New York

I am totally and utterly wowed by New York.  I hadn't expected to like it as much as I do at all!  I hadn't realised just how many times I have seen New York portrayed in films and media and consequently without knowing it I had a powerful idea of what New York ought to be - and it is just so much more.  It has exceeded my every expectation.  The traffic is horrendous and yes the taxis are yellow and yes they do seem to drive like mad people.  The buildings are HUGE!  I walked down past Wall Street - that was exciting, and the buildings just tower over you in such a way that makes you feel very small.  The Empire State building doesn't stand out as being any taller than anything else as a pedestrian - but you know, its the Empire State Building, so I went up - and it is just incredible! The view from the top is simply awesome. The other sky scrapers look like toys laid out below, and you get such a sense of how everything is crammed on to this tiny piece of land surrounded by water.  The old buildings really do have metal fire escapes with bits to pull down, just like in the films, and the vents in the ground really do steam, and the metro really is as clattery and noisy as in those films where some poor hero is in a tiny dingy flat and keeps getting woken up by them (Why are they so much worse than the tube?)  Every day I do something and I am just in awe of the fact I am really here - really experiencing it and that it is just so much like how I imagined it without even knowing it.

What have I done - it feels like everything!  I get back in the evenings and I am too tired to even get through the whole days activities in my paper journal, let alone do anything else!  I took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty - that was cool, such an icon, and I really got to stand in front of it.  It really is there!  The view from the ferry - just like the bit in Monty Python, where the London Accountants become pirates and sail the building to Wall Street, to attack, with filing cabinet cannons the bright young things in high finance. 

I went to the museum about immigrants to New York on Ellis Island (the place where they all passed through) That was amazing, very interesting, and felt like the next chapter as it were, because I went to the same museum in Hamburg, only there it was all about the emigrating Europeans going to New York.  I saw some of the Macy's Day Parade as I arrived.  (Not fun trying to push laden bicycle through crowds).  I have wandered around Central Park which is beautiful, and smells like autumn leaves.  I enjoyed the Metropolitan Museum of Art - and hope to go back and even then I wont have done it justice.  I walked down Broadway and saw Billy Elliot at the Imperial Theatre.  I ate dinner in Little Italy outside on the street because it has been so warm, and strolled through China Town, Soho and Greenwich Village.  I walked down fifth avenue and window shopped - that was just wow upon wow!  Overnight, as if by magic, all the shops have got their Christmas things out, and the window displays are truly something to behold!  I went to the Toy Shop in 'Big' and saw the giant piano.  I wandered around Tiffany's and funnily enough only liked the necklaces in five figures and didn't care so much for those with only three!

View from the Empire State Building

I am sure some of you are reading this and thinking, what? Our Jenny, the country bumpkin, and I am, I admit, surprised that I am enjoying it this much!  My reason for coming to New York in the first place was slightly random, in true Jenny style: I wished to see Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79766

I had studied it ten years ago, and despite the fact I don't particularly like the picture (I wouldn't want it on my wall at home) I was totally fascinated.  I love Picasso's pictures (not the very cubist ones though) and enjoy the way they challenge me, I always feel that if I were just a bit cleverer I would get them, like I am on the threshold of understanding, and have a tantalising glimpse but never full comprehension.  I enjoy the way that they are both ugly and beautiful at the same time, perfect and wrong - they are so contradictory, at least the abstracts are.  His realistic works I like because they have such a profound sense of emotion.  Anyway, enough of my waffle.  Les Demoselles was great!  I stood and I stared for maybe half an hour!  It completely exceeded my expectations, its huge, bold, striking, life size, and textured in ways that one just cant comprehend without seeing the work in the flesh.  Thank you Picasso, for bringing me to New York, and not letting me down!  (Just got to go to Spain now!)

I have done so much more that this, but there is only so much you want to read I guess, so I will leave off now! (I am disobeying all writing for the Internet rules already!)

They have wooden escalators in Macy's - the worlds biggest store!

In and around Washington DC

Some photos for you all to enjoy!

 We went to Annapolis, which I have wanted to see since reading Cynthia Voigts description of it in Dicey's Song - unfortunately I don't think I got the effect she described as it was freezing cold and rainy! The historic downtown was very pretty, and had the smallest houses and the most crooked streets that I have seen in the States.  It was interesting I thought in that the shops either seemed to be catering to wealthy holiday sailing people, or to the Naval College people with not much in between!

 This was my favourite painting in the Washington Art Gallery - I love it!

 This is the house that Mr Grape Nuts daughter lived in - I was super excited (being a life long grape nuts fan!) The house was super, and believe it or not I had an almost argument with the security man at the front door: I insisted on taking off my cycling shoes which had metal cleats in the bottom so as to not damage the marble and wooden floors - he said it wasn't necessary.  Oh, how different to my last job!  The house had all sorts of goodies inside, Faberge eggs, paintings, and super interior decoration - the Americans really seem to do a good job on their manor houses, compared to the crumbling comfortless piles in Britain, much more comfortable I think (although I think I prefer the cold English version more.)  There was also a totally super collection of wedding related dresses on display which I enjoyed!

This was my very yummy apple and cranberry grape nut crumble!  Interestingly, I have now tasted all the other cereals made by Post, which aren't available in Britain - and Grape Nuts are the best!

In the last few weeks I have also been to the zoo - the elephants were grand, the pandas amazing, and the gorilla picked his nose and ate it (had he copied a child visitor once?) - The American History Museum where I most enjoyed the First Ladies Dress Collection, and delighted in a trip to buy presents at the whole foods market.  When I leave America I will really miss the amazing whole foods shops (amongst many other things).

Visiting Baltimore

I took the train to Baltimore for two days which was super - I travelled so light, just one handbag - such a joy after all the bags and bike etc of the last few months.  I felt as though I was travelling light too - a new city, a harbour, three art galleries, and just me to please with the sun shining, it was delicious!  Upon my arrival I had a huge lunch at an Indian restaurant, my first Indian in months, and then strolled down to the harbour.  The harbour was beautiful, surrounded by generally ugly 1960's buildings and yet the total image was interesting and attractive.

I strolled into a rather dated and small shopping mall, which had a central covered courtyard filled with the most amazing sound.  I rounded the corner to find a well built man singing his heart out whilst he worked.  He was clearly enjoying the acoustics the space provided but he was awesome!  He was also cutting fudge, which seemed very out of keeping with both his looks and the sound he made.  It made me smile.

I continued to the American Visionary Art Gallery, which I really enjoyed.  The art was fun, interactive and I really enjoyed learning about Visionary Art which I found fascinating. (JL, if you are reading this pass on my thanks to RL- I remember talking to him about Visionary art back in January)  I especially enjoyed a video on Art Cars!

The Youth Hostel was a pleasure, a beautiful old building with marble fire places, friendly staff friendly guests and clean facilities.

The next day I visited the Walters Art Museum - which has to have had the best written signage and interpretation I have seen - I took more than 20 photos of signs!  They had a super collection from all over, and including some very rare and interesting things which I had not seen the like of before despite hours in museums and galleries.  I really enjoyed it.  In the afternoon I went to the Baltimore museum of art - primarily for an exhibition which included Durer prints and prints by Picasso.  By that time I was rather museumed out!

The station with a fun male/female statue

The Visionary Art Gallery

Staying with Susan

I have been very fortunate to have had such a super welcome from Susan and her family, and have really enjoyed the last couple of weeks staying with her.  Despite only a tenuous link I was welcomed with open arms, and have had a fantastic time.  It has been so nice for me to relax and be part of a family, and to spend time just doing silly things like going to the park, and games of mailman (which always seems to involve flying to Oregon to visit the grandparents) watching many many episodes of 'signing-time', (I can now do all sorts of animals, and other useful words in American Sign language!) cooking and eating good food and reading good books.  I have been so lucky to have got to know Susan, Tom and the children a bit, and feel very privileged to have done so.  I also feel I have learned a lot from my time here.  Susan and Tom have done everything to make my stay with them a good one - Thank you so much!

Susan is also writing a blog: bonsaisue.blogspot.com if you are interested in more of their adventures.

I have also done quite a lot of sightseeing, both in Washington and Baltimore, see other posts.

Washington DC

Washington appears to be a beautiful city, with very little of the hustle and bustle of most cities.  I have cycled in from Susan's twice and the bicycle route is mostly a very pretty cycle path along the river.  Once in Washington there is a huge park area known as the mall dotted with enormous and ridiculously grand monuments, and buildings.  There are statues all over the place, and one can cycle right past the white house which seems very small and domestic compared to the overt grandeur surrounding it.  It is very exciting to be here, and one evening in the car we were passed by a huge convoy of official vehicles about 15 of them, was it Obama going for a visit?!

Looking towards The Mall

View from the cycle path

The Mall

 

 
The trees are all in their fantastic autumn colours, and it has been sunny nearly every day.  Staying with Susan has been fantastic, so nice to be 'part of a family' and get to play with the children every day, I am really enjoying it.  I am very lucky to be here and feel really privileged to have been welcomed so well.

The Outer Banks and other pictures

This is out of sequence, but I thought I would share some more photographs with you.

Ferry ride to Ocracoke

Ferry ride to Ocracoke

Ferry ride to Ocracoke

The outer banks - this was it for almost two days, 90 miles and a head wind!

If some one can tell me why I would love to know!

Inland again, north of Kitty Hawk

Dawn from my tent

There are lots of churches (and some rather obscure denominations too)

Richmond