The Grand Tour, part 2.

From the ruins, lonely and inexplicable as the sphinx, rose the Empire State Building and, just as it had been a tradition of mine to climb to the Plaza Roof to take leave of the beautiful city, extending as far as eyes could reach, so now I went to the roof of the last and most magnificent of towers. Then I understood — everything was explained: I had discovered the crowning error of the city, its Pandora's box. Full of vaunting pride the New Yorker had climbed here and seen with dismay what he had never suspected, that the city was not the endless succession of canyons that he had supposed but that it had limits — from the tallest structure he saw for the first time that it faded out into the country on all sides, into an expanse of green and blue that alone was limitless. And with the awful realization that New York was a city after all and not a universe, the whole shining edifice that he had reared in his imagination came crashing to the ground.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald

I love that quote.



The big dilemma I always have when I bring people around the city is where to go to get the view.   For years, I was lucky to have an office on the 53rd floor of a sky scraper, with great views of the ESB and downtown. It was free, there were no lines, and I could always have a great party on the 4th of July for the fireworks. Since I don't have that anymore, I have to find a new place to take people. You can't come to New York without putting it all in perspective form a high-up place.

The Empire State Building is classic. The lines can be insanely long though- an hour+ to get a ticket, then another hour+ to get into the elevator. It's worth doing at least once and because it's open until 2am, you can have it to yourself late at night. Unfortunately, your view from the top means that you can't actually see the ESB.

A few years ago, the GE building in Rockefeller Center decided to cash in on their view. It's about the same price and not quite as high up, but it's much less crowded with very little waiting involved. Not only do you get unobstructed views of Central Park, you get to see the ESB as well. Winning situation.



We went on a sunny Sunday in late morning and had a very peaceful hour on the tippy-top observation deck, just drinking in the views.







I used to work in the tall building on the right with the three dark vertical stripes running the length. Waaay up on the tippy-top. I miss it, since now I just get a view of the boring grey concrete building across the street from me.







Afterwards, we did a very quick tour of the MOMA nearby. It's a huge, open, airy building packed with modern art masters.



I think I've only been there on previous visits in deep winter so I had never seen the sculpture garden before. It's a marvelous courtyard to sit around and relax. I didn't think to get a picture of it, but they have one of Picasso's nanny-goat sculptures. It's such a fun, quirky piece.

We lucked out weather-wise...it can get really hot, humid and miserable in summer with really crazy thunderstorms in the late afternoons. As per my usual, I'm planning on making as many escapes as I possibly can this summer out of town. Beaches and mountains and forest always seem much more appealing to me once the weather gets hot.

Ahhh New York. The Grand Tour, part 1.

Nothing sums up my love/hate relationship better than this bit of wallpaper that can be found blanketing the library walls in the Google office.  Classy but kind of gross.

Sometimes, one has to step back from the daily grind to appreciate the surroundings.  The day in and day out routine can get old fast- the accumulated stress of so many packed subway cars, the sitting in gridlock, the noise, the competition for everything and anything.  It's not a peaceful place, but it has its moments.

I find myself really liking the role of playing tour guide. I get to go out, show people the sights which I deem worthy and steer them away from atrocities such as Familglia and jewlery and electronics stores that constantly have the "Going out of Business- SALE!" signs on (it's a scam). We can run in and hit the good parts of a museum, have pizza at a laid back little shop, and then find a few well-cultivated shops to find some unique souvenirs. While some people want the full-on tourist experience, I like to find ways to show people what we're really all about.

I was elated when a good friend finally decided to put on her brave face and buy a roundtrip ticket for a first-time visit. It's been a while since I got to walk around the city with no particular destination and a camera around my neck and blend in with tourist, so it was a real treat for me as well.

They recently installed LED stars in the "sky" over Grand Central.  I pass through here all the time.  I haven't looked up for a while.  It's brilliant.



I still don't know how one might get up into the walkway between the panes of glass.



It started to rain, so we headed up to the Museum of Natural History.



The antique dioramas are still my favorites.



Then it was off to find a greasy little pizza shop that didn't look shiny and new.



Those places have the best pizza.  Plus, no one should ever leave New York without the experience of the pizza.  I would feel terrible otherwise.

When the rain let up, it was nice enough to take a walk around Central Park.  The rain kept most of the people away, so it was fairly quiet.  I spent my first year in New York working as a horseback riding instructor nearby and I would go riding in the park nearly every day.  I now consider myself lucky if I get there once or twice a year.



I don't know how legal this was, but this dog was loving her paddle in the fountain.



The Dakota Building.  Home to Yoko and also Rosemary's Baby.



The Bethesda Fountain:




We got to see a bridal fashion photo shoot.



The Alice in Wonderland statue:


The Boathouse Cafe was empty, but it's quite a lovely place to grab a bite.



The Mall is a shady walkway with huge elm trees curving and reaching out to form a canopy.  Since Dutch Elm Disease has killed off the majority of elms in the region, it's a sight to see trees this large and old.




We got a cannoli at the Ferrera booth in Columbus Circle (where we were swarmed with offers for rickshaw rides) and we walked down 5th ave, which was a gridlock mess of diverted traffic since Obama was in town. We stood on our tippytoes on a police barricade and got to see the motorcade buzz by.



St Pat's Cathedral:


Rockefeller Center:







We hit a musical, of course- the oft sold-out "Wicked" (which is wonderful)- and then a tour around Times Square at night. What used to be just billboards and neon is now huge digital displays and screens constantly changing. It looks like a kaleidoscope of jumbo-trons.



I didn't even need to use a flash with my camera at 11pm.




It occurred to me: there's nothing to see or do here. The rents are so high in the area, it's nothing but mall stores, chain restaurants and some Disney-created cleanliness. The attraction is the lights and the huge crowds that come to stare at the lights to be subjected to Madison Avenue's whims. It's fascinating, and now that they have shut down part of the car traffic, it's become much more of a gathering place. Before, pedestrians were restricted to the narrow sidewalk to do their leering and cheering, which made it almost impossible for someone with somewhere to be to get anywhere without seriously injuring a grandmother from Iowa in the process. It's probably even more crowded now that there are places to sit and linger and wave at yourself when you appear on the interactive billboards.

It's hard to believe that it wasn't too long ago that this neighborhood was known for its XXX shops and adult theaters. It went from Seedy to Spectacle.

The elegant Chrysler Building, barely breaking through the low clouds.

Highline

The city is abuzz right now with all sorts of good energy.  Summer is here, the sun is shining and wedding venues are about to get much more impossible to book as a great deal of New Yorkers can now officially get hitched.  It's amazing, really.  

The other big news that has everyone is so happy is that the High Line park opened a new section of track.  For those of you who aren't local, this is a park that has been a work in progress for years.  It was the main elevated freight railroad in Manhattan from north-south.  It was abandoned and a bit of an eyesore since the early 80's, but now it's a fancy new park that everyone is flocking to.

Part of the new park has an honest-to-goodness lawn.



There are a couple of viewing platforms that sit over busy Manhattan streets.  Kind of a unique view to watch the traffic roll by.

They kept a lot of the original railroad tracks and used them as planting beds.  On the "older" parts of the park, the vegetation has really grown in and it's harder to see.  It's really such a wonderful concept.  You can kind of lose yourself into thinking you're meandering in a country meadow in some sections, but, surprise, you're on an elevated railroad track.

I spied some vintage 1980's graffiti:  



I just think they did such a great job incorporating nature into such an unusual structure.  The park now stretches for more than a mile on the west side.



At the north end, there is a crazy cute playground.


At the south end, the park gets wider and there are more gathering spots around the Standard Hotel.





This is a great space to meet up with friends, and the Spin City group has more or less turned this into their summer home.





We spin, we knit, we chat, we eat popsicles from the People's Pops stand nearby while watching the sun go down over New Jersey.  It's lovely.

Jamaica Bay

When I first moved to New York, it took me a while to realize that there was a neighborhood called Jamaica and it had nothing to do with reggae and white sand beaches. There is, however, a Wildlife Reserve on Jamaica Bay that the National Park Service runs. It's a great place to see a lot of birds that you don't normally see in the city limits.



It's also a fabulous place to walk around and spend a relaxing day outdoors. It's relatively quiet without a whole lot of people crowding the path. Most of those who do go there are serious birdwatchers and they tend to be a silent bunch. You are right next to JFK airport though, which means you have a steady roar of overhead jet engines.

The mulberry trees are starting to show off their fruit.



The dark ripe berries are fragile, pleasantly mild and sweet.

We saw a lot of sea birds- ibis and heron and egret, gulls and terns.



There were also a couple of osprey nest. They both had a few fledgling chicks in the nest- every once and a while you could see these huge, awkward wings unfold and beat around for a bit.



We could actually see them being fed super-fresh sushi.  I'm kind of envious.  


















The beach roses were starting to bloom and the bumble bees were going crazy. It was a symphony of buzzing every time you reached a patch of blooming flowers.



We reached another Osprey nest. This one was much closer to the trail, and our presence seemed to really agitate the birds.





This lead to a few really nice close-ups of one of the adult birds who wouldn't let us out of sight.





















I took a few pictures and then we quietly moved on. Raptor talons are rather large and razory.  I'm always in awe of birds of prey and it's always a treat to get to see them up close.