NYC 2 [Midtown Manhattan]

Happy Summer Solstice. Or, as my friend K says, a joyous turning of the wheel. As much as I love light and warmth, I have to say I am not sorry to see the turning point that is going to lead to progressively shorter days. The long days make for full and tiring days as well. It is difficult to justify heading in at 4, 5 or 6 PM when the sun is still high in the sky.

Today was my first day in Manhattan proper. T took me on the subway with her. It was remarkably easy and far less scary than I had anticipated. Granted this is a pretty easy and safe route. But still. I found I could tap to pay using my Apple Watch directly at the gate. That in itself is pretty cool and makes that part of it seamless. I got off at Columbus Circle, right at the bottom of Central Park, basically Midtown Manhattan.

After grabbing a coffee, I walked downtown to pay a visit to B&H photo store . This is THE photo store in the U.S., from which many of us order cameras, lenses and other AV equipment. I had sent in one of my camera bodies to Canon for sensor cleaning. As careful as I try to be, almost half a year of daily use results in a dirty sensor that requires professional cleaning. The local cleaning I received in Princeton was a temporary bandaid. I have a back-up body, but realized that I did not have a strap for it. No way was I walking around NYC holding a camera in my hand for all of the obvious and numerous reasons. B&H is, as I had expected, huge, with several large floors. They have lots of both electronic and human security, both going in and going out. For such a huge operation, they were remarkably helpful and efficient. A floor salesperson helped me find the right strap, and a cashier ordered it up for me to pick up at the pay station downstairs. I was much more sanguine once I could hang the camera on a strap.

I then walked back uptown to Times Square. Today was apparently annual Yoga day, where thousands of people gathered in Central Square to do Yoga together. It was a rather jarring juxtaposition to all of the glitzy ginormous video screens that line the streets. But also, in many ways, the epitome of NYC.

I continued back uptown to MOMA , where I had timed tickets for noon. I was a bit early, which they did not seem to care about. But all bags were required to undergo a thorough security check. I was particularly interested in the special Georgia O’Keefe exhibit that showcased her early work and development. It did not disappoint. It was extremely interesting to see the history that resulted in her iconic style, and read many of her comments about pieces created along the way.

After a coffee break in the Museum cafe, I went back out to see some of the regular exhibits. This museum has seven floors, so I had to make a choice as there was no way I was gong to cover the entire museum in one visit. I decided to visit the 1880s-1940s gallery as I am always drawn to the impressionist artists - Monet, Picasso, Cezanne, Miro, Van Gogh etc.. They had a number of pieces I had never seen, so it was a very worthwhile hour. My museum limit is about two hours before my brain fries, so I was almost done. But I peeked quickly into the 1940s-1970s exhibit to view a few huge and iconic Jackson Pollack paintings.

It was time to take a nature break, so I continued back up to Central Park . Of course this is a huge area and I walked around the bottom square mile or so of the park, ending up at Bethesda Fountain, where I chilled out for a while just enjoying the beautiful day and people watching. This being NYC, there were several singers in various locations, so there was always a musical background as well.

I then walked over to Sake Bar Hagi to meet T for dinner before walking over to the August Wilson Theater where we had tickets for Funny Girl starring Lea Michelle. I had never seen a Broadway show actually on Broadway, so this was an iconic performance to see in an iconic location with an iconic actress. Because it only started at 8 PM, by the time the show concluded and we cabbed home, it was close to midnight.

Tomorrow we have a full day planned in downtown Manhattan.