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Snapshots from Manhattan

May 29, 2007 at 1:21 AM

NEW YORK - This morning we took an exploratory stroll up Broadway, where we discovered at least eight Starbucks between our base camp at the Hilton New York and Juilliard, where I'll be attending the Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies this week. Eight Starbucks... that's eight green pins for the mental map. It also means probably another 12 non-Starbuckian coffee stores lie around corners and in-between; a good coffee quotient for my eternal search for the best vanilla latte on the planet.

Soon we arrived at the Lincoln Center fountain.

"Can I have the camera?" said Brian.

He peered through the lens, aiming it up and then down. He backed up, then moved forward. He knelt down, stood up, tilted the camera this way and that.

"Take the picture already!" I said. After a few minutes his sister Natalie repeated my plea, and soon Robert joined in as well. But he was too involved to listen to any of us. He kept taking pictures.

After the lengthy Lincoln Center fountain photo shoot, we rounded the corner to find the Juilliard School very much under construction:

Now that I could put Juilliard on my mental map, we headed back toward Central Park, stopping for lunch at Whole Foods at the Time-Warner Center.

At Central Park, the kids climbed rocks:

Then they played on the playground, rode the carousel and managed to get us to buy them ice cream bars.

My children are seeing New York for the first time, and it definitely is spinning their world view, which has thus far been shaped by the sprawl of Los Angeles and the expansive nature of the western United States. The density of population, close proximity of so many towering buildings and intensity of cultural collision gave my daughter a kind of ADD feeling.

"Every time I walk out onto the sidewalk here, I totally lose my concentration," said Natalie, 9. "It's like I don't have any attention span any more. Why is that?"

Brian just thought it was BIG.

"I feel so small," he said, craning to see the point where a certain Manhattan building meets the sky. "I can't tell which buildings are taller than which!"

Hard to size up a place like Manhattan!

There are so many great things in your blog. I like all the photos, including the one by Brian. Both of your kids are really cute. You look great in your v.com T-shirt. The symposium sounds exciting. I hope you're going to tell us a lot about it.

Hmmmmm....I thought you gave up lattes a long time ago.

Actually, our little guy took the first two pictures, and the last one. He doesn't know I'm planning to take the camera to the Symposium tomorrow....

It's true, I've given up lattes hundreds of times. Then, in a cranky state of half-slumber, I always go back to old Joe!

Lincoln Center is a musical mecca of the world---no doubt !!!
All the venues---soo close to one another--just unbelieveable to experience !!!
Looking forward to seeing more and reading more of your experiences in the area !!!!!!!!!
You and yours must be somewhat overwhelmed by the complete scenerio involved in such a very grand visitation to what some refer to as the musical and artistic hub of our planet !!!
Also,your kids are with you---that makes it all the more worthwhile !!!
Cheers.........
For the ultimate in "cultural collision" take the kids and yourself to Grand Central Terminal (in Manhattan) at rush hour, like 4-5. Get up someplace where you can see the floor from a distance. Great architecture too. Notice the ceiling.
NIce pics. Glad to see you are wearing your v.com shirt. Spread the word!
Ahh...New York City.

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures as well as your story. Travel is always good for the soul.

Sam

Actually, if you're going to visit Grand Central Terminal -- and since your son is so interested in taking photos -- you might want to get there for the early morning rush hour when the sun light shows up "just so" inside the terminal like seen in the photo below: :-)

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4027285

As for the music scene, don't forget that Carnegie Hall is just ~1/2 mile southeast from Lincoln Center...

_Man_