this past saturday, my brother and i went to the high line. the high line is an elevated park in the west side of new york that has been open since 2009, but i only went to it for the first time last month (i know, bad new yorker! bad new yorker!)

we decided to go in at the west 30th street entrance.  as we approached we saw big, colorful structures on the corner of 30th street and 10th avenue.   

it was rainbow city. rainbow city is a 16,000 square foot outdoor space. it has 40 interactive, very colorful, pieces.   

the sign when you walk into the space tells you that rainbow city is a place of magic, luck and friendship created by the miami art collective friendswithyou. 

the installation invites visitors to participate in a vibrant landscape of responsive sculptures. 

rainbow city was inspired by the hindu festival of holi, where followers throw brightly colored water and powder at each other.  the installation is intended to provoke a childlike awareness.

we walked around taking pictures and playing with the structures. it was a lot of fun. i just found out that rainbow city will last until july 5th, so if you are in new york you should get there today!

emil checking out a picture on his camera

after walking around rainbow city we spotted kelvin’ slush.  i was psyched, i have wanted to try kelvin’s ever since i first heard about them!

the folks at kelvin slush sell all natural frozen slush in unique flavors like ginger, citrus, tea, guava, basil and mint! 

it was the perfect way to cool down before walking the length of the high line.

emil had a guava and tea slush and i had a mint and ginger slush.  they were very refreshing (brain freezes and all)!!

we grabbed our slushes and climbed the stairs up to the high line.  the high line park currently runs from gansevoort street to west 30th street. did you know that the high line was built in the 1930s in an effort to to remove dangerous trains from the streets of manhattan’s largest industrial district?

the trains stopped running in 1980 and the structure was going to be demolished in 1999 but a group called ‘friends of the high line’ banded together and transformed the old, overgrown tracks into a beautiful park!

the first part of the high line park opened in june 2009, back then it ran from gansevoort street to west 20th street.  the second section opened in june 2011 and it goes from west 20th street to west 30th street.  

it is easy to know why the high line has quickly become one of the most popular parks in new york city.

one of my favorite things about the high line is that it sort of runs into the city. it is a part of it and not just sectioned off as a separate entity. 

i will definitely be coming back to the high line.  i want to bring a picnic with me next time. 

i had such a great afternoon with emil. it is always nice to get some sibling love. 

if you are in new york, or will come visit soon, i hope you get a chance to see the high line.

you can check out more pictures from this adventure on my flickr page.

thanks for stopping by!