonely Planet's advice and take the 7 Train from Grand Central. Also called the International Express, it takes you along a national "registered historical trail" riding above ground level through the longtime immigrant neighborhoods of Sunnyside (Romanian, Turkish), Woodside (Irish), Jackson Heights (Indian, Pilipino), Corona Heights (Italian, Peruvian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Mexican), and Flushing (Chinese, Korean). For me the highlight of the train ride from Manhattan into Flushing was going past 5 Pointz, considered to be the world’s “graffiti Mecca,” where people from around the world come to paint colorful aerosol artwork on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot factory building.

Once I got to the end of the line in Flushing I hopped off the train for a quick stroll through Chinatown before hopping back on to head to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a 1225-acre park built for the 1939 World Fair. When I arrived, by a happy coincidence, I stumbled upon a huge Colombian Independence Day festival. There were so many people and everyone was wearing the Colombian colors of yellow, blue, and red - much more vibrant than America's red, white, and blue. I wanted to have some food there but the lines were just too long for me and the vegetarian options were limited.

Colombian Independence Day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Once I walked through the park and festival I jumped back on the train for a couple of stops until I got to 103rd St-Corona Park (Corona named after the suburb, not the beer - but for all I know the burb could be names after the beer) for a long walk down Roosevelt Ave. This stretch of Roosevelt (I walked for 50 blocks) took me through the Hispanic center of Queens. Everything was written in Spanish and many of the people did not speak any English at all. That was fine by me though, I practiced my Spanish - "Quiero agua, por favor."

After 30 blocks Roosevelt was supposed to turn from Hispanic into Indian. At this point I saw maybe 3 Indian shops, and one Arab shop. It seems as though the Hispanic area has expanded since Sept 2008 when the Lonely Planet New York was last updated, right in the midst of the Great Recession. Anyways, I kept walking for another 20 blocks for no apparent reason, although I am glad I did - I ended up finding a store that was selling sweet Rip Curl board shorts for only $5. I bought Russell 2 pair since most of his are pretty torn up.

Walking down Roosevelt Ave., Queens

After fifty blocks of walking I was ready to get back on the train and headed to Manhattan and Grand Central. Once in Grand Central I discovered where the whispering room is located. There were a bunch of people trying it out. I can't wait to have visitors around to try that with me... I also ate my dinner at Grand Central - delicious Indian food. My favorite part was the potato somosa with chuntey. Delicious! After eating my dinner I grabbed a super mini vanilla cheesecake to take home from the Magnolia Bakery. After that, I headed home.

Oh and the cheesecake was delicious!

A map of my Queens walking tour:


View Queens Walking Tour in a larger map

Tour of the United Nations and more!

Erica with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (cutout)

Well Professor Clémençon's class has paid off... I toured the UN headquarters and was able to answer a few of the questions the tour guide asked about the functions of the UN, the Millennium Development Goals, the nations with veto powers, etc. Also, President Clinton's personal assistant came in to talk yesterday and I was able to appreciate her remarks about the snails pace the UN works at. But really, the tour was great and I saw many interesting things and some very beautiful artwork.

Street fair with Kathy

After the UN tour Kathy and I stumbled upon a delicious Mediterranean place, called Crisp, for lunch - if you are ever near the UN headquarters or the Empire State Building I recommend eating there, it's on the corner of 43rd & 3rd. In front of Crisp there was a little street fair going on. I wish I would have had more time to look around because there was some really beautiful jewelry, but I had a meeting at work that I needed to get to (which actually ended up getting canceled, ah well). The fair was in front of the Empire State Building, though, which was my first up close view of the building. Eventually I would like to make it up to the top to check out the view, although I hear the line to the top can get mighty long.

Grand Central Terminal

To get back to work in Harlem I caught the subway from the Grand Central Terminal, and to be honest I imagined it would be a little bit more grand. Still, it is very lovely inside and there were soo many people coming and going - pretty astounding. But my favorite part of Grand Central, by far, was the ceiling. The ceiling of Grand Central is baby blue with the constellations of the night sky strewn across it. The artist, Paul Helleu, painted the zodiac backwards when he was inspired by a medieval manuscript that showed the heavens as they would have been seen from outside the celestial sphere, although some say it was just the painters mistake. I didn't notice many people stop to look up and admire the ceiling, but it is beautiful nonetheless. I'd like to go back when Russell arrives to test out the Whispering Gallery.

After another wonderful day at work, while walking to the subway, I came across a Michael Jackson celebration - one year anniversary of his death. Thriller was playing and there was a children's dance troupe dancing in the middle of a large crowd. I was in the back and couldn't see a damn thing, but one fellow started to bust a move and he ended up being pretty awesome! Too bad I only was able to record the end of his routine (see the video here). Regardless, I love hearing Michael Jackson music whenever I can, and when there are people dancing and singing to it on the streets it's even better!

On the subway ride home I finally got the courage to record some subway bongo drummers (video). I've noticed that drummers are the most common sight to see riding the trains here, although I have also seen dancers, singers, and guitar and accordion players. The bongo players are my favorite, though, because they always say, "This is to make everyone's ride a little bit better and to put a smile on your face." And you know what? They always do put a smile on my face. I'd like to start recording more of the talented people I see on the train, but it is always just a little bit awkward pulling out my camera because you never know when someone might get offended - not everyone wants a video of themselves up on youtube!

Tomorrow, err today by now, is the weekend and I plan to get more NYC exploring in while I can. Maybe a museum visit finally?