Saturday, September 26, 2009

Day Six in NYC - 9/26

We slept in again today as a cold front came in last night and it was quite cold and windy. Late morning we headed back down to Greenwich Village and I took one final class at Yamuna's studio. Ben strolled around the village and people watched while I was in class, then we headed over to Exilar juice bar for a quick greens juice and then Le Pain Quotidien where I picked up a black bean hummus sandwhich. We then headed towards the Chelsea High Line. The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. When all sections are complete, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen.

Photos on the High Line:



And a photo from street level looking up at the High Line:


We headed back to the apartment to get ready to leave.



After our whiplash taxi ride from the airport into the city on Monday, we ended up hiring a car and driver and floated to catch our plane in the back of a BMW sedan. A great way to end our vacation.

Manhattan from the air on our way out:

Friday, September 25, 2009

Day Five in NYC - 9/25

A coolfront came in overnight and we awoke to windy temps in the 60's and it seemed to get cooler as the day progressed. We took the subway up to Columbus Circle at the southwest end of Central Park and strolled through Strawberry Fields and past the boat pond before meeting Courtney for lunch at Josie's on the Upper West Side.











After lunch, Ben and I headed back to Central Park to view the Great Lawn, the Mall, and the old Dairy and also watch some impromptu performances. On our way out we passed a man creating a sand painting on the sidewalk.






When we got home we ventured up to the rooftop garden above our townhouse. There is this fat squirrel that comes down the fire escape every morning and it seems he camps out up on the rooftop as we found him up there sunning himself. Smart fellow!



The wind really chilled me to the bone and now I'm glad we had warm weather all week. I was able to take a Feldenkrais class for free this evening at the Feldenkrais Institute, only a few short blocks from the apartment. A great way to wind down from all the stimulation of the city.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Day Four in NYC - 9/24

Today we decided to sleep late and enjoy our apartment a bit. We are on the first floor overlooking Michael and Catherine's garden outside their apartment on the ground floor.




We headed out around noon and took the subway up to the Upper East Side.


We had lunch at Candle Cafe. I had the Seitan with Quinoa and Steamed Greens with mole sauce and Ben had Focaccia and a huge salad.


After lunch it was only a short walk west to the Metropolitan Museum of Art which covers over 2 acres of land on 5th Avenue and is right on the edge of Central Park. The mansions along 5th Avenue overlooking Central Park are simply amazing. We were definitely in a nice neighborhood.

The Met is so overwhelming. A person could spend a month there and not see everything. We took the hour long Museum Highlights tour which was just perfect. Unfortunately, many of the photos just did not turn out well but here are a few.




After the tour we headed up to the museum's rooftop garden and shot some photos of the city from up there. The green fluffy stuff is tops of trees in Central Park which backs up to the museum.




This evening I took another class at Yamuna Studio in Greenwich


while Ben checked out a local pizza joint. Greenwich Village is easily becoming our favorite part of the city and fortunately just a short walk south from Chelsea.
The forecast for tomorrow is cooler fall weather and we hope to spend the day in Central Park.

Day Three in NYC - 9/23

This morning we got up early as we had booked early morning reservations on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (we wanted to beat the masses). The ferry ride to Lady Liberty was only about 10 minutes but the views were incredible. To see the Statue up close was absolutely amazing and very moving. They do have the crown open to visitors but the tickets to get into the crown sold out months in advance so our tickets only allowed us to the top of the pedestal, which was fine because the elevator was broke so we had to climb stairs all the way there. Inside the pedestal was a museum depicting the history of the statue and information on how it has been restored. The original torch is inside the museum and you can easily see the little door that opens up where visitors used to be able to go up there as well.

Pictures from the ferry:




Pictures from the monument:




Next we headed onto Ellis Island. The number of buildings on the island was amazing. I had no idea that they had hospitals there as well as dormitories. We didn't stay long as we were ready to head back to the mainland.



We docked at Battery Park downtown and decided to go visit the World Trade Center Site as we had not had time to do so yesterday. The entire site is fenced off as new buildings are being built along with a memorial. There is a "preview" site across the street that we visited which shows models and diagrams of what the new buildings will look like. Directly across the street from the World Trade Center site is St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel, which is associated with Trinity Church. It served as a refuge for the 9/11 relief workers and is one of the oldest chapels in the US. I did a lot of reading about it before our trip so really wanted to see it. Most of the pews were badly damaged after 9/11 due to all of the relief workers that slept in the chapel, so most of the pews have been removed and the chapel now has the pulpit in the center with chairs circling it.

Ground zero from the chapel yard:




Bell presented to the chapel by England one year after 9/11. Made by the same company that made the Liberty Bell:






Inside the chapel. I cannot begin to describe how emotionally moving it was to walk through here.
Relief workers from all over the US left their badges behind at the chapel.




After that it was onto Angelica's in the East Village (gotta love the subway as it will zip you across town in no time!). Angelica's is probably one of the most well known vegan restaurants in the US, so of course I had to go there. I had a sandwhich with grilled tofu and pesto along with a squash and corn soup. Ben had a huge chuck of fresh cornbread. I could not resist the chocolate mousse hazelnut torte for dessert.





After our long lunch we headed down to the Lower East Side to visit the Tenement Museum

I first learned about the Tenament Museum about a year ago and it really was the spark that lit the flame that fueled my desire to come to NYC. Here is a little history of the museum:
"A historian and social activist, Ruth Abram wanted to build a museum that honored America’s immigrants.

New York’s tenements were the perfect place for her museum: these humble, multiple family buildings were the first American homes for thousands of immigrants.

But the search for a tenement proved frustrating. By 1988, Abram and co-founder Anita Jacobson were nearly ready to give up.

Then they stumbled upon the tenement at 97 Orchard Street.
97 Orchard’s initial appeal was an available storefront: Jacobsen and Abram considered renting the space to run tours of the Lower East Side. While inspecting the storefront, Jacobsen went to the hallway to look for a bathroom.

She saw sheet-metal ceilings, turn-of-the-century toilets and an aging wood banister.

"It was as though people had just picked up and left", Jacobson recalled. “It was a little time capsule...I called Ruth and said 'We have got to have this building.' It was perfect."

The search was over.
Shuttered for over 50 years, 97 Orchard's apartments were in ruin. It would take time to transform the tenement into a museum.

Undaunted, researchers scavenged through 97 Orchard and combed through archives, compiling evidence about tenants and tenement life.

After several years of research, the Museum began the difficult task of restoring apartments that had been left vacant for so long. In 1992, the Museum opened its first restored apartment, the 1878 home of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family."

Ben and I took the tour of the apartment of an Irish family, the Moores. Absolutely fascinating. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the tenament, but this is outside the little museum across the street.



After our tour we headed back to Greenwich Village, just south of our apartment. I took a class at Yamuna studio while Ben happily munched away at a local pizza joint. The weather was warm and muggy today, but thankfully no rain. We're hoping for cooler weather later this week.