July 25, 2007
Summer Trip to NYC: Part 3
After the MoMA, I took the subway down towards Washington Square Park and NYU. Emily had these nifty little cards that have short walking tours of NYC. Not only was there interesting information on the back, but it helped me find my way after getting turned around on the Subway.
I love New York row houses with stoops.
The tour took me on a little cobblestone street called Washington Mews. For a minute, I thought I was in Williamsburg or Georgetown.
And then there he was, George Washington. 6'20" - with a wig for his wig and a brain for his heart. He's coming, he's coming...
I was a little disappointed that I didn't see any chess or Scrabble players in the park. I was hoping to look over their shoulders. Instead, I just sat by the fountain for a while and nursed my poor feet. I had to buy bandaids. Here's a tip: flip flops are not the best shoes for walking around NYC. I love parks. I love how people just lounge around reading. One girl was reading this big anthology and I figured she was a student at NYU and then I thought about what life would've been like if I had gone to NYU. Sigh.
The wind picked up and I could feel the spray of the fountain on my arms and legs, a welcome respite from the summer heat. And there was a nice rainbow.
Once again, I'm stuck at a tourist destination with no one to take my photo. Had to take one myself, and you can't even tell where I'm at.
The plan was to then head over to the Staten Island Ferry so I could see the Statue of Liberty. But I couldn't for the life of me fine a downtown subway. So I just kept walking, thinking one was sure to come up. I spend a lot of wasted time getting lost and walking around in New York City. Luckily, that's also part of the fun. I finally found the right train and made it to the ferry station. Unfortunately, I was too late to get the ferry. Emily and I had dinner reservations. But I did snap a quick shot of the Statue of Liberty in the distance from the balcony.
I used to hate modern buildings made of glass. I tend towards the traditional, but then one time, I realized the point of the glass - to reflect the world around it. I liked how this building fragmented and reflected the sky.
And then the subway (oh sweet, air-conditioned subway!) back to Midtown to meet up with Emily for our dinner reservations at Payard Patisserie & Bistro. The best part of dinner, though, was dessert. We got to choose out of all of these:
From the restaurant, it was a quick walk over to Central Park where Neko Case was performing for the SummerStage Concert Series. We got there a little late, though. It was impossible to see from our spot.
So after about four songs, we decided to explore the park a little more. I had somehow completely missed Bethesda Fountain and the famous steps in previous trips, so I wanted to see them this time. I was not disappointed. Except for the fact that, once again, my camera is not the best at night. It just can't capture the perfection of a summer night with the fireflies sparking and a group of people dancing under the stairs. But I tried.
Afterwards, Em tried to convert me to the joy of Starbuck's Passion Tea, but I wasn't impressed. Luckily, the conversation made up for the disappointing refreshment.
Posted by kea at July 25, 2007 05:51 PM