New York's Central Park: A dynamic beauty and miraculous oasis of nature

Seasons in New York are dramatically variable, with summers as hot as in North India and blustery winters

I’ve always believed that a city is as good as its parks. Not surprising then that my love affair with New York began with Central Park. The day we landed, a local friend offered to take me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “If you don’t mind the walk, we could cut across Central Park,” said she. Thank goodness I was wearing sensible shoes. The park turned out to be such a miraculous oasis of nature amid NYC’s concrete and glass skyscrapers that I ended up spending the day exploring its many wonders, from the Wollman Rink to Sheep Meadow,