Arriving back to NYC via Coach USA, I made visiting the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) my first priority of the day. After alighting at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, I walked down to 11 West 53rd St with my baggage in tow and walked through the glassy entrance doors of the MoMA. There was an exhibit on the first floor on Claude Monet’s Water Lilies where I had casually strolled through on my way up to the upper floors for the Modern Art collection. I was awe-inspired by a collection of bold and innovative design of common household items from kitchen appliances to home furnishings in the “What Was Good Design? MoMA’s Message 1944 - 56” collection.
I watched an archival video about the story behind “Cadillac Ranch” in another section of the MoMA before moving on to “In Situ: Architecture and Landscape” which had scale architectural models of structures blending in with its surrounding environment. None was more apparent in this concept than Frank Lloyd Wright’s well known “Fallingwater”.
Tim Burton’s exhibit would have been interesting to see but it was still under construction when I was there. I was only able to get a sneak peak of it from the “mouth” leading into Burton’s world.
I met up with Kyle at the lobby of the MoMA just as I was exiting the building and went over to his abode in Brooklyn to unpack my belongings. His girlfriend, Becca, appeared moments later all distraught and stressed from something that happened to her at work earlier in the day, but quickly brushed those feelings aside to focus on the fun adventure that awaits in India in mere hours. I thought I had packed light with just my camera backpack and another bag for my MacBook Pro, but seeing that all she had was a single backpack for the weeklong trip to India with her mom to attend her friend’s wedding made me think twice about my packing essentials.
I had a short list of things I wanted to see and do around the city which I had quickly compiled with the help of Kyle and Becca while at JFK, but when Saturday morning rolled around, I got sidetracked when Marion came online on Skype. Kyle came into the scene and the three of us were reunited! We spoke at length and Marion was jealous of the fact that I was in NYC. Thanks to the power of wireless technology, we took Marion on a tour of NYC by bringing my MacBook Pro to the rooftop and gave her a 360ยบ view of the neighbourhood and took a “group photo” of all three of us together, cradling her in my MacBook Pro in my arms. Geek Chic!
Our video chat continued until the sun went down. We were on the couch watching YouTube videos together using the screen-sharing feature new to Skype until she got really really tired and went horizontal.
Though Kyle and I didn’t leave the apartment until late in the evening, I thought we were still making good use of the day as I felt I was really with two wonderful friends in one room. Obligatory when in the Big Apple, I had to visit Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue, but as it turned out, there was a grand opening at an Apple Store on 1981 Broadway, just walking distance from the Fifth Avenue store on the other side of Central Park, so we went there first. This store is HUGE with two levels of retail space with the massive glass exterior entrance. It shone like sparkling diamonds at night. We moved onto the Fifth Avenue Apple Store with it’s iconic glass cube entrance with a glass staircase leading down to the retail floor. I seem to be overly fascinated with glassworks. While much smaller than the Apple Store on 1981 Broadway, it’s been estimated that this store brings in more $$ per square footage than Tiffany’s.
The highlight on Sunday was my walk-about to the Brooklyn Promenade where I was able to capture Manhattan’s skyline splashed with a colourful array of light in the sky just before the sun disappeared under the horizon through the lens. I took some beautiful long exposure shots here of the Brooklyn Bridge and then moved onto a small park between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges for more nightscapes. I crossed northbound over the Manhattan bridge towards Chinatown then walked back to Brooklyn.
Monday rolled around and I had spent my last day in NYC on another walk-about, starting off at Battery Park. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. People were playing frisbee on the greens while others were tanning, reading a book, exercising, and jogging around the perimeter of the park. It was very picturesque. I kept walking south to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and then to Wall Street where I took my lunch. After devouring my kobe beef, I walked north along Wall Street to Liberty Street, then made my way to Ground Zero. I made full circle back to Battery Park before heading to BMCC to meet up with Kyle for the last time before heading back to JFK.
Sigh... good times never last long enough.
An odd thing happened to me on my flight home. Just after having my in-flight dinner with a glass of not-so-good red wine to finish, I woke from my sleep with an upset stomach. As I got up and excused myself to the passenger sitting on the isle seat, I felt really nauseous and just before reaching what I thought was the door to the loo, I blacked out and collapsed onto the floor. Moments later, I woke from my unconscious state with several flight attendants worried about my condition. They were asking me about any allergies I may have and medical history/condition. I couldn’t explain it myself. Whatever it was that caused my black out was now out of me and colour returned to my skin. I was able to walk to the loo myself but a few attendants wanted to accompany me just in case.
