A week in New York City. Arrived on Tuesday afternoon and left the following Monday morning. Here's what happened between that time and the pictures to prove it.
Tues we arrived in NYC in mid afternoon and checked into our hotel in Herald Square (right by the Empire State Building). It was one of the few sunny days (tho still needed a hood/hat after dark) and we didn't want to waste any time. So out we went, walking to Chelsea to check out some art galleries. There are so many there, we barely scratched the surface.
Our first hotel room. Black chandelier ... nice touch.
Our bathroom in the first hotel we stayed in.
my favorite artist/artwork I found in NYC. (and Now I can't even remember his name)
Central Park
We stopped to eat at the Boat House express cafe. It was good and reasonably priced. And I had my first Black and White (cookie for those unfamiliar). I regretfully did not take a picture of it. (or the slice (pizza) we got later that night leaving Time Square.) We also road over to the
Guggenheim Museum and saw lots of Kandinsky. No cameras were allowed.
some hungry raccoons. (no WE did not feed them)
The bikes we rented from some individuals hanging out at the entrance to Central Park. I was hesitant, but we did it anyway. It all worked out fine.
Riding Bikes in Central Park after Dark
We walked through Time Square
And we saw the Naked Cowboy. You'll have to forgive me for rotating my camera. If you have a laptop, Great! If you rotate your computer and set it on its side, it'll be perfect.
Walking back to our hotel we happened to pass through Korean town, and Nick suggested a Korean Karaoke Bar. So in a Korean Karaoke Bar on the 4th floor in the Korean Neighborhood of New York City, Nick sang his FIRST karaoke. I sang with him so we had to find something we both knew most of the words to. We sang "My Girl".
view from our hotel. Ground Zero. 24 hr construction wk.
Raining in little Italy
a huge Michael Jackson made out of broken records and some cds (shiny part of his glasses). it was, hmmm $9000 or so, and sold. It's sitting on the floor. You can see the tiny tag on the right.
A painting in SoHo
Cafe Reggio in Greenwich Village. So quaint and cozy. We ate ravioli and carrot cake. both delicious. and some lavender tea. they claim to have brought the first cappuccino machine to America and we sat at a table next to it, and among other antique paintings and furniture. We just stumbled across this place. We were walking around hungry and it looked good and prices were reasonable. It was a great choice.
band from a random bar we found in Greenwich Village
Graffiti near the beginning of the Brooklyn Bridge on the NYC side
We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.
the cars below us
view of the Manhattan Bridge from the Brooklyn Bridge
the streets of Brooklyn
Inside a vintage/thrift store in Brooklyn. Don't think she was for sale, but I love this mannequin.
We found a cozy spot in the Connecticut Muffin shop, ordered hot cocoa and chili, and found a spot on the upper level. Having a few hours together, we decided to go see "Where the Wild Things Are" on its opening day. We were over 20 mins late, but found the theater, finished our drinks, used the restroom, and climbed to the 9th floor to watch it. Well worth it. Great movie and what a neat experience. (the below pic was actually taken at the nyc public library a couple days later. I propped the camera up on a bean bag that I sat on a chair... in the kids section.)
Nick went back to the hotel to get ready for work and I was off on my own again.
Fridays from 4 to 8pm is free admission to
MoMA. It was packed, but soooo worth it. If you go, the secret is... they keep all the good stuff on the top floors. I looked at a map just now and realized I didn't make it to the top. There are 6 floors (above ground) of Art, and I'm pretty sure I only made it to the 5th floor. I wasn't counting at the time. It's HUGE. I just kept going and on the last floor, I retraced my steps back to make sure I didn't miss any rooms, and sure enough I did. Awesome. loved it. If I ever go back, I'm gonna start at the top and work my way down.
Trees
detail showing the trees are made up of paper text and images
Jackson Pollock
I have a better appreciation for him after seeing his work in person. The best part is getting up close and seeing/imaging how the artists applied the paint. In some of Pollock's works you can see full hand prints.
Did I mention it was grey and rainy a lot of the trip? I decided not to alter/photoshop the pics for this post so the pictures might be even greyer than real life.
Statue of Liberty
proof "I" was there :)
Triborough Bridge/Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
I believe this bridge is 1 or 3 that makes of the
Triborough Bridge. It sits to the West of the bridges pictured above it.
This is the point in the tour that we had to turn around and head back the way we came (due to high tide) instead of making a full circle around the city. We missed out on some more bridges and such, but I got a second chance to photograph monuments we had already passed by once. This time I was outside on the open deck and got better shots.
y
Gondola Next to the Queensboro Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
Manhattan Bridge in front of the Brooklyn Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
A barge full of the results from the Cash for Clunkers project.
A Thai restaurant not far from our hotel in the financial district.
An old grave yard near Wall street and Broadway. I can still smell the roasted nuts from the street vendors.
We kept walking around and found the September 11th memorial. (no pics taken). Nick stayed at the hotel and napped before going to work. I headed out on my last day in NYC. First stop, the NYC Public Library.
The children's section. I really liked the drawings of the city that were in here so I took pics of the ones I visited.
a lion fountain
one of the many stairwells
the Rose Main Reading Room
These are the actual toys that inspired the Winnie the Pooh books. Displayed in the children's reading room, of course.
Grand Central Station (constellations painted on the ceiling)
Coincidentally, I arrived at
St. Patrick's Cathedral just as Mass was starting, so I stayed for it.
It was dark when I left the cathedral. As I walked the city streets, I was drawn to the colors pouring out of a lighted gallery. To my surprise, it was open and I entered.
My last night in NYC. hmmm what have I not done yet? Let's see. My cousin suggested Dylan's Candy Bar. Googled their hours on my phone. Yay! open for 2 more hours.
Their interior stairs. Right after I took this, one of the workers advised me of their picture taking policies (have to have people in them). So this was the last one I took.
Spent way too much in that store, but it was all I bought while I was in the big apple. Does everyone know why it's called the BIG APPLE? While on my cruise, the tour guide informed us that it was because NYC use to be known for Sugar and Money...and An apple is the most sugary fruit. So hey, I spent a lot of $$ on sugar in New York City. fitting. (I decided to see if he was right.
Wikipedia did not agree)
Took the subway for the last time back to the hotel, packed, and went to bed. We took a cab to the airport early the next morning.
And now we are back in North Carolina and plan to stay put til December. So time to enjoy a day of sunshine and the rest of our time here.
Happy adventuring to you all.
parking is a BE- ach!
reading "the ugly duckling"
so many parks. i cant remember which one this is. one of the few pics of us together (that we didnt take)
the road to our house/barn... more hot air balloons
goofin' around! what i do best
copy cat! he he
on a bike ride (same as the one above) around this pretty (and private) lake. probably my favorite "trail" out here, but we can't likely go back. :(
these two are from one of his many bike rides alone
this was a monumental day for me. not such a good pic but it's a reminder of what i can accomplish. we were on one of the many trails at Bent Creek, this one we had taken only once before. see, i typically don't take too many risks. period. ive been taking more risks lately in life, sometimes still in baby steps. i typically dont jump curbs even when it leaves me hopping off my bike in the middle of the street. but.... on this day, everything just lined up. i was flying down the trail behind nick (as i usually do follow him, maybe less pressure. not sure). i had just shortly before rode over (and through) a half eroded log that lay across the road. nothing too impressive, or anything i hadnt done before. but it was kind of a building up to this next step. so i was having a good time, mastered (ha ha) the "half log", had some speed built up coming down the decline, see another log (full/solid this time), think "am i gonna try it", see nick clear it, see 2 bikes heading towards us on the other side.... have only a sec to decide... do i brake really fast, jump off my bike and pull it over the log while (since the trails are narrow) the others wait and watch me... or ... do i go for it and try to clear the log, hoping i dont really make a fool of my self and get hurt in the process with this lovely audience. well, nick stopped to get over for the other bikers and is now also half watching me (he probably didnt think i was going to do it) but I DID! i came flying down, hopped over the log, caught a little air, felt the rush, realized i better keep control of the bike on the landing, hollard "shit!" and landed perfectly! very exciting. ... (if you look closely, i already had some small bruises on my shin where the petal got me in the air, but i got my foot back on it before landing, thank goodness). ill take the bruises! it was worth it!
so i frowned upon picture taking during this endeavor, but since its so far away... its ok. this was taken a couple weeks ago on our 2nd backpacking trip. we didnt realize the river we had to cross was soooo high. i pulled my pant legs up as high as i could, but unfortunately my arse still got wet. (and then it rained the rest of the trip. fun times)
good pic. taken before trying the 'aweful'...strong martini and being shut down on our card game. according to the bartender, it is illegal to play cards in an establishment that sells liquor. weird! i did a little researching and was unable to find any proof of such a law. (we continue to play cards in other bars.)
havin' fun
belaying in my nifty new helmet. safety first :)
