New York City - Day 2

 I am pumped for the first full day in New York.  Less than 40 degrees out, we are bundled a bit but that's okay.  Time for some fun.  We are starting out in Upper Midtown and Mister has a place in mind for breakfast so we are on foot.  As we walk, my eyes are darting here and there, looking for as many images to imbed in my memory as possible.  If you think I take a lot of pictures on this trip, I will let you know that this is only a tenth of the many things to see and absorb.  Einstein on a Bicycle was painted in 2018 and the Weeping Fireman, which is an image taken on 9/11 and recreated here.  One makes you smile and the other helps us to remember how lucky we are to smile.  (49th and 3rd)

Mister notices ahead that the place we are going for breakfast already has a line as we are a bit late in New York time.  It's after 9.  However, when we get to the door, we get inside right away, only to discover the line is inside as well.  Where are we?  Ess-a-Bagel.  Look it up - they're pretty famous.

As we get close to the counters, I can see where they are making the bagels and have to take a few pics.

So - now for the choices to put on those bagels --- if you have trouble with decisions, this is not the place for you.

A big bagel filled with goodness is too much for me right now so I settle for a Raspberry Hamantashen.  If you don't know what that is, I didn't either and it felt really heavy to pick up, but the pastry was wonderful and the filling was perhaps the best raspberry jam I've ever had.  Mister had a lox cream cheese on a poppy seed bagel.

When we left, the line was out the door and down the street.  I'm pretty thrilled we got there when we did.  Next stop is St. Patrick's Cathedral, but I'll share the sights along our walk.  The Lipstick Building, so named for it's unique shape and the famous Marilyn Monroe sewer grate.  You know why it's famous, right?

Street scenes - the architecture and detail are just so fascinating.

The Chrysler Building - it was the tallest building in the world for eleven months, until the Empire State Building was finished.

Nestled among the skyscrapers is St. Bartholomew's Church.  I had read about this one and actually had it marked in the book, so Mister and I head over to check it out.

We are on Park Avenue now and this church changed the scene in 1919.  Mister went up to the door, only to discover that it was locked and closed.  Apparently their sign applies to certain hours.

Oh well, off we go.  Back on the route.

Saks and Company --- more commonly referred to as "Saks on Fifth."  

Just a few more blocks away and we spot the backside of our destination.  St. Patrick's Cathedral.  We both love the old churches and put them on the top of all lists.  If you don't care for their beauty, you may want to scroll down, because this one is one of the  BEST and I took a lot of pictures.  I think it rivals Notre Dame.

The Great Bronze Doors (front) and side doors from outside.

Ahhh - there she is.  I have to walk to the corner for this picture, before entering.

OH MY STARS!!  This is incredible.  Just come along for the beauty.  Drink it in and remember a few things as you look.  First, it was built in 1878 (with spires added between 1885 and 1888).  Just that alone should be mind-numbing.  Type of tools, crazy amazing artists, and super talented craftsmen.  At that time it was also beyond the city limits.  This Gothic-Revival building seats 2,500 people.  Again - wrap your head around that.

Many of the stained glass windows had lights hanging right in front, making it hard to get a good picture, but this one was being raised for repairs and I quickly raised my camera.

One of the side doors from the inside.

The beauty of the carving --- awe-inspiring.

Encased in this Waterford Crystal Celtic Cross is a "relic of St. Patrick."  That's all I could discover about it except for a prayer that accompanied it below.

Scenes from the church:

Perspective from behind the pulpit.

The pulpit - 

The great baldachin, made entirely of bronze.

The Rose Window (measuring 26' across) above the great organ.

One last look back and we are moving on --- what a wonderful stop.

Directly across the street is the Atlas Statue.  I wanted to know a bit more - so here is what Google had to say - "In Ancient Greek mythology, the titan Atlas serves a divine punishment of eternally carrying the weight of the world in his hands. The statue in New York City preserves his legendary strength and powerful physique, but he holds an abstract, spherical representation of the cosmos rather than a traditional globe. Laid across Atlas's muscled shoulders is a wide, curved beam that displays a frieze of the traditional symbols for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter (hidden behind Atlas's thick neck), Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Adjacent to Earth (over Atlas's right forearm) is a small crescent symbolizing the Moon."  So there ya go.

How can I show pictures of New York without pigeons?  They are everywhere.

On the Rockefeller International Building - we spot these hieroglyphics.  I did a bit of research due to seeing a LOT of Roman/Egyptian influence in this area and if you want to learn more here is the LINK to the detailing on just this building.  Crazy.  Oh, incase you've figured it out - we are now in another section of the city - this is Midtown West,

Rockefeller Center - People are skating, flags are flying, and it's a wonderful sight to behold.

Looking down into the lower plaza to watch the skaters - Prometheus catches ones attention.  Again, more nods to mythology (Greek, this time.)  He has been here since 1933.

Around to the other side of the plaza - view through the tiny buildings that remind me of a German Christmas Market and yet I know that they are little Apres-Skate Chalets that can be rented and used while skating and after.  They are heated and decked fairly reasonable in price.

FAO Schwarz peek --- the giant keyboard from Big (you know, the movie).

Rockets, lions, gears, . . . 

This kind of confused me - is it because they had candy and treats?

A whole section just for Barbie - bet it's been a big hit since the movie.

AND - the iconic window.  The "must-take" picture.

From here we wandered down to the Diamond District.  It's 47th Street (between Fifth and Sixth avenues) and features window displays of glittering fold and diamonds, the building filled with booth and workshops where jewelers vie for customers.  The district was born in the 1930s, when Jewish diamond-cutters fled Europe to escape Nazism.  OH MY!  The prices on these are insane and I can't imagine what the window is worth.

There is an entire block of just diamond stores.

Even the lamppost is a diamond.

Back down Fifth and we come to Bryant Park.  

This park has a fascinating history.  In 1853, Bryant Park (then known as Reservoir Park) housed a dazzling Crystal Palace, built for the World's Fair of the same year.  This was still a sparsely developed part of the city.  Fortieth and Forty-second Streets bounded the four-acre site.  A remarkable iron and glass structure, much like an enormous greenhouse was built and called The Crystal Palace.  Four thousand exhibitors filled the hall with wares and artworks.  One visitor was seventeen-year-old Samuel Langhorne Clemens of Hannibal, Missouri.  Later, as Mark Twain, he wrote that the Crystal Palace was "beautiful beyond description."  Sadly, in 1858 it burned to the ground.

There are vendors here as well as an ice skating rink.  We stop near two shops - one housing chocolate and called United Chocolate Works.  Look at all the shapes they put into chocolate boxes for sale.

The second is Cheese Wheel Pasta and I didn't get to see the finished product, but watching the guy work was pretty fun.

The skating rink had two parts and one was bumper cars.  On ice.  I may have to try this sometime as it looks pretty fun.

Looking back at the park from near the New York Public Library which sits on the same block.

The back side of the the library, holding the statue of William Cullen Bryant - for whom the park is named.

There is also a small curling course and warming igloos with a cafe and bar.

Around to the front of the Library.

This is where we discover that the Library is closed due to President's Day.  Argh.  Time to punt and determine our next move.

While Mister searches, look at this little building nestled among giants.  It kind of looks like an old firehouse.

We've made the decision to visit Roosevelt Island and start our journey down to the ferry.  It's only about a mile so we're staying on foot.  As we come close to the Esplanade, we are walking under the highway and Mister notices a VERY old manhole cover.

Want to see where we are?

Next view - the East River.  I stop for a few pictures and Mister is calling me to keep moving as I can get pictures from the ferry also.  Hmmmm - I'll get a few here too.

We purchase our super expensive tickets ($4.00 each - yes, I'm joking about expensive) and only have to wait about 10 minutes for the ferry to arrive.  Good timing.

Away we go - 

Not a packed ferry - nice.

Coming up on our first stop - Long Island City.

I take a moment while we are stopped to step outside and take a few pictures looking back at Manhattan.  The rectangle building on the left is the United Nations.

As we near the island, the Queensboro Bridge comes into view.  This bridge has two other names as well, so perhaps you are more familiar with one of them:  Ed Koch Bridge?  No, well maybe the one there is a song about - 59th Street Bridge?  Song not come to mind?  What about it's other name?  Feelin' Groovy.

Disembarking on the island leaves us right near the East River Cable Car depot and that will be our transportation back to Manhattan.

Since we didn't bring all the island information with us, a stop at the visitor center happens.  This turns out to be a fun stop.  This island was first known as Minnahannock by native Americans and was renamed Blackwell's Island when Robert Blackwell bought it in 1686.  Although it became known as Welfare Island in 1921, much of the island was deserted and forgotten by the 1950s.  It is now home to around 13,000 people.

Turns out the building was once a subway entrance AND we get information on how to use the busses here on the island.

Catching the red bus (free), we're off to the north end of the island.  The entire island is about 2 miles long and about 800 feet across at its widest point.  A pic out the window of the bus as we travel - the back of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd.

The end of our route and our destination - The Octagon Tower.  The was built as the administrative center of the New York City Lunatic Asylum in 1837-1839.  This was one of the first municipal institutions of its type in the country.  The location was selected because the pleasant island surroundings were thought to be conducive to both physical and mental rehabilitation.  During the 18902 the building became the entrance to Metropolitan Hospital, a general hospital knows for its school of nursing and care of tuberculosis patients.  The building was abandoned in the 1950s and the wings were demolished in 1970.  It was restored in 2006 and is a city, state, and national landmark.

The building is now the center of an apartment complex but we still go inside to peek around.

Looking up at the center.

Mister finds the elevator and up we go to the top.  Looking down the stairwell.

At the top, there are a few windows with views, but they are really more for light and not useful --- tip toes and lifting my camera above my head here.

Continuing on, we are walking towards the Lighthouse Park.

Before we arrive, there is an art installation to see.  Unfortunately, it is roped off so we can't get super close.  It is The Girl Puzzle Monument Honoring Nellie Bly.  There are five enormous faces depicting the legendary journalist.  There are also five smaller faces (the ones we really can't see) depicting black, Asian American, old, young, and queer.

Ducks in the icy water - even though I'm from Montana and saw this for many years of my life, it still fascinates me.

The Lighthouse.  Originally knows as Blackwell's Light, it was built in 1872 by inmates of the penitentiary with stone extracted from the island.  It stands fifty feet high and was put here because the East River channel's huge granite boulders made it very treacherous to navigate so the lighthouse was commissioned as part of a solution for New York City's shipping ports along with an Army Corps of Engineers project to demolish and implode boulders and widen and deepen the channel.  Lighthouse Park is now a lovely fishing and barbecue destination.

My love in New York!!

Walking back to the bus stop, it's a short wait and we are on our way again.  There is an abandoned hospital at the other end of the island, but we'll save that for another trip.  Passing the Blackwell House, a quick pic.

As I mentioned above, we are taking the cable car back into the city.  It's time.  Pictures are not the best as the windows are pretty bad.  Great views, though.  We are 250 feet above the river at the highest point.  My pictures are from the back of the car - so looking towards the island.

This one is interesting because you can see how narrow the island is --- Long Island on the other side.

The line comes quite a ways into the city - not on the edge like I assumed.

Our car.

Heading back to the island - not us, but the car.

Low and behold, right as we start to walk away from the cable car exit, Mister and I spot an advertisement board in front of a small shop.  It is City Hops Beer and Wine.  Yep, we're ready.

We enjoy a great conversation and a couple of wonderful brews before beginning our journey from 60th and 2nd back.

After a couple of beer and some walking, we are both dragging, so coffee is the fix.  Verve is in the Capitol One Building and fits the bill.

Off we go again - night sights.

Our dinner destination is the Himalayan Curry House and Bobby is meeting us.  It's a wonderful meal and night and by the time we leave, we're done in once again.  At least this time, we've finally ended close to our hotel.  See ya tomorrow for more fun and adventures.