Tues - Empire State Building, High Line, Circle Line and more

I arrived at the queue to get into the Empire State Building about 10 minutes before it opened at 8am. I walked straight in – the queue moved quickly but judging on the large areas of roped waiting rows, other times of the day are far more crowded. The audio guide was interesting, describing the buildings, parks, historical info etc. . Later I went to the Chelsea markets again. The day before I had seen a large seafood shop that sold rolls, prepared salads as well as raw stuff. They had , eg, oysters from 10 different places. I had 3 little brioche-style rolls, 1 filled with a lobster mixture, 1 crab and 1 shrimp.

Next I walked along the High Line again. The views were different in the day. It was great to see so many locals enjoying the space. I kept on walking north to 42nd street and the pier of a commercial ferry that goes round the island. I did not know how big the boat was and wanted to get a good seat so as soon as the queue started to form I joined it. I stood in the sun for about ¾ hour. I had worn my hat walking along the High Line and did not see any other female wearing a hat. It was quite a hot day. I was the only female in the queue with a hat on. The trip was really interesting. It took almost 3 hours. The guy giving the commentary was good – lots of info and a good sense of humour.

The boat trip finished at 6pm. My plan was to get a bus and then subway to the Lincoln Centre where the Met Opera is and have a drink and a bit of food watching the people arrive – Manon was being performed. No bus came, so I walked and stopped at a Diner and sat in a booth. I have now been to another establishment that I associate with USA. Soup and a glass of wine was significantly cheaper there than I would have paid near the Opera.

I got out of the subway right near the Lincoln Centre and saw a group of 6 policemen, all in heavy protective clothing and 3 with large guns – what I used to call sub-machine guns, but I’m sure they is a more correct term. Subversive lot are opera goers.

Unfortunately the fountain in the forecourt of the Opera building was just dribbling, not spouting high up like in the pictures. I sat on a wall on the edge and watched the people arrive, mill around and go in. I was sitting between a guy in his early 20’s and a woman in her early 60’s. The guy had a jacket over his jeans. I reckon 80% of the men wore jackets. I was surprised at how little colour there was in the women’s clothes. About 80% had black or other quite dark colour slacks and a fancy jacket of varying shades of grey. The lady next to me had beautifully cut slacks, flat interesting shoes, a dark brown jacket with interesting stitching, shoulder length grey hair and seemed on her own. That reminds me – never once , when I have arrived at a restaurant , have I heard ‘Is it just/only for 1 / you?’ I do not like ‘just’ or ‘only’. Anyway, after everyone went in I went into the shop. There were some beautiful things. I satisfied myself with a postcard for a Dendy-opera-going friend in Brisbane. I had satisfied myself that my black slacks, black top ( noone at the opera will know or care that it doubles as my pj top) and scarf will blend in. The red jacket less so. Pity about the granny shoes.


Some random things :

Every toilet in a café that I have seen has had a sign saying ‘Employees must wash their hands before returning to work.” They need to be told?

Police cars have different sirens for different tings. A small gentle pip, like a sick animal might make, is a little warning. 2 pips a bigger warning or ‘move over’. Very rarely have a heard the full sirens. The fire department trucks sound like semi-trailers changing gears.