New York, New York

The Algonquin hotel is one of those grand hotels after the style of The Windsor in Melbourne. Small but tasteful rooms and lots of atmosphere (I wonder if the appreciation of these things is a sign of getting older?) This is the place of Dorothy Parker's infamous "round table" (also known as "the vicious circle") a group of writers, actors and critics who met regularly to discuss (pull apart) the latest happenings in New York from around 1913. Many of them were regular contributors to The New Yorker and today the walls of hotel (not the rooms) are covered with wallpaper made up from cartoons from the magazine.






A late start to a vey hot day but we headed to the subway to purchase an unlimited trips four day bus and train pass ($25) and then decided to find our way to the Circle Line jetty and do a 3 hour trip around New York because it would be cooler on the water.Unfortunately we arrived 10 minutes after the boat had left so head uptown for the MoMA then on to the Guggenhiem and Metrolpolitan Museum of Art. The Guggenhiem was mostly closed down because they are getting ready for the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition. Loved the modern art in the Metropolitan especially seeing the Georgia O'Keefe originals.








After all the drama and art the highlight of the day was strolling in Central Park in the early evening with all the spring flowers and trees in blossom.















Bun discovered a furry friend who seemed reasonably content to carry on almost as though we weren't there.

A quick refresh and change back at the hotel and we joined the crowd in the lounge for the "open mike" evening (old and young cabaret performers just jamming together) - what a perfect end to our first day in New york.

A leisurely breakfast at the Algonquin sitting at the "Humphrey Bogart" table and we head off down 42nd street again to the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise terminal for the three hour, round New York cruise that departs at 1230.We are in plenty of time and are queued up waiting to purchase our tickets when a lady comes over and asks if anyone wants a ticket for the cruise. When I ask why she is giving it away she says she no longer needs it, hands it to me and walks away. I'm so stunned and it happens so quickly that she is gone before I can even offer her something for the ticket. Afterwards I realise that it had probably been purchased with a coupon from one of the many packages available to tourists but still, it was a saving of USD34 to us and perhaps a consolation for just missing the boat the previous day.
When we finally board we find that it is very spartan (this is no Captain Cook Cruise on Sydney Harbour). The seating consists of fold up chairs in two rows with an aisle down the centre - nothing more. We are lucky enough to find a couple of chairs on the outer deck which are under cover (it is another unseasonally hot day) then realise that we will be on the wrong side for viewing the island as the boat will be travelling clockwise down the Hudson River then back up the East River. The only seats on the port side are inside and we decide to stay where we are where we will at least have the benefit of a breeze and can still see through the people opposite to view landmarks.












The commentator is an older gentleman who sounds as though he has been doing this for the past thirty years or so but the information he provides as we circumnavigate New York makes for an interesting journey.



We bus up 42nd street and discover Bryant Park on the corner of 6th Avenue (almost more Paris than New York). It's so nice to see New Yorkers enjoying the open spaces (there is even a corner for children with books for them to read). Across the road there is a great design shop with more design/fashion books/magazines than I have ever seen before - it is difficult but I resist buying some Art Nouveau/Art Deco design books even though they are on sale. Two doors up is a deli named Zeytinz were we buy oranges, apples and milk to last us through to Thursday - the food is so appealing that we plan to return for breakfast.



We return to the hotel and, after putting our feet up for an hour or so, can't resist venturing forth again to take another look at Times Square. As it is Monday the place is less crowded and we are able to take in more of the surrounds (not being so jetlagged probably helps as well). I shoot a short video to try and capture some of the atmosphere and we stop to watch an Italian model on a fashion shoot who keeps disappearing into a big white van in a side street only to reappear in a different outfit, pose for the camera then repeat the process again (I guess things like this go on all the time in New York but it is all rather exciting).