I mentioned yesterday that I managed to bungle up most of the pictures I tried taking in Central Park so I was going to try and re-take them this beautiful morning -- today, apparently, there is (was) a Puerto Rico day parade down 5th avenue, and in addition to throngs of people [and the greatest number of police officers I've ever seen in the same place at the same time], access to Central Park other than roadways was very difficult--access to the parts of Central Park I actually wanted to take photos of was impossible. I did notice, though, while in the park an odd desolation: I was virtually alone, the sun was out and the treed were green, but somewhere just beyond view there was a cacophony of city noises: Whistles, horns, music, yelling, cheering. To me that's more soothing than silence.
So I did the next best thing: I walked Central Park from the southern foot at 6th Avenue (a few quick blocks walk from the hotel at 59th) to the northern end at 110th and Malcolm X Boulevard. Snapping a few photos along the way and briefly considering a return visit to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum [I think my favorite museum from my last trip], I hopped a 2 Train subway down to Times Square/42nd where I transferred to an R train to City Hall, another park that I grabbed a few wintry shots at. After that I took the R one stop further downtown--without looking at a map of exactly where I was going--and ended up at Wall Street.
Got out, wandered around the financial district a bit, stumbled upon the NYSE and then took the train uptown to Times Square.
I had planned on, at this point, returning to the hotel room and possibly catching a quick nap -- certainly getting off my feet for a little while (Had I done any planning at all, I probably would have thought to bring a pair of shoes more suitable for all terrain walking -- but as my internal compass hasn't fully adapted to New York, I made a wrong turn and from 7th avenue ended up on 8th Ave instead of 6th where I wanted to be.
So I walk a few blocks up 8th planning on hanging a quick turn and jaunt back to 6th [I hate walking past the same people on the street going different directions... they may not remember that I just waked by, but I feel kind of stupid when I do that...plus, I needed to get about 15 blocks uptown anyway] -- and stumbled across a restaurant that caught my eye.
So I stopped at Schnipper's and ordered a burger and cheese frys. It was good. I made a mess of myself eating it on the patio on the corner of 8th Ave and 41st, but it was good enough that I didn't care. (The sign above the register: "Hello! We serve good old-fashioned American food for New Yorkers and travelers alike. We don’t do fusion or foreign. We think happy is healthy. We think low stress is as important as low fat, and high-quality can be just as important as organic. While we respect places that serve precious, fussy food, we never wanted to be one of them." There's an attitude I dig)
And I walked back to hotel without further direction-finding incident where I am typing this now... and I think I will try for a quick nap before I have to take a shower and get ready to be at Radio City by 4:30. I did pass the International Center for Photography Museum just south of the hotel-- I'd like to check it out, but I think I'll save that for my next trip given time constraints: I'd hate to not enjoy it simply because I rushed through it.
Until later tonight... Photos can be found here
Lincoln
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