Normal Service Is Resumed

Thursday, now what did I do on Thursday? Having my second beer and a senior moment.....errr

Ah yes, went to practice my croquet in the morning at Central Park. NO sushi man on the bus this time, but some nice members of the New York Croquet Club welcomed me, and it was sunny and generally very pleasant.

For those who play the 'Queen of Games', the croquet Club share their two lawns with the New York Bowling Cub. The surface was lovely, apart from some small patches around the boundaries, caused by overhanging trees. Given the amount of rain there had been, together with their lush covering, I found the lawns easy paced for short court play, but on a full size lawn I knew they would be quite hard work. On top of that you could feel the humidity rising from them, and at times it was a bit like having a leg sauna, the average temperature being around 80c.

In the afternoon I meandered my way home from west 69th down to east 34th. For those of you that don't know, Manhattan is arranged on a grid system. The big streets, such as Park Avenue, Lexington, 5th Avenue all run from north to south. Meanwhile the streets are in the main numbered, highest at the north, lowest at the south. 5th Avenue is the dividing line for them, whether they are designated east or west. So, it's virtually impossible to get lost.

My instructions when I got back were to meet my sister at the Brooklyn Museum at 7pm , cocktail reception for the great and good members of the museum to mark the start of a new exhibition. Don't ask me what, I was too busy people watching. There was no doubt some high class net working going on, some were dressed up, some were dressed down, and some were just there for the free booze and the free food was my conclusion. The wine was $1.99 a bottle and to be avoided, the beer was locally brewed and acceptable.

We left there after a while and I was treated to another subway journey into the depths of Brooklyn, followed by a walk to the waterfront to watch the sun disappear on Manhattan, which was pretty spectacular. Then after a 'Time Out' recommended burger, at 'Five Guys', we walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestrian section of which is wooden boards overhead of the drivers below. the bridge is bigger than it looks in films, and took a while to walk over. when we arrived at the Manhattan exit, it was 11.30pm, and it was still 76c according to the neon sign. We took a bus back home from near to Ground Zero, and arrived just after midnight, but without turning into pumpkins and not having been rained on, something of a feat to be reckoned with.

A Lesser Known Museum In Brooklyn

The Museum is an imposing an beautiful building from outside, and inside it was not disappointing. the story goes that it used to be home to many more exhibits than today, but at time in the past The Metropolitan museum in Manhattan gained favour in terms of funding and kudos and The Brooklyn had to donate many items to the Metropolitan. Certainly there is a sense of space in some of the lower galleries, but I found the spacious museum well worth the Subway experience. They have an excellent web site which can be found at http://www.brooklynmuseum.org

I found 'The Dinner Party' by Judy Chicago fascinating, and have included the link below, as my photos, being unable to use flash did not do it justice. The scale and detail of it together with all of the accompanying information, would have made the visit worthwhile for me on it's own. However there were several other paintings and items that just added to the experience. I will no doubt do the Metropolitan and the others in the coming days, but Brooklyn has it's place too.

The Lure of The Brooklyn Library

After several errors on the subway system I finally arrived in Brooklyn. The museum, botanic gardens and library are almost adjacent to each other. The Library has an impressive facade - the main entrance is pictured here. If I didn't know what the building was I would feel drawn to go inside to see what was inside, if the outside was that impressive. I sat outside and watched classes of children arrive and stare in wonder at the entrance and they all went in excitedly. After a drink and some lunch and watching the Brooklyn drive, walk, cycle, or skate past, I walked back a block to the museum. Saving the temptation of the botanic gardens for another day.