West 49 St, Midtown

West 49th in midtown starts off with quite the international flair at 5th Avenue. The two corner buildings house what used to be the French Consulate (and is now a bunch of French themed shops) and the Swiss Center. There is an adorable Italian restaurant next to the Swiss center, a Japanese bookstore next to that, a Dean and Deluca, and a wine shop. Ok, so it's not totally International, but more so than most other blocks in New York. And, I think that's saying a lot considering New York is supposed to be so International. The Rockefeller Center Ice Rink is also on this block though Rockefeller Center is officially located on the other side of Rockefeller Plaza. I watched my mom break her arm at an ice rink when I was little whilst trying to pick up my sister who had just fallen and broken her arm, so I tend to avoid ice rinks at all cost. But, people go bananas for this one so it must be a good one.
Across Rockefeller Plaza is the famous Rockefeller Center, and this street runs right through the thick of it. The auction house, Christie's, is on this block as far as the studios for shows such as Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, The Today Show and the former Late Night with Conan O'Brien. There are a ton of people lurking around this intersection all hours of the day trying to get a glimpse or autograph from their favorite celebrity from these shows so it can be quite the nightmare. Viacom also has offices here as well as the Top of the Rock tourist observatory so you can pretty much guarantee that this block is always going to be packed to the brim with people. It's hard to believe that this area used to be a massive medicinal herbs garden.
Across 6th, you run into exactly what you would imagine of midtown: big, commercial / office buildings. The McGraw Hill, Exxon and Lehman Brothers headquarters are all on this block. Lehman Brothers is said to have one million square feet for their offices in this building so you can imagine the size of these monsters. There are a couple of little chain places to eat like Hale and Hearty Soups; and, there are a few apartment buildings but it's so big business that I would hate to live in one of them.
Rockefeller Center is cool for a visit but I think it's way too crowded around here to actually live. There are tourists everywhere and not much in the way of neighborhood vibe.