New York City: I tried to kill us the first day

We were tourists. We had limited time. And there was stuff we HAD to do. I was a tad ambitious for Day One

After Bryant Park, we drank in post-rush hour Grand Central Terminal . . .

. . . and then headed for the Empire State Building.

Though visibility was not going to be good, it seemed like it was clearing, so we took a chance. While wending our way through the line, we got some history on the building.

We finally got to the observation deck, and I have to say, this was my least favorite spot. It was cramped and crowded and as you can see, visibility sucked. But, when life hands you lemons . . .

Instead of looking OUT, I looked DOWN. Much better.

Macys.

The Yellow Cabs are everywhere.

And water towers adorn every building over six stories tall, whether you see them or not.

Many rooftops are put to good use.

One last hazy look out . . .

We went looking for some lunch. Sweetie had told be before we left home that we HAD so have some New York pizza.

Cheapest meal we had the pleasure of eating. Tasty. And the crispy crust was to die for. And we did it in New York!

Then we were off to the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium. Unfortunately, we couldn’t give the museum the time it deserved. Day One was passing far to quickly.

Directly across the street from the Museum of Natural History is the oasis known as Central Park. I really wish we could have spent more time there, slowly exploring the place and maybe having a picnic lunch, but what we did manage to see was beautiful. The park features prominently in my favorite move, “The Fisher King,” so I was doing mental cartwheels whenever I came across a spot where a scene had played out.

Wedding pictures in the park. I love the bride’s footwear!

Capturing the photographer capturing the moment.

Did I mention we had tickets to The Phantom of the Opera that evening?

World’s worst iPhone picture

And aside from the cab ride from the airport and the shuttle to the airport, we rode the subway and walked everywhere.

We also discovered that Google Maps GPS doesn’t work so good when you are walking the canyons of New York City. It would consistently show us a block away from where our lying eyes told us we were. But we figured it out, and after three days, were pretty darned good at getting ourselves around.

New York City: Circle Line Tour – A great way to see the NYC skyline

Friends of ours (Mathew and Pam) came into the city for the second day we were visiting, and as luck would have it, the weather was pretty decent, though there was still a bit of fog to deal with. Given traffic constraints they weren’t sure if they were going to make it in in time for us to catch the 10:15 Semi-Circle Cruise, but they arrived just under the wire. We headed to the back of the boat and took the 2 1/2 hour tour. Matt is a New York boy and he added “color” to the tour, as in “There’s the building they used for the headquarters in ‘Men in Black.’ ” or “Yes, that’s the building from ‘Ghostbusters.’ ” or “That’s where I reenlisted in the Coast Guard.” while pointing to a building with no windows. You know, stuff like that.

Matt was also responsible for taking the one and only photo of Sweetie and me together (iPhone pics taken by me don’t count).

Now, for a few photos . . .

As you can see, not exactly the clearest sky, the lack of clouds notwithstanding.

Ellis Island.

Unfortunately, because of damaged sustained in Sandy, neither Ellis Island nor Liberty Island are open for visitors. Liberty Island is expected to reopen by the 4th of July, but Ellis Island is closed at least until the end of the year.

The Statue of Liberty. I’ll admit it, I got choked up. I’ve waited all my life to see Lady Liberty in real-life.

The mix of the old with the new is what I love about New York City.

This shot of Manhattan was shrouded in haze, but when I converted it to black and white, a lot of the haze “disappeared.” Still, it is grainier than I would have liked, and yet I actually like how it turned out.

There are a multitude of bridges spanning the Hudson, Harlem, and East Rivers.

The Brooklyn Bridge appeared to be undergoing maintenance, but those iconic arches were still amazing.

Manhattan Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. This would have been so much better on a clear day.

Williamsburg Bridge

The Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge. Behind that: the Roosevelt Island Bridge. In the far background is the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge). (No, the Queensboro Bridge is not out of focus – it’s the way the structure lined up)

More to come later. By the way, if you’d like to see more photos from our visit to Washington, D.C. and New York City the full gallery can be found at this link. I still have more photos to share with you, but there is no way I’m going to post them all here.

New York City – A wet and cloudy morning

Our first day in New York City began bright and early at Bryant Park. On our agenda that day were several iconic spots: Grand Central Terminal, the New York Public Library, the Empire State Building and Central Park, to name just a few.

Bryant Park is a small oasis of green in the heart of the city. Behind the park is the back of the New York Public Library.

The rain of the the night before was evident and lovely.

But the wet didn’t stop anyone.

We moved on to the New York Public Library . . .

As in Washington, D.C., there are people who distribute free “Metro” papers – abbreviated versions of the regular paper, and just the right size for reading on the subway. Even though I’d just gotten off the subway, she insisted I take one to read “later.”

We turned the corner to see the iconic lions flanking the steps of the New York Public Library.

Unfortunately, it was not yet ten o’clock, so we were not able to go inside and see the beautiful interior. Next time!

More later… I have to get ready for work!

I wonder

What would it feel like to be able to walk through this every day? Would it ever become “old hat?”

New York City – First Peek

The view from our hotel, in the heart of Tribeca, on a rainy Monday morning.

More to come . . .

Washington, D.C. – My favorite spot, so far

The National Gallery of Art (link) has two buildings and the Sculpture Garden. I only visited the West Building and barely scratched the surface. An hour-and-a-half one afternoon (after the Air and Space Museum) and two hours on our last day in town – – three-and-a-half hours total – – just wasn’t enough. (This does not include the National Portrait Gallery, which I have yet to set foot in.)

Just a few shots . . .

Yes, I am fascinated by this lady.

So many pieces just took my breath away, and yes, I’ll admit to getting choked up when seeing a “real-life” Monet for the first time.

And this self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh? I stood in front of it for the longest time and just stared. And yes, I cried. Beautiful.

Washington, D.C. – Museums, Day One

Given the short amount of time we had, there was no way we were going to be able to see all the Smithsonian museums had to offer, but we wanted to at least try to visit each one. That was far too optimistic of us, and we’ll just have to go back!

On Monday, after visiting the MLK memorial, we began with the National Museum of American History. The docent gave us a good guide on the highlights, and we hit them all. The museum was wonderful, but the lighting was very dark, so I got very few photos there.

Here’s one photo I was able to take: a portion of the Greensboro, NC Woolworth’s lunch counter.

From the American History Museum, we headed for the National Museum of Natural History. Much to see there as well, but again, lighting was a challenge!

The area on human origins is really interesting! From our earliest ancestors, to branches of our family tree that didn’t make it, to Homo Sapiens, the exhibits discuss and demonstrate the connections between them all, and the evidence for evolution by natural selection.

Here is a likeness of Neanderthal. He wasn’t very tall.

We didn’t get to visit as much of this museum as we would have liked. By about 3:30 Sweetie had had enough (we’d been going since 8 am) and he headed back to the hotel. Ever the crazed photographer, I pressed on. But I needed some quiet away from all the middle school kids, so I headed into the Freer and Sackler Galleries. This is the only photo I took there. Mostly I just enjoyed the art and the quiet and recharged my batteries.

National Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art still to come.

Washington, D.C. – Memorials: Martin

Well, between Arlington and the other stops we’d made, I’d had enough of war memorials. Washington D.C. is rife with monuments to our wars. We’ve got to do something about that.

Still, there was one more memorial I had to see. Not technically on the Mall, it’s a little tricky to find if you’re not careful.