New York, Boston & New England - Day 8

Well, as I mentioned in the former post, I left Boston very early to beat the money clock and the traffic. Although I had less time to sleep, this strategy gave me enough time to visit a place I had to skip on my way towards Cape Cod: Newport. This wonderful place is really a must-see. For those who know the 17 Mile Drive in Montery, CA: Ocean Drive in Newport is the 17 Mile Drive of the East Coast (also called 10 Mile Drive)! Absolute calmness and harmony of the Atlantic ocean paired with rough rocks and hilly lawns topped by classy mansions... Oh well, what a place to live. Same thought Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had a beautiful house here. The ocean route is an absolute highlight. However, it was followed by Bellevue Avenue, which is like a long pearl necklet made out of historic, splendid villas. I wished I had more time to explore them one by one!
Taking the Newport Bridge, I followed my scenic route back to New York City. In order to spend the evening in the city, I avoided any further long detours. So I reached the Alamo car rental station mid-afternoon safely. Big thanks to my GPS again, without it I would have lost the way through the suburbs of NYC and the Bronx. Again car-less, I quickly checked in into my one-night-only hotel on the Upper West Side near Central Park. Curiously, the hotel called Marakesh had five floors but no elevator. Oh, it was fun to carry my already overweight suitcase in room #506 (yes of course, fifth floor!). In comparison to my first hotel in the city, one star less means window without a view and permantent heating. Ok, it was early spring, but why can't you turn it off, so you don't have to turn on the air conditioner at night (like I had to do...)?
I used the last hour of sunshine for a visit of another Ivy League uni: Columbia University. After mostly chilling out and buying another logo t-shirt I decided to go down to Columbus Circle. I did some window shopping in the Time Warner Building, where they also had a lot of original Dali artworks on display. Last stop was Lincoln Center, before I got a Philly Cheese Steak and packed my stuff for tomorrow's flight back home to Germany while watching Let's Dance on TV ;)