Bike Ride in Central Park

View from Belvedere Castle in Central Park, New York City

I decided today to ignore the bellhops.  It is not normal for me to disregard the rules so openly, but I was on vacation and I wanted to have a 100% barefoot day if possible, and it being the 4th of July seem to inspire me.  So I did not put on my sandals when we left the building and continued to do so for the rest of the trip.  I was confronted several times, usually when I was heading back up and would tell them, I'm going right to my room and that seemed to appease them.

Today we planned a bike ride in Central Park. We walked to the bike rental place and got the bikes and helmets and then they asked we walk out bikes to the park.  It was a slow ride around the park and we stopped several times to rest.  My sister and her daughter are not use to biking, so we took some breaks to enjoy the views and see some sites.  At one point we stopped and hiked in a bit to see Belvedere Castle.  It is a very nice tiny little castle, basically two rooms on top of each other which are reached by climbing the spiral stairs inside the corner turret.  The second level has a large observation deck where you get some good views of the park and city.  We could also see a crane and turtles down below.

It took us several hours to ride the 6 plus miles around the park and when we were done everyone was beat and ready to relax in the cool room.  So today was my first 100% barefoot day in New York City.  It was also the first time I ever rode a bike barefoot.  I didn't think I would be able to do it, but it was fun and the little raised bumps on the pedals didn't bother me at all.