England/Marrakech

We are on our way back to Morocco so this blog is essentially on hiatus.
The Marrakech blog is here.
We spent two days in England because you have to change planes somewhere.
Since we were staying in Surrey, we decided to take a nice healthy walk on a Saturday morning.



We set off down a tree -lined lane full of primroses and cowslips and come upon a modest little house.
Behind it are some extravagant red-brick barns with tile roofs.



As ever, we admire the livestock.
Robert says, "Those are rather small horses."
Liz replies, "Ponies." Hm.........



We head upwards towards the downs and the weather looks 'changeable'.
ie : it is about to pour with rain any minute.



Lovely dramatic clouds. It is getting colder and windier.



The views are stunning. We get very wet but then walk into town and get hot soup for lunch.
By that time the sun is out.

Black Goes With Everything

Bumble and Bumble, where I have my hair cut, has stunning views.
Here looking north towards the Chelsea Market etc.
The reflected lights look like flying saucers.



The new Apple Store on 14th Street is housed in a 'moderne' 1920's building.
Very retro minimalist chic. But friendly 'geniuses' to help with computer dilemmas.
In my case, needing a new battery after three years - the old one had gone twice beyond its normal life.



A great improvement in this neighborhood over the past ten years.
Now it is uber something or other.



Going upstairs at the 41st Street Port Authority bus terminal is quite an experience.
You seem to go on for ever - up and up.
Riding the buses to upstate New York is a good alternative to the trains - and pretty cheap.



More Bumble and Bumble views.

Subway

Vanishing points. Very good practice for learning perspectve.



The yellow line is to warn you not to step over the edge.
The gray blobs are stuck on gum.........



I chatted with the guy with the bike.
Very eco-friendly. Bike for short distances - subway for longer ones.
The other characters look rather typical - though the girl looks amazed.



81st Street - the stop for The Natural History Museum - has all these wonderful animal mosaics.



Ducks rule........

Metropolitan Abstract and Some People

I spent quite a long time waiting around here the other day. But, if you have to hang about, this is a pretty good place to do it.
You can watch the world go by.



Even without art, the building itself is wonderful and monumental.


It invites shutterbugs to go ahead and try out artsy angles for photos.



The museum is so huge that one can get mental indigestion. So you can't do too much on a single day.
We went to the Courbet and the Jasper Johns - a good contrast.



We ate lunch in the cafeteria in the basement which is OK or even quite good as mass catering but not to be recommended as an aesthetic experience. (See Neue Galerie)



It is worth looking upwards and downwards as well as straight ahead.



Is one morally improved by drinking in art and beauty?
Or is it just pure pleasure?



I just enjoy looking at things - both man made and natural.
What do you enjoy looking at most in Manhattan?

Chelsea Ecclesiastical

An annunciation from the church door at the seminary.



Afternoon light on the German Church on 22nd Street.


Anyone reading Paz's super New York blog will know we have had several blogging outings in search of photo opportunities.
Not hard in New York.
Here is an interior shot of the church in the General Theological Seminary.



And a brilliant red church door right by the Atlantic Theater.



Dramatic urns outside the church..........



And a glimpse of the garden.........

Abstracts at the Neue Galerie

Looking down to the main desk.
One of my first posts in New York was to the Neue - one of my favorite places in the world.
If you haven't been there - GO NOW but early because it's been discovered by the discerning.
Yesterday I went there with a friend from Morocco who thought it exactly like visiting Europe.
We go back to Morocco on Friday, so I had to go there again.



The gift shop has all sorts of astoundingly beautiful, amazingly expensive things which one covets but can't afford.
Perhaps if someone very dear and beloved were to get married or something. This would be the place to shop.



The coffee shop has paneled walls and posters and one looks out on Central Park.



A silhouette of pretty things. The flowers are real.

Spring has Almost Sprung

In the grounds of the seminary there are magnolia and japonica.



And scilla with dead leaves left over from last year.



This looks like a spring wood almost anywhere.



It was very cold and windy near the Metropolitan Museum yesterday.
But the daffodils put on a cheerful face.



The bright clouds scudded through a blue sky.

Windows

Very English looking church doors At the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea where there is a lovely private garden.



The Victorian windows there are of Biblical scenes and very brightly colored.



A female figure is etched in the glass near the main door.




Looking west down 23rd Street.

A Walk Down 23rd Street

West 23rd Street is probably most famous for the infamous Chelsea Hotel.
When my friend M. stayed there, a huge door fell off a closet and hit her.
When my brother and his wife stayed there, we all enjoyed watching a photo shoot for the most exotic lingerie.
But you can also buy a guitar right next door.



Eat Spanish food.



You can go to church.
Look at all the TV and film vans. Currently three different productions being shot here.



You can look in the lobby of the hotel which is sort of dumpy for all that.
And rather expensive for what it is.
Perhaps you are paying for ambiance and history.



You can buy packing materials to send things to far away places.
Or get a very stylish tattoo with an Asian flavor.




And watch them dig up the street from the window of the bus.