Live From New York, it's JenniferS' birthday ...

[JenniferS]

The audio tour guide kept reminding us to be mindful of low hanging tree branches, and to duck if necessary. In my mind, I kept hearing that line from Gandhi on top of the train, "beeeend, beeeeend".




A couple of JABs:


"Look what's coming up honey", Mike says.
Yeah, like I wouldn't know this building anywhere. I used to be obsessed with it.
NOT a JAB. This is the Dakota:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota

 

[JenniferS]

Dinner time. Back in a bit.

We still a zillion JABs, lunch from a food truck, a tour through the Met, and a stroll through Central Park.

It's been another grand day, for sure.

 

[JenniferS]

I'm thinking a closed shoulder top tomorrow. Or sunscreen. Or both.

 

[JenniferS]

We have to behave now. Mike has found my trip report and is sitting beside me reading it. He is still on Day 1. Quick everyone, start editing.

And enter "stealth mode".

 

[Andrew C]

Who's mike??

 

[Lucky]

Who's mike??

I don't know. Didn't she say she was touring NYC with Josh Donaldson?

 

[NYwdwfan]

Mike is my Canadian buddy. Who is this Jennifer?

 

[JenniferS]

Best meal of the trip so far! Oh my gosh, it was soooo good.



Beverages. Yeungling on tap, so Mikey is happy.


French onion soup for me. It's cheese, it's onions, it's good.


Caesar salad with croutons. Clearly not mine.


Mike says this is the best part. I say, have at it.


He likes pub fish and chips. We never eat it at home.


Steakhouse salad for me (sans tomatoes). This is hands down, one of the best salads I've ever had. There's nothing special about it, but it all worked. Probably not the most expensive cut of meat, but it was cooked and seasoned perfectly.


Same dessert for both of us. Chocolate pot de crême. I prefer my strawberries to be less macerated, but no biggie.

I must be tired. I legit had to Google desert vs dessert.

 

[JenniferS]

Rewinding a bit, 'cause you're allowed to do that in a live trip report ....

Still on the tour bus, probably approaching noon hour. We are so enjoying this part, even more than six years ago.

Who watches Judge Judy? (I do.)
The San Remo is featured coming back from one of the commercial breaks.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_San_Remo


JABs


A museum. I forget which one. Not on Museum Mile. On Central Park West, so Google says American Museum of Natural History. (Think Night at the Museum.). The bus was chugging along, so only one, not-centred photo.


Also designed by architect Emery Roth, we have the San Remo's larger cousin, the Beresford.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beresford

 

[trr1]

are you going to see any plays?like BOOK OF MORMON

 

[JenniferS]

The Peace Fountain @ St. John the Divine.
Like numerous WDW fountains, there is a marked lack of water.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Fountain


Cathedral of St. John the Divine, aka - St. John the Unfinished. Home to the largest rose window in the US. Whether or not it is the world's largest Anglican church is in dispute. Either way, it is the fourth largest Christian church in the world.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_John_the_Divine

 

[JenniferS]

are you going to see any plays?like BOOK OF MORMON

Me? Book of Mormon?
Ski saw it. Loved it. That means I'm guaranteed to hate it.

 

[JenniferS]

Riverside Church, the tallest church in the US.
Another spectacular building that would not exist but for the Rockefellers.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_Church



I didn't take notes, and am reconstructing this all from memory and using the order in my camera roll and Google. Sadly, there are lots of gaps. Ergo, JABs.

 

[JenniferS]

Heading into Harlem. Last time we took this route, we were in Harlem for a handful of blocks, zipped past the Apollo, and then boom, headed south again. This time, there was a lot more to see.



The ONLY aluminum (maybe vinyl) siding I've seen anywhere on the island.


I know that Harlem is being revitalized, but I kid you not, in the first 200m of turning on to 125th, we had to stop for 2 fire trucks, 2 police cars, and an ambulance, headed in two separate directions.


I didn't know the term "brownstone" until I started watching General Hospital in my teens, but I sure recognized them since my pre-school Sesame Street days.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street_(fictional_location)

I would so sit on these stoops. Even on my own front porch, I only ever sit on the concrete steps.

 

[JenniferS]

Headed south again.


Vanderbilt Gate.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/vanderbilt-gate.html


I don't know who this is. The picture that follows that should show the name carved underneath is a total blur. Sorry @MinnieM123.


Yay! Museum Mile. We will be disembarking soon.


Not here though.


Does anyone else see the Madame Leota tombstone?



And we're here, at the Met.

 

[JenniferS]

But first, we eat.

I had the Philly cheesesteak. It was really good. I gave a third or so to Mike because I figured he was still hungry.


He had two "dirty water dogs". He inhaled the first one in mere seconds. He was disappointed with the lack of toppings, but otherwise said it was a perfectly fine hot dog.
We split the pop. 80/20. I hiccuped, which is why I seldom drink pop.

 

[JenniferS]

Does nobody pay the suggested "donation" of $25/adult. The guy seemed shocked when we handed over $50. "You don't have to pay that. It's only a suggestion. Pay what you want."

Dude, I love museums. I'll get my money's worth, don't you worry. People need to support the arts.



I immediately took these two photos and Mike says, "Please tell me you're not taking a picture of every single thing you see."


Noooooo! I have to use the potty first. Where is it?
Pass the column, turn left and go down the stairs.

 

[JenniferS]

We only had a couple of hours here, and this is so not Mikey's gig, so I confined myself to a few exhibit halls.

Let me summarize them for you.
The Greeks were obsessed with naked young men. The Egyptians, with everything related to death and the afterlife. The Renaissance painters with an impotent Christ - either as a newborn baby totally dependent on his mother, or as an emaciated dying man, collapsed in his mother's arms. A few centuries later, all paintings seem to be of women nursing kids that should be in school. And the Dutch liked dogs in every painting.

Done. Now I can just post a bunch of pics.



Not really a triptych because they're not hinged, and each panel is a different size, but I could really make these work in my house.

 

[JenniferS]

 

[JenniferS]

Is that a giraffe? Did ancient Egyptians even have exposure to giraffes? I mean you don't see any in The Ten Commandments, even though Egypt is technically in Africa.

They're zebras, Mike decides. Yeah, because that is just as equally likely/unlikely as giraffes, given that they reside on the same plains together.



Anyways, a couple of rooms later ... yup they're giraffes.


I see dead people.


Go figure, this is what creeped Mike out.