My friend Richard on the Cyclone at Coney Island.
Another ride in progress at Coney Island.
The Wonder Wheel, the ferris wheel at Coney Island.
I shouldn't have to explain this one ;-)
Plane rides aren't all bad ...
Showing posts with label nyc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nyc. Show all posts
July 25, 2009
More NYC Pics
My friend Richard on the Cyclone at Coney Island.
Another ride in progress at Coney Island.
The Wonder Wheel, the ferris wheel at Coney Island.
I shouldn't have to explain this one ;-)
Plane rides aren't all bad ...
July 12, 2009
Back in Austin / NYC Pics
Just a small sampling of the flood of NYC pics that I took ... stay tuned to that link as I upload more over the next week. I'll be posting a couple more each day.
As always, click a picture to go to its page & browse related photos.
The Manhattan Bridge that connects Brooklyn to, um, Malnhattan across the East River :-) Bklyn is on the right. Notice the wedding photos going on!
Central Park.
Subway tile mosaic at the 96th street stop. All the stops have signs like these.
My parents came to visit me at the Guggenheim :-)
The Manhattan skyline as seen from walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. The tallest building, in the center, is the Empire State Building. The second-tallest one (off to the right of the frame) is the Chrysler Building.
My friends Suzan and Choyce were in the car ahead of us on The Scrambler @ Coney Island. Because they were moving at the same speed we were relative to the "background", I could steady the camera and take this picture quite easily.
More. Again, I'll be uploading more here throughout the week!
As always, click a picture to go to its page & browse related photos.
The Manhattan Bridge that connects Brooklyn to, um, Malnhattan across the East River :-) Bklyn is on the right. Notice the wedding photos going on!
Central Park.
Subway tile mosaic at the 96th street stop. All the stops have signs like these.
My parents came to visit me at the Guggenheim :-)
The Manhattan skyline as seen from walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. The tallest building, in the center, is the Empire State Building. The second-tallest one (off to the right of the frame) is the Chrysler Building.
My friends Suzan and Choyce were in the car ahead of us on The Scrambler @ Coney Island. Because they were moving at the same speed we were relative to the "background", I could steady the camera and take this picture quite easily.
More. Again, I'll be uploading more here throughout the week!
July 9, 2009
NYC Update II
I'm taking the morning off today, sitting at my friend's house and surfing the net while drinking coffee. I'll go out soon, but for now I'm just relaxing. It's a well-deserved break after spending the better part of four days constantly on my feet and sightseeing. On Tuesday I had lunch with my family, then went to the East Village and Soho. I saw the site of CBGB and Tompkins Square Park. On Wednesday I took the train out of the city to visit my cousin , then came back, met up with a friend at Grand Central, and walked around lower Manhattan down to the Gramercy Park/Union Square area. I'm beat!
Today I'm going to a Mets game and then maybe out after that -- apparently Thursday night is when local NYers go out, since the "bridge-and-tunnel crowd" (those commuting into the city from NJ and CT) are not in the city late (since they have to work on Friday). Friday I'm meeting up w/someone for lunch and then will go to The Met -- and hopefully out after that. Saturday my hosts have planned a day trip to Coney Island (wheeee!) and then I fly out of here Sunday at 6 AM.
Good stuff!
Today I'm going to a Mets game and then maybe out after that -- apparently Thursday night is when local NYers go out, since the "bridge-and-tunnel crowd" (those commuting into the city from NJ and CT) are not in the city late (since they have to work on Friday). Friday I'm meeting up w/someone for lunch and then will go to The Met -- and hopefully out after that. Saturday my hosts have planned a day trip to Coney Island (wheeee!) and then I fly out of here Sunday at 6 AM.
Good stuff!
July 7, 2009
NYC Update
I am in NYC right now and enjoying it. I'm staying with my friend in Brooklyn (Clinton Hill area). I've had a great time exploring, walking, using the subway, and so on. So far I've been to a number of place, including DUMBO, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, the WTC site, Chinatown (where I ordered in Chinese, woohoo!), Central Park, the Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum, East Village, SoHo, Midtown/Times Square, the Broadway area, Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building ... not to mention countless blocks walked in between destinations, and many miles logged on the subway system already ... and I've still got four days left here!!
It's tough for me NOT to compare this experience with Shanghai. For example: the subway system in NYC is older and dirtier than the one in Shanghai. The entrances to the platforms are skinnier (there's barely room for two people to walk side by side), there are no escalators like in Shanghai, and the ceilings are barely tall enough for me to walk through (I had to duck under some pipe today in the Bleecker St. station). The trains are older and dingier and a LOT noisier (and "brake-ier") than in Shanghai. But the system runs 24/7, which is hard to beat, especially in Shanghai where the lines close around 10:30 (such a pain in the butt). And the system seems more extensive than in Shanghai, but I think that's because it covers a larger radius. Shanghai's system really thins out when you get outside the city center.
The crowds are thinner than in Shanghai, too. Someone pointed out this might be because NYC has much wider sidewalks. I could see that. The only area I've been to that "feels" like Shanghai is Midtown in the Times Square area. Most other places feel empty, maybe because I'm walking around during the work day. I mean there's people there, but I expected more. In Shanghai it's a constant jostle unless you move to Pudong. Speaking of which, Puxi is to Manhattan as Brooklyn is to Pudong. In both Puxi/Manhattan you have the "heart" of the city, and in fact it's what most people consider the "real" city. People you meet in Puxi/Manhattan hardly ever come to Pudong/Brooklyn unless by force. And Pudong/Brooklyn are both relatively new areas that are just starting to attract attention from those on the west side of the river. It's an interesting comparison. Funny how two cities can be like that :-) But I would be surprised if it's accidental - I think Shanghai looked at other large cities and used them as models for growth. For example, Century Park in Shanghai, reminds me a lot of Central Park, and Century Ave is modeled on the wide, sweeping lanes of French cities like Paris.
More to come, including pictures, as time goes on ...
It's tough for me NOT to compare this experience with Shanghai. For example: the subway system in NYC is older and dirtier than the one in Shanghai. The entrances to the platforms are skinnier (there's barely room for two people to walk side by side), there are no escalators like in Shanghai, and the ceilings are barely tall enough for me to walk through (I had to duck under some pipe today in the Bleecker St. station). The trains are older and dingier and a LOT noisier (and "brake-ier") than in Shanghai. But the system runs 24/7, which is hard to beat, especially in Shanghai where the lines close around 10:30 (such a pain in the butt). And the system seems more extensive than in Shanghai, but I think that's because it covers a larger radius. Shanghai's system really thins out when you get outside the city center.
The crowds are thinner than in Shanghai, too. Someone pointed out this might be because NYC has much wider sidewalks. I could see that. The only area I've been to that "feels" like Shanghai is Midtown in the Times Square area. Most other places feel empty, maybe because I'm walking around during the work day. I mean there's people there, but I expected more. In Shanghai it's a constant jostle unless you move to Pudong. Speaking of which, Puxi is to Manhattan as Brooklyn is to Pudong. In both Puxi/Manhattan you have the "heart" of the city, and in fact it's what most people consider the "real" city. People you meet in Puxi/Manhattan hardly ever come to Pudong/Brooklyn unless by force. And Pudong/Brooklyn are both relatively new areas that are just starting to attract attention from those on the west side of the river. It's an interesting comparison. Funny how two cities can be like that :-) But I would be surprised if it's accidental - I think Shanghai looked at other large cities and used them as models for growth. For example, Century Park in Shanghai, reminds me a lot of Central Park, and Century Ave is modeled on the wide, sweeping lanes of French cities like Paris.
More to come, including pictures, as time goes on ...
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