Botanicals, Bubbles, Bunnies and a Bird’s Eye View

April 17

I had decided to take a long weekend so that I could dedicate my entire Saturday to spring cleaning while still have a couple of extra days to enjoy the weather and take care of my usual errands.

I got quite an early start on Sunday when I left to go meet Liz at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Since I’ve never been to the borough and wasn’t sure of the length of the commute, I made sure to give myself plenty of time to get there. Turns out I had overestimated, and ended up killing time at the gates of the garden until Liz was able to get there.

She had invited me there to see the orchid show, which was ending that weekend. I personally had never heard of it, so I was surprised to see just how many people had shown up to check it out. The show was what you’d expect it to be: countless but gorgeous orchids located throughout the garden’s conservatory. Here are pictures of some of my favorites:

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After the two of us grabbed a quick lunch, we decided to get in line for the 30-minute tram tour of the garden. The property was much more spacious than either of us had anticipated, so we thought it would be a nice way to catch a glimpse of all it had to offer. We ended up walking the same route again afterwards so that I could get some better pictures.

Despite the amount of walking I usually do in the city, I found myself low on energy and dragging my feet on the short stroll. I guess I was still tired out from my spring cleaning!

We didn’t stay much longer after our walk and it was probably a good thing! Crowds has started to file into the garden and the line to get into the orchid show was enormous! I do understand why people like to visit the place though; it feels much more “natural” than Central Park and you actually forget that you’re in the middle of a big city.

Apparently I hadn’t gotten enough of a nature fix for the day, because I made a short stop at Central Park on my way back. It. Was. Packed. I actually enjoy people-watching though, so I didn’t mind the crowds at all. I’m pretty sure the 70-degree temperatures had everyone in a great mood!

April 23

Two months ago I was surprised to read online that John Krasinski (along with Hank Azaria and Claire Danes), was going to be in a play called Dry Powder here in NYC. Unfortunately when I went went online to look into buying a ticket, they were sold out. However, I discovered about a week ago that the Public Theater was doing a $20 ticket lottery for the show, so I waited up until midnight on Saturday to enter. (The lottery didn’t open until hours later, so I was annoyed to find out I had stayed up for nothing.) I was notified at 10 a.m. that I didn’t win and knew I’d have to find a Plan B. I do plan on trying one more time next weekend, but it’s probably another long shot.

At the very last minute I discovered there was a street fair being hosted by the Tribeca Film Festival, but failed to miss the part where it was mostly targeted towards kids. I quickly realized that when most of the activities were bubble blowing, cardboard forts and balloon animals.

There wasn’t much to do there unfortunately, so I decided to indulge in a Philly cheesesteak from a food truck before I left. I was highly disappointed in it and didn’t even finish the sandwich. Between the blah weather and my disappointment with both the fair and lunch, my day wasn’t off to a great start.

Instead of moping around I decided to walk along the Hudson to go get something else to eat at the Chelsea Market. I was nearly knocked over by joggers every five minutes, but other than that it was a pleasant stroll. When I finally reached the market I didn’t have enough of an appetite for a “second lunch”, so I opted for some delicious gelato instead.

Early afternoon the sun finally made an appearance, and immediately boosted my mood. I didn’t even mind making the journey along the river again back to Brookfield Place to see this larger-than-life exhibit called “Intrude.” I had no idea this was located at the same place where Summy and I saw the canned goods sculptures.

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Since the weather had cleared up at this point, my last-minute plan was to go to the Top of the Rock and take advantage of the picture-perfect, blue skies. I’ve been here almost a year and there are still a number of tourist attractions I’ve missed. The nice thing about being able to visit every weekend is that I don’t have to cram them all into one day!

Before I got to Rockefeller I needed to run to the Apple Store for a new iPad cord, and never have I felt more like a fish out of water. I’m pretty sure I’ve been living in the 1800’s because I had no idea what I was doing. After I somehow managed to even find the area with the cords, I wandered around for like 10 minutes trying to locate the damn registers…except there weren’t any. You’d think one of the Apple employees would have sensed my inexperience and used it pounce on me and try to get me to buy an Apple Watch or something, but I actually had to track someone down for help. Evidently they can actually ring you up using this digital, portable device and then email you a receipt. What is this sorcery?!  I’m pretty sure even the non-English speaking tourists that arrived in the store had a better understanding of the store than I did. I guess I’m old school!

Finally I arrived at Rockefeller for my last stop of the day. I was so impressed with how polite all of the employees were and how smoothly the whole process goes of getting such huge crowds of people to the top. You basically just fight for a spot along the glass to snap pictures and take selfies, but it was such a great experience. Even if I have a nice view of Manhattan from my apartment window, this was much more special!

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Yesterday also marked exactly one year since I was offered my job at Bauer, on the 23rd day  of the month (my lucky number) no less. What a wonderful experience it’s been thus far and I can’t believe how quickly time has flown by!

 

Back to the Past

April 3

After taking a look at the events posted on Meetup and noticing there were more options on Sunday than Saturday, I decided to flip my usual weekend schedule and make Sunday my “fun day.”

Shortly before leaving my apartment that morning I discovered that the tour I had planned to take in Central Park (as well as the other events I had considered) were not until the following Sunday. Whoops.

To make matters worse, the chilly weather and high-speed winds meant my outdoor options were going to be limited yet again. My last-minute plan was to hit up some museums. I initially opted for The Museum of the City of New York, located on the Upper East Side near the top of Central Park. I made a quick trip through Central Park to get there and had the weather been nicer, I would’ve loved to have spent more time there! Instead I wandered down the nearly deserted street in blustery winds to get to the museum. I was nearly knocked to the sidewalk a few times!

After I paid for admission (which was nearly as much as the American Museum of Natural History), I quickly realized this was another museum I’d be through in less than two hours. My favorite exhibit was the first one I visited, and it focused on activists and various social/political movements that have taken place throughout the city’s history.

Sadly, I did not save the best for last, and I found myself becoming less and less interested by the final exhibit. The one on Yiddish theater, though unique, wasn’t something I was willing to spend a lot of time learning about. There was also an exhibit on costumes, but sadly it appeared to be closed off to visitors.

So after what was probably only an hour or so, I decided I needed a Plan B for something to do. I braved the winds again to go grab a mediocre grilled cheese sandwich on the Upper East Side then hopped on the subway back to Times Square.

Nearly every time I leave the Port Authority Bus Terminal I pass by Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum but never bothered to venture inside. This time, however, I decided to cough up the money and finally give it a try.

I expected it to be just one room with a bunch of movie star wax figures, so I was pleasantly surprised to find there were multiple “themed” rooms to walk through.

This attraction would probably be best to visit with at least one other person, just to have another person to take your picture when you want. Since I was there alone, I mostly just took photos of the wax figures, a few selfies, and asked the person behind me to take one of me with “Will Smith.”

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There was also a short 4-D Marvel cartoon movie included in admission, which featured vibrating seats and tiny streams of water being shot at you. Certainly wasn’t expecting that!

It wasn’t long after the movie that we ended up in the gift shop, and I honestly couldn’t believe I had made it through the entire museum already! Although it was larger than I expected, I still got through the whole thing quicker than I had hoped.  I’m glad I finally gave it a go, but probably won’t be back anytime soon.

April 10

Today actually was the tour in Central Park, but it all worked out for the best since the weather was much improved from last week. It’s still quite cold for April, but with the sun shining and warmer temperatures, it at least feels more like spring.

The tour group met at the Tavern on the Green to start, and I was surprised to find that no more than 15 people had showed up to tag along. The smaller number proved to be beneficial, however, as we could all hear our guide perfectly.

Dave, our tour guide, was extremely knowledgeable and even brought along a binder with vintage pictures to really help show the various transformations Central Park has gone though over the years. We started at 67th street and ended around 85th, so our 90-minute tour only covered a small portion of the entire park.

We first began near Sheep’s Meadow which evidently was named for the herds of sheep that were brought to that area of the park for entertainment.

The barn they were once kept in was eventually turned into a restaurant and after many ownership changes is now the Tavern on the Green it is today.

Next we made our way over to The Mall, formerly the main entrance to the park. This is also the home of The Band Shell, which replaced the gazebo where bands used to play. If I remember correctly, we were told that there was also a casino in the area that was shut down once Mayor La Guardia found out about the drinking and prostitution taking place there (this was during prohibition).

The Mall leads you to the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, which I paid a visit to last summer. This time, however, we took a walk through the terrace and got to take a closer look at the architecture. This included the tiles on the ceiling that had to be re-installed after rain and such was seeping through. Most are original tiles though and I guess now they light up at night!

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The fountain (which was turned off for winter; therefore I passed on a picture), was built to provide fresh water to the residents.

Our next stop was Cherry Hill, which didn’t quite have the same aesthetic effect without the blooming cherry trees. In my picture below, you can also see a fountain that was once used to provide water to the carriage horses. During the 70’s and 80’s when most people had to avoid the park, our tour guide Dave said that it became a junkyard for stolen cars. So sad!

We walked across The Bow Bridge of The Lake (another spot I had seen before), but did pass by one of the loading docks where people used to hop on a ferry to visit different points of the lake.

Next up: The Ramble. This spot was designed to look more “natural” with various paths winding through the trees instead of more open fields. It’s very easy to get lost here! When trees fall or die here, they are left in place. If that happens in other areas, they are usually taken care of right away. This is also a good time to note that every part of the park was designed and strategically placed by man: the hills, bodies of water, trees, you name it! That’s why the park has so many different areas with their own unique atmospheres.

We passed by this Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (which was sent to the U.S. in 1876 as Sweden’s exhibit for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia) on our way to the Shakespeare Garden.

I had no idea this cute, peaceful area known as The Shakespeare Garden existed! There are different plaques around the garden with Shakespeare verses. This one from Romeo and Juliet references a rose, hence the rosebush nearby.

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The tour ended at The Great Lawn that used to be the Croton Reservoir. It had to be restored after the 70’s because it was a huge “dust bowl.” Look how gorgeous it is now!

I learned so much in just 90 minutes, and I know there’s a lot of information that I didn’t include here. I definitely want to go on more of these tours in the future. It’s a great way to catch small details you’d probably never see yourself!

I also enjoyed talking to some of the other people on the tour, including one guy who actually went to college in Ohio, near Cleveland. Small world! It seems like I always meet people with fascinating jobs, as well. He works for National Geographic and someone else in our group works for the AMC Network…but has never seen The Walking Dead! Say what?!

After the tour ended, a few of us ended up going to the Firehouse Tavern on the Upper West Side for a very late lunch. It was nice to keep chatting with the Oberlin College graduate and I was finally able to silence my grumbling stomach. I’m surprised I didn’t get “hangry” on the tour.

The afternoon sadly flew by too quickly, but I can’t wait to tag along on more of these outdoor historical tours. Let’s just hope spring is here to stay to enjoy them!