Reflections on New York

For my final day in New York I headed across Central Park again towards the Guggenheim museum.  At least I thought I was heading towards it - a few wrong turnings and I ended up 15 blocks down from where I had aimed to be!  When finally there the Guggenheim museum had a good display of selections from its permanent collection (again on an abstract theme) and a photography exhibition.  Just as interesting though was the building.  Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright it was set out in a spiral foundation, meaning that you moved around and up the building rather than (in the main) being in traditional galleries.  It was different (if a little corridor-esque) and quite clever.  What was also clever was the method they had for hanging pictures which meant that they appeared to float away from the rear wall (which itself was on a slope)!

From there the last stop of my trip was further along the road (known as "museum mile" - the "Met" which I visited on my first day is also along there) at the Museum of the City of New York.  This had displays on the history of banking in New York plus on protest movements over the ages.  The final gallery I visited had a photo display of the streets of London over the years - appropriate as London was my next stop, flying back to the UK.

Overall it was a good and busy week in New York.  I say "New York", practically I haven't been outside of Manhattan during the time that I was there (despite one attempt to do so!).  I have tried to make full use of the museums pass that I took out, and have probably done so (although with hindsight I should have been a little better at planning where I should go - there are still plenty more places that I haven't been to see yet).  What was interesting though was some of the limited opening hours that some attractions had - many were closed on Monday (not just because it was the Labor Day holiday) and on Tuesday (or another day) too.  Very few were open before 10 (some not until 11) and started closing at 4, with almost all shut by 5:30.  For a city with the number of tourists that New York attracts, I found this very surprising.

Over the week, the weather has been variable.  Always quite warm, there have been some spells of sunshine, but also some rain (as seen when I was up the Empire State Building) and quite a lot of cloud.  Not enough to stop me doing anything though.

One of the surprises of the trip has been the New York Subway system - but not in a good way.  Arriving in New York last Saturday I found it terribly confusing to work out where it is I should be going.  First I found that directions are given as "Uptown" or "Downtown" which I didn't know whether was geographical, numerical or psychological (actually, both the first two apply).  Secondly, although a train may go along a route, it may not stop at all the stations along it (arriving on a Saturday evening there were signs that "A goes along C line late night".  Not knowing when "late night" was, an A turned up and I got on it.  Fortunately I just caught the announcement that it was going non-stop through the station that I was wanting to get off on!).  On a train there is very little indication as to where it is going, where the stops are etc apart from some announcements which are very difficult to hear.  There is little indication on the platforms either - most do not have a "next train" display nor a clear display of the next stations on a line.  One even left it very unclear that there were no trains at all that day!  The platforms themselves are generally as hot as the bowels of hell itself, fortunately the trains themselves are air conditioned.  They are not always terribly easy for getting about on, for example in Manhattan the trains generally run for north to south - there are very few that go across (hence all the walking on Thursday!)  However, I still managed to get about!

All in all it has been a great trip - I have seen three very interesting cities and a lot of museums, galleries and historic sights within them.  It has been all go all of the time (I suppose the train journey was my "rest day" but even that wasn't just having a sit down!) - I probably need a holiday now!

Criss Cross Quiz

My first stop of my penultimate day here was to visit the American Museum of Natural History.  Now, to be honest, it probably wouldn't have been top of my list of places to visit, but the fact that (a) it is next door to my hotel and (b) with my New York Card it didn't cost me anything to go have a look meant that I was curious to see what was inside.  What I found was a very old fashioned museum, with the majority of exhibits either stuffed animals in glass display cases or about groups of people such as "Indians" (but not, say, "Europeans" - what was the implication about what was "Natural History" as opposed to just "History"?).  This seemed quite odd in this day and age (there were a few more modern displays, but they were in the minority) and whilst the museum was going through some renovation, it may well need a lot more before too long.

From here I walked across Central Park to the Whitney Museum.  Here I found a queue to get in - out into the street - for probably the first time at any venue.  The reason appeared to be that there was an exhibit with limited entry where you needed a timed ticket - I was offered one for 15:40 - given that it was 12:00 I felt I would have moved on elsewhere by then!  I was able to see the rest of the current exhibits though (the permanent collection was closed for renovations) including an interesting political-based floor.

I then took the Subway down to town, getting off at the impressive Grand Central Station, and when down there walked back across town via a second-hand book store where I could have bought many books if I had the luggage capacity!  I was walking over to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space museum.  I had somewhat overlooked this museum until planning today but there were two key reasons to visit in that they had both a Concorde and a Space Shuttle there.  The Space Shuttle (Enterprise, which was the test shuttle) had only recently arrived following the retirement of the shuttle programme.  Both of these (and many more) were based on or by USS Intrepid, a huge aircraft carrier which saw service in World War II and Vietnam, which you could look round as well which was very interesting (although I am too tall to go to sea in the navy!). 

Finally I walked back across town (again), via the Times Square museum where they have the ball that drops every new year on display.  I went to visit the Paley Centre which had been advertised as a television and radio museum but was in fact an electronic library of many TV (and radio) shows which you could search, like a better quality version of You Tube.  I was able to round out my day spending a good period of time looking at some historic moments in US television.

Tributes

Over the years on my trips I have visited many scenes of tragedies, such as the Oklahoma bombings and Hiroshima.  The next stop on my trip was the most recent and therefore the most raw of them - the site of 9/11 in New York.  The location of the World Trade Center has been turned into a memorial garden - the footprint of each of the twin towers has been turned into a memorial pool, with waterfalls going down into them.  The site is currently in the middle of a building site as many of the plots around the site are being rebuilt, including a new tower that reaches to the same height as the twin towers (with an additional aerial which reaches to 1776 to reflect US independence).  The building and the crowds meant that it wasn't necessarily peaceful, but it was a very strong memorial to those who died.  From here I went round the 9/11 Tribute Centre which was a moving reflection on the events of the day - a full museum is being built on the site itself, to open later this year.

From here I looked round a few of the smaller museums that were in the area.  The Museum of Finance looked at the financial system, including banks and the stock market, and a timeline on the financial crisis that they are going to need to extend!  Fraunces Tavern was a historic site from the war of independence where George Washington resigned his military commission, freeing him to end up running for President (and not establishing a military government).  The Museum of Skyscrapers brought some of the day's visits full circle as it reflected on the growth of New York's Skyscrapers, including models used in the building of the World Trace Center.  I then tried to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, but the signs to it sent me round in circles so I gave up and went to the New Museum instead.  This is a contemporary art gallery and had some of the "avant garde" pieces that were perhaps missing yesterday (here with some relationship to technology), but mainly from the 1960's and 70's so not that new!

I rounded off my day with a trip to see a play on Broadway.  Earlier in the day I picked up some half price tickets to see Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" (still not cheep, even at half price!).  The play was great - it is set at a political convention with two men vying for their party's nomination to run for the presidency. It stars James Earl Jones, John Larroquette (Boston Legal) and should have also starred Cybil Shepherd (Moonlighting) but obviously it was her night off last night (moonlighting elsewhere?!?).  It was a really good and captivating few hours and I am glad that I caught it.  It was also really timely as the actual political conventions are on at the moment, with the Republicans last week and the Democrats this week.  Whilst the candidacies are well and truly concluded before the conventions nowadays, they are still on "primetime" with an hour each night on the main three channels which is an amazing amount of coverage from a UK perspective!  The hour per night is actually the shortest the coverage has ever been, and on several nights speeches have significantly over-run (Bill Clinton tonight, Mitt Romney last week) - revenge on the networks??

Up in the clouds

For my next day in New York I started off by taking a tour of the NBC Studios at the Rockerfeller Center.  This took you behind the scenes into some of their most famous studios, including the studio where the Nightly News is broadcast on and that for the famous "Saturday Night Live" (which from British eyes is always surprising that it is broadcast at 11:35pm at night!).  To actually be on the floor of the news studio was the type of access that you would rarely get elsewhere.

From there I went on to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which was just down the road.  This had a strong permanent collection as well as some interesting special exhibits, including some flag paintings and an exhibition related to childhood (which due to poor signage I entered at the wrong end and ended up going back in time!)  One impressive part was an area where motion capture turned children into animated monsters in real time!  I also spent too long watching a recorded game of Tetris on a screen until I realised what I was doing...  The permanent collection was good, but included lots of pieces that were similar to those I have seen elsewhere (I think there have been sculptures by Alberto Giacometti at at least 5 galleries I have been at this trip!) - there was nothing really surprising.  The only down note was not being allowed out into the sculpture garden as there was a little bit of drizzle going on!

I then had a wander through town, which took in Broadway and Times Square (which was busy) and New York Central Library.  Here there was a great exhibition on the concept of "Lunch", including some of the automats that used to be part of New York.  There was one story that said that a popular coffee place used to offer coffee at 5 cents.  As the prices of the raw materials went up they started reducing the quality but were losing significant amounts of money.  If they could have charged 7 or 8 cents they might have been OK but the machine would only work on a 1 coin basis so eventually it had to go up to 10 cents which people hated and led to its decline.

My final stop was the Empire State Building.  As we were going up we were warned that there was zero visibility and given the option to come back some other time.  However, as I had seen the views across New York already I was going more for the experience so I wasn't turning back.  Actually, the weather made the visit.  At some points you were enveloped in clouds at the top, but it was windy so they were moving and would clear, revealing views of the city below.  Quite a unique experience and not too wet, so a lot of fun and some different photos!

Liberty on Labor Day

Monday in the US was Labor Day - the end of summer bank holiday.  Unlike the UK it takes place on the first Monday in September, instead of the last in August, and also shares some of the DNA of May Day.  Apparently there are parades for it, but the main one isn't until Saturday.

For the day I headed down to see the Statue of Liberty, as it was probably the only site of New York that I couldn't see clearly from the Top of the Rock the day before.  You have to go through airport-style security to get on the ferry over to the island, which was quite busy (I guess it being a bank holiday!)  On the island you get a free audio tour to take you around, which was interesting as it talked about its history such as how the frame for the statue was designed by Gustave Eiffel (before he designed his tower!). Unfortunately the statue itself was closed for renovation so I couldn't go inside, but it was great to see it.

Also included with the ticket was a trip over to Ellis Island.  Here is where immigrants to America used to be processed when they arrived.  The tour took you through the full assessment process they would have gone through, as well as having several other museum exhibits.  Interesting to note that 98% of people were accepted who went through the process... would be different today!

After getting the ferry back I had a wander around the area and up Wall Street. At the end of here was the Federal Hall, which stands on the site where George Washington was inaugurated as President of the US and the first Congress sat (the building itself has been replaced by one equally as impressive though).  Inside the hall was a display of Presidential photos as well as about New York more generally.  I also wandered up past City Hall and its park and visited a few bookshops on my way back to the hotel.

League of Nations

Before heading out on my first day in New York I caught the Grand Prix.  There seems to be a pattern with Formula One when I am in the US - a dramatic race and a win for Button - just like last year!  I then headed out to pick up my New York Pass which will get me into many attractions over the next week.

Walking into town I came across a big festival going on, with lots of stalls and people, all related to Brazil.  I think it must have been Brazil day (and a bit of research shows I am right!).  They went on for many blocks, and I found myself a long way from where I started!  I therefore decided to head off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Walking the rest of the way there meant going round some of Central Park. Outside of the entrance to the zoo were two rival (small) demonstrations - pro and anti the Congress Party of India.  However, what made New York Zoo the best place to hold such demonstrations I do not know...

One of the reasons that the Met was top of my list to visit was that I had noticed that seeral special exhibits there were closing on the 3rd September.  However, what I hadn't reaslised was that the special exhibits were only about 1% of the things to see there.  I have been to some big galleries on this trip, but this was many times bigger than them all.  Having got there at around 1:00 I could have gone on far past closing at 5:15, indeed there was enough to see it could be a destination for a week on its own!  It is a bit like the British museum in the scope of what it covers, including many great halls of displays (and a Hepworth!)

Finally I headed over to the Rockerfeller centre to go to their "Top of the Rock" observation deck.  This had been recommeded to me as the best one in New York and, given that the weather is looking a bit dodgy for the rest of the week, I thought it worth heading there whilst it was half decent!  You get some great views from the top across all of New York, and by going in the late afternoon I was able to stay there and also get the same views at night!

Ticket to ride

I made my way from Montreal to New York by taking an epic train journey of over 11 hours.  It is apparently one of the 10 best train journeys in the world – and it certainly goes through some spectacular scenery, including passing some great lakes.  One of the things that makes the journey so long is crossing the border – here border control come onto the train and go through checking, with us “foreigners” having to go off to the buffet car to fill in more forms!   The stop was about an hour or so.

During the journey there was meant to be wi-fi available, but it (a) wasn’t available in Canada, (b) very patchy in the US and (c) didn’t seem to make it out of the buffet car so wasn’t really available to be used (hence the late delivery of this blog!).  Therefore had chance to get a long way through my book and to catch up on some podcasts I had downloaded.

 

The speed of the train was quite variable – as well as the long stop at the border there was another long stop a couple of hours from the end, and several occasions where the train travelled quite slowly.  Doubtless there are quicker ways to get between the two cities, but hey – I’m on holiday – I’ve got the time!

Réflexions sur Montréal

For my final day in Montreal I started by visiting the Écomusée Du Fier Monde – a museum about the social conditions and industrial history of an area of Montreal.  However this was the first place that I Have been to where it was only in French – there was a guide book for the main exhibition in English to help, but the poster exhibition – who knows?

I then headed (through the rain) to Old Montreal (the guidebooks say never to call it Old Town – everyone knows that Old Town is in Swindon!).  I visited both Chateau Ramsey (which is one of the oldest buildings in town) and the Musée Marguerite-Bourgeoys – a museum about an old church and its founder, including a viewing platform which gave great views out over the harbour.

Next I went for a walk around both Old Montreal and the Old Harbour.  During this I had a look round the Bonsecours Market (which is a very impressive building) and went up the many steps of the harbour clock tower.

I concluded my time with a visit to two separate art galleries.  DHC/ART foundation is a free gallery which had a display which included the use of old computer punch cards in art.  The Musée d’Art Contemporain was bigger (but charged) and included a current exhibit on abstract art, mainly from local artists.

Leaving the museum I came across a free concert going on in the street across the road.  This was a group led by a girl playing rock-type music on an Electric Harp.  She was obviously in charge of the boys playing with her and was at some times almost conducting them as well as playing the harp and singing – very impressive!  Good music too.

Overall I really enjoyed my time in Montreal.  There is a lot to see (as you can tell by what I have written on the past few entries) and getting round to see it all was aided by buying a museums pass.  This gave entry to over 35 different attractions (and 3 days of public transport) which meant I did not need to worry about paying for things after buying the card (apart from the Olympic tour which was not part of it).  Having free entry meant I went into places that I might not have otherwise done, such as the Biodome and Chateau Ramsey.  I think I got good value out of it! 

One of the different things is that French is the main language, indeed sometimes the only language in Montreal.  Indeed I would say that the people are more “French” than just Canadians who speak French (if that makes any sense!). 

It was particularly interesting to see the Olympic park and stadium (the 4^th Olympic Stadium I have been to!) in this Olympic year – definitely shows some of the legacy challenges that London will now be facing.  All in all lots of interesting things to see and do – was well worth a visit.