A DAY TO WALK

Again, we live at 32nd Street & 6th Avenue.

Carolyn needed to go to Bloomingdale's at 59th Street and Lexington.  She was going to ride the subway.

The plan was for us to meet for lunch near Bloomingdale's and I was going to walk.

I first went south to 25th Street to leave some things at Goodwill.  I then headed east through Madison Park to Lexington where I headed north.

Around 52nd Street & Lexington I heard some music.

Then right above the music I noticed there was a very contemporary church building in a hollow left for it under a skyscraper.

On the way home I went through Bryant Park where the grass is open and Summer has started.

If you visit New York City and cannot get us on a Saturday morning, we just might be at our dance class?!

In all, I walked over 5 miles today.

BASEBALL

Yankee Stadium
New York Yankees versus New York Mets

THEATER

The Trip to Bountiful
Stephen Sondheim Theater

http://thetriptobountifulbroadway.com/

The following article tells of what also happened during our performance.  Apparently, it happens often.  However, the article is wrong to talk only about black people knowing the song.  Carolyn and I both knew it.  It was a moment.

http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/theater/cicely-tyson-and-blessed-assurance.html?_r=0

LINCOLN CENTER

Avery Fisher Hall
Distinguished Concerts International New York

Requiem
Maurice Durufle

The Gettysburg Address (New York Premiere)
Requiem (World Premiere)
Mark Hayes

BRYANT, MADISON & UNION SQUARE PARKS ON MEMORIAL DAY

We touched on the three parks that are closest to our apartment.  Bryant is 10 blocks to the north, Madison is 6 blocks to the south, and Union is 15 blocks to the south.

Bryant Park is a formal design.  It is just beautiful right now.  Here's just one of the many opportunities it offers.

On the way from our apartment to Madison we ran upon these Spurs fans.  I heard them talking about the Spurs, went back and asked if I could video them, and here they are!  There was a New York Knick fan in the bunch.

Outdoor cooking on Memorial Day.

Oh, the line at the Shake Shack...

A Little Day Music.

Who are you going to put your money on?  The 9 nine year old who learns chess at his public school or the 60 year old guy who plays chess every day at Bryant park?

The man usually charges $5.00 to play, but the mother of the child said he plays with the boy because he enjoys it.

ROOSEVELT ISLAND & ROOSEVELT'S 4 HOPES MONUMENT

There is a tram that crosses the East River from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island.  This was an outing that held a lot of unknowns for us so we looked for a day that left us free to wander.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensboro_Bridge

 

http://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/arts/design/louis-kahns-franklin-d-roosevelt-four-freedoms-park-to-open.html?_r=0

The architect, Louis Kahn, designed several quite famous structures, among them the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas.  Interestingly, he was found dead in a restroom in Penn Station, just one block from where we now live.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Kahn

https://www.kimbellart.org/architecture/kahn-building/louis-kahn

The United Nations Building across the East River from Roosevelt Island.

Walking back to the Queensboro Bridge and the ride back to Manhattan on the Tram.

  

ITHACA,  NEW YORK

Returned from a 3 day trip to Ithaca, New York to survey a facility.  Got a chance to tour Cornell University and get one good look at New York's Finger Lakes.  Really pretty.

MUSEUM

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This afternoon we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It was packed.  We had no agenda, no "must see" exhibits, we were free to wander wherever we wanted.

We walked home from the Met.  That was a 2.5 mile walk at 5:00 PM.  Easy walking down 5th Avenue until we hit 59th.  Then, it was packed with Friday afternoon crowds.

Remote controlled sailboats in Central Park.

GRAMERCY PARK, PETE'S TAVERN, AND MADISON SQUARE

Today we walked.  Our first destination was Gramercy Park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramercy_Park

We then went a short block down Irving Street, as in Washington Irving, to Pete's Tavern.

http://www.petestavern.com/index.php

Pete's Tavern opened in 1864.  Since that time, it has remained open, making it both an official historical landmark and the oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant in New York City.  The Prohibition did not close down Pete's Tavern.  It remained open disguised as a flower shop and became one of the most infamous and popular speakeasies of that era.

The tavern looks today exactly as it did when its favorite "regular", O. Henry, dined there.  In 1905, at the first booth by the side doors is where he wrote the classic short story "The Gift of the Magi."

Following lunch we walked through Union Square to Madison Square.  As are all the parks, there's always something going on.  Here's a model posing with the Flatiron Building as her back ground.

Then we saw authentic Italian "eaters" showing how to go into Eataly, buy bread, cheese, prosciutto, and beer for a sandwich.

http://www.eataly.com

THEATER

New Victory Theater
The Firework Maker's Daughter

We saw this play on Broadway to determine if it"s child-friendly.  It was just over two hours long and was an opera.  Lot's of creativity in staging.  It was quite good.

Madison Square Garden sits on top of Penn Station.  Penn Station is just one block to our west.  Our part of town is filled with fans on game nights and the playoffs have everyone pulling for the Knicks.

New York City has what it calls "Bow Tie" parks.  They occur when Broadway crosses an Avenue; creating a northern part and a southern part extending and expanding from the intersection.  Times Square is a Bow Tie park where Broadway crosses 7th Avenue.  Our Greeley Plaza is the southern portion of the park where Broadway crosses 6th Avenue.  Herald Square is the  northern portion of the intersection of Broadway and 6th Avenue.

We live at 32nd Street and 6th Avenue by Greeley Plaza.  Macy's is on 34th Street by Herald Square.  That's a lot of information to say that the following video is two shorts blocks away from our front door at Herald Square.  It is party time!

CENTRAL PARK & BALLET

There are a series of walking tours in Central Park.  Today we took the one that views the park as art.  There are other tours and I'm certain we'll try to take them all.

The weather today is warming up.  We're being reminded just how hot NYC can be in the summer.

Upon entering the park we noticed Big Bird and Elmo taking a break.

It is virtually impossible to enter the park and not see someone getting wedding pictures or having the wedding itself.

The central focus of the park is the terrace with the Angel of the Waters at Bethesda.  This represents the angel who puts her toe in the waters, stirs the waters, and healing miracles occur.

The name of the pool is said to be derived from the Hebrew language and/or Aramaic language, meaning either house of mercy or house of grace.

John 5

The Healing at the Pool

5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. ² Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.   ⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The landscape architectural styles of the park are picturesque, pastoral, and formal.  The following are pictures of the picturesque part.  It is also one of the top 10 birding sites in North America.  It's on the migratory flyway and it is filled with songbirds right now.

Tonight we attend the New York City Ballet in Koch Theater.

BALANCHINE & ROBBINS: MASTERS AT WORK

• Western Symphony
• N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz 
• Glass Pieces