I <3 New York City

This past long weekend my husband and I and eight of our closest friends (they really are) visited the bustle and beauty of New York City. Of the many, many, many sights in this great city, Central Park is one of my favourites.

Our first visit was overwhelming, but this time we had our bearings and went our separate ways to cross specific activities off our individual lists. A group of two (including my husband) headed off to see the Aircraft Carrier Intrepid that houses the Sea-Air-Space Museum, while 4 others who didn’t make the first visit, took in the 4 hour city tour provided with our travel package. The remaining four of us spent a good two hours taking the the nature and beauty of Central Park.

 

The fact that the largest city in the US boasts an almost entirely man-made 843 acre park in it’s centre is amazing. Just a few steps into the park it’s hard to believe you are in a busy noisy city. Birds are chirping (approximately 275 different species), flowers blooming and the winding paths promise views of nature that have you oooing and ahhhing.

 

According to the Central Park Conservancy (http://www.centralparknyc.org/), Central Park has 150 acres of water in 7 different bodies, 250 acres of lawns and 136 acres of woodlands boasting 26,000 trees. Most of this was man-made over 16 years starting in 1858 based on a collaboration of designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. It took 4,000 labourers, gardeners, stone masons, engineers and artisans to complete the design and over the last 150 years, the Park has certainly fulfilled the artistic vision of it’s designers.

 

My little backyard garden can only aspire to the greatness of Central Park.