New York day 5: Museum of Natural History

After visiting the Dakota and the John Lennon memorial at Strawberry Fields, I walked north on Central Park West towards the American Museum of Natural History.

Astor Turret at the Museum of Natural History

It was an absolutely stunning day in New York and a welcome change from the rain that had drenched me the day before.

The Fourth Universalist Society and the New York Historical Society // The Astor Turret again

The American Natural History Museum

The lobby of the Natural History Museum

I think I might be spoiled by now!  I walked around the skeleton of a gigantic dinosaur and took a perfunctory photograph without really taking in the significance of it all.  This is a creature that roamed the Earth millions of years ago!!!  Next time I visit a Natural History Museum, I shan’t take it for granted!

In my defence, I was rushing off to see the exhibition on the North West Coast Indians.

North West Coast Indians

I found this to be a fascinating exhibition.  Coming from South Africa and England, I had never had first hand experience of Native American culture before and it was wonderful to see such a wide variety of differences between the different groups.  I apologise for the shaky photography as the lighting was dim (for preservation purposes) in the hall and I was trying to take shots without a flash.

This is the museum’s oldest hall and contains material from the museum’s first major field exhibition, the Jesup North Pacific Exhibition between 1897 and 1902.  This is considered to be one of the most important anthropological field studies ever made, according to the website.

 

Unfortunately, the exhibition left me with more questions than answers! How did they obtain the goods?  Were they finds or where they taken from people?  How do Native American people feel about ceremonial or spiritual items being on display at the museum?  Are they happy to have a permanent record of their culture or do they want the items back?

Fearing reprisal from ancient Native American ancestral spirits, I made haste to the next exhibit!

The Warburg Hall of New York State Environment

Section of giant sequoia tree

I loved this section! It was really interesting.  This is a section from a giant sequoia tree that began growing in 550AD and was felled in 1891.  Thank goodness it is illegal to cut them down these days!

North American Forests

I really, really love forests and was quite chuffed that half of the last Harry Potter book took place in them!  Couple that with my dream of driving across America on a road trip and it’s easy to see why I liked this exhibition.  I won’t bore you with hundreds of photos of the various exhibits but it was great in that it showed that every part of the country has different forests and terrain.

Giant Cactus Forest, Saguaro, Tucson, AZ // Piñon-Juniper Forest, Colorado

Hall of Biodiversity

I was late for a very important date and ran past the Hall of Bioversity.  I just had to take this photo though!  Look at that thing!

Hayden Planetarium

Wow.  How long is it since you’ve been to a planetarium?  It must be at least fifteen years since I’ve been to one before this and the whole universe has changed!  From worm holes to a new theory on how the moon was formed, the show at the Hayden Planetarium blew me away!

I love planetariums and I love space, stars, the universe – all of it!  I certainly won’t wait another fifteen years before I go to another one!!  After the show, I took a walk down the Heilbrunn Cosmic Pathway which shows you photographs dating back to the dawn of time.  You read right! Because of the distances involved and the time light takes to travel, telescopes have managed to capture images dating back billions of years!  Wow.  I may have looked a bit silly as I walked along the pathway with my mouth hanging open in amazement. (Yes, yes.  It has already been established that I’m a geek!)

That was it for the American Natural History Museum.  I went in using my CityPass and that gave me free entry into the Hayden Planetarium too which was a saving.  I would absolutely recommend visiting and would certainly go back again.  As it is, I saw maybe 25% of the whole place!!

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New York day 5: The Dakota & Strawberry Fields

I’m taking a look at the time stamp on my photographs to see what time I set out on my fifth day in New York and, um, it looks like it was only about noon!  I guess I was pretty tired from my very long day the day before.

My first stop was the Dakota which is an absolutely exquisite old apartment building built in 1884.  It can be found on the corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West.

Apart from being visually stunning, the Dakota is famous because it is where John Lennon was living in 1980 and he was killed in the 72nd Street entrance (pictured left above) on December 8 1980.  I stood by that entrance looking in and I got quite a chill now as I realised that was where he was shot.  I don’t remember much about that day as I was only 7 but I remember my mother being devastated and I remember not being able to fathom that such a thing could happen.  Yoko Ono still has an apartment in the building.

I then went across the road to Central Park to visit Strawberry Fields, the John Lennon memorial.

It took me a very, very long time to get the top picture.  There were so many people there and everybody wanted a photograph.  I’m not as shy to take photos with people in as I used to be but it just seemed that this was something you needed on its own.  It is an interesting atmosphere and not at all sombre; there were tour groups, John Lennon lookalike singers and people from all walks of life just milling around and trying to capture the moment.

I took a look out into the teardrop-shaped park and wondered if John would have liked to be memorialised here.  The park is pristine and it was easy to lose myself in its beauty and to feel peace for a moment as I was transported away from the bustling memorial behind me.  I think John would have liked it and I felt a great sense of calm and acceptance, happy in the knowledge that this memorial has done him justice.

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Calling all expats!

The next World Blog Surf Day is taking place on October 31st 2009.  This is an event open to all expat bloggers and it is an around-the-world blogging day.  We all write on a theme or a different aspect of expat living and then link to another blog at the bottom of our post.  That enables readers to take a round-the-world trip as they surf through our blogs.
If you are an expat or are currently living in a country different to that in which you grew up in, then please feel free to join us by clicking on this link to participate.
The theme for the next event has not been announced yet but the two previous themes (and links to my posts) were:

• Living as an expat in another country: My life as a South African in London
• The food edition: A South African braai in London

Edit: Oooh, Fat Bride Slim posted the link to vote for this edition's theme which I hadn't noticed before.

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Moving update and London Fashion Week

Well, the move took place with less bother than I had anticipated but we still have to give our old house a big spit and polish before we hand it over next week. When you are renting, it is never just enough to hand it over in the condition in which you received it. You have to really shine the place up and make a virtual show house of it if you hope to get your deposit back! We finished the upstairs last weekend and we had such a feeling of accomplishment when we finished on Saturday night! We were just in time to relax and catch up on X Factor from the week previous before watching the current X Factor episode. I was a big X Factor fan before they changed the format this year - there is no way I would have waited a week before watching it had it been last year!

Our Sky was only installed on Saturday morning which was the reason for the delay in television viewing and we received our telephone line on Monday morning. I'd advertise my home telephone number on this public blog only I hate talking on the telephone! I do it all day at work so spending my personal time on the phone is not my idea of fun. Oh, and there's that whole world of internet stalking that I'd like to avoid. (Sorry, not having internet access at home has started to make my brain go soft).

The great news is that our router arrived today and we will go live on Friday so normal programming should resume soon. A big thank you goes out to O2 Broadband who rushed our order in on Monday after we discovered that our previous provider, Be Broadband do not supply our area in Dartford. Be Broadband have absolutely super service and lightning fast internet speeds so I would absolutely recommend them. I was really sad when they confirmed that they could not supply our area but am happy to go with O2 as I am really satisfied with them being my mobile phone provider and they give three months free broadband. So smiles all round then!

In the meantime, I'm still trying to catch up with blogs and comments which is not easy with no home internet access! I do tend to spend my days working as unlikely as that might seem! If you visit the side of my blog, you'll see my Twitter feed. I often post links to other fantastic travel or photography blogs and websites so feel free to follow me. I follow all non-spammy, real people but do tend to shy away from people who post a hundred times a day!

Luella - London Fashion Week 2010 [source]

I've chatted about the fabulous Evening Standard reader offers and discount card before and this special was too good not to share. Get two for one tickets to events at the London Fashion Week by visiting the Evening Standard This Is London website.

It is the 25th anniversary this year and many top fashion houses have returned to London this year to celebrate so I’d really recommend going!

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New York day 4: Mets vs. Cardinals

It had been quite a day so far! I’d woken up in Manhattan, spent the morning at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the afternoon on both sides of Brooklyn Bridge and in the early evening, I made my way to Queens to Citi Field, the new world class home of the New York Mets.  One of my biggest dreams had been to see live games of the major American sports - baseball, basketball, ice hockey and football and I am happy to say that I achieved one of those dreams that night!

New York Mets vs. St Louis Cardinals, 24 June 2009

 

The new Citi Field stadium is absolutely gorgeous and so classy inside!  I was absolutely in awe and so obviously a tourist as I stood there taking photos!

 

I took my seat and hauled out my trusty notebook as I waited for the game to begin.

Well here I am, sitting in a slight drizzle at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets (sorry, that should be “New World-Class Home).  I did a LOT today.  In fact, I’ve done a lot this trip and I’m only half way through.  Thank goodness I have an extra week to blog, read, sleep and rest next week!

Oh man, I hope this game goes ahead!  They just took the ground cover off and put it back on again.  Then again, it is raining again.   I may just become cold and miserable soon!

I got here early as I skipped out the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.  I had the chance to really relax for a while at Grimaldi’s and stayed a little while longer.  Then there was the whole drowned rat Emm experience which took the better half of thirty minutes.  The Tenement Museum sounds interesting but I’m getting a little weary of paying to get in everywhere and didn’t want to pay to get in and not have at least 90 minutes to go around there.

Thank heavens most of the museums and art galleries in London are free!

I’m seriously wavering about going to DC tomorrow.  On the one hand, I could use the bus money to go to the Tenement Museum.  I could also relax and take an afternoon off.  On the other hand, I could use a change of scenery and I would LOVE to see the sights there.

I’m honestly losing memory of everything I’ve done!
Mon: Central Park, Empire State Building, Times Square and Tom’s Diner
Tues: Circle Line Tour, UN, Grand Central, New York Library and the Rockerfeller Center
Weds: Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Wall Street, South Street Sea Port, Brooklyn, Grimaldi's and Mets Game

I must say, if it weren't for my precious little notebook and the chronological order of photos on my camera, I would never have remembered everything I did, thought and felt on my trip!

Finally, it was time for the game to begin!

I’d obtained tickets high up on the third tier for about $15 if I remember correctly.  I’d really wanted to see the Mets vs. Yankees game on the Friday evening but the only tickets available were going to cost hundreds of dollars!  Mostly, I was just pleased at the chance to see a real, live game.

Now I’ve been to live football games in England and cricket and rugby matches in South Africa but I have never experienced such a huge thrill before as I experienced that night.  The atmosphere was absolutely electric and yes, in answer to Stephen’s first question, it was complete with the organ and the horns too.  I had loads of fun shouting “Let’s Go Mets!” with the crowd and have to declare that I am now officially a New York Mets fan.

The one thing I had never really appreciated about baseball before is how short the innings are.  Runs are few and far between but I was lucky enough to see a home run by Evans in the fourth innings.  Unfortunately, my photo of the home run has a man standing in the middle of it as he shot into the air as I took it!

I eventually had to leave during the 8th innings though.  I was absolutely freezing and wasn’t sure if Stephen would appreciate me charging a New York Mets sweater to his credit card.  I’d like to say for the record how deeply I regret the decision not to buy one and I will certainly do so next time I am in New York!

The final score was Mets 11, Cardinals 0.  This is the scoring summary for those of you who are interested.

I caught the subway home from Citi Field all the way to West 110th Street for the princely sum of $2.  Take that London!  What you lose in new York on admission fees, you certainly make up in the cost of transport!

As I came to the end of the fourth day in New York, I found myself insanely gleeful to be be in bed after spending at least fifteen minutes defrosting under a steaming hot shower.  I was more tired than I could remember being before but I was pleased with everything I had done so far.

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Bits and Bobs

Hi everybody.  I don’t often make off-topic posts but I been wanting to say hi for a little while now and to share a couple of things.  Don’t worry – I’ll be back soon with a post on one of my most memorable and exciting experiences in New York!

Christmas Plans

I've just booked our Christmas stay at the Hawkwell House Hotel in Oxford.  That is the wonderful cosy hotel we stayed in last year while we were on our Road Trip around England. As you can see from the image below, I didn’t get a chance to take my own photo of the hotel and that is just not good enough for a budding photographer such as myself!

 
Picture courtesy of HawkwellHouse.co.uk

So, the plan is to spend Christmas there and take the time to sit by that gorgeous fire and sip some hot chocolate and generally have a cosy, happy Christmas.  And to take some of my own photos of course.  We usually spend Christmas in Liverpool with my Dad but unfortunately have to stay near London this year as Stephen is on call.

Blogging friends

This blog has grown so much in such a short time.  When Emm in London was featured as a Blog of Note, my subscribers increased from 80 to over 750 in one week.  It has been crazy trying to keep up with that!  As you may have noticed, I respond to each and every comment on my blog (eventually) and I always visit commenter’s blogs to learn more about them.  But Google Friend Connect isn’t really user friendly and I’m struggling to wade through this buggy application to find the blogs of everyone now following me.

Let me just say that I appreciate everyone who reads, follows, subscribes and comments on this blog.  Thank you – you absolutely make it a pleasure to blog; I don’t take it for granted and I am humbled that people would take the time.  If you are following and have wondered why I haven’t visited your blog or noticed you then I do apologise.  If you do take the time to comment and introduce yourself then it will make it so much easier for me!  So don’t be shy!

Spam

Having said that, like most bloggers out there today, I do delete spam comments on my blog.  If you are unsure what spam is, then you can visit this excellent post.  Don’t let the article scare you away from commenting though; basically, spam is when you comment on someone’s blog and don’t really read what they say at all but leave a link in the body saying “visit my blog!” or “read my blog post!”.  It’s not really a nice thing to do and it’s a little rude.  I’m more likely to give people the benefit of the doubt but often have to delete spam comments from obvious spammers. 

Comment Form

There are pros and cons to using the comment form that I use.  The pro is that if you log in with your name and URL (blog address) you’ll get a link straight to your blog.  The con is that it is also buggy and it often gives you a nasty error message.  If you get that error message, just try press “post comment” again and it should eventually work.  Like I said, it’s just buggy.

Links

In the past, I’ve always had my links open in a new window but recently I have been told that this is a bad practice and that the links get caught in people’s pop up blockers.  I use a tabbed browser and open all my links in another tab and carry on reading the original page, so I thought other people would do that too.  What do you think?  Do you prefer links to open in a new window / tab or do you prefer to click on a link and immediately go to that page?  I’ve turned it off for this post now but await your feedback!

Moving House (again)

I only moved to the UK in July 2007 and moved into our first rental in September 2007.  After a year, the owner decided to sell and we had to move.  This year again the exact same thing has happened and we have to move again!  It is crazy and I wish we had a little stability.  The good news is that we hope to be able to get on to the property market in a year, the bad news is I have to do my least favourite thing on earth – move. 

So, this is happening next week.  My posts might be a little patchy as I unfortunately don’t have a library of ready-made and scheduled posts waiting for me!!  Bad blogger!  Please bear with me over the next couple of weeks and I’ll be back with regular posts after that. 

The very good news is that I am moving to Dartford which is a lovely old town on the very outskirts of London.  Actually, I think it is officially outside of London.  Hopefully, I’ll get to do more adventuring and touring around Dartford than I managed to do around Sidcup.

That’s all I have to say today.  Like I said, I don’t often make posts like this but I did just wanted to touch base with people and say hi and thank you and don’t be shy but try not to spam. 

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