Views from the Harbor

Here are shots of the Verrenzano Bridge, the skyline, Ellis Island and the flag at half staff for Sen. Byrd.

The Statue of Liberty

It took us two weeks to get reservations to get inside the Statue of Liberty. But finally our day came and it was yesterday. They have a very nice museum which explains why and how the statue was built. It was very hot; so it was a good day to take a boat cruise, although very crowded.

Trip to Sag Harbor...................

What we thought sounded like a good idea turned out to be a lot of driving. I had not been in the car since my Aunt's 100th birthday party on June 6; so 22 days w/o being in a car. Cool. So we decided to drive to the Hamptons. I Mapquested it and they said 2 hrs. So I told Ed 2 hrs. and he said o.k. Two hrs. turned into 3 hrs. and of course we got lost, etc. However, we finally made it. The Hamptons are very interesting. We could've taken the train but I think we had a different experience by car because there are no signs. I don't think people want anyone to know how to get to anything. They want to be anonymous. If you don't know how to get there; that's okay with them.

The Gay Pride Parade

People, can you imagine, I have no idea how many people participated in this parade. There are a lot of people here; 8 million before you include the tourists. We didn't stay for the entire parade, but there were a lot of participants.

Saturday was West Side Story

Once again we participated in the lottery, and once again we got tickets. This time there were only 18 tickets; the entire first row of the Palace Theater. So okay, the front row has its pros and its cons, but for $26 each, we did it. We were the last tickets drawn, talk about a nail biter. The girl who played Maria was from Argentina--only 21. The guy who played Tony has a BFA from Penn. The entire production was excellent.

The Puerto Ricans spoke Spanish. I know we missed stuff because about half the audience spoke Spanish. They were laughing; we weren't. But it was great; authentic.

Bryant Park & One of the Library Lions

The library is under scaffolding.

Grand Central & Its Neighborhood

Today we took an hour and a half tour of Grand Central Station. The tour focused on the history, architecture and engineering of the station and made us think about the fact that a large part of NYC is underground. There are many, many train tracks under the center of the city as well as subway tracks. Therefore, all the skyscrapers are actually built on steel piers (just like our houses on Tybee). That's why, if you think about it, almost all of the elevators in NYC start on the second floor after you've taken an escalator because all the workings of the elevators are on the same level as the first floor. We also walked through the public library and Bryant Park where they now have a permanent stage I guess. They use it for Fashion Week and they also show movies on the screen.

Down day..............

Today Ed began to scope out the Metropolitan Museum and I went to Macy's.

Ed's Adventure Getting Us Tickets for Shakespeare in the Park

So this morning Ed got up, got dressed and took the subway down to Central Park to stand in line for the tickets. He arrived at 6:35. As a result, he was 14th in line for the Senior Tickets. They award 50 Senior Tickets and each person in line is allowed 2. Therefore, Ed was assured of getting tickets. The ticket locations are awarded at random. Our tickets ended up being in the third row from the front; however, we were way over on the side. But I must tell you, the performance was magnificent and possibly was the best theater experience I've ever had. Everyone in the cast was the best and the lighting and sets were great too. I cannot use enough superlatives. The people on the blow up bed could not get into the park until 6 a.m., but they stood in line outside the park beginning at 4 a.m. Then, when they were finally allowed into the park, they got in line and fell asleep. You must wait in line until 1 p.m. before they award the tickets. So Ed came home at 1 p.m. to take his morning shower, etc. Al Pacino was very good, but the woman who played Portia was quite, quite good. Her name is Lily Rabe. Everyone in the cast was recognizable; if you care, you can Google it. Of course, Ed made friends with everyone in the line around him.

Staten Island Ferry.................

Okay, so it's a cliche; but we did it. They have a magnificent new terminal and new boats and it's free. We are hoping this dog has magical powers for some kind of detection. I'm getting the impression the entire city is run as a tourist attraction.

The Bronx--Little Italy

Yesterday we took a trip to the Bronx. Mitch & Suzanne gave us a set of 50 cards, each one of which is a suggested short trip to a specific part of the city. Hence, we went to the Bronx. The directions from The Grand Concourse (which was the subway station we were instructed to exit) did not show us how far we were from the destination (Arthur Avenue). I am thinking we walked a mile but I always exaggerate. Once we got there, we found out there was a bus we could take back to the subway. We bought homemade, fresh Italian sausage, salted anchovies from a huge bag sitting on the counter, and Italian tomatoes (Francesconi brand) that are to die for. We also bought bread. So, for dinner last night I made sausage and peppers in tomato sauce and I want to tell you: the trip was worth it. There are also wonderful looking restaurants and seafood markets.

Street Cleaning

Twice a week Ed spends an hour and a half in the car. This is when the street cleaning machine comes. Everyone just stays in their car and double parks on the other side of the street. The only people that have to move are the people that live here, commercial vehicles don't have to move for the street cleaner. The parking police come along to enforce everything.