Trip to New York City, October 2002

New York City trip memories

• The character of the buildings in Manhattan is special. Many had elaborate carved stonework trim, or art deco inlays. Even infrequent visitors like ourselves use the architectural cues to recognize the uniqueness of New York City compared to other large cities.
• My favorite skyline view was from the rooftop garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The view skims above the tree canopy to reach the varied architecture of Midtown, including a regal view of our hotel, the Plaza on Central Park South.
• The wide, stately hallways on our floor at the Plaza.
• The overwhelming size of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from the famous (George Washington Crossing the Delaware), to the gigantic (a temple from Egypt), to the tiny, everyday, and old (glass containers from the 1st century).
• Sensing the different personalities expressed by the 4 streets of Fifth Avenue, Sixth, Seventh, and Broadway as we walked them.
• Sights and sounds while walking in Central Park - horse-drawn carriages clomping, pre-schoolers laughing and cheering in an organized game, pigeons fluttering inches from our faces, a rowboat drifting on a pond, joggers doing pre-run stretching.
• The energy of performers in a Broadway musical. We see 'Cabaret' at Studio54.
• We sampled the varied food services that Manhattan offers: a street-corner vendor, a popular deli (Carnegie), and elegant dining (the Oyster Bar at the Plaza).
• The crush of crowds, glitter, and fashion in the foyer of Radio City Music Hall as we inch our way through the masses to our seats for the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.
• The amusing consequences of watching a show in a filled 5000-seat auditorium where all the staging and performing is actually directed to the TV audience, not to the live crowd.
• Winning the trip! Not paying for most things!