Friday: French Cafe, Old Friend, Fresh MOMA, Funny Street Scene!

I woke up Friday morning and barely had time to stretch before hearing the ring of my hotel room's telephone. I was confused because surely anyone who knew to find me at this hotel also has my cell phone number. So my curiosity got the better of me and I scrambled for the phone, to find my friend Joan at the other end! As it turns out, her co-worker, whom I had randomly met the night before, had reported our chance meeting. The co-worker had actually remembered where I was staying, because she had actually eaten dinner in my hotel's restaurant before joining the group of us out for the night. Joan and I excitedly chatted, unable to believe our good fortune at being reconnected in such a bizarre way. We made plans to meet for lunch, because I had plans that night and Joan was leaving for vacation the next morning.

I then strolled through a few Soho blocks to the place where I would carry out one of my favorite New York rituals: reading the newspaper over a large cafe latte at my favorite French cafe. I love this place and retain my close relationship with it, despite having been first introduced to it by someone who ultimately broke my heart. Perhaps that gives him too much credit . . . let's just say that he seriously dented it. While I occasionally enjoy sitting outside at the green tables and chairs shown in this photo, the weather must be exactly right for me to do that--not too warm or cold, with a blue sky and not enough wind to ruffle my newspaper. Today was not such a day, so I sat indoors at my favorite table near the window. I read the New York Times and planned out my day, which would include lunch with Joan in midtown, a visit to MOMA (my first since the extensive remodeling), a stroll and maybe some shopping in midtown and then a train ride to the Bronx, where I would see the first in a three-game series between my beloved Cubs and the Yankees. I was so happy with this place and the feeling it gives me that I even photographed my cafe latte and my paper:



I reluctantly tore myself away from the caffeine and the atmosphere of the cafe to hustle through Soho in search of an uptown train that would let me out at 53rd and Lexington (no easy find from where I was!). I found it just in time to be a few minutes late for my lunch meeting with Joan. We had a fabulous catching-up session, as each of us have had a quite eventful time of it during the last few years. Of course, lunch was too short and we made plans to get together again soon the next time I am in New York.

I then scooted away to MOMA, where I was disappointed to find that several exhibits I had waited in anticipation to see--a temporary exhibit, the photography section, etc.--were closed. Even the sculpture-filled courtyard I remember so fondly was not open for visitors:



I made do with what I could see, photographing these artful things that caught my fancy:







I especially enjoyed the special exhibit of Lee Friedlander's work:



He is a photographer with a knack for finding interesting angles and subjects.

It was too nice of a day to be inside for very long, so I soon returned to the sparkling blue sky that was Manhattan that day. There I found some wonderful street art like this:



and this:



I took a long walk down Fifth Avenue, stopping for a moment to admire the Tiffany's store, which always brings back fond memories of one of my favorite movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's:



I then dipped into the pool of humanity known as the area just south of Central Park, near the Plaza Hotel, and made my way to the Park. I stopped to see what these guys were watching so intently:



It was these excellent spinners and break dancers:



Everyone watched expectantly while this guy set up a stunt:



Then he wowed us all by jumping over the kids, and doing a flip in the process:





The wonderful weather made it a busy day in the Park, especially for the vendors:





I enjoyed my walk up the East Side, just before catching the subway to the Bronx for the night's game.



Yankee Stadium is no Wrigley Field, but it sure does look pretty from the subway platform:





I had a bit of good fortune when I happened to enter Yankee Stadium right by the entrance to Monument Park, where they were letting in the last group of game-goers for a tour:



Monument park includes a number on the wall and storyboard for each player whose number has been retired:



There is also an actual monument for each player, such as the Babe:



Another nice aspect of Monument Park was being able to see the Cubs up close while they warmed up for the game in center field:





The plethora of Cubs fans who were present made me feel right at home:



I was even there early enough to see batting practice, which I always enjoy:



It was strange to see Mark Prior helping with batting practice instead of warming up:



This picture does a good job of showing the visitors' bullpen area, which is right behind the wall with all of the numbers in Monument Park. That little dark blue roof behind the 64 and 23 is the "porch" where the pitchers can sit on a bench (and I think can see the television broadcast of the game), but many of the Cubs pitchers chose to sit on the wall with the numbers until it was time to warm up, as a picture I will post from another game will show.

My seat was not quite as good, but not bad either. I was able to see the Yankee grounds crew dance to YMCA:



And to take my traditional chair photo:



And to capture this beautiful view of the surrounding neighborhood, as well as a scoreboard that did not yet reflect a Cubs loss (the game had not yet begun):



Carlos Zambrano pitched for the Cubs, giving us our best chance for a win. He left with the lead, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead and we lost, 9-6. At least the sunset was beautiful:



It was surprisingly easy to make it onto the downtown train . . . I discovered the orange line that snakes down the West Side, dropping me in my favorite neighborhood, right near my hotel! Before calling it a night, I strolled over to Washington Square Park to see what was happening there. There were chess players galore, and lots of people with dogs and friends. A "Well-Lit Chess Pieces" art project added a new and fun twist to the Park, making it look more upscale than usual.

I then witnessed an interesting event that seemed to have been pulled straight from a Seinfeld episode involving George Costanza in a parking dispute. Here is the scene I happened upon:



The woman in the red shirt (hereinafter "Red Shirt Lady") was driving the car on the left--a somewhat beat up American car. Apparently, just as she was backing into this parking space, a girl driving the Mercedes on the right darted through a yellow or red light (this was a much-debated point) and stuck the nose of her German car into the very parking space for which Red Shirt Lady was aiming. As one might imagine, Red Shirt Lady was none too happy about this state of affairs. I had a front-row seat for these events, with a man who claimed to be the Artist of Washington Square as my companion. He had an extensive collection of his own art for sale just across the street from this scene. His display included a laminated board of letters addressed to him from various famous folk, such as a letter from the former Mayor Giuliani thanking him for his ideas on how to improve the city, etc. The artist was delighted by the action at his corner, saying that in all his years in the City, he had never seen anything like it. The "action" consisted of a very heated discussion between Red Shirt Lady and Mercedes Driver regarding who would lay claim to the disputed space, with RSL strutting up and down and saying she wasn't responsible for what would happen if she did not get the space (which, by the way, was not a legal parking space). Just as we thought the players might come to blows, with the growing crowd of onlookers listening as a police siren slowly whooped its way nearer to us, Mercedes Driver pulled away and Red Shirt Lady slid her car into the spot. We figure the Mercedes Driver was not willing to risk the harm that RSL would inevitably have done to her car in her absence. We hoped to see the reaction of Red Shirt Lady if she received a parking ticket while absent from the car, but she quickly returned before receiving the write-up.

You can't have everything, as they say. But you can have a glimpse into humanity at any given moment in New York, if you just keep your eyes open for it. So ended my first full day in NYC, and I turned in for much-needed sleep!