Williamsburg Bridge

On Black Friday, I wanted to check out my favorite record store in Bushwick, Human Head, because they were having a great sale. I arranged to meet David at the Kellogg's Diner in Williamsburg, and decided that it would also be a great day to walk the Williamsburg Bridge. I've only walked it once—on a scorching day back in 2013—and it was always something on my list to do again.

The Williamsburg bridge connects the Lower East Side in Manhattan with Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and spans the East River. The 7,308-foot suspension bridge was the second to be built over the river (after the Brooklyn Bridge and before the Manhattan), and when it opened in 1903 it held the record for the longest suspension bridge on Earth (a record it held until 1924).

In the 80s, the bridge fell into disrepair and by the end of the decade more than 200 of its suspension cables had snapped, and it was closed completely for a few months in 1988 after it was judged to be structurally unsafe. In the '90s and 2000s, it was mostly rebuilt, and now it is the most heavily bicycled span in North America (the separate pedestrian walkway was added in 1999).

Along with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg is the only other suspension bridge in New York City to carry both car and subway traffic, and several M and J trains went by during my walk. It's a longer walk than the Brooklyn or Manhattan bridges, but the Williamsburg bridge has a feel all its own. The city views aren't as spectacular (there are better views to be had on the bike path) as the other bridges' and it might not be as iconic as the Brooklyn Bridge, but like an often-overlooked middle child, its unique charms are worthy of a second look.

Manhattan Bridge: Morning

On a recent weekend, I was meeting my mom in Chinatown for diner breakfast before we headed to the resurrected Troll Museum. It was a nice morning, so I took the Q to DeKalb and walked the rest of the way from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge. Riding over the bridge on the Q during my morning commute, I've often thought that morning is the time to walk the bridge—the light shining on Manhattan is perfect at that time of day. I also (wrongly) assumed that it would be desolate at an early hour, but discovered that seemingly every single running club in New York City runs over the bridge on Saturday morning (who knew?).

Despite nearly being trampled multiple times, the walk was still lovely. I've walked nearly all of the city bridges (this was my third time on the Manhattan), and can say with certainty that the views from the Manhattan are unparalleled. Sure you'll get similar views from the Brooklyn Bridge, but (running clubs aside) with far more foot traffic and selfie-stick wielding tourists. The safety fence does require some ingenuity to get a proper photograph, but I eventually stopped fighting it and learned to love the framing provided by the original fence that sits beneath the chain link.

Of course the skyline of Lower Manhattan—and the profile of the neighboring Brooklyn Bridge—is a classic, postcard view, but it's when the bridge reaches land and you can see into the streets of Chinatown that I think things really get interesting. The ever-changing graffiti mixed with clotheslines and inexplicable foliage is fascinating to me—an entire city of rooftops within a city and out of view. There's really nothing like having a fresh vantage point on a city I feel as if I know so well to reinvigorate my love of New York.

The High Bridge

Sunday was definitely a day to spend outside, so Jim and I planned to go to the High Bridge in northern Manhattan. The High Bridge is the oldest bridge in the city, and originally opened in 1848 as an aqueduct. It was closed for more than 40 years before it reopened as a pedestrian bridge in June of 2015.

I wouldn't really describe the High Bridge as a destination, but if you're history or bridge nerds like Jim and me, then it's definitely worth a visit. It's a pretty short span over the Harlem River, and there's not much to do on either side of the bridge, however High Bridge park on the Manhattan side is a beautiful walk. Even if this winter was pretty mild, it was just nice to be outside and feel genuinely warm for the first time in a while.

The original part of the bridge is a series of stone arches, the Harlem River span of which was replaced in 1928 with a steel arch to allow for the passage of large ships. It really does look like two halves of completely different bridges were just pasted together—even the brick of the walkway changes from one half to the other.

The High Bridge water tower lords over the High Bridge, next to a public pool in the spot that once held the city's reservoir. One of the High Bridge's architects was James Renwick, Jr., who also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse and the Smallpox Hospital (now my favorite ruin), and you can definitely see the similarities, especially with the lighthouse.

The bridge completionist in me is grateful to have added another bridge to my "walked" list, the history buff in me loves anything that can claim an "-est" distinction and the old lady in me is just grateful when anything old survives in this "replace all history with a luxury condo" city.

George Washington Bridge

Walking the George Washington Bridge has been on my to-do list since I first visited the Little Red Light House, which sits underneath the bridge in Fort Washington Park. I considered walking it one day in the winter, but decided against it because of the cold and wind. Walking bridges has become one of my favorite things to do and I'm always thrilled by a new view of the city.

Unlike the other city bridges I've walked (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queensboro/59th Street, Williamsburg, Pulaski, Triborough/RFK), the GWB doesn't have any type of safety fence. I'm always grumbling about safety fences and how ugly they make structures so I was pleased to find my views unobstructed. Of course, I now realize why people are frequently throwing themselves off of the GWB, and there are numerous suicide helpline stations throughout the walk. The GWB also has the same gate-like structures on its approaches that the Brooklyn Bridge recently installed to prevent people from climbing the supports.

Of course I wish we lived in a world where people didn't throw themselves off of bridges—and especially one where idiots didn't climb support cables to take Instagram selfies. The first thing I noticed when I climbed to the top of the Duomo in Florence was the lack of a safety fence or supervision of any kind (I passed four cops on the GWB). They've been trusting people to act rationally for more than 700 years but in America we're coddled and caged and we still manage to throw ourselves off bridges when we want to. I'm not sure if I'm trying to make a point other than: the views from the GWB are very nice, and you should definitely not jump off of it so they can stay that way (and because being alive is pretty great).

The worst part about the GWB is that the walkway is shared between pedestrians and cyclists, and unlike the Brooklyn Bridge, there are no designated lanes. There are numerous signs urging cyclists to yield to pedestrians, but that was definitely not my experience. The path is quite narrow during both approaches and at a few points along the walk. The bridge was full of cyclists—I only passed a few other walkers/runners—and it was hard not to be a little on edge with bikes constantly whizzing past me.

The bridge was very busy, traffic-wise, and there were a few times when it shook pretty violently. The rusty fences and crumbling concrete weren't exactly comforting, and on the walk back I witnessed a minor three-car fender-bender. Judging by the amount of debris that litters the walkway—car mirrors, flattened traffic cones, broken glass—I'm assuming that's not such a rare occurrence.

I eventually did get somewhat used to all of the bikes and relaxed enough to really enjoy the walk. The views of the city and the Hudson River are wonderful. I walked right over the Little Red Lighthouse and the cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades are a nice contrast to the city views. The only real drawback to walking the GWB is that you end up in New Jersey—but unlike when my dad drove me back to Ohio more than two years ago, all I had to do was turn around and walk back to Manhattan.

Manhattan Bridge

I've walked the Manhattan Bridge a few times now, and I've really grown fond of its scrappiness—especially when compared with its classier and more popular neighbor, the Brooklyn Bridge. I love it much more now that I'm prepared for the constant train rattle and now that I know exactly how to find the pedestrian entrances and exits.

My most recent bridge walk was from Brooklyn to Manhattan, after a day spent exploring Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. The sun was setting and it was pretty empty, which made for a really excellent walk. I will always appreciate that cyclists and pedestrians have their own sides of the bridge, which makes the walk much more leisurely.

There is always new graffiti to see on the Chinatown rooftops and on the bridge itself and the colors are really extraordinary. And no matter how many times I see it, the view of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge will never not be spectacular to me—even if I have no idea how the Verizon monstrosity has the nerve to think it belongs in the same skyline as the dreamy Woolworth building.

Triborough / RFK Bridge

Back in September, after a day spent exploring the always-weird Randall's Island, I made an impulse decision to walk across a portion of the Triborough Bridge (officially renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in 2008) into Queens. I happened upon a pedestrian ramp while I was dreading the long walk back into Manhattan, so it was by a mixture of exhaustion and curiosity that I ended up on one of the last city bridges that I had left on my to-walk list.

I knew from my exploration of Astoria Park that the Triborough Bridge would dump me out near a subway line in Queens but I didn't expect it to be such a harrowing—and at times truly terrifying—bridge walk. The ramp from Randall's Island was innocuous enough—enclosed with chain link fence and rising above and over the strange mix of industrial, athletic and mental health facilities that populate Randall's Island. However, once I was on the actual bridge it began to get a bit scary with the highway so close to the walkway, and cyclists speeding by me despite the many "walk your bicycle" warnings along the narrow pedestrian route.

Like the Manhattan Bridge, the Triborough has an additional chain link safety fence sitting on top of the original railing—that is, until the very moment that you stop being over land, and begin to cross over the Hell Gate section of the East River, at which point the safety fence completely disappears. I'm not normally afraid of heights but with speeding traffic to my right and a crazy drop into the choppy river to my left (not to mention a walkway with large gaps that would shake violently every time a truck would go by) it was a less-than-leisurely stroll into Queens.

Incidentally, the safety fence reappeared when I was once again over land, making it the least-effective fence I've ever encountered. The views of Randall's Island, the spooky Manhattan Psychiatric Center and the Hell Gate Bridge are pretty nice—even more so when I was safely back at ground level and finally reviewed my photos.

There are two other legs of the bridge still to walk (the portions spanning the Harlem River and the Bronx Kill) if I want to be a completionist about it, but I have my heart set on the George Washington as my next bridge walk—as soon as (or if) my Triborough trauma subsides.

Brooklyn Bridge at Sunset

On Saturday I thought it would be nice to finally walk the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. One of the (only) good things about the sun setting so early now is that I get to see some really beautiful skies and they happen while I'm still out exploring. I've been on the bridge in all sorts of weather and seasons, but never at sunset (or sunrise). Saturday was one of the coldest bridge walks I've taken but I think my body is just not ready to accept that light-jacket-fall weather is really over.

The sunset was beautiful as always but I soon discovered that the bridge isn't really in a position that lines up well with the pretty skies. That isn't to say I had a bad time, however, because a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge never disappoints.

As it started to get dark I realized that I might be able to take some long exposure photos of the traffic lights below, so I spent most of my time playing with camera settings and trying to get a good shot. I'm pretty new to the whole "nice" camera thing, and while I shoot on manual I still feel like I have so much to learn. I also don't have a tripod or a remote, but I'm pretty happy with my first attempt at long exposures.

A lot of them were blurry because I had to set my camera on the wobbly bridge ledge, but it was super rewarding when I would manage to get a good shot. I stayed on the bridge shooting from different angles and different exposures until I felt like my fingers were going to snap off from the cold.

I am definitely in the market for a tripod now and I can't wait to go back (and to other bridges!) and hone my skills. I maintain that there is no better way to spend a few hours in New York than walking the Brooklyn Bridge—even if it is touristy and crowded—it will always be magic to me.

Astoria Park

Two weekends ago, after checking on the cherry trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (they were finally blooming!) I wasn't ready to head inside for the day, so I wound up in Astoria Park in Queens. I had read some stupid Buzzfeed article about hidden gems in Queens (maybe it wasn't so stupid, especially considering the source...) that mentioned Astoria Park so I put it on my list of places to check out.

I'm a total sucker for a good bridge or skyline view, and a waterfront walk and Astoria Park has all three, plus an extra bridge just for good measure. At the south end of the park is the Triborough, aka Robert F Kennedy bridge, and at the north end is the Hell Gate train bridge. Both are nice to look at, but the arching pink Hell Gate is definitely my favorite of the two.

The Hell Gate opened in 1916 and is so named because it crosses the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River between Queens and Randall's Island. Consequently, Randall's Island also has great views of each bridge, which I first discovered when Jim and I went there for the world's saddest fall festival last October.  There is also a great view of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Randall's Island, which opened in 1863 and was once the largest psychiatric hospital in the world.

Astoria Park is quite large, with athletic fields, playgrounds, ample parking, large lawns and a nice waterfront walkway that spans the whole length. There is just something about sitting or walking underneath an enormous bridge that feels special to me. I'm fascinated with all of the different viewpoints I can get of a particular thing — bridge, skyline, building or otherwise — and it was neat to see places like Randall's Island or upper Manhattan from the "other side."

You can't really walk along the shoreline, which is probably a good thing because from what I could tell the "beach" was made up primarily of bits of broken glass (bottles mostly). I've actually never seen so much sea glass (river glass?) in one place before but the green, white and brown pieces sure were pretty, even if not entirely sandal-friendly.

I didn't have to read the Buzzfeed article to know that Queens is full of gems, hidden or otherwise. Every time I go there I have a great time and discover something new (to me) and totally awesome. I don't know if I'd like to live there sometime in the future, but I'm constantly thankful that all of its delights are just a short train ride away.

Little Red Lighthouse / Walk MS

On Saturday, after I was done exploring Trinity Cemetery and Mausoleum, I texted my friend Alisha to see if she wanted to grab dinner. She suggested that we go to Chipotle, and I counter-suggested that she meet me up north and we not only get Chipotle, but we walk over to Fort Washington Park. Being the great friend that she is, she played along and agreed to meet me at 168th/Broadway, where we bought our dinners and took them to go.

I assured her it was a short walk, but anyone that knows me well has long ceased to believe me when I designate something as a "short" walk. About 20 minutes later, we finally arrived at the park, after taking a very indirect, extremely windy and sometimes stabby-feeling roundabout route, Chipotle bags in hand. Fort Washington Park has amazing views of the George Washington Bridge (it runs right under it) and is home to the Little Red Lighthouse. Made famous by a 1942 children's book, it's the last remaining lighthouse on the island of Manhattan.

This is pretty much how it goes with all of my adventures. I have the best of intentions, but somewhere along the way they get out-of-hand, and I end up walking two or three times as much as I originally intended. Luckily for me, I love walking. I actually adore walking. I've run one continuous mile only once in my entire life, but I could walk for days and days (sometimes it feels as if I have).

In fact, walkability is one of the top things I love about New York, and as much as I also love the subway system, if I can walk to my destination then I'm as happy as can be. When I got a new job on the Upper East Side, I was initially bummed that I would have to ride the bus, but ecstatic when I discovered that walking across Central Park took me just about the same amount of time as a bus ride. You see so much more of the city when you walk and it's a sneaky and endlessly entertaining way to exercise without really feeling like you're doing much.

I am grateful every single day for my two, strong and capable legs and for all of the adventures that they take me on. That is why I have decided to draw upon my love of walking to help raise money for the National MS Society. Multiple Sclerosis affects millions of people, some of which no longer have (or live in fear of losing) the luxury of taking a leisurely walk.

My mom and I will be participating in the New York City Walk MS event on May 4th, and I graciously ask for your help in meeting my fundraising goal of $250. This is the first time I've ever done a charity event, and I'm embarrassed it took me this long to start giving back, but I'm excited to help such a worthy cause. If you can spare anything at all, just visit my personal page  and click the "donate to Alexandra" link on the right-hand side — my legs and I really, really appreciate it!

Greenpoint / Pulaski Bridge

On Presidents' Day, I had the day off and I decided to explore Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Despite the fact that it was bitterly cold (20 degrees at the most with wind chills in the single digits) it was crazy sunny and I wanted to get outside.

I had never been to Greenpoint before, and in the same way I begin most of my adventures, I picked a starting point: Five Leaves on Bedford Ave. I had read rave reviews about their brunch and I thought I would chance it, hoping it wouldn't be super crowded since it was a weekday. Well, all of Brooklyn must have also had the day off because it was absolutely packed. All of the outside tables were even full, and like I said it was cooooold. I wasn't in the mood to fight the crowds (and upon seeing the type of crowd, I know I'm definitely not cool enough to even really be there) so I kept on walking further into Greenpoint.

A friend of mine had once raved about Peter Pan donuts, so I decided to head there for lunch instead. The shop is super cute and a total time wrap, but it was also full so I had to take my donuts to go. I got a chocolate iced and lemon cream, and headed to the waterfront.

I am a sucker for a great skyline view, and the one from WNYC Transmitter park is a definitely worth seeing. It's a small park, but there is a nice pier jutting out into the East River — although I found out later that right next door is where the East River Ferry pier had mysteriously collapsed a day earlier (yikes).

I stood on the pier and ate my donuts as I basked in the sunshine, and thought that there was pretty much no better way to spend a day. Of course the wind blew powdered sugar all over my coat and my hands were borderline frostbitten after five minutes, but the view was so nice and the donuts so delicious that it was hard to be grumpy about anything.

I wandered around Greenpoint for a while longer, slowly making my way to the Queens/Brooklyn border. The area is very industrial and desolate, and I found a lot of great graffiti and beautiful, old buildings to photograph. I would love to go back when the temperature is more hospitable now that I have my new camera and just focus on taking photographs, but I managed to snap a few in between hand-warming sessions.

I eventually ended up at the Pulaski Bridge, which I decided to walk over to Long Island City, in Queens. It's a small bridge that links the two boroughs, with a pedestrian walkway on one side. It's not much to look at, aesthetically, but the views of Manhattan are pretty spectacular.

There are also welcome signs into each borough, although the one into Brooklyn definitely wins in the copywriting department. While the Pulaski is the least exciting (and shortest) bridge I've walked, it was nice to be able to cross another one off of my list. It was a long walk — about 3 miles from the Bedford L to Queens — but I try to go at a leisurely pace and there's always something fascinating to look at.

I ended up at Sweetleaf in Long Island City, which is quickly becoming my favorite coffee shop due to their insanely delicious iced Voodoo Child drink and cozy atmosphere. It was the perfect end to the perfect day off and I'm so glad I wasn't deterred by the cold (or the hipster mob at Five Leaves). Winter in New York is vastly preferable to the winters I've spent elsewhere, since there's rarely been a day where I haven't been outside at least for a little while. Spending the day outside in the sunshine can go along way towards eradicating the winter blues, or at least holding them at arm's length. Even though I'm totally ready for spring, this winter has been so amazing that I won't look back on it with anything but fond memories — even if I'm still finding powdered sugar on my coat from my donut-in-the-wind break.

Randall's Island

On Saturday my friend Jim and I decided to check out the Fall Festival on Randall's Island. Neither of us had been to the island before, and celebrating fall seemed like the perfect excuse to finally go. Turns out, the "festival" was a total bust, but seeing the island was still worth the trek.

It's accessible by car, but since neither of us have one of those anymore we used the footbridge at e. 103rd street. Everyone knows I love a good bridge walk, and the footbridge is short but fun. Randall's Island is a weird mix of professional buildings (psychiatric hospital, fire dept. training academy, wastewater treatment plant), homeless shelters, nature preserves and athletic complexes. The athletic fields were definitely the first thing we noticed, especially on a Sunday afternoon. It seemed like half of New York's children were there, playing soccer, baseball and various other sports.

The waterfront is really nice, although the views of Manhattan aren't as picturesque as points south. You get great views, however, of both the Triborough and the Hell Gate bridges, and I'm never one to turn down a good bridge view. Jim pointed out that the Queens-Ward Island span of the Triborough looks a little like a mini George Washington Bridge and he's totally right. Both are still on my list of bridges I'd like to walk across, but I'll get there one day.

When we finally made it to the fall festival we immediately knew that the event had been way oversold. There was a table where you could sample applesauce (?), a lady dressed as a pirate giving away free pumpkins (??) and...not much else.

It was held at the Urban Farm, which was basically a tiny garden near the edge of the island. It's quite an overstatement actually calling it a farm, but I guess to a city kid a few chickens and a row of tomato plants is about as country as you can expect. Needless to say, this Ohio girl was not impressed, but Jim did grab a pumpkin and, in an admirable display of perseverance, carry it all the way back to his apartment in Brooklyn.

Randall's Island (and the adjoining Wards Island) is quite large, so we only saw about half of it, and I'd love to go back. It's probably getting a bit late in the season to visit the wetlands and other nature-heavy sections, but I'm glad we now know a little more about the island. It seems like a great place to bring a picnic and chill out on a hot summer day, but it could also be interesting to see the area in the winter. I'm actually looking forward to the city calming down and emptying out a bit, and of course SNOW.

We're going apple picking in a few weeks, then to a corn maize in Queens and finally to Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow at the end of October, so the fall adventures are just getting started. No offense to Randall's Island or the Urban Farm, but as far as fall festivals are concerned, there's really no where to go but up.

The Ed Koch Queensboro 59th Street Bridge

After yoga in the park on Saturday, I decided to get back to Manhattan from Queens by walking the Queensboro— or if you're reading this post-2010, the Ed Koch, or if you're feeling groovy, the 59th Street — bridge. It's the fourth bridge I've walked, and the first that hasn't spanned from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

I'd admired it from Roosevelt Island, but I'd never heard much about walking over it. It's certainly not as touristy (or as beautiful) a walk as the Brooklyn, and it doesn't deposit you in a trendy neighborhood like the Manhattan or the Williamsburg, but I loved the walk. It's getting hard to rank the bridges at this point since they have all been so different, but I think I would put it above the Manhattan and tied with the Williamsburg. I've said before that the Brooklyn Bridge will always be my favorite, and I don't see it losing that title anytime soon.

The Queensboro is the longest of the four bridges, with a lengthy (and slightly inclined) approach from Queens before you're even on the actual bridge. I took my time (and approximately six million photos) and there is a lot to see so it's definitely worth it. It's a divided path, Manhattan -> Queens on one side of the line, Queens -> Manhattan on the other. Bikers and pedestrians share the same lane, which I thought would be treacherous but aside from one person yelling at me VERY loudly to signal they were approaching to my LEEEFFFT, it was surprisingly civil.

The side is lined with high fencing, so you never have a clear view, but it feels safer than the Manhattan. The walkway is right next to the car lanes and below and to the side of the subway track. I actually never knew that trains went over the Queensboro until I started taking the N train to yoga on the weekends.

One of the most special parts about the walk is Roosevelt Island. The bridge spans over the island (a car elevator used to deposit you onto RI if you wanted) and offers amazing views of the adorable tram in action. I waited like a bouncy little kid for the perfect tram photo, but if you miss it don't worry — they run pretty frequently along a good portion of the bridge walk.

There are a few locks scattered on the fence, which I haven't seen on other bridges, carved with initials and messages. I wish I would have thought to start doing this to commemorate my bridge walks, although I think it's mainly a love thing. But I really love walking over bridges and New York City, so that counts right? Mallory's big purple lock echoed my thoughts perfectly, but it was the tiny one with the painted initials "R + H" that really got me. Isn't it just the cutest thing?

The approach into Manhattan is pretty spectacular, and as the name implies you're left off right onto 59th street. I definitely recommend walking the bridge from Queens to Manhattan (instead of the other way around) since you're on the fence side, with better views and photo-taking opportunities. I think next I'm going to walk the cute red Roosevelt Island bridge, which is the only way to get to the island on foot (you enter from Queens) or maybe the George Washington bridge. Unfortunately I can't tackle the Verrazano-Narrows anytime soon because it was never built with a pedestrian walkway. Maybe they thought no one would be crazy enough to want to walk one of the world's longest suspension bridges. Although now that I've read that heavy use and deterioration have lead to it being called "New York City's Most Dangerous Bridge," maybe it's a good thing I don't run marathons or take bike tours.

I guess I'm actually running out of bridges to walk, which is kind of a weird problem to have. I like the idea of returning to each one to leave a lock, or maybe I'll try walking each one at night. The Brooklyn is breathtaking all lit up, but is under construction until 2014 which is kind of a bummer. Does anyone know where I can get a few locks engraved with "AC + NY" ? 

I'm asking for a friend.

The Manhattan Bridge

I guess I'm starting to have a thing for bridges. A few weeks ago I walked the Brooklyn Bridge for the second time, but the Manhattan Bridge has been on my list for a while, especially since I saw a photograph of the arch and colonnade in this Landmarks of New York exhibit.

Friday I got off work early (thanks 427!) so I decided to take advantage of the remaining few hours of sunlight and finally take on the Manhattan. The entrance to the bridge is in Chinatown, and while the arch and colonnade aren't hard to miss, the pedestrian walkway can be a little tricky to find. Unlike the Brooklyn Bridge, bikers and pedestrians use separate paths, on opposite sides of the bridge (if you're entering on the Manhattan side, pedestrians are on the right). You also walk below and to the side of traffic, and right next to active subway tracks so the experience is wholly different.

To someone who was familiar with the Brooklyn Bridge, I would describe the Manhattan as it's grittier, dirtier and slightly scarier, distant cousin. There is graffiti covering a large portion of the visible surfaces, and the original side barriers have since been amended with a high, curving chain link fence (presumably to discourage people from jumping onto the rooftops of the buildings below).

For a while you walk over neighborhoods in Chinatown and downtown Manhattan, and the views are amazing, particularly at, or near, sunset. You also get great views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River and, of course, Brooklyn. I'm not generally scared of heights — tunnels are more nightmarish to me — but I will say that the walk across the Manhattan is not for the faint of heart. Maybe it's the fact that you're closer to the water than when walking the Brooklyn, or that the whole bridge shakes violently when a train passes (and they pass frequently), but there were times when I felt a little uneasy.

It's probably because of these things that it also felt less touristy, which I'm sure could also translate into a bit "murdery," especially in the dark — I would advise sticking to daytime walks. I don't mind the graffitti, but they've also blocked off some older parts of the bridge — little charming alcoves where you could presumably pause to take in the views are now fenced off, which is a shame.

Also unlike the Brooklyn, you can't get much of a view of the bridge itself while you're walking it, but a short walk to DUMBO and Brooklyn Bridge park is all you need for that. I think the DUMBO neighborhood is super charming, and it seems as if every time I go there more cute shops and restaurants have sprung up.

I need to go back if for nothing else than to try One Girl Cookies— I was terribly impatient the last time I was there, and the line was long, but I've read good things. After my first foray into macarons was so successful, I'm eager to try out more goodies that I've been missing out on, and whoopie pies seem like a good choice (I've never had one!).

I had to stand in the middle of the street for this shot, but how cute is the Empire State Building peeking out?

I'm glad I can check walking the Manhattan off of my to-do-list, but I probably won't walk it again, if at all. The Brooklyn Bridge, construction and all, is still pure magic to me and I don't think any other bridge will be taking its place anytime soon.