Blog -New York and how we have walked

It was raining as we woke this morning, but by the time we were ready to go , the weather was clearing and it has become a very warm, sunny and very humid day. You have to admire the tennis players at the US Open, a few miles away. We launched out armed with maps, not too visible, good walking shoes, and some determination to see as much as we could without stressing that you will never see it all. In NY you seem to sight see by looking up a lot – the building s are so tall, and the variety of architecture and construction styles is incredible. A lovely art deco apartment block will be snuggled up to a huge modern glass construction that grazes the clouds. And the decoration on the older buildings is a fascinating juxtaposition in a mega city of bustle and modern life. We saw the Empire State building and discussed the films you know so well – An affair to remember and its modern partner Sleepless in Seattle,the Chrysler Buidling, a lovley art deco eample, with clever car features embedded within the toal structure; the United Nations building (North by northwest); the flags were not up though as they are not in session – the summer recess., we cruised through Grand Central Station – incredible in its decor inside – a feature in so many films, and the arrivals point for millions of immigrants and travellers. It is worth a visit for anyone in NY, not just train fans. The majority of long haul trains go from Penn station – not nearly so inviting – a purpose built structure – no character at all. Passed Radio City music hall, Madison Square Garden, checked out Macy’s ground floor - just like Myers, nothing of note. I dare not breath the air of the majority of the shops on Fifth Avenue – all the usual players, and really, not a lot that is not seen in Sydney and Melbourne. The fall clothes are in, girls, there still seems to be cropped jackets, and the colours in Gap were grey and a cherry red, good combination.
Some of the streets were quite empty for a Saturday morning. We mastered the Metro underground system). A little hesitation in trying to get the tickets, but after some guidance from a friendly local through the myriad of choices, we were off to the other end of Central Park on the train – fast, reasonably clean. The tracks are more doubles than the single way in London, and the tracks are quite close to the surface - so when changing from one line to another, you often have to come above ground, cross the road, and go down again. We went to visit to the huge Cathedral of St John the Divine. In the brochure, it is listed as the largest cathedral in the world – we were surprised, but it is massive, and we have seen some pretty big ones in UK. It is undergoing a lot of repair and continual building – it is no yet complete. In Dec 2001 it suffered a significant fire, and there is still evidence of that. But it is a beautiful, clean design and the soaring pale pillars and wonderful stained glass windows are awe inspiring.

Overall, we felt better about the city than we did yesterday; it is still huge, but I guess the locals get to know their little corner of it and that is that. It is fast, and very impersonal, pretty dirty in places, and there are the intriguing columns of steam that come through the gratings in the road, from the pipes and subterranean world of New York. It is a city that demands you ride on its terms, it will not bend to yours, so keep with the flow, or you will be left behind. Even the traffic signals are somewhat ignored in order to get where you want quickly. We will have to watch that when we return.

There will be more exploring tomorrow, down the financial end of town, so another venture on the metro. But first, rest the feet a little....and do the blog while the thoughts are fresh

More soon