Weekend Trip to New York City, Day 1 on July 23rd, 2016
As expected, CS department of Cornell University basically left all the weekends in the summer program to our own discretion (expect for the first weekend's field trip to Niagara Falls, which was nice since normally one don't easily get from Ithaca to Niagara Falls without a car). Since Ithaca's so rurally located, the only city that attracted us was the Big Apple.
The images in this post are hosted on Imgur. Email me should there be any display problems.
A few things I shall say about transportation between Ithaca and New York (and then the rest of the country). In theory one could fly from Ithaca Regional Airport to Newark Liberty by United Airlines, that is, with enough money in the pocket. But given the runway renovation at Ithaca Airport and of course our limited budget, we were basically left with ground transport.
At Ithaca bus station, I saw a sign of Greyhound, but I'm not very sure whether Greyhound actually served Ithaca or not. At least prices on their websites doesn't look nice. Cornell University should have some regular direct bus services to New York City, to Columbia University Campus if I remembered correctly, but it's not a daily service. So that basically left us with Shortline, a subsidiary of CoachUSA.
Now one can find the details of such service on Shortline's website. To sum up, there were the "premium" direct service to NYC, and "standard" Shortline network buses to NYC.
What interested me was that, the "standard" Shortline network seemed to have the only overnight bus to New York City from Ithaca and back, the timetables of which I'm most fond of. I shall say it's only a 6-hour ride between NYC and Ithaca, and that includes layover at Binghamton, during which rest could potentially be a problem. But since we were only spending the weekend, we were pretty sure things would be fine, although that didn't always turn out to be the case.
One thing I shall mention about the Shortline service to New York was that, it's basically made up of two segments, Ithaca to Binghamton and Binghamton to New York. Yes, if you didn't purchase their direct premium services, the salesman would give you two tickets for one trip. MegaBus, which is also a subsidiary of CoachUSA, sells tickets online between Binghamton and New York at discount prices, while the prices between Ithaca and Binghamton was sort of fixed at $12.5. In my experiences, the ride between Binghamton and New York City was usually full, while seats were plentiful between Binghamton and Ithaca.
Well, I shall say, one bad thing about overnight buses was that, I had to go to Ithaca Bus Station to purchase tickets in advance to Binghamton, since the Cornell University Student Center was closed during summer, and our bus would arrive at Ithaca Bus Station at midnight (otherwise one could get on the bus first and purchase tickets latter at the bus station). So that's a lot of jogging and Pokemon hunting.
I had to say I didn't sleep very well during the trip. I was basically wile awake after sunrise, watching suburb New York passing by off the window.
I shall say, I felt quite a surge of emotion as I gazed upon the skyscrapers of New York City over the horizon bathing in the glow of rising sun as we travelled south on I95 across the river.
It's just across Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Our plan of the day was to visit Statue of Liberty first. But since the bus dropped us off more than an hour before the first Statue Cruises ferry, our first stop was Times Square.
Well, I have to say, maybe 7 in the morning is way too early for the majority of visitors to New York, as I found an almost empty Times Square. It's a little bit weird to see more neon screens than people.
Also more than people was the quantity of garbage in my sight. Perhaps it's just the morning-shift street cleaners not having begun their day job, or perhaps this is New York, where everything is blended together.
Having visited Times Square, we headed for the metro station with Lady Liberty being our next stop.
Unfortunately, I mistakenly entered the uptown platform, which was not where I'm supposed to be. Since I cannot walk across the platform at 50 Street Station, my ingenuity solved the problem by taking the uptown train to the bigger Columbus Circle Station and back, rather than spending two bucks getting in and out again.
Columbus Circle Subway Station
Now that's my first impressions about New York subway station. On one hand, I was marveling at such an engineering achievement that had stood the test of time for more than a century, on the other hand, I was waiting in sweltering heat among broken tiles and rusty beams. It's easy to say I liked London's metro system better, it's hard to find a way to clean up and renovate New York's subway system in an American culture, just looked above ground at its garbage-filled streets.
My friend was complaining about this subway design, while took it for granted that the opposite platform should be easily available. I, on the other hand, realized such a design means they would dig one floors out, instead of two as with most modern subway systems.
We got off the subway at Rocter Street Station. Since there's still time to kill (first Liberty Island ferry should leave at 0830, if I remember correctly), we roamed around.
This skyscraper was constructed in the last two years.
A cruise line company.
There's a constant crowd of people at Charging Bull, with no angle for a good shot.
At this point a lady approached us and usher us aside, saying they were shooting a movie. It seemed quite strange to me that she could pick us out from a group of extras. My friend said maybe she could somehow remembered exactly where every extra should be, and of course we weren't.
Where buildings are next to each other.
Sadly, Federal Hall wasn't open by the time we arrived (which was no surprise to us), and we hadn't visited it henceforth during our visit.
Before Federal Hall, Facing East
Then we found this Trinity Church, and it seemed to welcome everyone inside. As I joked with my friend, maybe the bankers from Wall Street need a place to cleanse their guilt after ripping off everybody's savings.
I shall say, church was really a place of tranquility and reflection amid all the bustling outside.
Originally we planned for the first ferry of the day. But since we spent a little bit longer than expected at Wall Street, we departed Battery Park on the second ferry.
The Liberty Island tour came with a free audio guide, which was filled with immigrants telling the patriotic story of freedom, and their quest for it. I had to say this wasn't to my friend's taste.
So we walked around Lady Liberty taking photos, leaving the audio guide alone. My friend thought its descriptions were too lengthy, I basically knew enough about the Statue that I deemed it unnecessary.
I hope these duck-like creatures could fly, otherwise they were actually confined by fence to this tiny little lawn.
Unfortunately, by the time we returned our audio guide and headed for the pier, a ferry just left. That meant I had 20 or so minutes for Pokemon hunting.
As usual, shooting birds has become my only entertainment waiting for things.
As usual, shooting birds has become my only entertainment waiting for things.
I hope this is not the sole work of coin-tossing-frenzy Chinese visitors, if so, it won't take long before this becomes a underwater archaeology site.
For what was apparently a ceremonial escort
For what was apparently a ceremonial escort
There were names highlighted in the ship manifesto, the offspring of which we heard in the audio guide, which was very powerful.
It's quite shocking to me that not very long ago, immigrants were asked "do you have a job?", "do you read or write?". Now, we have a Donald Trump that asked "are you a Muslim?"
As there was once a currency exchange office where the arriving immigrants would exchange their money.
This is my favorite statue on display, as the railings provide such a beautiful and powerful visual balance.
One thing not so fun was that, there were so many people waiting for ferries to leave Ellis Island at that time, that the cutoff for our previous ferry was right before us, so we waited for like 20 minutes, in not-so-pleasant sunshine.
The message reads "keep hookers off the pier".
Due to the extensive amount of visitors, it took that ship quite a long time for unloading and loading. With limited space at the dock, our ship was kept waiting.
It seemed that the density of Liberty Island Ferries (20-minute interval if I remembered correctly) were actually bottlenecked by the ship's disembarkation and embarkation speed.
Then we planned to take the subway green line to Metropolitan Museum of Art. But since Bowling Green Subway Station was closed for renovation, we walked a few blocks back to Rector Street Station.
This must be their old offices, as they set up a magnificent buildings near World Trade Center, just by the Hudson River.
I was quite shocked to find that New York Subway System was using such a primitive ventilation system (on a second thought, since it was built more than a century ago, this should be less surprising). The only thing that prevented rainwater or street garbage from falling into the subway station (presumably on someone's head) was, a misaligned shaft?
That chicken burger tasted a lot better than the one in McDonald's. Although I could fairly argue that McDonald's don't treat chicken burger seriously.
We finished lunch at a nearby Shake Shack before heading for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The burger tasted nice, the only problem was that, since that stored had very limited amount of seats, we had to finish it in a tiny public park outside the store (I shall mention it's not a very decent way of using that public park, since the park was basically filled with Shake Shack patrons but there were signs stating it's public area and no purchase is required to sit there, which was kind of ironic.). And trust me, the wooden seats and ion trays were unbearably hot in the sun.
Then it's the METs. One thing I'm not so fond of was that, the METs was essentially a donation-based pay-as-you-like institution, as I shall compare it to the British Museum. But under the influence of New York's lust for money, it set up ticket checkpoints before everyone could enter. So you either pay the whole recommended 25 dollar, or wait in the miserable line as everyone else. By comparison, the British Museum simply admits everyone in, while setting quite noticeable donation booths. One could argue donation booths would attract much less donation than ticket salesmen, but I just don't think lines were a good match of the museum's missions.
Well, apart from the lines, the exhibits were extraordinary.
I liked its transparency.
Again, it's its transparency (or at least the feeling of it) that attracted me.
It feels ironic that, to me, this is a display of both America's determination for history preservation and its brutality at artifact despoiling.
Well, for the METs, I know it's so large that I couldn't finish all the exhibits in one day. So, I choose to view some of the exhibits more thoroughly, than skimming everything all at once. We stayed at the METs for roughly three hours, that is, before my friend got bored at the absence of "modern" art.
For the following selection of photos I uploaded here, some of their descriptions were from the METs website.
The tension between the raised arm and the dramatic, collapsing posture enhances the work's emotional intensity and reflects Rimmer's fascination with figures that rise and fall simultaneously.
Saint-Gaudens eschewed the traditional full-bodied interpretation of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt, focusing instead on simple, elegant lines and a strong silhouette.
The bears are not aware of their potential brute power; thus, the underlying theme is man's superiority as the thinking species.
The memorial represents the moment when the Angel of Death interrupts the sculptor's work, staying the chisel in his left hand. She also holds a bunch of poppies, symbolizing eternal sleep.
Powers intended the symbolism to reflect good (the divining rod) versus evil (the thorns), with the additional moral message that all that glitters is not gold. "California" was the first sculpture by an American artist to enter the Metropolitan's collection.
Her closed eyes and staff allude to her blindness, while the hand raised to her ear refers to her acute sense of hearing. The destruction of Pompeii is symbolized by the broken Corinthian capital beside her right foot.
This pulpit and choir rail were originally from New York's All Angels' Church (demolished 1978).
The Virgin Mary, surmounted by a crown of lilies, forms the grip and pommel. The guard has a dynamic composition composed of the Archangel Michael, symbol of Christianity and leader of the armies of heaven, vanquishing Satan, here a writhing dragon with a human face. The sword's evocative sacred imagery is almost without parallel in the context of late nineteenth-century weapons.
The Virgin Mary, surmounted by a crown of lilies, forms the grip and pommel. The guard has a dynamic composition composed of the Archangel Michael, symbol of Christianity and leader of the armies of heaven, vanquishing Satan, here a writhing dragon with a human face. The sword's evocative sacred imagery is almost without parallel in the context of late nineteenth-century weapons.
This innovative sword incorporates a three-dimensional figure as its grip, a feature inspired by French sword designs of the 1840s. Here, the armored female figure holds a shield with the American arms and a wreath of victory, imagery referring both to Athena as goddess of war and Columbia, personification of the United States. This is a second casting of a hilt designed by the Ames Manufacturing Company for a sword presented to Mexican War hero General Franklin Pierce by the State of New Hampshire in 1849. The recipient of the Metropolitan's sword was Richard French, captain of the New York militia company known as the LaFayette Fusiliers. The sword was presented to him by the men of his company on June 21, 1850.
This innovative sword incorporates a three-dimensional figure as its grip, a feature inspired by French sword designs of the 1840s. Here, the armored female figure holds a shield with the American arms and a wreath of victory, imagery referring both to Athena as goddess of war and Columbia, personification of the United States. This is a second casting of a hilt designed by the Ames Manufacturing Company for a sword presented to Mexican War hero General Franklin Pierce by the State of New Hampshire in 1849. The recipient of the Metropolitan's sword was Richard French, captain of the New York militia company known as the LaFayette Fusiliers. The sword was presented to him by the men of his company on June 21, 1850.
This innovative sword incorporates a three-dimensional figure as its grip, a feature inspired by French sword designs of the 1840s. Here, the armored female figure holds a shield with the American arms and a wreath of victory, imagery referring both to Athena as goddess of war and Columbia, personification of the United States. This is a second casting of a hilt designed by the Ames Manufacturing Company for a sword presented to Mexican War hero General Franklin Pierce by the State of New Hampshire in 1849. The recipient of the Metropolitan's sword was Richard French, captain of the New York militia company known as the LaFayette Fusiliers. The sword was presented to him by the men of his company on June 21, 1850.
This impressive armor was made for Henry VIII (reigned 1509-47) toward the end of his life, when he was overweight and crippled with gout. Constructed for use both on horse and on foot, it was probably worn by the king during his last military campaign, the siege of Boulogne in 1544, which he commanded personally in spite of his infirmities.
Samuel Colt (1814-1862) was one of the most famous and successful American inventors and entrepreneurs of the early industrial age. By patenting the first mass-produced multishot revolving firearms, Colt achieved worldwide fame and a vast personal fortune. The Museum's revolver is considered one of Colt's finest. Apparently, it was created as part of a set of three pairs of gold-inlaid revolvers that Colt took with him to Europe in 1854.
Did they attempt to scare enemy away by carving the eyes like a ghost?
I think this helmet would be too funny for battlegrounds, except when enemies were distracted by it.
This cross conveys the luxury found within churches that dotted the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain during the Middle Ages.
This scene of the Last Supper clearly shows each disciple, including Judas, who is seen at the lower right clutching his bag of money, a reference to his future betrayal. The elaborate and detailed carving indicates that the sculpture came from an important ecclesiastical setting, such as a sacrament house that contained the elements for celebrating mass.
What interested me was that, I never saw The Last Supper carved on a stone before.
I liked the way angles were placed above the saint.
The subject of this intensely Romantic work is derived from canto XXXIII of Dante's Inferno, which describes how the Pisan traitor Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, his sons, and his grandsons were imprisoned in 1288 and died of starvation.
odin closely followed the account of the French chronicler Jean Froissart (1333 or 1337-after 1400) stating that six of the principal citizens of Calais were ordered to come out of the besieged city with heads and feet bare, ropes around their necks, and the keys of the town and the castle in their hands. They were brought before the English king Edward III (1312-1377), who ordered their beheading.
In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of the Aethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia's hubris leads her to boast that Andromeda is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage Aethiopia as divine punishment.
Next stop of the day was Top of the Rock observatory. In theory there was a bus to take us there from METs, however, at that time I found my MetroCard purchased earlier in the day was mysteriously missing, so we had to head back to the subway station and purchase another one.
As for the Olympic Tower, I couldn't think of a reason why there was Greek flag hanging, except that the word "Olympic" originated in Greece. (This didn't seemed to be a building owned or affiliated to any Greek organization.)
Then we passed by St. Patrick's Cathedral. Since it's open, we decided to pay it a visit, with its spacious interior and solemn presence.
Since we were kind of hungry by that time, we decided to had our dinner first before dealing with Top of the Rock experience, which turned out to be a mistake as I shall explain later.
My friend located a fast food restaurant called the Five Guys, which featured open kitchen and oily food. While waiting for our food, we watched the symphonious performance of five staff members running all the things across the counter, as I thought that's how the restaurant got its name. That is, until at one moment (presumably due to high workload), a sixth guy sprung up from back kitchen and join the five.
I'm not a fan of the store's practice of getting everything oily, including food bags.
I picked a medium size fries, which I fathom was a cup (small) plus an equal amount of fries that's not packaged.
It tasted real good. The problem was that, that little tin foil didn't seem enough to contain all the oil.
Oh, another problem of the fries there was that, it seemed overcooked and over-salted.
Quite a modern Chandelier, to say.
Now for tickets, we chose New York Explorer Pass with Top of the Rock, Empire State and Circle Line Landmark Cruise, because it offered the best rates for these three attractions alone.
However, when we tried to redeem Top of the Rock tickets after dinner, that is, after some waiting in line at their visitor center, we were given a pair of tickets and were told to come back during the time slots written on the ticket, which was an hour later.
So, basically, we could have gotten our tickets first and had dinner later. Now that we got this all wrong, I guess my Airbnb host would be more than displeased for me knocking on the doors at past midnight.
So for the next hour or so I wandered around Rockefeller Center.
If trees were so well-illuminated in July, it must be wonderland in Christmas time.
This doesn't seem like an operation television studio at all. I guess it took several hours of preparation to get this studio to be broadcast ready. It's hard to convince myself they are doing this every day.
For me, there's a personal note of Rockefeller Tower, the headquarter of NBC News, as I watched it appearing in glittering gold night after night in the opening scenes of NBC Nightly News, which is the most accessible US news program to me for more than three years. To me, if the Statue of Liberty is a monument to the idea of freedom, than 30th Rockefeller Plaza shall be that idea incarnated in the form of accessible information. I shall say I don't think NBC Nightly News represent the best of its broadcast peers, amid the repercussions of Brain Williams's, but under the dome of a central government that censors and expurgates, the largest private building in modern history speaks volume of a land of equal opportunities for all.
That night, I guess as with other nights, the Rockefeller Tower was illuminated in purple blue. I tried to process the picture to the splendor of NBC Nightly News's opening scenes.
But at the end of 2016, NBC changed its Nightly News opening to full CG's of New York's night.
Guess they are catching Pokemon?
We arrived at Top of the Rock visitor center again at 10pm, only to find there's more waiting in line before our elevator ride up to the top.
It's a glass-top elevator, so they can use project things onto it.
It's a glass-top elevator, so they can use project things onto it.
It was very late at night when we left Rockefeller Center, and I believe I was more than drowsy that my brain barely functioned. To characterize the next two hours in a few words: took the wrong subway (express rather than local), got off at the wrong station, took the wrong subway, found out the destination in my head isn't where I was supposed to be. Finally, a taxi ride solved the problem, as the taxi driver joined my friend at marveling, if not teasing at how wrong I could be with New York's subway.
END