Top of the Rock

I have seen so many fantastic chandeliers in this town, and here's yet another one in the lobby of Rockefeller Center. It is 3 stories high and I have just captured a glimmer of it's splendor. So much glamour, bling and glitz!

This beautiful building was built by John Rockefeller during the Great Depression. He put thousands of people to work building this spectacular hub of NY communications. It continues to be a gathering spot in the city, and the NBC studios are inside with the sets for Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan (from which he has been promoted to the Tonight Show.) I've also heard that Dwight Schrute haunts the hallways.

This is where the journey to the top of the Rock begins. We are flying up 67 stories to the top to see the 360 degree bird's-eye view of Manhattan.

See how fast that was. We are now at the top looking out toward the north and Central Park. The large lake in Central Park is the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir. To the right of the park, is the Upper East Side where the very wealthy, with their chauffeurs and nannies, live and schmooze. On the left side of the park, still very expensive, just a little more artsy--John Lennon and Heath Ledger's neighborhood. If you could fly beyond the northernmost end of the park, you would be flying over Harlem and then Yankee Stadium. I'm name-dropping because I'm in New York, and that's what you do.

Imagine the fortitude of this fragile butterfly making it up to the top of the Rock! So high on those tiny wings. She's the Little Butterfly that Could. Beyond the butterfly, you can make out the silver strand of the East River and Brooklyn past that.

After a few days in NY, you start to really love these skyscrapers. They are like gentle giants surrounding you, each with it's own story and personality. My hubby points to the Empire State Building, actually about 15 blocks to the south. Under his forearm are the little rectangles of the financial district where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. The skyline is not the same without them, and the hole in the spot where they stood, and in our hearts, remains.