Day 4: Uptown Girl (and Boy!)

A slightly slower start to the day today, and as we look ahead it will be the last one for a while so the sleeping was good. Then up for breakfast at the local Europa for oatmeal for Chris and another bagel for Liz. Nom Nom. Then it was time to work out how we were going to do our airport transfers to Newark tomorrow morning. We do not fancy the thought of it taking an hour and forty minutes to get to the airport so we have decided to Amtrack it, as Penn Station is literally across the road. Tickets purchased it was off to find another subway that would take us to the upper East Side and the Guggenheim. We didn't hang around there long, in fact we were really disappointed in the rudeness of the staff, but we stumbled across a lovely Episcopalian church which was shaped very much like the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Nearby there is the Sacred Heart school and so it was interesting to see the row of USA school buses all lined up along Central Park.  Then we headed off to spend a good amount of time at the New York Jewish Museum. Liz is a bit of a "collector" of Jewish Museums in an attempt to further consolidate learning for this part of her teaching and this one was very different to others she had visited.

The lower floors were more like an art gallery featuring works of  Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis. There was an interesting tour taking place and while we didn't stay with the group we did hear the guide say  at one stage that Krasner was married to Jackson Pollock... Looking at the abstractions before us, the layers and the paint splatters it made infinite sense... a micro version or two of Blue Poles.  Some of the pieces, including one that was untitled were quite amazing in the delicacy of the layers... But that was not really the purpose of the visit. So, having watched a film called As From Afar by Dani Gal which was a psychological investigation of the life of a released Nazi henchman we then went up to explore the Jewish History and ritual section of the Museum. Throughout the exhibit, the themes of Covenant and Law kept reappearing in the exhibits, complete with quotes from the Torah... Ah see my students, this it what I try to teach you. The collection is beautifully displayed and contains some amazing antiquities dating back to the Cannanite era and some others from the Roman occupation and the Maccabean revolt. It was a visual feast. The festivals were also well represented and there was an entire room dedicated to Shabbat. If you are getting the feeling that I really enjoyed the experience you are correct!

It was getting on for 2pm and we were wanting lunch. The security guard at the museum pointed us in the direction of Madison Av, saying that there were some cafes there that we might like... and so we stumbled upon Pascalou, a little French style cafe with a lovely Fixe Prix menu... and yummy it was with superb service and such a delightful and unexpected find on the Upper East Side.

We needed a walk and so, in great Alderton tradition whilst away we went to find a park in which to walk. Hmmmm. Central Park will just have to do! Now I have been to New York twice before and Chris has been once... but only ever in december /January when it has been sub zero and/or snow covered. But today, under beautiful blue skies, it beckoned and so we walked.... Around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservior, then down to the roadway and walking walking....We found the Boathouse, the miniature pond where the remote control sailing ships are sailed, the Hans Christian Anderson story telling nook and then we found the fountain, immortalised in the Doctor Who episode The Angels take Manhattan (and used as the backdrop in the 2013 MasterChef series.) How lovely to stand there and see it in real life. We kept walking and eventually found our way out to W72nd Street  where we stood on the corner and looked across from "Strawberry  Fields" to the apartment  where John Lennon was shot all those years ago. Then we boarded the subway to the Rockefeller Centre.

No ice rink in sight at Rockefeller!!! Not on this 22 degree day. They fill the lower plaza area with umbrellas and call it the Summer Time Sizzle. On the upper level where I am used to seeing the Christmas tree, there is the remnant of a huge animal shape that had been covered with flowers... looked kind of sad without Christmas. We then walked the block to St Patrick's Cathedral which is shrouded in scaffolding both inside and out. The restoration work that has been done reveals beautifully clean marble but they have a long way to go.

It wouldn't be a trip to NYC without a pretzel, so we shared one for afternoon tea from the Rockefeller before hopping back on the Subway for one last ride.

Then back to the fashion District for a little bit of last minute New York shopping and then back to the hotel for some washing and packing. New York, you have treated us to a great few days... no doubt about it... you are the "city who never sleeps".