New York, New York, Day 2

Up early. Why oh why is it that on these trips we go to bed late and get up early. I imagine anyone that looked at the movies and photos of New York, New York, Day 1 can see what this kind of stuff does to me. Mind you, I am still at an advantage for my natural ability to need less than average amounts of sleep, but still... why oh why?

We made it into the city by 10 am... ish... Off the bus and onto the feet. We were dropped at Port Authority, which was out pick up location for the entire weekend, and which also happened to be a very central location. My companions and I were headed to 5^th Avenue, which was very easy to get to from where we were. Step step step down 42^nd Street and we were on our way.

42nd Street

I did not have a guide book for New York, but instead I had my own personal tour planned for me. It covered most of the things that I would like to see, and included maps with walking routes of how to get from one site to another. Port Authority to 5^th Avenue... en route, New York Public Library (scene of the bust wedding in the Sex and the City Movie). Step step step and there it was.

My travelling companions were in a hurry so took the Library at a quick glance but I was able to take a leisurely stroll through it. There is just something about the way they do things in New York. I have been in Libraries before, and they are just rooms with some books, and some computers, and you know... librarians, but this was a whole new level of... library. My words cannot possibly do it justice, but I believe that my point-and-shoot can. Grandiose is the best word that I can think of to describe it... that or... mondiferous (world-ly).

New York Public Library

Continuing down 42^nd St, I did manage to find 5^th Avenue. 5^th Avenue is where the good shopping is. I was supposed to head up 5^th Ave on my way to the Museum of Modern Art. On the way I could see all the famous stores, take a photo of people waiting in line to buy the IPad (released that day), and generally just see New York. So, I walked. I saw the stores but then I saw something more important.

Rockefeller Center

Atlas Shrugged is my favourite novel. It is also a very famous novel, and one based in New York, about a certain kind of person. It is a kind of person that has an indomitable spirit and who has the will to create. This is the kind of person who built New York; this is the kind of person like Ayn Rand, or John Rockefeller Jr. I found Rockefeller Center. This to me was probably the most important thing that I could have seen in New York.

“Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends.”

“Knowledge and Wisdom shall be the Stability of thy Times.”

Across from Prometheus rests a slab of stone, and cut into it are the words of John Rockefeller Jr. His words say it all:

I Believe

John Davison Rockefeller, Jr.

I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.

I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.

I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character — not wealth or power or position — is of supreme worth.

I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.

I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual’s highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.

I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.

Before moving on, there was one more thing I needed to see, and it was the most important thing that I could have seen in New York. I found my way there, and took a moment to absorb it all.

Atlas: the man to carry the World on his shoulders... Atlas... or John Galt?

The most important by far.

Shellshocked, perhaps, but my eyes were still open. I did not miss St. Patrick’s Cathedral behind me, or the sights of 5^th Avenue. People scuttled about, and despite it being only elevinish in the morning there were still people everywhere.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

I continued up 5^th Ave on my way to MOMA. The line was much better than the evening before so I waited my turn and headed in. I had not heard a lot about MOMA, but I imagined there would be some regular modern art. What I did not expect was the calibre of the art. We are not talking some random unheard of artists trading art for food, but we are talking about the big names. Picasso. Monet. Van Gogh. Dali. This was not some little museum of modern art. This was the big leagues. I had the absolute pleasure of looking on Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” which is probably one of the most famous paintings of all time, and the very bizarre works by Picasso involving minotaurs and like centaurs and fawns and stuff... eaugh...

Starry Night - Van Gogh

One very interesting component was the featured exhibit of “The Artist is Present” by Marina Abramovic. The concept of this exhibit was actually shockingly close to the title, in which the artist would actually be part of the exhibit. In this case she was sitting in a room at a table, and anyone from the audience could go and sit across from her. They would just sit there and... well... look at each other. It was like the longest staring competition ever. The entire time I was at the museum it was the same little girl sitting across from her. Wow. Getting to the top floor of the museum was the rest of the exhibit. I am sad to report that cameras were not allowed, but the art there was phenomenal... and very strange. There was a naked woman sitting on a bike seat, a naked woman lying on a table with a skeleton lying atop her. There were two people sitting back to back in chairs, and two others tying their hair together. My personal favourite was where there was a narrow passageway with a naked man and a naked woman facing each other. This passage was not hidden out of the way, but was actually meant for people to use, so, people would turn sideways, suck in their guts, and try to get through with minimal... contact. It was modern art at its best and I must recommend MOMA to anyone travelling to New York.

The Artist is Present - Marina Abramovic

Those of you who have read my various travel adventures may know that I have a tendency to get moderately lost. What I mean by moderate lost is that I always know ish where I am, and yet, most of the time I actually have no idea where I am. This is not a troubling kind of lost, since I am never too far from somewhere, but it can be time consuming as sometimes it is hard to find that somewhere when you are moderately lost.

New York did not disappoint me with regards to my lostitude. It is a big city, but one where you can know where you are without knowing... uh... where you are... Right. As confusing as that was I made it out of MOMA with relative ease. I made it up 5^th Avenue and past the Apple Store where people were lined up for their IPads with relative ease. And... I made it in to Central Park with relative ease.

Line for the IPad at the Apple Store

Central Park is rather large. It is very easy to find your way in. I had my personal tour map with my route through Central Park, and I was good to go. The issue with this is that though I might have been good to go in the sense of I knew what path I was supposed to be on... I actually had no idea what path I was on.

Having a decent directional sense, and having a map in front of me I decided to forget what path I was on, and to just b-line it to where I thought I was supposed to end up. Sno-Cone in hand I dodged people and children and dogs as I passed the zoo, some lovebirds, and some musicians deeper into the fold. Again, I was not lost... just lostish. I found what I thought was a landmark, and compared it to my map. It was. I was at the Mall, a long straight stretch where the trees hang over the path. Great! I had my bearings and headed straight for Bethesda Terrace. This was a beautiful spot with a little lake with boats and boaters on it, and a statue worth remembering.

Statue at Bethesda Terrace - Central Park

Boats in Central Park

Standing at Bethesda Terrace my map had a clear line showing me how to get out of here and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That would be great, but I happen to have this issue with curiosity, and then I am curious I seem to generally just go with that. So off I went in the direction opposite to my map. I got to follow the lake and the boaters, and found a quiet spot where I could write. I also got the pleasure of knowing that on the TV show Castle someone was murdered right by where I was standing (fiction only). So exciting! Seeing the time pass and hearing my hungrix growling it was time for me to move on. Saying map shmap in my head I continued on the path I was on, after all, it was just a little park right? I would get out eventually... right?

The answer was yes. Eventually.

The path I was on did not lead out of the park, instead it lead me deeper into the park to where there was a little castle. I kid you not, there is a little castle thing in Central Park, though now it is used for weather or astronomical research or something as opposed to ruling over terrified denizens. I also found turtle lake. This was strange to me because I understood that there was a lake in Central Park, after all it was a big park, but two lakes? Wow. Sorta knowing where I was I made some executive decisions and tried to escape Central Park. Having little success I tailed some walkers who seemed to have a better grasp of the situation then I did and then I followed my way to freedom. I made it out, and not only did I make it out, but I was on the right side of the park.

Famished and parched I moved on to what was next in my list of priorities. Sluprees, are a delicious iced beverage consisting of a frozen syrup that has been grinded and stirred into a delectable and ingestible treat. Slurpees, or good slurpees, cannot be found in Saint John, New Brunswick, due to a lack of Macs and 7-11 stores, but, slurpees can be found in New York. At this point I was glad that I called Rogers to add messenger service to my phone plan when travelling in the United States, as I messaged my personal travel agent. Nearest 7-11 I asked, and in no time at all my contact on the inside sent me a location. Phone in my pocket and I was on my way.

Parched, was en route to being nothing but a bad dream. Famished was well... Pizza place! Wait wait. Pisa? So, I went in, and it looked like pizza to me, but was definitely called pisa. Maybe that was just their thing. Who am I to judge? I pointed, paid, and was rewarded with a delicious slice of pisa.... buffalo something... It was great, I was satiated, and in just a few minutes me and my slurpee were on the way to the Met.

In a few minutes I was passed the Scientology Celebrity Center and sitting on the stairs of the Met. My slurpee was good, but not as good as one from home. I swear that there is something different about American slurpees, it is as if they are a little carbonated or something. Oh well, it was not enough of a problem to stop be drinking it, and after it was drunk I was on my way up the stairs and into the museum.

I had been told that this museum was enormous, but I had no idea. I started with the nearest exhibit, which was Ancient Egypt and after about 45 minutes I started to wonder about where I was in the museum. I mean, I had been there for some time, I had to be a quarter done or something... nope. More like... one twentieth. Oh well. The Egypt exhibit was good to see. It was all of that stereotypical stuff that one would expect to see inside an Egypt museum, well, except the Temple. Yes indeed, it was a small Temple but there was an entire Temple relocated to inside the Met. Perhaps that gives you some idea as to the size of the museum.

The Temple inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I continued on to an exhibit about the United States which was actually inside a building, inside the Met. There I was able to see art from the early history of the United States. I came across this one statue that caught my eye. I do not know what it is exactly that did it, but something.

I continued onto Medieval Arms and Armour, which was everything from European to East Asian. Then up and beyond to Greek and Roman artwork. Then the art of Illumination. Then African art. Then Modern art. Then to sculptures... Sculptures. I have noticed that I have a great fondness for sculptures, and also that I have a great fondness for museums. I could spend all day in them, and oh, in this case... I did! But yes... back to the point... It would appear that I enjoy sculptures the most of all of the art I have come across, followed by paintings. After that I would say it just comes down to the general treasure and booty that has accumulated over the ages. I have many pictures of the Met, but cannot show them all here. If you would like to see more click on my “New York, New York 2010” link on the left.

I will however show you one more piece of work from Salvador Dali.

Running short of time, but not on things to see, I had to leave the Met to meet up with my travelling companions. We met outside of the Guggenheim, which was where I was supposed to be, and then headed out for supper. With a lack of energy and time we opted to return to the restaurant that I dined in the night prior. I had a different meal, but it was just as good. It was excellent.

Again, we returned to the hotel late and expected to get up early.