Three Bridges of East River

Strangetastes of Saint Louis Daily Photo and his lovely bride visited me in NYC yesterday morning (Saturday) with their nephew, Michael. We went on a 30-minute cruise on the East River to view the Waterfall Exhibition by Olafur Eliasson. I think we all managed to have fun exploring the city despite the foggy and wet weather.

In the photo above, you can see one of the four artificial waterfalls -- this one is under the Brooklyn Bridge. You can also see three bridges that connect Manhattan Island to Long Island, starting with Brooklyn Bridge closest to the boat, followed by Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge.

So how is your weekend so far?

7th Street & Lafayette Street

This is a Saturday night scene on the corner of 7th Street and Lafayette in the East Village. Notice the yellow taxi parked at the bottom left of the photo and another on the adjacent street before the traffic light junction. According to the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC), there are over 13,000 yellow taxicabs in New York City. The cost of a taxi ride starts at $2.50 upon entry and $0.40 for every 1/5 of a mile of travel or 60 seconds of sitting in traffic congestions. A quick ride uptown from lower Manhattan can easily cost $12 to $20 (before tips) depending on the time of the day and traffic on the street.

I, myself, rarely use the taxi service because I have an unlimited use subway pass ($81/month) and the subway trains run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The few times I've taken a taxicab are when I was heading to the airport or to any place that is not near a subway station.

A frequent question I get from out-of-towners is, "Won't it be faster to take the taxi?" and the answer is almost always NO. Because of the density of automobile traffic in NYC, it is usually faster to get around the city via the subway.

So have to taken a subway recently? What do you think of it?

Union Square Protest

Earlier this week, I saw a group of marchers protesting on the street at Union Square Park. This is not an uncommon sight since Union Square is the place for most demonstrations of political and social agendas in the city.

However, the march that day was different in that they were voicing their opposition to the city's plan to redevelop the northern part of the public park (Union Square) into a commercial enterprise, i.e. a new restaurant space -- as stated on the sign saying, "Keep Union Sq Park Public" and the green outfit with yellow hard hats.

So have you ever been in a "social disobedience" or a march to protest a cause?

N.B.: Happy 4th of July everyone.

Boardwalk at South Street Seaport

This photo was taken at the boardwalk by South Street Seaport near Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. I was there to pick up the tickets for a 30-minute cruise around the city to view the waterfall installation by artist, Olafur Eliasson this coming holiday weekend. A fellow daily photo blogger is visiting NYC so we are going to meet up and go on this cruise with his family.

Can you guess who is the daily photo blogger?

Charlie the Pug

Meet my new neighbor Charlie, a 4-month old pug whom I met during his afternoon walk recently. It was very warm and humid outside and poor Charlie was exhausted so he plopped down under a shade and decided to rest his poor feet. His owner tried to coax him up but he refused to move so she had carried him home in her arms. What a lucky guy!

So what is your favorite thing to do on a warm, humid summer day?

Theme Photo: "No..." Sign

I am not on the list of blogs that are participating in this month's theme photo because I forgot to add my name to the list last month. Nonetheless, I am posting a photo for the theme.

This photo was taken inside the subway train and the sign warns passengers not to hold the doors when it is closing. Unfortunately, many people disregard the sign and hold the doors anyway.

Happy Theme Day everyone.

Pride Parade 2008

The New York City Pride Parade was held yesterday with a march down 5th Avenue from midtown Manhattan to the Greenwich Village. The annual parade usually attracts hundreds of organizations and thousands of marchers who participate in various events throughout the week. It is estimated that half a million tourists come to the city for this event.

This photo above shows employees of Google marching down 5th Avenue in front of the New York City Public Library on 42nd Street carrying the rainbow colors of Google's icon, which also happen to be the color of the festival.

So what did you do this weekend?

Water Taxi at South Street Seaport

This water taxi service have limited number of stops in lower Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and New Jersey but it cuts down on travel time for those living near the rivers. Notice the sign on the side of the boat for free water taxi to IKEA Brooklyn? We finally have an IKEA outlet in the city and it's in Red Hook on the south east side of Brooklyn.

The free water taxi service to IKEA leaves Pier 11 (Wall Street) in lower Manhattan and crosses the East River to Red Hook in 12 minutes. Thanks, Eliane for the information.

So do you have an IKEA near you?

Temporarily Out Of Service

Am having problem with my internet connection. Will post new photos when it is resolved.

Note sent via cell phone.

The Art of Elysium Benefit

A friend of mine invited me to a party to benefit The Art of Elysium, a non-profit organization that provides workshops in arts, music and design for children who are battling serious illnesses. The party, hosted at Milk Studio in the Meatpacking District, a trendy neighborhood north of Greenwich Village, was fun and exciting. I saw some beautiful art, like the silk screen of David Bowie in the photo above, ate some good food and met some new friends.

So when was the last time you went to a nice party?

Climbers

What do you do when you can't see the parade? Climb up the scaffolding in front of a building?Hang on to a utility pole or sit on top of a telephone box? These people did whatever it took to see the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island. Me, I just walked to the end of the street, away from the crowd, and watched the parade with my feet on the ground.

So have you ever climbed up a tree, a utility pole or a telephone box?

Rooftop Art at the MET

This installation on the rooftop garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) is the Coloring Book by Jeff Koons. It is one of three pieces of work by Mr. Koons on exhibition here.

You can see my reflection and the skyline of Manhattan in the shiny surface. I know, I know, I need to lose a few pounds or so. I've been asking for steamed broccoli instead of french fries with my (oh the horror) turkey burger.

So do you have any other tips on losing weight and eating healthy?

2nd Avenue Deli (on 3rd Avenue)

Last week, a friend and I decided to meet for lunch at the new 2nd Avenue Deli on 3rd Avenue and 32nd Street in midtown Manhattan. The original delicatessen, opened in 1954 on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street, was a famous institution in New York City but it closed in 2006 due to escalating rent prices during the real estate boom. The restaurant also suffered a tragedy in 1996 when the owner was murdered and the case remains unsolved to this day.

The new restaurant opened recently on 3rd Avenue and 22 block north of the original site but kept its original name as 2nd Avenue Deli. The photo above shows the free appetizers that came with every order -- (from top right): fried chicken skins with caramelized onions, vinegar cole slaw, pickled cucumbers and pickled tomato.

So what are you having for lunch today?

Mermaid Parade at Coney Island

Yesterday (Saturday) was the first day of summer. It was also the day for the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island, the stretch of beaches and amusement parks on the southern edge of Brooklyn on the Atlantic Ocean. And here is a collage of the photos from the parade. [Click on the photo to see the large format.]

So what did you do on the first day of summer?

Midtown Manhattan Vista

This composite photo of Manhattan's skyline was "stitched" together by combining 6 separate photos using the "stitching technology" in my point-and-shoot camera. [Click on the photo to see the large format.] The photos were taken on the rooftop garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) on 5th Avenue and 86th Street on the Upper East Side.

The museum abutts Central Park on three sides so you can see the green mass of trees at the near bottom of the photo. The buildings in the background is the skyline of midtown Manhattan, along 60th Street where Central Park begins.

So when was the last time you visited a museum?

12th Street & University Place

This is the corner of 12th Street and University Place, between NYU (4 blocks south) and Union Square (2 blocks north). It is one of my favorite places to hang out because there are good, inexpensive restaurants and cafes here.

What is the biggest college or university near you?

West Broadway & Beach

I took this photo specifically to remind myself of the names of streets where I was at. But the photo turned out quite nicely so I'm posting it today. As you can see, I was at the corner of West Broadway and Beach Street in Tribeca. I was a block away from the bench with flowers from yesterday's photo.

So do you also take photos of names of artwork or streets wherever you go?

Flower & Bench

I saw this interesting looking bench with flowers planted inside the side arms at Tribeca last week. Isn't this a clever idea? Although I think the bench needs a new piece of wood for the seat.

Also, notice the fire escape in the reflection on the windows? I think there is a restaurant on the first floor of the building across the street.

No questions today.

Strand Bookstore

This is the Strand Bookstore, the biggest used bookstore in the world. According to its website, it has 18 miles of used, new, rare and out-of-print books in its stores. Most of the books here are 50% or more off the listed prices.

Before the arrival of Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com, the Strand Bookstore was the biggest mail order book company in the country. I remember browsing through their catalogues as a young college student in the early 1990s.

So have you read any good books lately? I just finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert recently, which came highly recommended by a co-wroker.

Cookies & Cakes at Starbucks

This are the cookie shelves at the Starbucks Cafe inside Barnes & Noble at Union Square. A good friend of mine gave me a couple of Barnes & Noble gift cards so this is where I've been spending my weekend afternoons -- reading magazines and books with a cup of caramel macchiato or chai latte.

The place cards in front of the cookie trays display the prices and names of the treats, as well as the dietary caloric information. Most of the brownies and cookies here have between 400 to 600 calories a piece.

So would you rather have a cookie or an apple for a snack?