High Line NYC

 A beautiful January Sunday and the perfect time to walk the recently opened extension of the HighLine on Manhattan's West Side.  

 

In some areas the train tracks have been incorporated in the landscaping.  There are benches and alcoves all incorporated artfully into the landscape design.  There are even public restrooms.

Access is by stairs at many cross street and there are several elevator.  It's a popular place for the stroller set.  

 

 

 

High Line History At one time in the mid-1800's, the railroads carried the bulk of trade out of NYC, and the west side was an immense train yard.  In the 1930's for the sake of public safety these tracks were elevated.

 

 Later as truck transport replaced the trains the elevated tracks were abandoned.  When we lived in the city in the 1970's Mitch would run there.  A controversial project to construct a major elevated West Way highway was defeated and with the recent prosperity of the city the elevated tracks have been turned into a wonderful elevated and beautifully landscaped strip park.

 

 

And needless to say what was once a gritty meat market and warehouse area is now becoming one of the most trendy areas of the city filled with art galleries, new apartment buildings and restaurants.  And the High Line has become a real tourist attraction for the city.  

I overheard one tour leader say that the elevated park was modeled on the elevated park in Paris - the one that Cathy, Fdo and I didn't get to see as it was closed for some reason or another that day.

 

 

 

 

 That's the tour group and that the Frank Geary designed IAC building on the left.

 

 

I was walking south and got hungry just above Chelsea Market on Tenth Ave near 15/16th streets.  The market is an enclosed foodcourt in what was a National Biscuit Company plant where Oreos were invented and produced.

 

 

 

 

I had a sandwich at SaraBeth's Bakery, but I was fascinated by what looked like Japanese tourists eating lobster as fast food a little farther down the complex.

 

 

And there are a few shopping opportunities - a kitchen shop, imported Italian food displayed in the packing cartons so it looks inexpensive, but it wasn't and lots of bakeries - cupcakes, bread.

 

 

 

The HighLine walk was delightful and I was almost fooled that winter is over when it hasn't begun yet.

 

 There were a number of plants in bloom, and some pretty little yellow crocuses peeking out.

 

 

 And there is public art and lots of people watching.  It's a lovely walk in a bit of sunshine.

 

 

And now I've had enough of trying to figure out Blogsy so let's try to publish this.

New York City Fire Museum

I checked out "New York's Unique and Unexpected Places" by Judith and Alexandra Stonehill, and it's amazing how many of them Leena and I have visited.  But we hadn't been to the New York City Fire Museum.  It's listed in the Greenwich Village & Chelsea section, but it's really SoHo, 178 Spring Street - almost to the Hudson River in a neighborhood that I'm sure once was pretty rough, but it now on the fringes of uber-gentrification.

There were fire engines of every description, hand pulled, horse pulled, motor driven, as well as all sort of memorability like badges, hats, punch sets, and touching tributes to fire dogs (one stuffed) and fire horses (did you know the first fire dept ambulance was for the horses?).  And because the NYC firemen firgured so significantly providing emergency services during the 9/11 terrorist attack, there is a room set aside to commemorate their heroism and memorialize the 343 firemen who died.

10th Annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival

Today Leena and I celebrated Chinese and Jewish culture in Chinatown at the 10th Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival at the Eldridge Street Synagogue.  Where else can you see people of every stripe enjoying klezmer music and traditional chinese music and learning about a tea ceremony as well as how to blow a shofar.

The synagogue, built in last 19th century and fully restored, has Romanesque and Moorish detailing and a goreous new monumental stained glass window by Kiki Smith and Deborah Gans

No, she's not dead!

And of course we had to have lunch so we explored a busy Chinatown mall and found little restaurant/stall and had Chinese dumplings and steamed buns....

and that was before our respective foot and back rub on Elizabeth Street.

And we saw rehearsals for the dragon parade in the park...

Metropolitan Museum on a winter's day

With Mitch in the hospital again, and a few days of nothing but snow, I was ready for a break. So I met Leena at the Metropolitan Museum for a mini-vacation. Bunches of forsythia greeted us in the grand entrance hall.

Our exhibit goals were two and I'd better mention them now because there are no pictures. The first was a series of Romare Bearden collages picturing a street in Harlem. The museum's web site offers a high-tech educational feature about Bearden and the collage series which is great. The actual works are hidden in the middle of the contemporary art galleries and not near as flashy as the web offering. The second exhibit we wanted to see was a charming exhibit of Victorian photocollage.

And to get to our destination exhibits we first travelled through classical Greece and Rome

Then a journey into Papua New Guinea

With a quick stop for a view of some elephant tusks carved in Africa -

That's the lovely thing about this giant museum - In your travels you pass the most beautiful scenery. Wonderful design and art and color and beauty from so many cultures. And so many time periods.

And of course we had to wander through the Impressionists, where one could spend a day or two. And we climbed around the contemporary galleries

looking at art and people And searching for a view of snowy

Central Park below.

What a wonderful mini-vacation with my best friend.

And back at the hospital by mid-afternoon!

The Silk Road at the American Museum of Natural History

I've been wanting to see the Silk Road exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History so I seized the opportunity to drive in Sunday morning. I found great parking on 78th Street a block from the museum. In fact I found parking so easily that I was at the museum 20 minutes before it opened at 10:00 a.m.

As the museum is across the street from Central Park I took a little walk through the park. On Sunday morning there are lots of runners, walkers and bicyclists - nothing like the number there would have been if the weather had been sunny and a bit warm. But I walked briskly, wishing I'd worn my long underwear (then I would have been overheated in the museum), and admired a cardinal, squirrels, runners and tourists. The water in the Lake was frozen, and I'm sure there were skaters on Wollman Rink, but I didn't walk that far.

Then back to the Museum for the Silk Road. I was surprised that there was an additional charge for the exhibit - guess I've gotten used to the Metropolitan with no extra charge. I though $24 was a bit steep, but hey I can afford that. Supposedly admission to the museum is pay what you will, but the cashier wasn't having any of that for the Silk Road.

The exhibit is well done - polished and slick and draws a good crowd of adults and kids to admire the lifesized camel models and silkworms (live), and artifacts. The layout follows a Silk Road journey from Xi'An in China to Baghdad with stops at Turfan and Samarkand. Each visitor gets a passport and all children and adults stamped them religiously at each city. It's an engaging exhibit. However the traffic flow suffers bottlenecks and backs up very easily. You can take the journey yourself on the American Museum of Natural History website without the crowd. Try it.

As a special event for the exhibit there was a concert of Japanese gagaku music at noon. Gagaku ("elegant music") was originally brought to Japan in the eighth century from the Tang Dynasty Court in China. It is the oldest traditional orchestral music with roots in the Silk Road period. I went for a while. It is paired with dance, but this performance was just music. Want to hear it? Check out this youtube clip.

I think it must be an acquired taste . Then out into the rain and back home.

Highbridge Park and Washington Heights

Today my best friend Leena (not to be confused with her namesake, our daughter Laina) and I continued our exploration of Manhattan neighborhoods. I drove into Manhattan, picked up Leena and her recycling. Our first stop was Union Square fto drop off the recycling. Several times a year, the sanitation department sponsors recycling events, both for electronics and clothing. By chance I also was driving around with a bag of stuff for the clothes-drop, so Manhattan got a bit of New Jersey's old stuff as well.
Then we drove north to the top of the island and explored part of the largely Hispanic neighborhood of Washington Heights. As well as so many New York City neighborhoods, it is on the upswing. Highbridge Park runs along the East River just north and south of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. The green of the park is a real contrast to all the urban buildings, concrete and highways below.
Here are some Wikipedia Links so you can learn all about the area and its history (love that Wikipedia!):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Heights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highbridge_Park