Last night sleeping in a different bed. Last hotel check-out. Last airport check-in. Last flight. Almost, the last blog post.
My flight isn't until 7:15 pm so I'm going to hang around the hotel until the latest possible time. I'll still have a few hours to kill at the airport but that's OK.
It's funny, but after the flights to or from London, Vancouver and New York, an 8 hour flight home doesn't seem that long at all.
Just landed in Hong Kong after flying for 16 hours from New York. Here was my checklist for good sleeping:
Great seat on the aisle with no-one needing to pass me? - tick
Bulkhead in front of me and plenty of leg room? - tick
The first travel pillow I have ever found that works? - tick
Noise cancelling headphones? - tick
Eye mask? - tick
2 x diazepam? - tick
So did I sleep? Nup, apart from half dozing off 2 hours before landing. Glad I have a hotel room for the night before the final leg home.
One cool thing about the flight (literally) was that we more or less flew over the North Pole to get to Hong Kong.
It's Monday and my last full day in NYC and the USA. I'd decided there were still parts of Manhattan I hadn't explored so picked a direction and started walking. The direction was South-East.
I walked a long way down Broadway, south of Houston Street. Suddenly I got a tiny glimmer of London. I think it was probably the mid height buildings, the street width, shop fronts and maybe the light.
Of course, pause and look closely for a moment and there were many things to remind me I was in New York. Most noticeably the fire escapes on the fronts on the buildings.
There were some beautiful and ornate buildings. I noticed the feature around this window.
My journey took me a little way back to the financial district because I'd read of an elevated garden I wanted to see. A bit like the high line, it's up above the street and planted with grasses and shrubs. An oasis amongst the concrete and glass.
I could see the Staten Island Ferry arriving.
From there I discovered I could walk along the East River again and I got my closest views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in good light.
Eventually the neighbourhoods began looking the same as those I'd visited Sunday morning, so I made my way inland again, through Chinatown and back to Houston.
The front of this building really stood out because it had a horizontal concrete finish unlike any of those around it and some beautiful ivy growing up. Unfortunately my snap doesn't do it justice.
I browsed some shops on my way back. Bought a couple more pictures and looked for maybe one more special book to cram into my suitcase. Sadly, I didn't find a book that wowed me enough. But I have a few books already, so can't complain.
Tonight I'll pack and work out how to bring everything home. I've already checked-in for my flight so that's all sorted. My flight is at 1:55 pm but I'm planning to check out of the hotel around 9:00 in order to get to the airport and through security in plenty of time.
I was about to write that I can't believe it's the end of the trip already. But actually, I can. It feels like forever since I left Australia. I reckon that's a sign of a good holiday.
My Sunday started slow. I mean really slow. I went to bed quite early and woke around 1:00 to the usual dull doof doof. I decided to read a little to get back to sleep but got sidetracked watching Kate Bush interviews. Eventually went back to sleep around 3:00 which meant I didn't wake up until it was light. That's a first for my stay in NYC. Not only that but after checking FB and other sites for a little while I turned over and partly dozed off again until 10:30. Unheard of! I guess it may be an indicator that I'm feeling relaxed?
I have a couple of vague things I'd like to achieve in my last couple of days here. I've been updating a map of Manhattan with places I've walked and it occurred to me that I hadn't yet walked all the way to the East River, so that was my first task today. It was mainly clear but blowing a strong icy wind that cut right through. I had to get rugged up.
On the way I passed more Halloween decorated houses. This was one of the more elaborate ones.
I noticed this facade of an old church that has been retained in front of a more modern building.
The neighbourhoods I walked through were almost more suburban than city like.
This was the gate and fence to a community garden.
I made it to the East River before long.
Being Sunday morning there was a steady stream of joggers along the river.
After winding my way back to the hotel I decided to go back to some of the streets I had walked the other day without my camera. There were a few things I wanted to photograph. I got a little mixed up at one stage, thinking that the buildings were on a street that they weren't. But eventually I got it worked out.
This building is The Maritime Hotel. Who would have guessed? Unfortunately the light was on the wrong side so it's not clear from this pic how shiny and silver it is.
The most impressive was this incredible detail high on the top of a building in Lexington Street.
I'm having a quiet night and getting to bed early. Tomorrow I want to walk some of the last remaining areas I've not ventured to; the East Village, Lower East Side and Chinatown. On the way there or back I hope to check out the streets I found last week that had some cool looking shops.
So I thought it would be a good idea to go and watch the village halloween parade. It WAS a good idea and I'm glad I went, but I was also so glad to get back to my hotel room afterwards!
As I set out, the Empire State Building was lit with special colours.
My big mistake occurred when streets were unexpectedly closed on my approach. The parade was to go down 6th Avenue and in a moment of stupidity I crossed 6th Avenue to find a vantage point. I found my vantage point, but it meant I would be captive on the wrong side of the avenue for the next 2+ hours! One hour of parade was OK. By the start of the second hour it was just more of the same and I'd had enough. There are only so many ensembles of zombies dancing to Thriller I can take.
My vantage point was about 10 blocks up from the start. But for some reason it was nearly 1/2 hour before the first characters reached us, which was frustrating many in the crowd who were more than 10-12 deep by this time. There was a massive police presence too, both to contain the crowd and maintain vigilance. Saw some really good community PR from the NYPD.
My good move was to leave my big camera behind. It would have been awkward to navigate crowds with and a constant concern. I managed a few rough snaps on my phone; enough to remind me. But after a while it got too hard and I gave up.
The parade is a community event. As a result it was odd mix of "well coordinated, high effort" and "could barely be arsed, just wanted to walk in a parade".
As the parade seemed like it was drawing to a close I decided that walking towards the start point would be my best way of being able to cross the avenue. It ended up being a long, slow walk, shoulder to shoulder, street after street, until finally I reached a point where the barriers were being removed. Yay! Then it was just a relatively familiar trek back to the hotel, with the addition of colourful halloween characters added into the mix. Having said that, it was a fun party atmosphere. There will be many sore heads tomorrow, I have no doubt! I had dressed warmly but by now it was freezing and starting to rain.
So what do I think of this Halloween? Well, firstly I just want to make it clear: if you're into Halloween, good on you, knock yourself out, glad you like it, have one for me. But it just doesn't resonate with me. It seems to me that half of Halloween revellers want to look as macabre as possible and the other half want to look like … well just about anything! The macabre has never appealed to me, and what Halloween has got to do with dressing like Mickey Mouse (for example) is beyond me. Just saying, that's how I feel about it.
Yesterday it was MOMA. Today it was the Guggenheim. I got myself ready by 10:00 and headed out. Once again I decided to leave my big camera at the hotel. It was grey, I was going to an art gallery, and I still had my iPhone in case of photographic emergency!
The Guggenheim is quite a way uptown so I knew I'd have to use the subway at least part of the way. But it occurred to me that I hadn't really walked uptown along 8th Avenue from my hotel yet. I resolved to walk a little way. I'm really glad I did. I popped into the Chelsea Markets just to suss them out. I found a great little book shop I will go back to. Further along I found a great silver building I'll come back to photograph when the light is better.
I caught the E line followed by the 6 line to get me close to the museum and walked the rest of the way.
I knew the building was distinctive, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but I wasn't quite prepared for how it stood out from the surroundings.
Inside was just as spectacular with floors slowly spiralling upwards. Brilliant for an art gallery because it meant you could essentially keep walking forward without the inconvenience of stairs or escalators to move up and down.
The primary exhibition was Zero: Countdown to Tomorrow, 1950s-60s. Wow! It was fantastic. I think I enjoyed it even more than MoMA. And I discovered some new (for me) artists I really liked; Heinz Mack and Jesus Rafael Soto in particular. The museum had an app that I'd already downloaded which was great to use both as a guide and also a way of "bookmarking" the works I liked for later reference.
There was an experimental film piece to called The Morning Time Dissapeared by Wang Jianwei. Very trippy, but I liked it. Made a bit more sense once I'd read a little about it.
I spent probably 3 hours in the museum slowly winding my way up then unwinding my way down again. Then it was back onto the subway and back to the hotel. One of the stations was the closest I've found in feel to the London Underground so far in that there was a long escalator down. Most of the other stations I've used have been barely below street level.
It's Halloween today. I saw a smattering of people wearing costume or references. I assume there will be more later on. The Chelsea Markets were decked out with displays that I'll try to photo later, but I snapped this store with an abundant array of pumpkins out front. I've seem so many like this.
This evening there is a Halloween parade along 6th Avenue. Weather permitting, I'm planning on going to check it out.
Today's plan was to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Because it was such a clear day I figured it would also be good for some building photography so I headed to the financial district first. There is a lot of architecture there I hadn't seen yet. Also, there is a Museum of Skyscrapers I wanted to visit.
I made my way on the subway and headed straight for the Museum of Skyscrapers. Wrong! I discovered it doesn't open until noon. I was going to skip it and head straight for MOMA but before I knew it there were interesting subjects to be photographed all around me and I stayed in the area instead. I had loose plans to find something to eat too but kept on getting distracted.
I took many shots that I might play with but won't bother posting here. But I did catch this one at a rare moment of being surrounded by glass buildings.
And of course, I walked past the stock exchange in Wall Street.
What surprised me about the area is that a lot of the skyscrapers are older. In one particular area the streets were very narrow and the brick and concrete buildings around me tall and dark. Not shiny at all. It felt particularly cold and souless. Maybe appropriate for a financial district?
And the white brickwork on the side of this building intrigued me. It appeared to be a prominent building, yet the white bricks appear to be random and unintentional. Odd.
Around noon I made my way back to the Museum of Skyscrapers. It was very interesting, though not much I hadn't already learned. I'd hoped there'd be something in the bookshop. And there was, just nothing that wowed me. I need to think about my luggage weight coming home and purchase sparingly.
After that museum I found the right subway station to take me back to the hotel. At one stage I noticed a gantry on the side of One World Trade Centre. Window cleaning? You can keep that job thanks.
I decided not to take my camera to MoMA; to travel I little more lightly. And I'm not all that interested in photographing artworks. Others have done that for me, and better. It felt funny walking sans camera though. It's one of the few times I've done it this trip. But kind of liberating too.
MoMA was amazing! So much to see and so well organised. You could wander most floors without having to backtrack at all. Floors 2-4 were my favourites; photography, design, drawings, painting and sculpture 1940-1980. Too many individual items to mention. If I have time I'm thinking of going back again. I'm sure I'll get something different from it. Besides, by this time I was feeling a little light headed because I still hadn't gotten around to finding some food. Too much to do. Consequently, my concentration wasn't what it usually is.
After all that it was nearly 5:00. I finally grabbed a snack. It was my intention to take the subway back to the hotel but peak hour pedestrian traffic made everything more difficult. By the time I found the station I was nearly half way back and I figured the subway would be manic. I walked instead. My feet are hating me right now!
Well, the weather did hold out and I made it to the cinema to see the French film. That was the easy part. Having any idea what the film was about, meant to mean or even what actually happened? That's an entirely different matter. Not a clue! It was without doubt the most abstract piece of cinema I've ever witnessed.
But it was fascinating to see 3D used as a film effect rather than as just a trick to expand the visual narrative. It wasn't 3D throughout and at some stages it kind of morphed between 3D and out of focus at the same time to amazing (and very unsettling) effect.
Was the film worth the effort? For me, no. But the trip certainly was. Firstly it was good to get out and do another evening activity. And secondly, I got a teeny bit lost finding the cinema and stumbled across some streets with fantastic small shops. I know where it is and will definitely go back to check out a different side of NYC.
It's Wednesday and my 6th full day in New York. That means midday will be the half way mark. For the first time in a while I woke up feeling refreshed so I didn't waste too much time getting up and organised.
Yesterday I bought a ticket online for the guided tour of the UN building, so that was today's primary activity. I used the High Line to get part of the way and managed to see and snap some buildings and fascades I had missed until now. Then it was time for coffee and food before my UN rendezvous.
The tour was organised very well and our guide was from Brazil. Unfortunately there has been major renovation going on and although the General Assembly Hall has been reopened, it's not accessible to the public quite yet; about another month to go. That was disappointing. But still we got to enter one of the conference rooms while a session was in progress and visit the Security Council chamber. That was cool. Imagine the dramatic scenes that have taken place here.
Naturally, I located the Australian seat.
This artwork is a simplification of the 30 articles of the universal declaration of human rights. I was hoping to get them in a book form but one wasn't available in the store.
After the tour I decided to wander some of the streets I haven't yet visited. I took in Madison Avenue and Park Avenue to the North of where I was the other day. There were certainly more up market stores that end.
On the way I got the closest I've been to the Chrysler Building so I had to take some shots.
When I got to W 53 and 6th I bumped into this guy. He looked blue. He didn't say much. I walked on.
I have no idea how someone got those flowers up there.
Next I walked back downtown with the intention of visiting the famous Macy's. It was big, a bit old, very loud and I'm sure there would have been some great bargains; but it really didn't thrill me. I left quite soon and took the subway back to W 14 Street.
As I was walking towards the hotel I noticed massive trailers parked along each side of the street.
Names on the doors suggested filming.
A short time later I passed a wardrobe van and racks of clothing labelled by character.
But there were no film crews or stars in sight ... until I reached my hotel. Then I noticed lighting rigs at an intersection and mingling crowds. There was clearly some filming going on but I couldn't make anything or anyone out.
Later, when I looked out my hotel room window, I noticed more film crews, but I'm not sure if they were related.
It's coming in a bit wet this evening. As long as the rain doesn't get too heavy I plan to go and see a French film (in 3D!) called "Goodbye to Language" directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The Village Voice says "Exhilarating ... features the most innovative 3D effect I've ever seen". It's on for a week, so if it doesn't work out for tonight I still have time to see it later.
Another early wake up, another decent looking day, but one very tired traveller. I figure I've been on the go for nearly 3 weeks and I think it's wearing me down a little. And even though the train journey across Canada was relaxing, I didn't get the sleep needed to refresh me each day. Anyway, boo-hoo, I'm on holiday in NYC, mustn't complain. I decided to lay around in bed for a while this morning. And even though I might not be able to get more sleep I could at least do some research and stuff.
One thing I definitely did need to do was reorganise my iPad. I'm using it as a back up device so that all my photos are on something other than the individual SD cards - just to be safe. It would be heart breaking to lose any of them. As the photo count nears 8,000 I am starting to have trouble importing more. So it was time to ditch more of the apps I don't need right now and start thinning the pictures I have imported. There are a good many that are rubbish. And while I don't want to be making decisions on what to keep or trash right now, I figure it was safe to choose those I could live with losing if a disaster were to occur.
So for the time being I have more room. Later in the trip I might upgrade the wi-fi at the hotel to get a faster line that I might be able to use to upload some to the cloud.
It was nearly midday before I finally dragged myself off the bed and out to see what the day would hold. I didn't have big plans other than coffee and food. Those two taken care of I decided to head to Grand Central Terminal. That would allow me to check out Park Avenue also. When I got there it was grand, but somehow not quite as grand as I had expected. Sometimes things get hyped out of all proportion.
To the east of the station was the United Nations building so I headed that way. I see they have guided tours so I might check them out and see if they're likely to be interesting.
While walking down Park Avenue I saw this building under construction. I liked how the floor plan appears to have only a tentative regard for conventional angles.
I walked back a little way down Madison Avenue. But I must say that neither Park Avenue nor Madison Avenue seemed all that special. Busy streets in a big busy city. Maybe I'm missing something?
Also along the way today there have been some other interesting sights that might have been worthy of a picture, but I think I've got a bit of "photography fatigue". I'll have a go later in the week. Some of the Halloween decorations in particular are amusing.
A friend from Adelaide who is also in New York was coming to the high line to meet friends for drinks and I was going to join them at the end of the day. By the time I got back to the hotel though I desperately needed a nap. I would have been socially challenged without one - even more so than usual. Unfortunately, time frames didn't align and I ended up missing them. Still plenty of time to catch up though. Technically, tonight is still only the halfway point of my stay in NYC!
I'm going to have a quiet night in. I need to remind myself that I am on holiday which means I don't have to feel guilty about resting or taking time out.
... all lit up you look so pretty!
Before leaving Australia I purchased two tickets for the Empire State Building with the express purpose of experiencing it in the day and at night. As the skies were still clear I decided tonight was an opportunity not to be missed.
Armed with some wise photography tips from my friend Steve, I headed off at dusk. Unfortunately I miscalculated how quickly the sun would set and consequently got there a little later than I think would have been optimal. But it was still just as breathtaking.
Once again my express ticket ushered me past snaking line after snaking line. I cannot emphasise this enough; if you ever go, spend the little extra for an express ticket. I must have passed many hundreds of people. I can't imagine how long they'd been waiting for.
So this was my first attempt at serious night time photography with this camera and as you can imagine there are a number of parameters to play with. Unfortunately, the small the screen on the camera makes it hard to really tell which are working the best. I should have checked the histograms but I didn't think of it at the time. Now I've seen them on my iPad I feel I could fine tune and do better. But they're still the best night time shots I've ever been able to achieve. Thanks Steve!
On the way back to the hotel I passed the pop-up food stalls in Greeley Square that I encountered on Saturday. I was feeling peckish so got myself some goats cheese and rosemary "mac & cheese". Very tasty.
As it was still 20 blocks to the hotel I decided to take the subway. Unfortunately I caught the wrong line, but luckily figured out my mistake before getting too far off track. Before long I'd made my way back to the right line and the 14th street station safe and sound.
I woke up this morning feeling exhausted. And that was after getting to bed at a very reasonable hour. You see, this is a funky hotel; cool rooms, restaurant, rooftop bar, cocktail bar/disco up top too. The downside of that is that it's popular and I've discovered the cocktail bar/disco upstairs 3-4 floors above me is a place to be Thu-Sun. Which is great ... if you're there. Not so great if you want to sleep through the dull duff-duff sounds cascading down. This isn't a complaint though; I knew what this hotel was like and you take it all as a package. But last night it just wasn't that easy getting to sleep. Earplugs didn't help. I had to put some calming music on the iPod player just loud enought to muffle the duff-duff but not so loud as to also keep me awake. So I didn't really sleep until the disco shut down. Luckily on Sunday that was around midnight.
Anyway, each morning I wake up I expect my good run of great weather to have come to an end so I can switch to indoor activities. But no. It was another superbly clear blue sky morning. Hmm. Dilemma. What to do?
The Statue of Liberty was on my to do list so I investigated tickets. If I wanted to get to the pedestal viewing area I couldn't get a ticket until Thursday. Oh well, I thought. I really only want to see it and the ferry ride over would be just as good. So I bought a ticket just to visit the Island. Then it dawned on me. If I was happy with that, why not investigate cruises around Manhattan as some friends had suggested? So I did and there was one that would take you all the way around the Island. I know I could have done both but the weather today was so perfect I didn't want to squander it. So I ditched my Statue of Liberty ticket in favour of the cruise. Only a small $ loss but a big sightseeing gain.
I made my way to Pier 83 through a combination of subway and power walking, stopping for a bite to eat and a coffee on the way. I was worried that I might be out walked by the New Yorkers. But no. I think many of them would struggle to keep up with me.
The ship was packed; over 600 people. And it was gently rocking even while docked. I did wonder for a moment wether it was going to get rough and how I might react. In the end, it was only the cold that was a problem. I sat down inside until they opened up the front, then spent the rest of the trip on the bow snapping frames from each side as we passed views.
It was a great idea and a perfect way to really see the bigger picture of Manhattan and its incredible diversity. And the tour guide/announcer Chris was fantastic.
At the start of the journey they did warn us that it was a very high tide. That meant we might not make it under some of the smaller bridges (and there are many). Luckily we did; but with only a little room to spare.
Afterwards, I made my way back to the hotel along the High Line. By now it was about 3:00. I wanted to regroup for a while. Tonight I plan to go back to the Empire State Building to try and take some evening photos.
When I awoke the weather looked better than I had expected. I was feeling a bit shady but decided to drag myself up and make the most of it. I thought it would be good to get some views of Central Park in good light so started making my way uptown.
The High Line used to be an elevated freight rail line running along the west side of Manhattan. Now it's been converted to a wonderful walkway. It means you can walk from 14th to 34th without encountering a single car.
Today there were some artists along the way and I bought a beautiful little print from a guy who makes them with a pinhole camera.
In some places the old rail lines have been retained.
Being above the road gave some great opportunities to photo the streets that I'd missed.
After the High Line I made my way along 5th Avenue until I made it to the park. Along the way I grabbed this opportunity to photo one of the massive avenues.
The first part of the park was more natural and hilly than I'd expected. There was a geat little pond already full with boaters.
For a while I assumed that was how all of the park was, but I kept on walking and came across the main reservoir and some more wide open spaces.
The park is massive. At times you could forget you're in New York, but it's not long before you'll get a reminder.
I'd walked a long way so I decided to take the subway back to the hotel. Unfortunately I got my uptown and downtown mixed up and ended up on the wrong platform. Luckily an attendant at the station helped me out and I ended up on the right train. It was a long way from 86th to 14th!
After re-grouping for a while I headed to the east to catch the Brooklyn Bridge. I took the subway again to Chambers Street. By the time I made it to the bridge it was full of people. Very few were crossing; most were like me, just making it to the first viewing platform and then returning.
There were a number of other highlights from yesterday.
I took my first subway ride! But first I needed a metro card. My research indicated that I could get an unlimited 7 day pass for $30 and that the vending machines would accept $50, which was the only note I had at the time. Trouble is, when I tried the machine it was only going to give me a maximum of $8 change. So, déjà vu, off to get some other notes. This time it was easier because a nearby ATM provided options for choosing denominations. Re-armed with the right money I got my card and got on my way. 5th underground around the world successfully navigated!
After visiting the 9/11 memorial I took a number of pics of the new One World Trade Centre. Got to love a big shiny tower.
In the aftermath of the memorial emotion I stopped for some pizza. When I first saw the massive slice I didn't think there was any chance I'd finish it - but I did. Too good.
When I got to Battery Park I got my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
All long the Hudson are the remnants of piers. Some in better condition than others.
Then in the evening I went to a performance which was part of CMJ, a mini music festival happening at the moment. It was being held in the lobby of the Ace Hotel. The general idea was that a group of diverse musos would congregate and "play" variations based on A or E. The end result was more drone than music but quite hypnotic. And diverse was an understatement. Electric guitars, analog synths, harp, brass, violin, home made organ contraption, cell phone apps; they all added their own timbre to the overall sound. The piece went for an hour so I did little circuits of the lobby, checking in on the different instruments and hearing how the sound changed as I got nearer. And it was also bemusing to see the expressions on hotel patrons as they entered the lobby and wondered what kind of alternate reality they'd stumbled across. Gold! I loved the performance and was proud of making it out at night in NYC on my own. But I was back at the hotel by about 10:00 and ready for bed.
If you're interested, here's a video of last year's event.
So that's it. A day so big it needed three posts!
Regardless of your politics and despite the fact that thousands of other innocents die all around the world without recognition, 9/11 still represents a horrific event where nearly 3,000 people lost their lives and thousands more lost their loved ones. I knew I'd find it emotional to visit the site but I had no idea just how deeply it would tug at my heart. It's not that visiting the site was necessarily high on my to do list. But I did want to pay my respects at some stage and yesterday was the day.
The two fountains in the footprints of the towers are perfect. I can't think of a more fitting or appropriate memorial. The cascading water drops off into a void; you can't see where it ends.
But the gut wrenchers are the names of the victims inscribed around the fountains. I slowly made my way around, pausing to take note of the names near by me. And each time tears erupted so suddenly and violently that it was impossible to hide them. Every now and then I just needed to find a quiet corner to recompose myself.
And in between those moments I paused to photograph; but it was an uneasy feeling. Trying to capture the spirit of the moment without reducing it to an attraction on a sightseeing tour. I tried to make sure I captured names in most of my pictures so that the memorial and the remembered would not be separated.
But it did bother me a little just how many people were crowding around for group photos in front of the fountains. Another tick on their "NYC must see" list? I know I shouldn't judge.
Yesterday was a perfectly clear day in NYC so I decided it was the day to use one of my Empire State Building tickets. The observation deck opens at 8:00 but by the time I'd finished fluffing around I didn't get there until about 9:00. But that didn't worry me because I'd purchased an express ticket online before leaving Australia.
But to my disappointment, I still found myself at the end of the only queue once entering the building. This queue snaked around for a while and it took about 15 minutes to move through; I was starting to feel a bit ripped off about the express ticket.
Then one of the attendants called out for express ticket holders and everything changed. I learnt to have my ticket with the express side showing and that made all the difference. One flash of that and I was ushered past countless subsequent queues and first into the lifts. I really didn't have to wait again. So my advice is pay the little extra; it is SO worth it.
As for the observation deck itself - it was crammed with people and freezing cold but utterly amazing. I've done quite a few towers over the last couple of years but this was the best by far. And being outdoors you had a really clear view as you can see below. I just kept slowly working my way around snapping and feeling totally in awe of this incredible city. It was a real "pinch me" moment. The only downside was that, because it was still early, the light was too low downtown to get good pictures. It ended up looking a bit hazy. But uptown had plenty of shadows and brightly illuminated buildings.
And all the time in my head was a line from "Moments of Pleasure" by Kate Bush - "the buildings of New York, just look like mountains through the snow"
I have another ticket and I plan to go back at night.
I have had a truly amazing day today in New York. Possibly the best day of my holiday. The weather has been brilliant and I experienced a huge range of emotions. I want to write about each in detail. But for now, here's my "60 second summary" (Anna will get that reference).
I got up early to go to the Empire State Building observation tower. Amazing doesn't even begin to describe New York from up there.
In the afternoon I took the subway to visit the 9/11 Memorial. I'm glad I wear glasses most of the time these days because they helped cover up the tears that kept seeping out each time I glanced at the names inscribed around the two waterfalls.
Then I made my way to Battery Park and back to the hotel along the Hudson River. Just gorgeous.
I'll write more about the first two, with pictures, tomorrow.
I'm going to get ready to go out for a little while tonight. There's an "avant garde" performance happening in the lobby of a hotel as part of a music festival that I want to catch.
My plan this morning was to get up early, pack, check-out and make my way to one of the art galleries along The Mall before my train to New York at 2pm. I'd run out of time to visit these on Tuesday and I was a little intrigued by a sign for one of the exhibits. Everything went according to plan until I discovered that, unlike most of the other museums, the art galleries don't open until 11:30; I think it's because they stay open until later. Bum!
So, after grabbing a coffee and something to eat, I made my way to another museum instead. I decided on the American History Museum. I think I have a fair handle on American history in general but thought it might be interesting all the same. And it was. As with all of the Smithsonian museums, it's extremely well laid out and presented. I spent a few hours wandering before it was time to make my way back to the hotel, pick up my bags and get to the train station.
As you may have guessed, train travel is my preferred mode of transport and the Acela Express is a relatively high speed train that takes a couple of hours to get from Washington to NYC. My ticket gave me access to the lounge so I could sit somewhere comfortable and await my train.
The train journey was good. The train was comfortable, great service and some nice scenery. I didn't take any pictures though: a) I was feeling a bit camera-ed out and b) the other passengers mainly appeared to be businessmen wheeling and dealing on their cell phones and I didn't really want to blow my cover as a "tourist".
Anyway, we got to NYC on time. I eventually found my way out of the station and to the taxi queue - that kept getting longer and longer and longer as I made my way around the corner. It was 5:00pm, after all. And it was freezing, much colder than the sunny DC I had left. Oh well, what can you do? I waited patiently in line with everyone else and about 1/2 hour later my taxi arrived. He got me to the hotel quickly while I thawed out in the back seat.
Fortunately, the hotel is pretty much as I had expected. This is my view out of one window.
This is my view out of the other.
And I can see both from the comfort of my bed!
This will be home for the next 12 nights and I'm pretty happy with that!
New York was the reason for this trip. It's the only place in North America I've always wanted to visit. Sure, I've discovered some fantastic places along the way. But this is what I came for. Can't wait to get out there tomorrow.
But tonight I'm going to chill out here. The beauty of being here for more than a week is that I don't have to rush myself. New York nightlife can wait.
It started raining shortly after I returned to the hotel last night. It continued all night and through most of the day. Luckily, today my plan was for an indoor activity. I just had to brave the rain to get to that activity.
The Udar-Hazy Centre is part of the Air and Space Museum. It's located at the edge of the Washington Dulles International Airport. That's the airport I arrived at on Monday and it's a fair way out of downtown Washington.
So the first challenge was to find out how to get there. Luckily they provided that information at the museum I visited yesterday. It would involve a train trip and a connecting bus. After assessing the options I decided to get a SmartTrip card which is like Oyster in London or the new MetroCard in Adelaide. It would just make the trip simpler.
The metro station was only a couple of blocks away but it was raining constantly. When I got there I found a machine to dispense SmartTrip cards but it didn't accept $20 notes which were all I had. For some reason it wouldn't accept my MasterCard or Travel Card either. Oh well, I was craving a coffee so I left the station to find some coffee and break the $20. Silver lining moment? I returned to the station a bit later armed with two $5 notes and, after some user error moments, I soon had my card. The rest of the trip went smoothly, but it did take nearly 2 hours.
I knew what the draw cards of the museum were for me were. This museum was my reason for visiting Washington in the first place. I THOUGHT I knew what to expect. But when I walked in to this view (which is only part of the museum) I nearly wet myself with excitement!
I spent hours wandering around the various exhibits. There was too much to describe here in detail but I'd like to share some highlights. And they're highlights for a variety of reasons.
In the space section was the space shuttle Discovery! Amazing! I still remember being glued to my TV as a kid when the very first shuttle lifted off. Now I was seeing one "in the flesh" .
I had to get a close up of some of the tiles on the underside. You can see how they're individually numbered.
Another highlight was seeing a Concorde.
And a more sobering, but still significant highlight was seeing this plane - the Enola Gay. This was the actual plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was chilling listening to the guide speak about it. But he also spoke about the B-29 itself: some of the stories behind its development and innovations that we now take for granted in our planes. There wasn't a discussion about the morality behind the use of the atomic bomb, just an account of what happened.
Then this plane got my attention. Although this particular one was only a prototype for the 707, the moment was still significant because my family flew in a 707 when we emigrated from the UK in 1969. I can remember many things about the plane and the trip, including getting to visit the cockpit at the same time as we were being escorted by US fighter jets somewhere near Vietnam.
There was a Gemini space capsule that made me realise just how cramped the interior was, and just how scary it must have been to fly through space in that tiny tin can.
Speaking of cramped, this is another way to fly. But you'll never get me in one!
And for something completely different there was the actual model of the mother ship used in filming Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The last part was a visit to an observation desk where you could see Washingron Dulles airport, the runways and flights landing.
Then the reverse trip home. A great day. And a great trip. I wish I had another full day in Washington DC. But I do still have tomorrow morning, so I'm hopefully going to get a chance to visit one of the art galleries before my train trip to NYC.
I awoke early. I tried my best to stay in bed as long as possible but by 6:30 I had to get up. I was excited to get out and about and it was nice to feel that again; I'd lost it a bit over the last couple of days.
A quick peek around the curtain revealed a clear sunny day. I double checked the weather report and it looked as if I'd have good weather for most of the day.
When I looked out my hotel window on arrival yesterday the streetscape looked orderly and ordinary. That's a bit how I'd expected DC to be. A quick look down one of the cross streets reinforced this view.
I headed towards The Mall where many of the monuments and museums are. Before long I noticed the sun on the buildings. I hurriedly finished the coffee and pumpkin bread I'd grabbed on the way so I had both hands free to take advantage of the great light.
And it wasn't long before I started to notice a grandeur in the architecture that I hadn't expected; columns and neo-classical architecture everywhere.
As well as the neo-classical I could see, what felt like, a definite European influence.
Most of the monumental buildings appear to be made from sandstone or similar, so the vivid red brick of this building really grabbed my attention.
Soon followed by this amazing detail on the Hotel Washington.
Within 15 minutes I was at the northern entrance to the White House. That was the less familiar side but it was THE place for people taking pictures and organised groups of school children; probably because of the wide avenue. I later made it to the other, more quiet side where I took this shot.
Along from the White House I'd strolled into another area which didn't appear to be restricted. I was in the midst of taking this shot when security men on bikes made it very clear that we needed to move on; and I wasn't going to argue with them!
As I strolled towards The Mall, it was beautiful to walk through the neat rows of trees.
Commanding the most attention is the Washington Memorial. When you see photos you don't really get the scale of this monolith. It's only when you see the tiny people dotted around the base that you realise.
It's impressive, and the centrepiece for The Mall.
By now I was starting to get a little déjà vu. I'll explain more later. A quick turn around revealed another majestic building.
Right by the Washington Memorial is the World War II Memorial. It was beautiful but it didn't really move me. That would come later.
One monument I definitely wanted to visit was the Lincoln Memorial, so I headed that way along the reflection pool; the pool lives up to its name.
The use of the word "temple" in the inscription resonated with me because, so far, that's how many of these grand monuments and buildings had felt. Temples in the Greek or Roman traditions.
I paused to look back at the pool.
Beyond the Lincoln Memorial I came across this sight and that's when the déjà vu made sense. Paris! These grand boulevards, the monuments, the pool, these golden statues at the end of the bridge; they all reminded me of Paris.
When I got back to the hotel I did some research and it appears that a Frenchman did design Washington and that it does have some deliberate similarities.
Anyway, I love a good bridge so I eventually made my way to a vantage point to take some pictures.
After that I wandered for a little, grabbed some lunch, doubled back and looked around. That brought me to the Korean War Memorial.
Now, this one moved me! It's an incredible piece of sculpture and placement. This picture only shows part of it, but I found the sight of these soldiers making their way through the garden "field" quite harrowing.
Beside it was another small water feature and this inscription. It made me stop and think. I felt really disturbed; I don't know that I can bring myself to agree.
After those moments of deep thought, this chap popped up out of a bin to lighten the mood.
I made my way along The Mall. Along each side are the various Smithsonian museums, most of which are further examples of classical architecture. But there were a couple of modern ones too.
When I made it to the Air and Space Museum I went inside, only intending to get information on how to get to the other part of the museum further out from Washington that I really wanted to see and planned to visit tomorrow. In fact, that part of the museum was the original reason for my visit to Washington. Well, needless to say, 10 seconds after walking in I was hooked and couldn't drag myself away. I saw lots of real gear such as space capsules, satellites, rockets, planes and ballistic missiles. This picture is just one small part. As you can see it's jam packed.
With my "big kid" moment now satisfied and my feet feeling increasingly sore I decided to start making my way back to the hotel; past more grand buildings and more grand monuments.
Out the front of one of those grand buildings this light pole amused me. Not only did it ruin the aesthetic of the building behind it but, with all those different signs, how on earth are you meant to work out what you're allowed to do anyway?
Shortly before reaching my hotel I noticed these pigeons sitting on the head of the poor eagle. How indignant he looked.
So today has really surprised me. I guess I wasn't expecting anything on this scale. And what surprised me most was the sense of grandeur, the epic, almost imperial. The centre of Washington is more than a city; it's a deliberate statement. And it reminded me of another city besides Paris. As we drove in last night past some massive buildings set apart and lit up, it occurred to me how it may have felt to enter Rome in its day. Today reinforced that association.
Now to rest my aching feet. It's been a fantastic day! And I made it back just before the rain started.
