October 20, 2012
A sublime Saturday morning found us at Central Park with the rest of residents of the borough of Manhattan. There were people
everywhere...biking, jogging, working out with personal trainers, doing yoga with a group of cohorts, kids playing soccer, tourists riding in pedi-cabs. Central Park is
clearly the place to be on Saturday. Riding bikes in Central Park is one of my sister and her husband's favorite things to do on their day off, and it is a really great way to see ALL of Central Park and do a lot of people watching at the same time! So Brent and I rented bicycles and joined the citizens of Manhattan on their favorite Saturday past time.
There are many things you have to know about riding bikes in New York City. It is a great way to get around. You CANNOT ride on the sidewalks, unless you want to get chewed out by very verbal elderly women. When riding through Central Park, you ignore the pedestrian stop lights or you will get plowed over by the serious roadies. The only exceptions to that rule would be if an actual pedestrian is waiting to cross, or if a police officer is nearby...although I'm told they don't often pay attention to the minor infractions to the law. The New York way of life is very different than the west coast, indeed, as I have been told by many people.
What a beautiful autumn Saturday!
The Bethesda Fountain has to be the most beautiful place in Central Park. LOVED it!
I had to put these cute pics of my sister and her hubs in bigger so they can see them better!
Click play to see a sweeping 360' of the Bethesda Fountain, and as a bonus(!)
you get to hear a talented family sing "You Raise Me Up"
Milo was such a great sport on this whole trip and just loved being packed around all over the place!
4 months is an easy age to travel!
Strawberry Fields is the little corner of the Park right by where John Lennon used to live and where he was assassinated. It is said that he used to hang out in this part of the park, as it was right by his penthouse. Brent is a great fan of the Beatles, so this was particularly fun for him.
This imagine circle was a really fun place to watch tourists from all over the world. There were British, French, German, etc, etc, lining up all over the place to take a picture in this circle. When someone moved out, another person or group would jump right in. Brent had to be quick! A large group of German teenage girls took a picture laying on their backs all around the circle. It was so cool, I wanted to take a picture...but I wasn't quick enough!
After our bike ride, we drove up to Little Italy in the Bronx and ate Italian dinner and Italian pastries! So fun! And then after that, we drove up out of New York City for about an hour to Sleepy Hollow for a Halloween Pumpkin Blaze! It was really awesome! There were thousands and thousands of carved pumpkins lit and arranged into displays all around the Sleepy Hollow manner. It was very festive, and not too scary...which is exactly what I like! My only wish is that we could have spent a little more time up there around Sleepy Hollow to see a little more of New York, out of the city.
October, 19 2012
With rain in the forecast, we decided that Friday would be our museum day. We had 4 museums on our agenda to see in New York City: The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), The Modern Museum of Art (MOMA), and the Nation Museum of Natural History. These four museums were included with our
City Pass, which we purchased for $89 each, and also included the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building Observatory. Totally worth it!
It was a little hard to get up as early as we wanted to Friday morning because it was still 3 hours earlier than our time zone, and we were still pretty tired from our red eye flight...so we got a little later start to the day than we wanted...but I was EXTREMELY excited when we finally made it to the Guggenheim! The Guggenheim Museum has been very first on my list ever since I was a senior in high school and checked out a book of the works at the Guggenheim from the library. I've wanted to go there since I was 18, and finally getting there felt like Disneyland
used to feel like to me when I was a kid.
I found out pretty quickly from a security guard that photography was not allowed inside the art galleries, so that's sad since I really wanted to document this experience. But the building by itself is a work of art. An architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright. The building is a giant spiral ramp with the art and galleries off of the ramp. It was amazing, inside and out. I enjoyed seeing the Picasso Matisse, Gauguin, Kandinsky, and all the great artists I learned about in art and humanities classes.
Inside the Guggenheim, looking out the window to the trees in Central Park.
After taking this panoramic picture of some of the building levels from the very top, I was told I better stop taking pictures again! Sorry! You can't see any of the art in any of my pictures!
Leaving the G with my sis.
After the Guggenheim we walked through the edge of Central Park on the way to The Met.
The trees were just starting to turn. The weather the entire time we were there was very warm...in the low 60's. New York City is a beautiful city, with a lot of green park space. The two pictures of the water on the right are the Central Park Reservoir The two bubble pictures on the left were the first time I saw someone "creative panhandling". I never saw anyone just asking for money in NYC. They were always doing a performance or a trick of some kind, and if you wanted to take a picture of it you should give them a dollar.
In Central Park, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there is this obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle. It was a gift to the City of New York from Egypt. We sat down and had a breastfeeding and diaper changing session, as the rain had gone away and the weather was very pleasant.
normalizing breastfeeding around NYC!
We walked past this children's park on the way to The Met, and wanted to take a picture of it to show our kids. This is how the children's parks all look in NYC. They are fenced in, and have signs that say no adults or teenagers allowed, unless accompanying a child.
The Met.
The BIGGEST museum I have ever been through. I can imagine the Louvre in France is about the same size, but I wouldn't know since I didn't actually go through the Louvre. I know! What a travesty that I was in France and didn't go to the Louvre! It would take DAYS to see everything in this museum. We really should have left more time to see it. It is A LOT more than just paintings. It is artifacts from all over the world! It was fascinating!!
Here we are, about to go in...with the Met buttons on our collars.
The inside of the Met.
Some of the most interesting things we saw in the Met (we were allowed to take non-flash photography in most of the galleries...all of the galleries except the Bernini sculptures):
A Tiffany stained glass window. They had several Tiffany windows, and I thought they were all stunning!
I loved the expression of this mama and baby!
We spent the most time in the Egypt exhibit. It was INCREDIBLE! These statues, buildings, artifacts, mummies, and panels were all brought from Egypt.
But in retrospect, we should have hurried along so we wouldn't run out of time before seeing China!
My sister and brother-in-law were a big help with Milo! And I think they loved it.
We quickly strolled through the European paintings...and saw lots of lovely ones. The left, on the bottom is Bruegel. I love this painting. He is painting commoners at a time when most paintings were commissioned to paint the elite. I love that. The pics on the top left and just to the right of the big painting are details from the big painting. The other two painting are two Rubens. Brent and I both really liked the one on the right, bottom. It's called the Glorification of the Eucharist. The top right is detail from the painting, in which Jesus is crushing a skeleton and a snake, representing death and sin. It was interesting looking through our pictures afterward. Brent and I both had a camera, and we ended up taking pictures of almost the exact same paintings. Hehe!
The Persian Gallery was perhaps the most interesting because I love the art and I really think it's a time and part of the world that gets skimmed over in History class. The top left statues remind me of the Neverending Story, no? Don't they look like they're about to shoot lasers out of their eyes? And the picture on the top right is cuneiform, one of the earliest known forms of writting.
I LOVED these lions! Favorite!
After spending all day at museums, it was very late, and we were very hungry. We powered through the whole day without eating any meals, just so we could see as much as possible. So we walked around and found a Persian restaurant, which was AHH...SO delicious!! We were trying all kind of foods that we have never tried before, and that was SO fun. The ultimate end of the day was the rose ice cream we ordered for dessert. OK! Seriously SO YUMMY! If you ever get the chance to eat rose ice cream, DO IT!
This is us on the bus, finally on the way home. We were SO tired, and my eyes were hurting me...I think I was starting to get conjunctivitis! Crap! I went home and squirted some breast milk from Milo's bottle in my eyes and went to sleep...and in the morning, ALL BETTER!
It seriously sounds weird, but it works! Just FYI.
October 17-18
My very kind sister
dropped Brent and Milo and I at the Portland airport at 8:15 pm, and drove back to our suburban home with our three older kids. Brent and I were scheduled to catch the red eye flight to New York City. VERY EXCITING! Brent and I had planned to take a trip together, sans children, for our 10th anniversary. But because of a dear baby and a funeral it didn't happen that 10th year. "Never fear," Brent said. "The only reason the 10th anniversary is such a milestone is because we have 10 fingers. If we had 11 fingers, the 11th anniversary would be the big milestone." So we laughed it off and decided to take a trip for our 11th Anniversary. Somewhere cool, like Europe or Hawaii. But with our 11th Anniversary came another baby. And with our 12th came a missionary homecoming for Brent's brother that we felt we should attend. Finally for our lucky 13th anniversary + 2 months, we had a trip planned and booked. The old cliche "better late than never" comes to mind. My younger sister and her husband have been living in New York City for years, and had offered to let us come and crash at their place. We finally decided to take them up on the offer, since they might be leaving for graduate school within the next year. I sat at the computer one day, on the Jet Blue Airlines website, like a frightened child on the high diving board trying to get the courage to jump off. I quickly clicked the send button to buy the tickets before I could think too long or too hard about leaving my kids (especially 2 year old Ollie). So on October 17th, we were at the airport with only our baggage and our 3 month old baby, ready to fly east through the night on an adventure.
We arrived at the JFK airport at 5:30 am, New York Time...which is 3 hours before Pacific Time, so it was the middle of the night for us. Brent didn't sleep at all. I dozed in and out of sleep. Milo slept easily on my lap the whole way on top of the boppy pillow and wrapped in a swaddle wrap. The flight was completely booked and we didn't buy a seat for Milo, but it turned out better to have him sleep on the boppy pillow on my lap so I could keep him from crying the whole way. Everyone on the flight thanked me later, when we arrived and Milo never made sound. Did I mention that it was the best idea EVER to bring the boppy pillow? Because it was. Even though it is quite large. I stuffed it down into a fabric tote and shoved it under the stroller when we were en route to and from the airport. Otherwise, it stayed at my sister's apartment.
We had planned to ride the subway all the way from the airport on the far end of Queens, to Northern Manhattan, Harlem, where my sister lives. She had warned us that we might want to consider taking a taxi to her place, but our frugality won out and we were all set to take the subway- just jump in to New York City, over our heads, right from the start...our first time on the NYC subway WITH a baby and a stroller AND all of our luggage. My sister laughed at us, and told us she would come pick us up with her car-- even though she had never driven all the way out there and was a little nervous to do so. She got us back to her place just in time for her husband to take the car to go to work (north of NYC), and to get there on time for an important business meeting. Whew!
After we got to her place, we were hoping to drop off our luggage and get right back out there to start seeing stuff...but when we saw our bed, our bodies told us that we had jet lag and needed to take a nap. So we did. For four hours!
We left Heather's apartment through the back alley way, since we had our stroller and there is a ramp back there. As soon as we walked out the back door, I was instantaneously amazed! I looked up at the buildings and realized "WE ARE IN NEW YORK CITY!" I took this picture:
a kind of view that I've seen all my life on television, and now I'm seeing it in real life.
Being in New York City is surreal. It is strange. No city is as filmed as NYC. Around every corner something is familiar, yet I know I've never been there before. And then came the culture shock. Yes. NYC is culture shock.
N.Y.C. Sewer
We walked right up the hill from my sister's apartment building, turned a corner and there was the subway. Weird. We bought these metro cards which gave us unlimited subway and bus use for a week. I think they were about $30 each. To get on the subway, you just swipe your card.
In the subway with my sis
I didn't know what to expect. I didn't want to stand out, look like a tourist, or an easy target for theft; vulnerable. I didn't know what the people would be like, or if there was a lot of crime. I figured we'd be safe since my sister had lived there for 7 years just fine. I had all my belongings safely stowed under the stroller...but down in the subway...I just couldn't help myself! I had to get my big camera out and take pictures. Tourist.
The main thing that caught my attention was the fine detail: the tilework, the effort that was made to beautify this particular subway stop. And it was old! Oh, and it was also pretty dirty down there. But what would you expect? I had heard people say that NYC was dirty, but actually it seemed pretty clean to me...all except for the subway and the exhaust.
art in the subway
It was getting pretty late in the day and we kinda had a plan. We were going to catch a free concert at the Lincoln Center...us...and everybody else in the city. So the concert was full and we couldn't get in. We wandered around the upper west side, ate dinner, etc.
The NYC Temple
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
It's right by the Lincoln Center
We ate dinner right behind the Temple at a little place called Le Pain. That's not pain as in hurt, but bread in French. It was lovely. It brought back fond memories for both Brent and I of our summers that we lived in France. We ordered a cheese and bread platter. I HAD to. When I lived in France, it was the 90's...in the middle of the non-fat craze. I was so strict back then I did not eat one.single.piece of French cheese. Regret.
For the record, I pretty much eat all the cheese I want now. And all the fat I want. Healthy fat. Mostly.
Oh, for the love!
Milo hanging with Auntie.
spinach soup, very similar to soup I did happen to eat frequently when I lived in France
We wanted to take a picture of the cheese platter, but unfortunately we devoured it quickly before we remembered. It was just that good.
But we did get a picture of our pain chocolat:
...which was also very delicious.
After dinner we wandered around for a while, just taking everything in:
The Juiliard School...I stopped and had a little dream about one of my boys becoming a classical musician.
The Lincoln Center, where the opera, ballet, and symphony are housed. Along with other concerts and War Horse, the play was currently running. Very lovely at night.
We walked into Central Park, just a little bit:
tree, in central park, with city lights in background
...AND the pop art version of this picture:
I couldn't decide which one I liked better.
In this Central Park tunnel, we saw our first (and only) NYC rat. And Brent and my sis played around with the acoustics of the tunnel.
Just walking along the edge of Central Park,
there are fountains and statues and plenty of sights to see; plenty of people still out hurrying around.
This is Columbus Circle, the very Southwest corner of Central Park.
Gah! I was just completely amazed with everything. Overwhelmed.
Then, as I'm feeling completely amazed, we walk into a tall building before reaching Times Square, we take an escalator into the basement, and there is Whole Foods. All the healthy New Yorkers are out on a Thursday night doing their grocery shopping, buying local apples from an upstate New York farm (they were delicious- just the right amount of sweet-tart). Packing everything into a small hand trolley to fit into the subway with, and take back to their small Manhattan apartments. Culture Shock. Luckily for us, we had the roomy basket on the bottom of Milo's stroller. We could fit plenty of fresh, local produce in that basket. We were feeling pretty glad that we decided to take the bigger stroller instead of the umbrella stroller.
Then we left the store, rounded a corner...and there! Just right there is a stairway down into the subway again. Culture Shock.
I thought this was pretty funny.
It was the first (or second) indication that New Yorkers (or perhaps Back-Easters) don't really follow the particulars of the law. And the police don't really seem to mind. They let the little particulars slip...maybe because there are so many people, and many bigger things to worry about. We didn't see any crime. There were a couple of interesting incidents we encountered, like a woman cat fight in the subway station at night, and some gangster teens popping wheelies on four wheelers on the freeway. But other than that, a very pleasant, crime free city. With just the small particulars of the law mostly ignored. Interesting. Culture Shock {a little}.
Here we are in the subway near Times Square, about to head back to sister's place. I liked the art in the subway too. I found overall that I really liked subway art.
And here is our lovely stroller set up, with the bags of groceries from Whole Foods.
And here we are, back at the elevator in sister's very efficiently small Manhattan apartment. Tired.
Culture Shock. Woah! Subway. You have to be fast and a little bit pushy to be a New Yorker. We were almost unable to get off at one of our stops with the stroller because we weren't pushy enough to get off before the crowd of people started streaming on. We learned our lesson. New Yorkers must be very competent and bold to get what they want and where they want.
Good first day.
