The Long Day

(while passing over Samoa)

(Monday) This is the day we get up in New York, and go to bed in Wellington (on Wednesday).  Had a "car" booked at 3 - as compared to a taxi.  These are the ubiqituous black Lincoln sedans which I had decided were taxis of some sort.  Did a fixed price deal with the porter, so it was only $2 more than the taxi in.  That was a much nicer way to travel - more comfortable, very polite driver, not a racing driver, classical music, and much more space in the back.  The moment we left the hotel it started raining.  Perfect timing.

Sunset over Manhattan

Left JFK 90 minutes behind schedule - 8:15 instead of 6:45 - after the plane arrived a bit late and we got stuck in a queue of 22 planes lined up to use the runway.  Took plenty of photos and a few movies with the Sony A55 as the sun set pinkly in the west.

Flew west with the sun in the pilots eyes until we got left behind and darkness decended over the land.  The cloud cleared and had a great view of the the lights from the towns below.  Flew over the city of Milwalkee.

Reached LA about 5 hours later, with a 3 hour time difference, so it's about 10:30pm.  City lights looked impressive during our approach (more photos).  Still my birthday.  Once inside turned on my phone and got a birthday wishes text from Lisa!  As on our journey over we stayed on the same plane, in the same seats - 49A and 49B - so just had to exit the aircraft and stand around until it was time to board again.

Coming into Los Angeles about 10:30 pm

Took off still behind schedule at 12:30 am, but caught up a bit I think.  Predicted flight time 12:30 hours.

Now 4 hours to go to Auckland.

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The United Nations

(Monday) After checking out of the hotel we used our last few hours to walk down 42nd Street to the United Nations bulding, passing a few other notable buildings on the way.  The News building at number 220 is famous the for the large rotating globe in the lobby.  There are also time clocks around the walls showing the time in other cities around the globe - but we did notice that the Auckland clock was completely wrong!

The UN is obviously quite a tourist attraction itself, and lots of foreign representatives with security passes around their necks were milling about the area.  The temperature was actually quite tolerable for a change - pleasant by comparison to recent experiences.  This huge bronze sculpture sits outside - reflecting Sue, and the main building.

Some bloke, in front of the UN.  The New Zealand flag is on the left (Click to enlarge any photo in this blog).

On the way back we passed these tall chimney-like cones in the street, steam issuing from their tops.  They said on TV that in the service tunnels under the streets the temperatures could be up to 150 F.  The UN building is visible in the distance at the end of 43rd Street.

Had a nice coffee at a little place around the corner from our hotel, then returned to the hotel for the last time.

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Goodbye New York

Well, happy birthday to me!  And it's time to go.  We check out this morning, and fly out at 6:45 pm for LA and then onto to NZ.  The tricky questions are (a) will Sue's shopping fit into her bag, and (b) how do you dress for 40 C here this morning, and close to zero when we disembark in Wellington?  Lisa reports flurries of snow in Brooklyn!  It sounds as if America is about to go bankrupt, so we're leaving.

Time to pack up the laptop.  See you soon!

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Guggenheim

 

For our last fling we went to the Guggenheim Museum, which is just slightly further away than the Metropolitan Museum.  The main exhibit here is the building itself.  It's not particularly large but is almost entirely comprised of one large spiral structure.  Inside you walk steadily upwards around the spiral until you reach the top, with the artworks displayed in spaces opening off the spiral.  Very unusual.

Unfortunately the work of acclaimed artist Lee Ufan left us cold.  Large rocks, heavy sheets of steel, and large canvases covered with dots or lines.  We tried, but failed to see the revolutionary artistic qualities.

Went there on a bus, which was nice and cool, and probably much more comfortable than going down into the subway at the moment.  You pay using the same "Metro" swipe card used on the trains - $2.25 for any journey.

Sue enjoying a coffee

After the Guggenheim we walked across the road into Central Park to see a large lake marked on our maps.  It is the Jacquie Onassis Reservoir, and is indeed quite large.  It was still very hot, so we didn't spend long there but got back on the bus and stayed there until it reached the end of its run on 8th Street (we started at 88th Street).

We were in the "West Village" area, in between the "midtown" we have been staying in and the Wall Street area at the south end of Manhattan.  The University of New York is here - a collection of medium-sized skyscrapers housing the university and student accommodation.  It all looks a bit worn and grubby.  Nearyby Washington Square was full of people and activity, with a number of impromptu jazz performances going on, children playing in the fountain - despite the green and slightly smelly water - and some others practicing their dancing under a large Arc-de-Triomphe style arch.

Washington Square

Washington Square musicians

We walked back through a street market selling all sorts of cooked food, as well as the usual hats, belts, scarves, etc. Another bus took us home.

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The Library

The New York Public Library is a huge marble building - the largest in the US at the time it was built in 1902.  This is actually just the main building of the organisation, which has about 80 libraries throughout the city.  A pair of famous marble lions named "Patience" and "Fortitude" guard the entrance.  The foyers and stairs are all on a grand scale and the ceilings decorated like some sort of church or palace.

Part of the main reading room

The main reading room is the size of a cathedral - the ceilings are 16 metres up and the room is 90 metres long!  In the 1980's they extended the library underground beneath Bryant Park (behind the library) to provide more storage space.

The library also has an exhibition space, which is currently showing items illustrating the range of their collection.  This included all sorts of personal letters from famous people, and documents like the declaration of independence, and a Gutenberg Bible, and Hitler's "Mein Kampf".  Also many drawings and maps, and handwritten compositions by Beethoven as well as John Lennon.  A huge range of stuff.

Library ceiling

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James in London

Big Ben from a boat on the Thames

Our last stop in Europe was in London - this was essentially just a sightseeing tour through the town and we were given a bit more free rein to explore. We went on a river cruise and around the London Eye, but other than that it was a pretty quiet time.

Beware of ill tempered horses!

Westminster from the London Eye

More of London from the eye

Friendly squirrel! 

We had one serious monument we visited, which was a monument commemorating the sacrifices NZ soldiers made alongside their British comrades.

NZ-UK war memorial

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From James in Ypres

War cemetery in Belgium

Our visit to Belgium comprised mostly of rather morbid visits to various cemetaries. It was staggering the number of crosses in some of them; thousands per, with many simply labelled as unknown soldiers.

One of many WW2 monuments visited

The town of Ypres - very interesting architecture!

A monument to Allied troops MIA

One of the dozens of panels covered in names of missing soldiers

Flanders Field poppy

Flanders Field poppies

Remnants of trenches 

Many of the fields in Europe are still mined

One of several NZ cemeteries throughout the country

Original resting place of our Unknown Warrior

We visited a few museums around the place - there's a few images below of a very small one in the Belgian countryside containing a variety of artifacts from either world war

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Projectiles of various calibre

Some of the various headwear in the world wars

We also visited some of the old tunnels from World War 1 - these are near the town of Arras in France,

A bit of dry Kiwi wit - this cave was nicknamed "Waitomo"

View of a tunnel

Inside the tunnels

A missing soldier whose name hits a bit close to home

Wreath laid by Wellington College in Arras

Another more organised museum showing some munitions 

German graveyard in France - still to this day paid for and owned by Germany

We also visited the town of Le Quesnoy, where NZ famously helped liberate the town in WW1 which the locals are thankful for to this day.

Several of the streets in Le Quesnoy are named for NZ

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I cannot get my phone to work regardless of what I try. I am thinking perhaps there is something wrong with the battery. Anyway, I am in Ypres in Belgium, having visited Paris and Arras. Arras seemed a stark contrast to Paris; despite the beautiful buildings the locals seemed rather unfriendly. Visited a lot of graveyards and war memorials, and found a few McClintocks (even a J McClintock). Am wondering if they are related. Anyway After today we are going to London and then we'lll be going home, so I guess I'll see you soon.

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MoMA

(Friday) We decided we couldn't hide inside all day just because of the "extreme heat warning" so set off for the next on our to-do list: the Museum of Modern Art.  After about 50 metres outside we decided it was time we learned how to "hail a cab", or we would fry.  Turns out it's very easy - you hold up one hand and a taxi stops.  Delivered us to the door of MoMA for a modest $10.00 fee, so we were happy.

MoMA's Five Levels

About a thousand other souls had also decided MoMA would be a nice cool place to spend the day, so we were not lonely there.  It was another very interesting day.  MoMA is housed in a modern building (re-opened in 2004) about 5 levels high, and exhibits include paintings, sculpture, moving images, models, and various unidentifiable other things.

I found the examples of designs from the last few decades interesting - for example personal computers from 25 years ago (look rather familiar), a whole range of things made from pressure-formed plywood (reminds me of the ukelele Dad made), and various pieces of furniture, office equipment, and a car and a helicopter.

There is an enclosed sculpture garden, with water features, which would normally be a nice place to relax, but today the heat restricted us to just a few minutes outside.

Henri Rousseau

Some rooms are filled with what appear to be the scribblings of small infants (we have little appreciation for the more abstract modern "art"); others contain works of art from a whole range of names we've heard before - like Picasso, Cezanne, Monet, Matisse, Andy Warhol, Salvidor Dali, and many others.

Non-flash photography was allowed - here are a few samples.

Someone Else

Pablo Picasso

One area had an exhibition of architecture-related drawings and models.  Reminded us of home!

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