This is all of us on the first day of our New York vacation. We took the New Jersey PATH subway to 33rd St and 6th Ave, and then we walked up 6th Avenue all the way up to Central Park. At this point David was getting tired, and he really wanted to tide a ride on a horse-drawn carriage, so we hired this horse-drawn carriage to take us through Central Park up to 72nd St and 5th Ave.
Rebecca and the boys taking a break on 5th Ave while walking up toward the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We got off the horse drawn carriage at 72nd St and the Met is at 82nd St. That's ten blocks, but New York city blocks are small because the city is so old, and ten blocks is actually a fairly short walk. One of the things we loved about New York was the fact that it is a walking city: you can walk from place to place and see a substantial portion of the city. It's not like suburbia where walking is something you do for exercise but is not an even remotely practical way to get around.
Rebecca and the boys arriving at the Met! The Met is one of many "must see" tourist destinations in New York. Unfortunately, it was only then that we discovered the Met was closed on this Monday. We don't know if they're closed every Monday, but they were definitely closed this Monday. After walking a total of 36 city blocks to get here, we were ... disappointed.
Rebecca and the boys in Central Park. After being turned away at the Met, we walked up to the 86th St Traverse Rd through the park and meandered our way through, in an attempt to get to 8th Ave on the other side. The Great Lawn is in the background. Central Park is one of the really great city parks in the world, and any visitor to New York really must take a stroll through it, or at least a bike tour.
David hamming it up as usual.
David flaking out on a covered bench on the west side of "The Lake" in Central Park. After leaving the Museum of Natural History, we walked back into the park and strolled down around the west side of the park.
Matthew takes his turn. We were headed toward the southwest corner of the park, where we had intended to find an ATM and get some cash. As it turns out, you really can't get around in New York on credit cards alone. A lot of businesses will only take cash, and that includes the cabbies. We eventually ended up getting some cash down around 57th St, and then we had a cab take us to Times Square. As it turns out, Times Square is at 43rd St and Broadway, so it was only 14 blocks away and we probably could have just walked it, but we didn't realize that at the time. Anyway, we got to Times Square, ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (yes, it's a restaurannt named after the fictional Forrest Gump's company in the movie), and then hoofed it back to the PATH subway station at 33rd and 6th.
Matthew and David in the African Mammal section of the Museum of Natural History. This is one of David's favourite destinations in New York, since he's a big fan of animals in general.
Day Two of our New York vacation: we took the 3 hour Circle Line boat tour around the island with Redimperator and Metatwaddle. You can see a bit of the backs of their heads in this shot.
I was surprised by how nice Ellis Island looked. The spires look vaguely reminiscent of the Russian architectural style to me, although that probably changes when you get closer to them. We didn't bother actually going to Ellis Island; we have no ancestors whose entry was recorded there and we had only a limited amount of time. We figured it was enough to see the place and know a little bit of its history.
Speaking of things we wanted to see ...
Manhattan is surprisingly compact when viewed from the water. That's the thing about its island locale; they couldn't sprawl out the way most cities can, so everything is tightly packed together, and built up vertically. There are other cities in the world which are packed together like this (Hong Kong and Tokyo come to mind), but they generally have some geographic reason for their high density as well. Given the choice, urban planners would generally not do this. But it sure looks cool, doesn't it?
The Grand Old Brooklyn Bridge! This bridge was built before engineers developed a preference for all-steel construction, so it still has that 19th century look to it. There are several bridges crossing this span of water, but this is the only one with that classic architecture.
Of course, it's not as if they didn't use any steel, as the underside of the bridge demonstrates.
Rebecca and Metatwaddle sitting on the boat as we approached the next bridge. This one employs the more modern all-steel construction style.
The United Nations building. For some reason, I couldn't see the black helicopters. Very strange.
All of us at the M&M Store near Times Square. After we got off the Circle Line boat, we took a cab to Restaurant Row on 47th St and ate at a little Italian restaurant called Tramonti (nice place; excellent Risotto), then we walked to Times Square.
Rebecca took my place behind the camera for this one. Check out my shaved head!
The fountain in Washington Square, which we passed through on our way to the legendary Katz's Deli restaurant on Houston St. The restaurants on 46th St are nice enough, but Katz's is where the New Yorkers eat, and when you get there, you can see why. The place is a truly great experience. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to take a picture while I was there, but I consider it one of Manhattan's "must see" destinations for sure. The atmosphere is great (and it's something you can't really capture in a picture anyway), and the food is fantastic.
For some reason, Washington Square park has its own miniature version of the Arc De Triomphe.
The Cloisters: another "must see" destination. I thought this place was fantastic: it's built to recreate the appearance and atmosphere of a medieval abbey, and it contains a wealth of period artwork. Some of the architecture is apparently made from transplanted pieces of authentic original material as well.
As soon as you enter the place, it feels like you're in the real thing.
This is the vaulted ceiling in the part of the building where you pay for admission.
Admittedly, the electric lights and tourists spoil the authenticity of the recreation, but it's still quite the place. Just look at it.
Obviously, everything in the building is built around religious themes.
Rebecca and the boys at the edge of the courtyard area. Look at the intricacy of the carvings on the columns.
The whole place is incredibly atmospheric. Later in the day they even started playing some monastic chants on the building's sound system.
A view outside. The land on the other side of the river is undeveloped: that was apparently a condition of its donation to the city, and it helps maintain the pristine beauty of the park. I would hate to think of what that scene would look like if the other side of the river were covered in condos.
Some of the artwork on display inside. The more you walk through this building, the more you see the great tragedy of medieval religion: so many gifted artisans worked so hard, and yet, because of the religious domination of culture, all of their art looks the same. It is beautiful because of the incredible craftsmanship, but let's be honest: how many sculptures and paintings of the Virgin Mary do you really want to see? There is an incredibly narrow range of subject matter in European medieval art because of this single-minded focus on religion, and when I look at it, I see wasted potential. All of that ability, funneled into such a narrow range of material. Tragic.
Some of the building exterior. There is an area where you can walk outside and look down on the park beyond the walls.
Rebecca and the boys checking out the view.
Another courtyard area.
An exterior garden.
It was actually rainy and overcast for much of the day, but the Sun did come out occasionally. This is a picture of part of the exterior wall near the garden area, during one of those brief periods of sunlight.
My angel.
Here she is again, near the central courtyard.
David in the Egyptian section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is a monstrous place; one could easily spend an entire day just wandering around its cavernous halls.
Another slightly imperfect picture from inside the Egyptian section of the Met. They keep the lights rather low, and they prohibit the use of flash, so the only way to take pictures is to lengthen the exposure. Hence the slight blurriness in many of the photos.
Yes it's me, complete with klunky looking backpack and fanny-pack.
The Great Hall of the Met. The building's designers paid as much attention to their architecture as they did to their artwork.
David in the Arms & Armour section of the Met. He's not much of an art buff and was getting pretty bored, but he perked up when he saw all of the medieval weapons and armour. Those are some nice halberds.
I love the unnecessary ornamentation they often applied to their armour and shields. Look at all of the engraving and the leaf pattern around the central spike.
The same goes for the later weapons, including this classic Colt. They just don't make guns like this any more. Look at the intricate engraving all over it.
Matthew inspecting a similarly beautiful double-barreled shotgun. You can't see it in this picture, but the hammers are actually sculpted to look like squirrels.
No Arms & Armour display would be complete without mounted knights.
Rebecca and the boys in the American wing of the Met. After wandering through other parts of the Museum, it's rather obvious that the early American artistic and architectural style is basically an eclectic combination of styles copied from other eras and locales, such as a preference for the Greco-Roman style of architecture, with French and Italian influences in their interiors. But perhaps that is only fitting and proper, since America itself is based on copying good ideas from other cultures, and its people are immigrants from other lands.
Rebecca checking out some of the artwork in the seemingly endless European art section of the Met. There is room after room after room of paintings. You can get lost in there.
Obviously, this is the Greco-Roman part of the museum. Rebecca and the boys are posing in front of a statue of the Greek God of wine and revelry, Dionysus. The smaller female statue next to him is of unknown significance. It might be there just to support the weight of his arm in a non-obvious way.
Rebecca and the boys (at right, Rebecca is obscured behind Matthew) eating sidewalk vendor pretzels in Times Square.
The same scene from a different angle.
Me and the boys in Times Square. It's an incredibly clichéd tourist picture, I know.
Rebecca and the boys in the gazebo behind our hotel. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Jersey City and used the PATH subway to get into NYC every day. We actually parked our car with the valet on the first day and didn't touch it again until the day we left. That's really the way to go; you don't want to try and drive your own car in New York. The drivers are crazy there, and the pedestrians are just as bad.
Rebecca and the boys on the USS Intrepid!
Matthew in front of the SR-71 Blackbird which sits on the flight deck near the bow of the ship. It's pretty cool seeing one up close.
That's us in front of a Vietnam-era plane. Is that an Intruder? I must admit my knowledge of those planes is not as great as it could be.
OK, this one I know. That's a Falcon.
The Huey! Looking at it reminds me of every Vietnam movie I've ever seen.
Some kind of Russian MiG. I think it might be the MiG-21.
Matthew and David manning one of Intrepid's quad-gun AA mounts
Rebecca and David at Lombardi's Pizzeria on Spring Street! This is apparently designated an historic site, and is supposedly the very first pizzeria in all of the United States. It's something like a hundred years old, and if you look at the picture you can see the very old brickwork to the right, and the wall-mounted air conditioner to the left (the building apparently predates modern ductwork). Lombardi's is another "must see" destination for any tourist visiting New York, and the pizza is excellent (of course).
An absurdly fancy-looking and imposing courthouse. Say what you will about them damned Yankees, but they do make cool-looking government buildings.
The Woolworth building from ground level. All the pictures in this area are kind of dark because the tall buildings block the sunlight, which is why they apparently filmed parts of "Batman" here. It's an unusual feeling; very atmospheric.
And that would be Rebecca and the boys looking at the Woolworth building.
Another picture of the Woolworth building, this time of the main entrance. You can see the intricate sculpted exterior much better in this shot. The previous shot doesn't get close enough to see the amazing work in the building. The whole building looks like that.
Rebecca and the boys in front of the big fountain in City Hall Park. That is real flame in those lamps. There's also some floor plaques in a big circle at the southern end of that square, with period pictures.
Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street! This church was built (after two predecessors burned down) in the 19th century but it was deliberately designed in a classical Gothic style, as you can see from the exterior. It's a beautiful church and one cannot help but be impressed upon going inside. It's very quiet, of course, and there's a weird combination of gawking tourists wandering through, and actual parishioners or other worshippers quietly praying. On the way out, I was tempted to shout "I have something to say! It's better to burn out than fade away!" but I didn't.
A better shot of the exterior. The previous shot is affected by the sunlight from above, and makes the building look darker than it really is.
More of that Gothic-style sculpted exterior.
David inspecting the amazingly ornate doors. It was surprising how many tourists just walked right by the doors without noticing them. I have a suspicion that those tourists were of the "bus tour" variety.
Just look at that! Some come to worship Jebus, but I came to worship the architecture. It is hard to express how difficult it is to take a good picture in that place. It is really dark, and you are not allowed to use flash (not that you would want to; it would wash out the picture). But I did manage to get one good shot of the front of the church; notice the eagle-shaped lectern to the right.
That's the view to the sides of the sanctuary, with those characteristic vaulted arches.
That's the view toward the back of the sanctuary, with the light streaming in from outside. Check out those pipes!
Do ya feel lucky? Punk?
This rather heavily armed cop was guarding the J.P. Morgan building for some reason. Maybe they were expecting an invasion.
Americans are so helpful. If you ever forget which country you're in, they remind you with giant flags!
This is the New York Stock Exchange building.
The cops brought their own lunch truck.
We saw this to the right as we were walking east along Wall Street. In New York, when the streets intersect at an odd angle, you just design a building to fit that angle.
A view down Wall Street from its eastern end, with Trinity Church visible at the end. It's a classic metaphor for the American Way: we worship Jesus and the Almighty Dollar, and we put them right together as if they belong there.
The boys and myself in Battery Park. This was a big walking day; after we left the Intrepid we took a cab to Lombardi's and then we pretty much walked the rest of it. We walked down through Little Italy and Chinatown, we walked all along Wall Street, and we walked through Battery Park around the bottom of the island. You can see a little-known statue in the background. I hear the French gave it away.
Rebecca and the boys at one of the war memorials in Battery Park. Americans are rather fond of their eagles, thus befitting their self-styled status as the new Roman Empire.
Rebecca and the boys in the Empire State Building! This is the main entrance, also known as the only reasonably priced part of the building. We didn't bother going up to the observatory. It was raining, and the outside observatory was closed, yet the price remained the same.
Our last shot in New York City, leaving the city to go home. This is Greeley Square at 33rd and 6th: a place we became intimately familiar with since we went there at the end of every day (the New Jersey PATH subway station was there).
This is a building on the west side of Washington Blvd in Jersey City, viewed from the front entrance of the Courtyard Marriott. We saw this as we came out of a Chinese restaurant next door named "Confucius", and the sky was clearing in the aftermath of a thunderstorm. There was no digital image processing here (nor is there on any of the pictures in this entire vacation photo set). That is the actual colour of the sky that we saw when we came out of the restaurant. Too cool.
If that's worth one shot, it's worth two.
Goodbye, New York! Time to get in the car and go home.
. (Wall street Trinity church).
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Whoever planned that was a dumbass. I personally didn't enjoy it much at all, especially after the first hour or so. Street after street of fish didn't help my stomach ache at all, either.