A day in NYC {part 1}

Apparently, my take-home final didn’t take as along as I expected – I budgeted two days for it and I got it basically done in one (of course, during the remainder of today I’ll be going back over it, but there are a limited number of ways you can answer questions about sol-gel reactions….) Wednesday, then, I was able to run around NYC a bit and see some things that I hadn’t seen in past trips. Most likely, if you’re reading this now, you saw my various pictures from the day, but here is everything all together in one place (well, three posts) + more pictures!

After a late-ish start, I hopped on a subway to Times Square - I must mention here how thankful I am for public transportation. I know many people don’t like it, but the fact that I could inexpensively, quickly and pretty efficiently get around a city I am visiting is just fantastic. I also really enjoy how frequently trains come. I have spent enough time waiting in the cold for one of the three buses from school to my house in Seattle that I appreciate the consistent flow of trains through the subway.

Though my first goal was to find the NY public library, I did need breakfast and I walked the wrong way at first (that happens quite frequently, actually, even with a smartphone…) so I ended up at Starbucks. Yay for consistency across the country.

(the worst moment of my morning - realizing I left my nice camera at home. I only had my iPhone for pictures all day long :( )

{some random building near bryant park - I liked how it curved upwards}

{New York Public Library! I always get so lost, yet somehow manage to find the reading room}

I found the library, got lost trying to find the reading room, but then found it eventually. I never actually go in the front door, so it usually wind up stairs and down different hallways until I end up at the beautiful reading room. Pretty sure that even if I had a map, I couldn’t find it directly. I also usually find the front door when I leave, so that’s even more confusing. I also don’t know if there are any other spaces besides the reading rooms for the public to access, because that’s all I’ve ever found. I do always enjoy the exhibits the library constructs in their hallways to the bathroom and the exit - last time was this awesome exhibit called ‘Radioactive’ about Marie Currie, based off of the book Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout. This time they were showcasing ‘New Contemporary Art,’ which involved a surprisingly large amount of ‘Untitled’ pieces, but they were very interesting to look at.

{I’m not entirely sure I was supposed to take pictures, but these were a few of my favorites}

While at the library, I made my plan for the day: Check out Ailey tickets at the NYCC (next post will describe that awesome experience); go to Uniqlo (a shop Guy highly recommended); complain to Urban Outfitters about my inability the other night to order things online due to their website getting stuck in a cycle during checkout/see if they could order what I wanted and give me free shipping; visit the Central Synagogue; go to the Museum of Modern Art; travel to lower east side to see Hannah’s friend’s gallery exhibit at Cooper Union; eat at this Ukrainian place; possibly get falafels next door; and then go to the Ailey show. For some strange reason, I initially didn’t think this would take up the whole day. Ha. I ran around and around and around and got to almost everything on my list!

{I should probably mention that I saw giant ‘sale’ signs in the H&M outside the library and stopped in….I found some awesome heeled boots that I then proceed to wear them for much of the day. Probably not the best idea as my feet hurt at the end of the day, but I like them! And I could see even better over all the crowds – they have a small ½” platform with a ~4” heel…..}

After checking with the NYCC and Urban, I went to find the Central Synagogue. Now, I’m not Jewish, but it is a beautiful house of worship and I can appreciate that (+ the Jewish heritage of my Christianity). The Central Synagogue has a once-a-week tour at 12:45 on Wednesdays. Kind of random, I know.

{from the front; from the back}

The ‘tour’ really just took place in the main sanctuary and focused mostly on trivia about the building, so here are some fun facts I picked up:

-       style of the building is called ‘moorish revival’. It’s very colorful and pretty.

-       There are 69 shades of color on the walls. Everything is hand painted using stencils, no wallpaper here! (also, my MSE/symmetry-seeking mind was going crazy with all the patterns in the building. I love patterns.)

-       The pillars are made of cast iron – weird, I know, but they could build up the patterns on the pillars by welding on smaller pieces and then paint over them.

-       The tiles are made of color clay, so that when they get worn down, the color won’t fade/wear off. After there was a terrible fire that destroyed much of the church (including the organ), they were actually able to get the manufacturer to reproduce the tiles for them, 130 years after they were originally created. They are so well placed that you can’t pick out the old from the new tiles.

After the tour, it was lunch-ish time. I stopped at street vendor that had a line both when I passed it on the way to the synagogue and when I came back, so I figured it had to be good food. And it was! Or maybe I just really like lamb gyros…. 

I had also seen this ‘public space’ when I was rapidly trying to find the synagogue, and so I wandered back there and found an atrium-like space with tables and chairs, open to the public. It was great! I also noticed many people stared at me (all day, really) which was kind of unsettling, but I figure it’s just a new Yorker thing to do. Or maybe I really looked out of place, I don’t know.

 

{Public Space}

 More NYC soon!