Day 4: New York: Harlem: Bethel Gospel Assembly (Apollo Theater in Harlem), Apollo Theater, brunch in Harlem, Central Park: The Pound, The Rocks, Wollman Rink, Tha Mall, Bethesha Terrace, The Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Fifth Avenue
It is 5:00 in the morning when the alarm rings and today is that, although Sunday, it is Easter Sunday, a very marked day and for what we were told yesterday in the New York Contrasts tour, the churches that celebrate today Mass Gospel in Harlem probably do not let tourists or very few enter, so it is convenient to go very soon, try to find one of them and cross your fingers to be one of those they accept tourists a day like today.
The initial idea yesterday when we found out was to forget Harlem, leaving this visit for next Sunday, which will be the last day of the trip to New York in 11 days, but in which we will still have the morning hours to make a visit , but seeing how the next days appear in which the weather forecast is quite bad, with rains almost every day, in the end we have preferred to take risks and go straight to Bethel Gospel Assembly, where we have read that no entry is needed for tourists even today being Easter Sunday.
So when it is 6:30 in the morning and after looking for the last time at the window of our room, from where we have incredible views of the Empire State Building, we leave the Holiday Inn Times Square, going directly to the Times Square station , from where we will make our way to Harlem, which will be our first stop today.
The best views we could wake up in New York
The first thing we do is buy the Metrocard for 7 days, which we talked about the first day we arrived in New York, for $ 31 plus 1 charge, which will allow us unlimited travel for 7 days. With it already in our possession, we take line 2 that will take us directly to Harlem, to a stop very close to the church Bethel Gospel Assembly.
The Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood, which borders Fifth Avenue, 96th Street to the south, 55th Street to the north and the Hudson River to the west, is mostly inhabited by the black community, among which we find numerous Baptist congregations, which every Sunday of the month, They meet in the many churches of the neighborhood to celebrate the religious services in which we can attend the famous Gospel Masses in Harlem.
A good and comfortable option to attend a gospel mass and visit the Harlem neighborhood is to book this recommended excursion with a guide in Spanish or take this offer that also includes the tour of contrasts, in both you will be picked up at your hotel.
Mass Gospel in Harlem. Bethel Gospel Assembly
Bethel Gospel Assembly celebrates three services on Sundays, the first at 6 in the morning, the next at eight and the last at 11 in the morning.
While it is true that you normally do not receive an excessive number of tourists, special days such as Easter Sunday, it is necessary to come in advance to queue. We have read that there are days when queues of two hours are formed, so it is worth getting up early and coming with time.
Once at the door, a church member approaches, indicating the place where you should sit and once there you should only focus on enjoying and living the experience of a Mass Gospel in Harlem.
The approximate duration of the service is 2 hours and a half to 3, time interval in which you can leave whenever you want, always trying to disturb as little as possible.
Keep in mind that you do not pay to attend a Gospel Mass, but we must know that you can or a donation at a certain time during the celebration. This is something very personal, but telling you that they will treat you as a fable and that you are enjoying a unique experience, stretch your pocket a little, surely the occasion deserves it
As we mentioned previously Bethel Gospel Assembly Celebrate 3 services on Sundays. We, counting the day it is, we opt for the one at 8 in the morning and having more or less 40 minutes by subway from Times Square, we arrive at your doors when it is just under 15 minutes to 8 in the morning, time in which there is already some queue, although much less than we expected as we had been told.
After 15 minutes waiting, they come to find us to place us inside the church, while they welcome us in a perfect Castilian and a handshake, while they raise us to the top and that is that in the end we will be in the queue about 50 tourists, something unusual but for theBethel Gospel AssemblyIt does not represent a major problem and they even tell us that more people are coming and in the area of arroba there is no place left, they will make room in the bottom so that no one is left without being able to attend the service.
Once located, punctual begins the Mass Gospel, this time welcoming us already from the stage and in a group, immediately followed by what most of us have in mind when we think of a Mass Gospel in Harlem.
Bethel Gospel Assembly. Mass Gospel in Harlem
We do not need more than a minute to know that we have not been wrong and that is that we are facing one of those essential visits in New York. Of those that as much as they tell you or for many videos that you have seen, until you see it in person, you do not really feel what it is.
The first part of the Mass, of an hour or so, is practically entirely sung, either by soloists or duets, always accompanied by a choir that is really incredible, to later give way to a second part more dedicated to the sermons, to the activities of the group or to the celebrations, like today that together we celebrate the birthday of one of the members.
Actually this last part is something more "heavy", but we certainly believe that it is best to live it, to know in full Mass Gospel in Harlem and in case of deciding to go to the middle of the mass, try to avoid disturbing or making noise and we cannot stop thinking that we are guests and as such, we must respect who is inviting us to enter his house.
Recommendations at a Gospel Mass in Harlem
- Look at the church website before going, so you can ensure the schedules of services. In our case, the Bethel Gospel Assembly, as we mentioned earlier, has 3 services on Easter Sunday, but we recommend you look at its page to ensure schedules.
- Although we have read that there are two-hour queues on Sundays, we believe that they are days normal, with arriving half an hour you have secured the site.
- Participate, but do not try to be the protagonist or be strident. Never forget that you are a guest.
- Keep in mind that the Mass Gospel in Harlem It lasts 2 to 3 hours. It is important to know in order to organize the day.
- Going to Harlem is not dangerous. We have read on several websites and forums questions about this topic and we have to say that it is not dangerous to go to Harlem at all, not even in the early morning, in case of attending the 6 am service.
- Although it is not mandatory, at some point they ask for a donation. In our case we saw how there were tourists who left nothing or some who left a dollar per person. We are not who to judge (although we are doing it right now), but we believe to be welcomed and invited in a Mass Gospel deserves to scratch his pocket a little. We left 20 dollars for both of us and we have to say that not a dollar hurt us.
After having a shrunk throat at many times and we are not going to cheat you and a Mass Gospel In many moments it ends up exciting, we are fired when it is 10:30 in the morning, time in which it already looks a pretty clear sky that receives us this Easter Sunday with an intense blue.
Mass Gospel in Harlem
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Upon leaving we see that the next service is at 11:30 not at 11 as we had read and also that there is a huge queue of tourists, who already goes around the church, so we intuit that in this service, by many attempts they make, surely not everyone will fit.
We already have this experience, included in the 100 things to see and do in New York and having had a quick breakfast in the room, we decided to go to the most central area of Harlem to have a coffee and eat something, before starting the tour that we have planned for neighborhoods in New York.
Harlem
We do not have to travel more than two streets to find a cafeteria, which at this time of the morning is full of atmosphere and where, almost miraculously, we find a table and where we ask for a couple of coffees, plus a cheesecake for 12 dollars that give us energy to continue with this day in which we have already enjoyed a Mass Gospel in Harlem, but we still have much to discover.
Breakfast after a Gospel Mass in Harlem
There are many things to see in Harlem. With the stomach already toned we begin the visit to the neighborhood, giving preference to the area located between the 5th avenue and the 7th, also called Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and from south to north between 125th and 138th streets, where we can see the classics Stone houses, of brown colors, with the typical stairs with railing at the entrance.
Typical streets of Harlem
Typical emergency stairs in Harlem
Apart from this area of Harlem, in which the brown houses are the protagonists, which we have seen so many times in the movies, we cannot forget to make the already typical photos of the New York street signs, in this case with the names of Malcolm X or Martin Luther King.
Cartels of the streets of Harlem
Harlem
Our walk through Harlem takes us to a mythical place for music lovers and those who don't, the Apollo Theater. That place located on 125th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue, where great jazz musicians such as Count Basie and impressive voices such as Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin or the unforgettable Michael Jackson began his career.
Apollo Theater Harlem
Today you can still attend many live performances, ranging from amateur performances, to classic, going through jazz to dance, which we are not going to deny you, we want to see, so we already have an excuse perfect to return to New York and also to Harlem, a neighborhood not exempt from certain bad reputation, practically forgotten today, is that this is one of the most visited neighborhoods by tourists and as we mentioned before, without any problem.
Harlem
From the Apollo Theater, we continue our journey, crossing with many people, very well arranged, something that we intuit has a lot to do with the day it is, but also with the coincidence with Sunday and that coming to Harlem on Easter Sunday should be almost an obligation on any trip to New York during Holy Week.
Being already the time it is, we can not begin to think about enjoying a brunch, a typical New York food, which mixes the breakfast with food and more being in Harlem, the ideal place to enjoy the hospitality of its people and escape the expensive local fashion of Manhattan.
Among the many recommended restaurants to make a Harlem brunch are Sylvia's Restaurant at number 325 of Aveenida Lenox or Red Rooster Harlem at 310 on the same avenue, both at this time already full of people and in which after asking, we decided on the last, as they make us wait Only 10 minutes to give us a table.
Sylvia's Restaurant
Red Rooster Harlem
It is here that we remember that today is the famous day of Easter Bonnet Festival, the festival of Easter hats in New York and is that as soon as we enter, we stumble upon several women who wear incredible hats that have shown pride in their parade on Fifth Avenue.
After browsing the menu for several minutes, we ordered a couple of the dishes from the specific brunch menu, plus a coke and water that we tasted accompanied by live music and a festive atmosphere.
Brunch in Red Rooster
We have to say in honor of the truth that precisely the dishes that we have chosen have not been the best, at least for our liking, although in honor of the truth, we have to say that all the dishes we have seen pass, that not They were included in the specific brunch card, they looked much better, so if you come here, we recommend that you forget those and go straight to the rest of the letter.
The final price of this brunch in Harlem, including the tip, has been $ 49, a price that we found somewhat high for what we have eaten, but that counting the fame and the name of the place, we find that they are more than justified.
It's a little after 1 pm when we leave Red Rooster and although our idea is to go in the direction of Central Park, which will be the goal of this second part of the day, we cannot leave Harlem so soon and that is that it has been a neighborhood that we loved, leaving us a very good taste, although it was not especially for the brunch, so we return on our steps, to enter again through its streets, so representative of this neighborhood and so unmistakable after seeing them in so many films.
Harlem streets
Kennedy Fried Chicken
And between street and street, we can not stop looking at the infinity of churches that we cross the road and that is if something has Harlem, that is churches, to each more striking, whether by small, by architecture or by name.
Church in Harlem
Harlem
With a very hot day, something we did not think this morning when we checked the weather, after this farewell to Harlem, we decided that it is the perfect time to get into Central Park, the lung of New York.
We entered the park through Malcom X Boulevard, leaving us with views that seem unreal to us and we could not imagine that from Harlem we could enter this area of the park and above all enjoy these incredible views.
Awesome Central Park, entering Harlem
We follow the trails of this area of Central Park, approaching the huge artificial lake Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, which leaves us one of the first views of the skyscrapers, surrounding the green lung of the city, which we have seen so many times in photographs and that We wanted to see so much in person.
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Here we also begin to meet again with groups of ladies, with their hats with the most original or extravagant designs as you look, who come from Fifth Avenue, where they have been parading and where we will surely attend if we coincide with dates the next time Let's come to New York and if there is something that deserves a city like this, it is a second visit.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
From here we continue to reach The Pond, another of the great lakes of the park, located a few steps from 5th Avenue, where we can also access Central Park. We can not but think about the great luck we are having over time and that is that a day like today, in which it was expected to rain, in the end it is making us a very clear day, in which the sun even shines, leaving us a super nice temperature and more on a day like today in which Central Park has become the other protagonist of the day with Harlem.
The Pond
After touring it, we will approach Wollman Rink, the mythical skating rink, scene of movies like Love Story, that we have seen so many times in photographs and that as much as we continue to watch we can not believe that we have it in front of us and we cannot deny that there are certain scenarios, that from seeing them so much in the movies, we have them so close and so distant at the same time, that it seems false to be in front of them in person.
Wollman Rink
After a good time in the area, making hundreds of photos, we will approach the Carousel, another great classic of Central Park, from where if you look south, you can see an area of baseball fields, in which we do not have today the luck to see nobody playing, but that nevertheless, does not stop surprising us.
Sport in Central Park
From here we continue our tour of The Mall, the Central Park main promenade, next to Sheep Meadow, a large green lawn, perfect for a picnic a day like today, where the sun looks beautiful.
At this point in the tour of Central Park, we decided to sit on a bench just to rest for a while, watching life go by and above all make a Technical stop in which we took the opportunity to have a soda and an ice cream for seven dollars, which make us feel great at this time of the afternoon.
The mall
After this well-deserved rest, we arrive at Bethesda Terrace, one of the most famous areas of the park, near Strawberry Fields, the John Lennon memorial, through which we spent the first day of the trip before going to the Natural History Museum where we enjoy another of the most emblematic corners of the park.
From here we will approach to The Lake, another of the great lakes of the park, where you can rent small boats and how could it be otherwise, being already here, we approach the statue of Alice In Wonderland, the most famous of Central Park, which at this time of the afternoon is invaded by children, to continue our walk to Belvedere Castle, the most emblematic building of the park that houses an observatory in which you can enter.
Alice In Wonderland
From there, we will approach Shakespeare Garden, especially beautiful when spring begins to emerge and the first flowers of the year appear, something that we thought we would find already at this time of the year, but that unfortunately has not yet occurred, leaving us an image of the vegetation in Central Park a little helpless, we will surely see much more complete the next time we return. We had told you that we will return to New York, right?
From here we continue our walk and arrive at the oldest monument in the city, the Obelisk or Cleopatra's Needle, built about 1450 BC, next to another equal, which today is in London and that was a gift from Egypt to both cities .
Cleopatra's Needle
Finally we will approach Great Lawn, the most famous green grass area of Central Park, which we have seen so many times in the movies and in which at this time of the afternoon there are not many people, but that we imagine, especially in Other times of the year, it must be bursting with people.
From here we reach the lake area that is right in front of the Plaza Hotel from where we have stunning views of Central Park next to the buildings that surround it and which is one of the most famous views of the park and where, how could it be another way, we stayed a good time, enjoying these last hours in the lungs of the city.
Hotel Plaza from Central Park
It's almost 5 in the afternoon when we finish this visit and having a jazz concert at 7:30, in a place that we will keep at the moment secret, at this time and after today's full day, we began to make a change of plans knowing that on Wednesday there is also a performance and thus continue the afternoon traveling the Fifth Avenue until we reach Times Square, where we stayed and so give the day ended a little earlier than it would have been if we went to the performance.
After heated it for a few minutes, we decided to make that change of plans and we entered Fifth Avenue past the Plaza Hotel, where we also crossed the famous hot dog stand Nathan's, which contrasts with the figure of one of the hotels most important and luxurious of the city.
Nathan's
As we go along the Fifth Avenue and as much as we went through it a couple of days ago, it continues to surprise us and that is that mixture of luxury, with activities as daily in New York as eating a hot dog, next to skyscrapers and chic stores, they do not stop calling our attention, especially the most famous as Tiffany's or Apple, two of the most famous in this area of New York.
Apple Store on Fifth Avenue
Almost without realizing it we arrived at Rockefeller Center, where the idea is to stop for a while, losing ourselves among the many shops that are in the area, but how could it be otherwise being in New York, before Easter decoration catches our attention that there is and that we did not see the other day when we were there and where right now hundreds of people are concentrated, trying to take pictures. We can not resist and as we can we make room to see the incredible decoration that adorns this part of the city and that reminds us of the times that we will have to return to New York if we want to enjoy all those recreations, such as the images of this area that we have at the head of the Christmas season.
Easter at Rockefeller Center
We also stop at the MoMA store where we had been told that there are super special things and with all the reason and that really makes you want to take several things home, the only thing and the only drawback is the price, since it is quite high although not in vain I finally ended up finding a travel bag that is perfect for what I need and telling me that the one that brought me for this trip to New York, has been broken this morning, I have no better excuse to buy it.
After this first purchase in a city where these are the order of the day, we take advantage of the fact that we are in the Rockefeller Center square to enter the Lego store, from which we had also heard that it is very interesting and that it is certainly worth it Visit if you are in this area.
Rockefeller center
Lego Store New York
From here we follow Fifth Avenue, crossing again with so many images and moments that continue to remind us of movie scenes and we believe that there will be no other trip so movie maker like this one, in which there is no step that we take in which we do not see an image or several of places that we have already enjoyed in a film a documentary or seen in a guide.
New York, New York ...
We arrived at Times Square where, despite being busted, we stopped at another of the New York's most famous stores, the well-known M & M's store where we walk around two of its plants seeing all the merchandising that is formed around this, including quite high prices, which make us forget the initial idea with which we came to buy some bags of those colorful chocolate pearls so famous in the whole world.
M & M's Store
Already with our legs screaming at us that they need a break, we approach Red Lobster, where we see that at this time there is already a lot of queue, but that without too much desire to find another place to have dinner, we arm ourselves with courage and after asking, they tell us that now around 7 pm we will have a table. So we have to wait a while, we take the opportunity to review tomorrow's planning so we can try this lobster chain They have told us that it is very good.
In less than 30 minutes we are already on the third floor of the restaurant, which by the way is immense, where we ordered a lobster combo, plus some lobster tacos, 1 beer and a cola for $ 79 with tips included. Yes, it is expensive, we cannot deny it, but we have to say that we have given ourselves a good lobster feast (although it is not comparable to the one we have on the Costa Brava) and above all, we have delighted with unique views of Times Square by the night.
Having dinner at Red Lobster
It's almost 10 at night when we return to our room at the Holiday Inn Times Square, giving us time only, like every night since we arrived in the Big Apple to say goodbye to the Empire State, hoping to wake up at some point in the night so as not to miss the Amazing views from which we enjoyed from our bed.
Empire State from our bed at the Holiday Inn
Day 5: New York: Lower Manhattan: 11S Museum, One World Observatory, Winter Garden, Cunard Building, Century21, St. Paul's Chapel, Wall Street Bull, Battery Park, Ferry Staten Island
