central park

The Plaza Hotel is a luxury hotel located near the southeast corner of Central Park in Midtown Manhattan area of New York City. Built in 1907, it is among the most well-known hotel in the world as it symbolizes luxury and opulence and it has been featured in countless literatures, movies, and TV shows set in New York City. After a five-year, $450 million restoration between 2002-2007, the Plaza Hotel now houses 282 hotel rooms and 152 private condo suites. There are also luxury stores and gourmet food hall to check out, even if you’re not staying at the hotel. It is also the only hotel in New York City that has a National Historic Landmark designation.

Like most visitors to New York, I’ve walked past the hotel and went into the lobby just to peek in, but I had never stayed at this hotel. I do remember watching movies like Crocodile Dundee 2 and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York that were set in this hotel. A few years ago, I came to New York City with my cousin and his family. His two young daughters (around 10 years old at the time) immediately recognized the hotel as “the place where Kevin stayed” referring to the Home Alone 2 movie.

The photo below was outside the hotel few years ago when I went to New York City around Christmas time. I thought it’s a fitting post for today given it’s Christmas Eve tonight.

Central Park is a large public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City. The park is 2.5 miles long by 0.5 miles wide. With approximately 35 million visitors annually, it is the most visited public park in the United States. It is yet another well-known New York City site that has been featured in countless movies set in Manhattan, and it features many familiar landmarks like the famous restaurant (now closed) Tavern on the Green, the Central Park Zoo, the Great Lawn, Strawberry Fields (a tribute to John Lennon), the Reservoir, and the large Metropolitan Museum of Art building.

I first visited the Central Park during my first sightseeing tour of New York City. I remembered going as a group to see the Strawberry Fields and took a group photo near the Imagine mosaic. We also went to the Tavern on the Green around sunset and seeing the lighting of the lights on the trees around the restaurant. It was definitely a memorable sight for someone visiting the Big Apple for the first time.

Several years later, my brother lived in the Upper East Side neighborhood east of the Central Park. Several times when I visited him, I went for a walk near the park. It’s quite interesting place to enjoy the scenery around the park, but also to people watch. As you get closer to the park on the east side, you can tell that the homes are getting higher in price. In fact, many of the upper-class New Yorkers live in this part of town.

The photo below was taken in late Spring afternoon during a walk in the eastern part of the Central Park. You can see the reservoir and the buildings on the west side of the park reflected on the water.