Say Goodbye to Old New York

On the 6th, it rained early in the morning and continued to drizzle off and on all day. So we decided to take a day-long break from the Big Apple, staying on the boat and hanging around the marina. We made arrangements with a transport company (and the marinas where the trip will start and end) for shipping AQUAVIT back to Florida at the end of the month. We had a nice dinner at one of the restaurants on the marina property and were treated to a beautiful sunset and a cool evening.

Today we decided to go back to the big city for one last day of excitement before we have to leave the marina that has been our home since June 21. And, we wound up walking and walking; by our estimates it was 10 miles or so.

This morning was delightfully cool - low 70s. We started the day at a great little cafe called Sam A.M. in Jersey City, across the canal from the marina and up a few blocks. From there we wanted to take the Paulus Hook ferry to about 42nd St., but the ticket line was long. I guess the cool weekend morning was bringing everyone outdoors. So we walked a few more blocks and took the Grove St. PATH subway to the city. We wanted to see Central Park today and check in with a couple of museums like the Met and the Guggenheim and maybe the Whitney. Central Park starts at 56th and we were at 33rd. It was such a nice day that we decided we could walk. We walked up 7th until 56th and took a right until 5th Avenue - the famous 5th Avenue. Then we walked up 5th Avenue along the perimeter of Central Park. On the park's perimeter, there are many opulent low-rises with awnings and red carpets, marble steps, and doormen. Not the glass and steel high-rises of lower Manhattan and Midtown, but the stately stone facades on more classical architecture of the rich and famous.

We walked a couple of blocks east to find a restaurant. 3 Guys Restaurant was only so-so. Then on to the Met. What a magnificent building! It's huge! I guess my Country Bumpkin is showing again. In the couple times we've been to New York in the past, we never made it to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We spent the rest of the afternoon there. There is so much to see!

Mrs. White donated a whole wing to the Met! 

We saw the Shelby White and Leon Levy Court in the Greek and Roman Antiquities wing. Many of the objects on display were either donated or are on loan from them. We walked around in the European painting wing. They have 4 Vermeers and 2 Rembrandts. We saw famous American artists and contemporary art. I did not know that the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington and the Washington Crossing the Delaware painting were at the Met. Benton's large panels on American life are here too. We sat among displays of Asian porcelain while we enjoyed a gelato and saw a huge visual storage area of American objects (furniture, paintings, silver, glassware, etc.) on the way to the restrooms. We also saw the musical instruments display.

 

 

Visual storage galleries were amazing. So much to see!

Once we realized that there is no way to see everything, we headed out across Central Park to the west side. It was a beautiful day and the park was full of people. It was nice to be in a green space, but, as with most things in the city, it was crowded. We walked back to 59th Street, passing Trump Tower where rude gestures were made. (A horse-and-buggy driver passing by gave us the thumbs up when he saw Marvin taking a selfie of his hand in front of the building. Why couldn't the rest of American listen to what New Yorkers thought of their "home town boy"?!)

Fake supporters across from a Trump Hotel

So the Guggenheim and the Whitney, as well as the Highline Park, will have to wait until another trip. Tomorrow we leave New York City to move north. The first stop is Norwalk to meet up with Steve, another of Lee's cousins and his wife, Carol.

(Because Lee's phone is gone, and has not been replaced yet, those of you who receive SPOT messages, showing where we are each night, will not be getting a report. Maybe the new phone will catch up to us in a couple of days and SPOT can continue.)



7.6-7.18