"Mary Ann has two speeds: Go full force and stop!" --jeff laun

Tonight I stopped. Today was a full day since the Pope was in town and I had a play to see at 2pm. I left the hotel about 8:00 since I heard the Pope was saying mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th avenue. Last night, after seeing the Tony award winning musical "Spring awakening," we went to Charlie O's for our post play discussion. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, me included! On the way home, I suggested that we take the long way via Rockefeller Plaza. Jan, Pat, Mane and Rosemary joined me.

The Plaza was beautiful with blue white lights. We then walked back to our hotel via 5th Avenue to check out the preparations for the Pope's visit tomorrow. It was unusally quiet, and unlike the Rose Parade, the police sent everyone home. No one was allowed to camp out.
This morning, I had planned to go down there with the purpose of checking out the activity. I really had a priority of getting to the Guggenheim Museum by 10 to see the Cai Guo-Wong exhibit "I want to believe." Lissa has told me that is was wonderful...

When I arrived at 48th and 5th, a few blocks from St. Patrick's there was a police barracade. I had to backtrack around the corner to 6th and then travel down about a half a mile until I saw a barracade that was letting people in. The crowd control was amazing...each street was blocked off and on one side of one block I counted 12 NYPD officers. This was serious security...

I grabbed coffee and headed out into the crowd. It was just amazing. Many groups had brought guitars, drums, amd tambourines and were singing Christian songs in their native languages. The rhythm was mermerizing, like meditation and prayer. I lingered for awhile and before long, the motorcade made its way down 5th avenue. Atleast twenty police in motorcyles led the way, then secret service, and the fleet of limosines, one which had the Holy Father. It was something to experience as the crowds of thousands cheered to welcome him to New York. To me, it was such a spiritual moment, as the crowd cheered in unison, flags waving, and signs in the air.

Then off to the subway to be at the Guggenheim when it opened at 10am. I visited this Museum years ago and I wanted to see it again. It is a spiral building and you ascend up around the spiral as the exhibit unfolds. I provided the link for this exhibit so that you also can experience it. It was amazing...

I then left the Guggenheim and walked down to the Neue Gallery (pronounced Noyay) which is a museum of German and Austrian arts, especially focusing on the turn of the century arts and crafts secession movement as well as 20th century arts. I had seen a Sunday morning segment on the Gudtave Klimt exhibit and since I had seen a major exhibit on this same period in Viennese art when I last visited New York twenty-five years ago, I was interested in seeing this one also. It too was beautiful and I was able to hang around a "private tour" when I wasn't listening to the recorded tour. Enlightening as well...

As I was heading back to the theatre area, my feet were so sore since I managed to hurt my toes last night as I navigated to the bathroom. Ouch! and since my feet were so sore from all the miles we have walked already, I took a cab back into the downtown area. The traffic was horrendous because of the Pope's visit so I asked to get out at 58th and Park Avenue. I could see the helicopters so it seemed the Pope was almost ready for the popemobile parade down 5th avenue. The timing was critical for me since I had to walk (hobble?) another mile to get to the theatre by 2. I happened to be at a place where they set up another baracade so I could see fairly well, near Bergdorf Goodman's windows. By this time the crowds were just tremendous, all ages, all races and religions, here to welcome him. And then, the crescendo rose and he travelled down 5th avenue. Another moment (of many this week) to remember...

To the play, a political comedy called November with Nathan Lane, but alas, I could barely keep my eyes open. I hate that when you have to struggle to stay awake and you can imagine it was bad, because this was a very funny play and Nathan Lane was fabulous... Needless to say, I bailed after the first two acts and headed home to Jeff, weaving my way through the people and the street fairs...everyone was partying in the city...Spring was here and they were all so happy to have warm weather. Tonight I am in stop mode...and Jeff went down to say we would notbe joined the group on the harbor cruise. I am done...tomorrow we pack and leave about 2 for the airport. What a trip this has been and what a marvelous city, filled with diversity, creativity and a value for the arts! New York, New York!

More of Jeff's thoughts on NY

Generally New Yorkers seem to be very friendly. They always say "Excuse me" or "Sorry". A lady tripped on the sidewalk and no less than 5 people rushed to see that she was okay. But if one yells at a New Yorker, they always yell back. Even on the subway when everyone is jammed together like sardines, people will say "excuse me".

The signage on the Subway could be improved. Some subway lines are very clear, but others can be confusing.

Middle school kids in Central park were betting on a Math problem and ended up calling the teacher on the phone to settle the bet. I know the correct answer, but just listened to the fun argument. Sorry that the 3 girls were worng and the guy had the right answer.

Surprising how few street performers there are. Almost none on the street and a few in the subway hallways.

New York is also pretty clean and graffiti free.

The trash system is odd. Just in front of our hotel there were 40 trash bags piled up for 4 days before getting picked up.

If you go to Ellis Island, go early. We waited for 2 hours in line. We weren't moving at all, but just 5 minutes after we decided NOT to leave the line started moving forward and we gone on the ferry soon afterward.

Ellis Island was a interesting and emotional experience. There is a wall with 500,000 names on it. It was quite impressive, then I realized that 24 times that many people came through Ellis Island.

Security screeners at the Statue of Liberty don't have a sense of humor.

It was interesting at Ellis island to read about some of the attitude towards immigrants. Some very similar things that we see today, like immigrants taking American jobs, not learning English or not assimilating.

Even though we all have seen the Statue of Liberty many times, seeing her in person is worth it.

On the ferry ride there was a whole class of kids eating blue Statue of Liberty suckers. All their tongues, lips were really really blue. That was funny, but it was also funny that they were dipping the sticky suckers into popcorn and eating the popcorn off the suckers. I love to watch kids interacting.

Seeing ground zero of the World Trade Center was so emotional. I looked out at an empty block of land, then suddenly the whole emotion of that day overcame me.

I have now found geocaches in New York and New Jersey.

I got to go Orienteering in New Jersey today.

If you want to see the ethnic mix of NY, don't go to the United Nations, go to the OTB parlor (off track horse betting). I went and heard so many different languages yelling for their horse to come in.

Funny listening to Yankees yelling at Red Socks fans. Getting off the subway a Boston guy and girl with Boston hats walking. A Yankee fan shouts "Ahhh, look at the cute Red and Blue hats, ahhh, you must be in love"

At the Yankke game I met the lady that brought back Cracker Jacks to Yankee stadium. In 2004, the Yankees stopped selling Cracker Jacks. She has newspaper friends and started a newspaper campain that really took off. For a month all the NY papers were talking about the missing snack. Afterall, it is in the song, how can you not have it. Reportedly, George Steinbrenner was told "The fans aren't happy" and he brought it back.

New Yorkers accents are more pronounced when shouting and when shouting at a ball game they have a really strong accent.

The Yankee fans eat a lot. I asked people around me how the food lines were and from pregame to the 7th inning the line was 40 people deep. Not to mention the amount of beer that was consumed.

We went to a park in Brooklyn and watched a class of way way out of control kids. It was quite a sight as 5 or so of the kids were hiding behind statues. Mary Ann and I kept pointing to the hiding kids, so the teachers would know where their missing kids were.

The jaywalking procedure is really weird here. Basically you just cross the street whenever you feel like it. You don't worry too much if cars are coming. If one person jaywalks, stopping cars then everyone does the same causing cars to be often stuck in crosswalks. I really can't figure out the mindset of people causing such traffic problems.

Jeff's thoughts on NY

Generally New Yorker's seem to be very friendly. They always say "Excuse me" or "Sorry". A lady tripped on the sidewalk and no less than 5 people rushed to see that she was okay. But if one yells at a New Yorker, they always yell back. Even on the subway when everyone is jammed together like sardines, people will say "excuse me".

The signage on the Subway could be improved. Some subway lines are very clear, but others can be confusing.

Middle school kids in Central park were betting on a Math problem and ended up calling the teacher on the phone to settle the bet. I know the correct answer, but just listened to the fun argument. Sorry that the 3 girls were worng and the guy had the right answer.

Surprising how few street performers there are. Almost none on the street and a few in the subway hallways.

New York is also pretty clean and graffiti free.

The trash system is odd. Just in front of our hotel there were 40 trash bags piled up for 4 days before getting picked up.

If you go to Ellis Island, go early. We waited for 2 hours in line. We weren't moving at all, but just 5 minutes after we decided NOT to leave the line started moving forward and we gone on the ferry soon afterward.

Ellis Island was a interesting and emotional experience. There is a wall with 500,000 names on it. It was quite impressive, then I realized that 24 times that many people came through Ellis Island.

Security screeners at the Statue of Liberty don't have a sense of humor.

It was interesting at Ellis island to read about some of the attitude towards immigrants. Some very similar things that we see today, like immigrants taking American jobs, not learning English or not assimilating.

Even though we all have seen the Statue of Liberty many times, seeing her in person is worth it.

On the ferry ride there was a whole class of kids eating blue Statue of Liberty suckers. All their tongues, lips were really really blue. That was funny, but it was also funny that they were dipping the sticky suckers into popcorn and eating the popcorn off the suckers. I love to watch kids interacting.

Seeing ground zero of the World Trade Center was so emotional. I looked out at an empty block of land, then suddenly the whole emotion of that day overcame me.

I have now found geocaches in New York and New Jersey.

I got to go Orienteering in New Jersey today.

If you want to see the ethnic mix of NY, don't go to the United Nations, go to the OTB parlor (off track horse betting). I went and heard so many different languages yelling for their horse to come in.

Funny listening to Yankees yelling at Red Socks fans. Getting off the subway a Boston guy and girl with Boston hats walking. A Yankee fan shouts "Ahhh, look at the cute Red and Blue hats, ahhh, you must be in love"

At the Yankke game I met the lady that brought back Cracker Jacks to Yankee stadium. In 2004, the Yankees stopped selling Cracker Jacks. She has newspaper friends and started a newspaper campain that really took off. For a month all the NY papers were talking about the missing snack. Afterall, it is in the song, how can you not have it. Reportedly, George Steinbrenner was told "The fans aren't happy" and he brought it back.

New Yorkers accents are more pronounced when shouting and when shouting at a ball game they have a really strong accent.

We went to a park in Brooklyn and watched a class of way way out of control kids. It was quite a sight as 5 or so of the kids were hiding behind statues. Mary Ann and I kept pointing to the hiding kids, so the teachers would know where their missing kids were.

The jaywalking procedure is really weird here. Basically you just cross the street whenever you feel like it. You don't worry too much if cars are coming. If one person jaywalks, stopping cars then everyone does the same causing cars to be often stuck in crosswalks. I really can't figure out the mindset of people causing such traffic problems.

Totally exhausted in NY...but who's stopping?

Today, we took the subway into Brooklyn's Prospect park where Jeff had heard there is a frisbee golf course. Unfortunately, the frisbee course is based on landmarks instead of baskets. Hit the hydrant on the left side of the road....

Oh well, we enjoyed exploring this park that was designed by the people who designed Central Park. We geocached along the way and unfortunately the Audubon Center was also closed until noon. We were too early. After 2 1/2 hours of walking, we landed at the Brooklyn Public Library (the central library) which is quite formidable in its presence. In the borough of Brooklyn though, there are 60 branches of the library system. It is centered in a large quad area with an "arc de triomph" type memorial. We stopped for lunch at a little cafe called Cheryl's soul food and then while we were eating lunch, I looked at the map and realized that we were very close to where Jon Levenson (Lissa's buddy) lives. Unfortunately he was working...






We navigated ourselves on the subway back to the Financial district and called our Parisian (now very American) cousin who suggested we meet at the Seaport village near the Brooklyn bridge. We sat and visited for an hour and a half, and really enjoyed our time with her. She is an art student at Parson's School of Design. We walked away and only then realized that we forgot to get a picture...that is quite unlike us!

We ae now back recovering...Jeff just left for the part of Central Park where the Pope is not, and I am now signing off to get ready to go see Spring Awakening. I am tired...but from what I hear, this play will keep me awake! More later...
Later...here are some pictures of our group...

The Pope is in NY...and it is Friday in NY City

Last night, Jeff headed to the Yankee game and I went with the theatre group to see Crimes of the Heart. I really enjoyed it especially because of the relationships of the sisters. After the theatre we went to Rosie O'Grady's to talk about the play...it was amazing to me how many people could not relate to the play and how disfunctional so many people's family experiences are. I feel so lucky to have a close-knit family...on my side as well as Jeff's. All three of these plays have been family-issue related...but by far, the best play was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Tonight, we see Spring Awakening...it won the Tony award and apparantly is a wild rock musical...I heard some of the leaders preparing the group for something wildly different...should be fun!

Today Jeff and I were going to get up and go to the Today Show which is just 5 blocks away. When the alarm went off, I got up, made the coffee, took my shower and then thought "what a stupid idea" and then we went back to sleep for an hour! ;-)

Today we are heading to Prospect Park in Brooklyn where we plan to go frisbee golfing...and the Brooklyn Botanical gardens and the Brooklyn Public Library are close by...we'll see where life takes us today. This afternoon we hope to connect with Penelope Pochez from Paris (who goes to Parson's School of Design). She has a hectic schedule this week but we hope to see her.

Here are some more pictures from Central Park

Thursdays destination: Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

Beautiful day...but long lines...now we know to make a reservation! Still we got on the boat and saw Lady Liberty in all her glory. Ellis Island was such a wonderful experience and the exhibits were so moving. It is hard to believe that this was an immigration entrance *only* from the late 1880s to the 1920s. We loved being there and reflecting on the diversity that makes us great!
tonight...off to Crimes of the Heart...I am meeting Rosemary in 10...Jeff is off to the Yankee game...

If it's Wednesday, it must be August: Osage County

Jeff and I were tired so we slept in a bit and then headed to 5th Avenue and Rockefeller Center. We had planned to meet Chris's Mom, Louise who is a window designer/dresser for Faccionable, which is in the heart of the upscale trendy area. Jeff and I wandered around Rockefeller Center and I loved seeing where the Today is filmed. You know all those groupies that hang out there during the Today show? I might just be there Friday morning! or maybe not...we are going with the wind these days.

The Rockefeller Center buildings are just beautiful. We wandered inside so that Jeff could check the directory. He just cannot fathom how many businesses are occupying these skyscrapers. When we went inside, we were amazed about the beauty of the buildings. Gold and black, art deco or art nouveau styles, rich and elegant, timeless...

We wandered about...exploring...This city is filled with tulips, daffofills, hyacinths, and other spring flowers. We then met Louise Lund for a nice lunch. Although I have met her before, she had not met Jeff and so they enjoyed their time together.

We then walked about a mile down 5th Avenue checking out the shops as well as the fantastic buildings...St. Patrick's cathedral is almost shadowed by the large skyscrapers yet its Gothic arches stand tall and stately. Beautiful!. We walked through Trump towers and found a few geocaches in these "pocket parks" sandwiched between skyscrapers.

One of these parks had a large section of the Berlin Wall, which is interesting since we just saw a section at the Reagan Presidential Library a few weeks ago.


We crossed the street to check out the great windows at Bergdorf Goodwin at the same time that a motorcade with all the flashing lights, machine guns, and security agents went screaming around the corner...we still don't know who is was though. Maybe Nelson Mandela????


Central part was lovely...the trees are all in bloom and glorious...and we managed to find a few caches there as well. We only covered the lower quarter of the part but did see Strawberry Fields as well as the momument to John Lennon near the area where he was killed. There were flowers strewn everywhere and many people were gathering there. It is one of the most visited places in Central Park.

Then tonight Jeff headed to the Mets game and Mane and I went to dinner and then to 45th street to see the Pulitzer prize winning play August: Osage County. After last night's performance, this one paled in comparison and I felt so tired afterward, so Mane and I skipped thepost production discussion and headed home.

Tomorrow...destination Ellis Island.

Jeff's New York sightings, Wednesday

Lots of men are wearing ties around here, today I saw a seemingly homeless man in a nice suit and tie.

I am noticing a lot of jewish people wearing yamicas

I was near a kids playground today and heard the kids talking, but they didn't seem to have the stereo-typical NY accent, I was wondering if they don't get that accent until they are older.

I went to the Mets game today. A hotdog vendor was carrying "bucket" of dogs on his head. A foul ball came flying our way and squarely hit the center of the bucket. It got the biggest standing ovation of the night.

Generally there seems to be no converstaions done on the subway, but I had the nicest talk with a 3rd grader and his dad going to the game. The boy kept asking me questions even as we walked from the subway to the stadium in the midst of huge crowds. He really enjoyed talking to me as I did with him.

I walked all around the stadium and couldn't figure out why there were no scalpers. Finally I saw a sign that said you can't scalp within 1500 feet of the stadium. So I finally walked 1500 feet from the stadium, found a scalper, then walked back just in time for the game.

It's funny to listen to New Yorkers yelling. There was a guy behind us yelling at Carlos Beltran, at one point he yelled "Come on Beltran you remember me". It made me crackup, since number 1 Carlos couldn't possibly hear him and secondly, he wouldn't possibly remember him.

Jeff

Jeff's New York Tuesday night report

New York Report:
Heard a crazy person sreaming at himself (wondered what he was like in elementry school and what point his life became what it is)

Propositioned by a guy in front of a "Gentlemans Club" to come inside

Saw 2 New Yorkers yelling at each other over a parking space vs walking in the street

Seems like not that many people smoke in NY.

Everyone is wearing black. People seem to wear very little color in clothing.

Saw bike riders delivering takeout

Lots of taxis all over the place, but people seem to be waving their arms for a long time without getting picked up.

Can't figure who is living or working in all these giant buildings.

Quite a bit of honking, but not as much as one would expect.

Found 1 geocache in Central Park

Saw a transvestite. I thought it was an ugly man until I heard him/her talking.

Surprisingly few Aisians. Saw a several in the pharmacy then realized I haven't been seeing them around town.

Time Square has a Hersey store, but they don't carry the mint Herseys kisses (How can that be, it's their best product, but they only make it for Christmas)

It's Tuesday and it is Spring in New York City...

Wow....it is hard to remember all we did today. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express at 45th and 5th Avenue, right in the heart of the city, 3 blocks from Times Square and the theatre district and 3 blocks from the public library or St. Patrick's cathedral. Our hotel includes breakfast so we all met there as a group and the guide had arranged a 2.5 tour for us. It was really great because we got a great overview of lower east and west side of Manhattan, traveling to our destination of Battery Park and Ground Zero.

Our first stop was Grand Central station and we walked around the station which is just beautiful...then we trekked on through the Garment District, Meatpacking District, Chelsea, West village, Greenwich Village, Soho and into the Financial District.


We stopped at Battery Park and then went into the World Financial Center to get a bird's eye view of the Twin Towers site. Unbelievable, especially when you consider that the skyscrapers there now are only half the height of the Twin Towers.

We then walked to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the little church across the street from Ground Zero...this little church as you may remember survived the disaster and it became a shelter for all the volunteers and firefighters who worked relentlessly during that time. Beautiful, moving, experience...

We then returned to our hotel and Jeff and I headed for New York Public Library....I loved the grand reading rooms and the ceremonious spaces. Beautiful architecture and rotundas...and so many special collections rooms. And the lions Patience and Fortitude! Someone got those lions/bookends as a wedding gift (hmmm...Shelly?)


We then went to Bryant Park, a beautiful park that is often featured on Good Morning America...we sauntered around and Jeff could not get a good reading on his GPS (because of the skyscrapers...?) We then called Louise Lund, Chris's Mom (Mindy's boyfriend's mother...) and we made arrangements to meet her for lunch tomorrow. She is an artist who does the windows for Faccionable, a Nordstrom division. Apparantly she works right across the street from St. Patrick's cathedral. She had just returned from the fabric mart.

Then a nap...and since my feet were killing me, Jeff googled "Naturalizers" and off we went to find a store to buy me another pair of shoes. Acckk! I forgot to add an extra pair and a pair of sandals for the theatre. Jeff has the subways almost mastered so we were able to travel there where I tried on about 15 pairs and finally found one that felt good. Ahhh...relief. I made it back to the theatre just in time for the opening of Tennyson Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad (from Cosby fame), and a young actress Anike Noni Rose. I saw this play years ago...but this interpretation seemed so contemporary. It was excellent...but I can't wait to read it since it was published in the 50s.

Then about 12 of us we went across the street to Sardi's, for a nightcap and post-theatre dicsussion....Jane Hallinger, one of our English professors is so good at leading these discussions and we all enjoyed the discussion as well as the coffee, drinks and desserts.

Now home...and I feel wired by the stimulation of the evening. What a great trip this is!

Monday in New York...day 1

We picked up Mane on the street near her home at Holliston and Orange Grove and there she was, with the smallest bag you could imagine. I opted for a big bag because I didn'thave enough time to play my "evening play attire" as well as my "run around the city" attire. We had to take a picture....it was quite funny!

We arrived at the airport, and other than missing Kathleen Rodarte, everything went smoothly. We found out later that you *must* be at the airport one hour before the flight or the flight is closed to you. She was stuck...and we had no way of knowing.

The flight was smooth (mostly) and we cruised and snoozed...all the way across country. We arrived in NY and met Mike Torres, our Bostonian tour guide. He led us to a bus and gave us a little information as we approached Manhattan.

After a brief rest, we met in the lobby and Mike took us to the subway. it was a really beautiful evening and the Crysler building and NYPL beckoned us to return. We took this intricate configuration of subways to Chinatown where we walked the streets, meandering from Chinese restaurants to Italian. Our restaurant was El Mela, 167 Mulberry Street. Low key Italian, tasty food and good company! We were all happy to be here in New York. After we returned to the hotel, Jeff and I wanted to walk a bit more so we headed to Times Square. It was brimming with lights and people...everywhere. We took about an hour walking around the area...and now my feat hurt! I guess I didn't realize how far we walked today.

Tomorrow, a tour of the city and then in the evening, we are going to see Cat on a Hot Tin roof. http://broadway.yahoo.com/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof/show/94?loc=1

It's the middle of the night...

Ah...3:30am...and I just rolled out of bed to make the coffee...
We are ready! We leave on American Flight 118 at 6:30. We will arrive in NY at 2:50 pm and then go directly to our hotel...a few hours to acclimmate and then a walking tour of midtown Manhattan. then we go to Little Italy for a dinner together with the group.

New York, New York

Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Today Jeff and I are getting the suitcases down from the attic and packing for our trip to New York with the PCC Theatre in New York trip for Spring break. Jeff has prepared much more than I have with his GPS downloads, Google maps aerial take on the city and the subways and trains, orienteering events, Frisbee golf courses, and other interests. As for me, it has been a hectic few work weeks, so I'll pack, grab my guidebook and a few other books, and land in the plane before I can really think about New York. On my list though are the Klimt exhibit at the Neue gallery, seeing my cousin Penelope Pochez at Parson's NY, (her gallery is at this site: http://penelopepochez.deviantart.com/gallery/)and (ok...this is complicated) my daughter Mindy's boyfriend's mother Louise Lund, who designs windows for Faccionable, a Nordstrom's division. Ah, and then there is Jon Levenson, Lissa's longtime friend. I definitely want to see him...

Ok, back to packing....