Fasten your seatbelts Part II

But first, a little aside.

1. I have not yet heard back from the vet's office - I was supposed to on Wednesday. Does nothing mean no? Or maybe they just spent more time calling people's references than expected, and the outcome is delayed....

2. In reply to Um Naief's comment in the last post about V and me looking like sisters, I said that as we were passing an old guy on a bench in Prospect Park he said, "Sisters?"

New Yorkers have mastered the art of random comments. For instance, the day I went to my interview here in Bklyn, I emerged from the subway and stood to cross the street. As I was putting my sunglasses on, a trio of middle aged men passed me and one commented, "That's right sister, get ready for the sun." Generally they say these things not too loudly in passing so that you can choose whether to hear them or not. So I gave a tiny chuckle as I started to cross the road and he gave one back.

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OK, now it's time to fasten those seatbelts folks! My good old friends from St Thomas and I had a day out on the town.


We gathered at Grand Central:


Crossing to the NY Public Library to see the foyer:


When we came out, a non-UST) member was added to our group:


We went into St Pat's cathedral - I love the smell of incense:


Went to the Rockefeller Center:


Saw this landmark a few days later in the movie "On the Town" with Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, et al:


GE Building, frieze based on William Blake's "Great Architect":


GE Building lobby, Great Depression: last great era of craftsmanship:


GE Building, murals of the working man on the ceiling:


Resting in hotel lobby while we waited for Derika to check in:


Who takes pics of Times Square *in the day*?


Just prior to a hot dog stop:


Garmet District - had to take a photo of the store across the street:


The wonderful Empire State Building is always dramatic:


The quirky Gershwin Hotel and the Museum of Sex...SoHo of course:



I was teasing myself and Vera copied me:


The graffiti changed "feet" to "frap" making a funny statement even funnier:


Two special girls:


Approaching the Flatiron Building (1902):


It's the second version of this type of building, the first being in the south somewhere:


The base of the Flatiron at the crossroads of Broadway and 5th:


A Presbyterian church in Greenwich Village:


Greenwich Village - Part of the Washington Square Mews, a very English holdover from the days when grand mansions had stables and cobbled streets behind:

(I would rather live in a cute mews house than in the cavernous mansion in front)

Washington Square Arch (1889) commemorated the centennial of George Washington's inauguration as first President of the United States:


Most of the historic buildings around Washington Square Park are used by NYU but local residents have managed to keep the park for public use:


Greenwich Village - walking away from Washington Square:


Resting on the subway down to Chambers Street/World Trade Center:


A reflecting pool inside the World Financial Center where Chris works. Droplets of water fall periodically from the wires breaking the mirror surface of the water:


It is a very quiet memorial to 9/11:


The Winter Gardens inside the WFC, surrounded by nice shops and cafes to serve the public and the office workers inside:


V and V eat a salad in the Winter Gardens:


Now hurrying out of the WFC, we have a ferry to catch!


Walking walking, we pass this interesting little feature in Battery Park:


What is that wierd sci-fi looking building behind this jetty?


I messed up Vanessa's serious shot:


It is the Children's Holocaust Museum on very serene waterfront:


Surrounded by hibiscus bushes:


I love this, totally sci-fi, don't know what it is:


We are on the ferry:


Being chased by a very tiny plane ;) Can you spot it?


A patriotic image:


Lady Liberty:


She's getting smaller:


Pierre, Vanessa and moi:


Me, Pierre, Vanessa, Liberty, Vera, and Chris:


About ten miles south you see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, where I live!


A big Norwegian Cruises ship crossed our path:


Ellis Island, the gateway for many immigrants of previous centuries:


One of two exhausts, opened 1950, for the Holland Tunnel; it renews the air every 60 seconds:


One of Olafur Eliasson's NYC waterfalls:


Manhattan Bridge, and look! can you spot the tiny Empire State Building on the left?


Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges:


Another waterfall off Governor's Island:


A sailboat off Governor's Island (high zoom):


What's taller, the building or the boat nose up?


Back to being landlubbers - NYC Mounted Policeman in Battery Park:


The New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street:


And across the street, Federal Hall where George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States:


A sculpture in a plaza in the financial district:


A dizzy upshot:


While waiting for food to be served, Vera and I walked to the waterfront at the end of the street to see the sunset from the Irish Hunger Memorial:


Under the Irish Hunger Memorial:


The garden of the Irish Hunger Memorial:


After dinner at Chevy's Mexican Restaurant (pretty good):


Equipment at Ground Zero:


The mosaic theme at this subway was EYES of every description:


Back to Times Square:


Where McD's and even subway signs sparkle:


And even the US Armed Forces recruiting station!


Aaaannnnnnd it's a wrap...