The weather in New York turned out not to be quite as bad as we feared. I think the advanced warning helped. Although the temperature stayed in the forties and the skies were dark and drizzly, there were no downpours. We were prepared with winter gear and umbrellas, so it turned out all right.
Today I'll just include some quick highlights, and then add more this week if I can. I'm working really long days this week and weekend, so time for frivolous activities like blog writing is lacking.
Andrew reported that his favorite part of the trip was going up to the top of Empire State building. We were surprised to see pigeons up there, considering it's over 1000 feet above the ground. I think this just proves that wherever people spill food, pigeons will find it. The view was great and I enjoyed seeing the building itself. It's hard to think of a building that's less than 100 years of age as
old, but it really is old for a skyscraper.* I had heard horror stories about the three-hour lines, but we got there early in the morning and sped right up to the top. I think the weather helped us in this case - people with options put off their trips for warmer days.
I discovered a new variety of art that I love - works by Tiffany. That's right, the lamp-maker. I've never much cared for the lamps with glass lampshades; they're just not my style. But I'm pretty sure that the glass lampshades I normally see are not made by the Tiffany company, because I don't run in circles with that kind of disposable income. But in addition to lamps, Tiffany made large windows and mosaic fountains, and the Metropolitan Art Museum had a small collection. The windows he did are like luminous paintings. (This is
the best example I could find, although it loses something in its translation to pixels.)
More on New York later this week, time permitting
*This reminds me: the German word for a "sky-scraper" is a "cloud-scratcher." I like it that both words convey the idea of touching the heavens. Does anyone know what other languages name their tall buildings?
We saved money by staying in a small room. Here Andrew demonstrates that he can touch three wall at once, while I stand in the four square feet of space at the end of the bed. There wasn't enough room for both of us to stand up at the same time in the room.
This door panel from the Metropolitan Art Museum represents Science. I was quite taken with such a stunning and, above all, female representation of my chosen field.
On our first day we walked the Brooklyn bridge. Cheap and fun entertainment.
We had pleasant enough food, but nothing remarkable. This was my fault, because I didn't have enough time to do research before we left. I did get to participate in one new food trend - frozen yogurt. (Cupcakes are soooo out.) The new frozen yogurt is not like the stuff you and I remember from the 90's; it's full-fat, quite tart, and the toppings include really perfect fruit and dark chocolate. I'd recommend it.
