“Far below ran the silver ribbon of the East River, braceleted by shining bridges, flecked by boats as small as flyspecks, splitting the shining banks of light that were Manhattan and Brooklyn on either side.” ―  Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes (2008)

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On the 5th of May, spouse and I met a college friend of mine in New York and took the Circle Line “Best of NYC” boat tour around Manhattan, something none of us — including my lifelong New Yorker friend — had ever done. It didn’t seem the most auspicious of mornings, raining, with a high in the mid-50s, but our enthusiasm was not dampened (except literally). Along the hurried wet walk from Grand Central Station to Pier 83 on West 42nd Street I rejoiced in these bright tulips, and even in unnaturally bright Times Square in the rain.

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As you can see, though our cruise was full, not many ventured to the outside deck in the rain and wind. (The bar was closed.)

These are some of the highlights for me:

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We finished off our visit with a nice nosh at the Landmark Tavern nearby (at 626 11th Ave.), an Irish tavern on Cinco de Mayo.

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Featured image: from the boat 
This is one in a series of posts revisiting field trips taken from January to June 2019, as described here.