One of my favorite ways to see a city is from above.  The different perspective can totally change how you see the place. Take New York for example – the chaos that you  feel when you’re on the street falls away once you’re in the air.  That was one of the reasons why I’ve always wanted to take a helicopter tour.  It took nine years, but I finally got to check this item off of my bucket list.

I took an  open-door heli tour around the city with Wings Air, a heli tour company based in Westchester.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from that day:

The city looks like a mirage from afar with a beacon of light calling out to all of the dreamers.

For an hour, our skillful pilot navigated us to all of the landmarks in the city.  Let me tell you, it was quite a thrilling experience with the winds whipping through my hair.

It always excites me to see the sprawling Central Park, but this is the first time I saw it from the sky surrounded by high rise towers.

It was exhilarating to be so close to the buildings, I felt like I could reach out and touch them. It was something that I’ll never forget.

The sun was setting on the concrete jungle as we made our way around the island. You could see the sun reflecting on the buildings creating a soft golden glow.

Aerial view of the East River, Roosevelt Island, and the Queensboro bridge.

At one point, our pilot had to maneuver us to the precise spot where we could see the sun peaking between the elevator shafts of One World Trace Center creating an unforgettable shot.