Postcard from the Empire State Building
It’s really easy for New York City to lose that tourist sparkle after you’ve lived there for a few years. Sure, you still marvel at seeing the city all sparkly when you’re in a cab going over the Brooklyn Bridge late at night and you revel in the crazy variety of restaurants you can find.
But in general: you avoid the “touristy” bits. You try not to hang out in places that are crowded with double-decker buses and slow walkers (aka Times Square and most of Midtown). This has become a lot easier for me since I’ve stopped working in Midtown: I’m rarely in the realm of Grand Central, the Empire State Building, the grand department stores of Fifth Avenue. I haven’t gone to the top of the Empire State Building since my first few months in the city (which was now four years ago!), but I went back last week and swooned the spread of this crazy island. It was actually SO much more fun now: I spent the whole time pointing out friends’ apartment buildings, former office buildings and favorite squares.
My friend/former roommate Maggie works at LinkedIn, which has their NYC offices IN the Empire State Building. A huge perk of working there is access to VIP passes to the top of the Empire State Building! I popped in to visit her last week, and we had so fun catching up while enjoying the epic view. 
What’s your favorite photo from the top of the Empire State Building?
p.s. my last visit to the top of the ESB (with an epic sunset!) and the view from Top of the Rock.
