| Brooklyn, New York City, Wednesday, May 5, 2005, | | | | straight onto the Chrysler Building, and considering that I |
| 10:10 am | | | | am a huge fan of Art Deco skyscrapers, I had to go |
| Hello from New York City (2) - Exploring Mid-Town | | | | inside this 1929 masterpiece. As a tourist you can only |
| Manhattan | | | | access the lobby, but the central area with its ceiling |
| Since our plane landed nice and early we had virtually | | | | mural and the authentic Art Deco elevators (and their |
| a whole day left to explore yesterday. The weather | | | | doors covered in wood marquetry) are definitely worth |
| was pretty nice, quite sunny when we started, | | | | a little detour. |
| although it clouded over a little and was a little on the | | | | Then we snaked our way up towards Central Park, |
| cool side, it never got much above 15 degrees Celsius. | | | | mostly on Lexington and Fifth Avenues. We walked |
| Around noon time we hopped on the Q subway line, | | | | by the (apparently just closed) famous Plaza Hotel and |
| which is literally 5 minutes from our bed and breakfast, | | | | into the south end of Central Park, a masterpiece of |
| and we made our way into Manhattan. The subway | | | | landscape design and 850 acres of much-needed |
| actually emerges at the Manhattan Bridge and we got | | | | recreational space by the famous landscape designer |
| a good look at the Brooklyn Bridge and the | | | | Frederick Law Olmstead. We only explored the south |
| south-eastern tip of Manhattan. | | | | end, including the Dairy and Sheep Meadow and |
| We decided to get off on Times Square, figuring that | | | | headed out onto Central Park West with all its stately |
| this would be pretty good place to start exploring NYC. | | | | apartment buildings, including the Dakota Building, in front |
| Times Square, with all its neon advertising signs, and | | | | of which John Lennon was shot in 1980. The |
| promotional displays is something else. The sidewalks | | | | Strawberry Fields hillside garden was dedicated to his |
| were totally full of people strolling and tons of | | | | memory. |
| promoters were handing out flyers for broadway | | | | Everything is blooming here right now, and New York |
| shows, comedy shows and other entertainment | | | | City is definitely a few weeks ahead of Toronto in |
| events. There is so much advertising in the Times | | | | terms of the horticultural cycle. Something was in the |
| Square area with lights and displays blinking | | | | air, and I had to sneeze about a hundred times, and by |
| everywhere, that the individual advertisements actually | | | | the end of the day we both had to pick up some |
| started to run into one another in my mind, probably | | | | allergy medication since we were both battling major |
| not the effect the advertisers tried to achieve. Indeed, | | | | hayfever symptoms. |
| the hustle and bustle in this area is huge and can get a | | | | Then a brief hop on the subway later, we popped up |
| little overwhelming. | | | | again in Greenwich Village, a beautiful neighbourhood |
| We strolled around that area for a while, and walked | | | | of brownstone townhouses and took in the ambience. |
| by Rockefeller Center, although we did not get to | | | | We ended up at a nice little restaurant on 7th Avenue, |
| explore the whole complex. Then we tracked down | | | | called "Pennyfeathers" where we had a beautiful |
| Grand Central Terminal and walked through this | | | | dinner in an enclosed porch so we could take in the |
| grandiose historic train station which opened in 1913. | | | | street life. |
| There are over 100 commuter train platforms at Grand | | | | A couple of subway rides later we came back to our |
| central and they all run off a glorious central | | | | temporary home in Brooklyn where we dropped into |
| concourse. | | | | bed exhausted from all the walking, trying to catch up |
| The east side of Grand Central opens out almost | | | | on a bit of rest for the next day. |