New York City – Day 2

Michael was extremely quiet getting up and getting ready for work this morning and I didn’t week until he closed the door to leave just before eight. I open to be graded with a beautiful, bright and sunny, busy morning, full of buildings, vehicles honking, and pedestrians hurrying. I noticed the East River and decided that I would go to the UN today.

I got ready and then walked to Bryant Park for breakfast. With no one to talk to this morning and being out of my routine I forgot to put my hearing aids in. I didn’t realize it until I got to Bryant Park. I was thinking the city was rather quiet as I walked there.

Breakfast, from Le Pain Quotidian, was so good – cappuccino and an egg, avocado, and cheddar on a brioche bun. The egg was freshly made, the avocado was cut in front of me.

After reading I wanted to just continue setting enjoying the park and people watching, but I was also wanting to fit in as much sightseeing as I could, so I decided to walk back to the hotel taking a different route, and pick up my hearing aids before walking west on 42nd St. to the UN.

There were so many places for outdoor dining here. Some of them would’ve been here before Cove but many were built in response to needing to be outside more.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of mobile testing sites in tents on the sidewalks here. It is good that it is so easy to get a Covid test, but perhaps it’s due to the number of people who have chosen to test regularly rather than get vaccinated?

The hotel is 34 stories and we are on the 31st. There a 10 elevators and half of them go from 14 to 34, and the other half of the first 14 floors. So far we haven’t had long to wait for an elevator, they’re pretty fast, and most people are wearing masks, but not all.

One has to be very alert here. There are so many streets to cross, with so much vehicle, pedestrian, and cycling traffic. And so many things to look out, at eye level, into the buildings, up at the skyscrapers, and even down at your feet.

This is the view from a bridge over 42nd Street between First and Second Ave looking back in the direction I had just come. Behind me is the UN.

It was sobering standing in front of the UN, with ribbons for Ukraine on a fence, knowing that they haven’t managed to stop the invasion by Russia.

The grounds were not open to the public but I was able to get a picture of St. George slaying the dragon through the fence, and a picture of the most secure bike parking I’ve ever seen.

There are so many e-bikes here and pogies. And often the pogoes have plastic bags tied around them, I guess to keep them clean when the streets are mucky. Or maybe for a bit of extra windprotection.

I decided to leave my DSLR and interchangeable lenses at home because it is so heavy and bulky. I recently got an iPhone 12 with a regular and wide angle lens, and I’m really happy with the quality of the images. Most of the pictures in the blog are taken with my iPhone. Michael did lend me his super zoom point-and-shoot and it takes wonderful telephoto images. The details on the older buildings here are incredible.

After seeing the UN I walked to the Roosevelt Island Tramway. My friend Cindy gave me an expired farecard from her last trip here, which I was able to transfer onto a new card because of the pandemic. The attendant at the Tramway helped me do that. It’s part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is North America’s largest transportation network. It serves a population of 15.3 million people across 5000 mi.².

Roosevelt Island is the narrow island in the east river between Manhattan and Queens. it lies below the Queensboro Bridge but cannot be accessed from the bridge. The secular traffic has to access it from Queens. Pedestrians can use the Tramway. It is the oldest urban commuter tramway in the US. There is also a ferry on the east side of the island.

The views from the tram were spectacular.

I found a bench overlooking the east stripper and Manhattan to eat my lunch which turned out to be enough food for lunch and dinner.

In 2011, the City of New York issued a global challenge to academic institutions, inviting them to enter a competition to develop a world class Applied Sciences campus on city-owned land, with a $100-million investment of city funds. The winning pro posal was submitted by a partnership between Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and is located on Roosevelt Island.

I enjoy taking pictures of architecture, particularly when the reflections can be played with.

South of the campus is parkland and the Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park. There is also the ruins of a smallpox hospital which is odd to visit when we are in the midst of a pandemic.

It is sobering to read these words from a president when Americans cared more about the world than they do today, and when we are so far from achieving these freedoms despite the passage of 79 years.

My feet were starting to get tired. I’m used to riding a bike all day, but not walking. I decided to get a coffee and cookie on campus, and use their Wi-Fi to download the Citi Bike app so I could borrow a bike to use to finish exploring the island.

As I walked towards campus I spotted a small pink building up on top of the skyscrapers. I took a picture across the river to Manhattan, then zoomed in three times to discover a two-story pink house. I’ll have to see if I can discover the story, but I don’t have time right now.

I downloaded the app, entered all my information, finished my coffee and walked back to the bike stand. I opened the app, which my camera to scan a QR code on the bike, which caused the rack to release the bike, and I was off.

There is a subway station in Roosevelt Island. This is me reflected in it as I rode by.

In addition to the park land, and university, there is a lot of rental housing on the island.

There is a lighthouse and another park and some sculptures and reflective spheres at the north end

My bike had this message on it

2 half-hour periods on the bike cost me $6.50. I returned the bike and took a Tramway back to Manhattan.

I discovered that Google maps here has an additional feature for when you’re walking. When you keep it access to your camera it gives you directions like a heads up display. It only works when you were standing still, though. The closer you get to your destination, the bigger the arrows get.

I found a fruit stand with reasonably priced fruits and bought some raspberries.

There are lots of markets with beautiful displays of flowers.

This is in a park near the UN

Where I got back to the hotel I put up my feet and waited for Michael to return from work. we decided on where we would walk to get takeout for dinner, When I got back to the hotel I rested my feet while I waited for Michael to get back from work. When he did we decided where to go to pick up dinner, picked it up and returned to the room to eat it. Afterwards we went down to the hotel market to spend today’s $15 credit which went a lot further without $10 worth of tea. It was a wonderful day exploring and I look forward to repeating it in another area of the city tomorrow.