today was,





pics: walk down fifth avenue - balconies reflected on the opposite block; the g. museum; chinese takeaway

a one hour morning walk down fifth avenue all the way past madison sq park and union sq, then towards greenwich village where i browsed in a second hand bookshop, took a tube to columbia uni to meet dionne for lunch and then to penn station to meet r. we went to the guggenheim museum then down to rockefeller centre for a drink and some snacks then to flushing, queens for chinese dinner with the relatives.

cool.

update: there is so much to see in nyc. new york is huge. i'm glad i didn't plan to visit too many cities. in the parks there are caged areas for dog owners to let their dogs run about and i like standing there looking at the different breeds of dogs all having fun with one another. i really liked being in The Strand bookshop because there are just so many books, old ones and new ones and the staff were students talking about poetry, authors, etc. etc. while sitting on ladders packing books. i bought two books, both taschen publications. - pone is about koenig's houses and the other is neutra's houses. i've taken an interest in their works recently.

i wanted to walk up broadway all the way to columbia uni but i didn't have enough time because i got lost for abit around lexington and union sq and i spent quite a while at the bookshop so i walked to a station with the number 1 train, took the express train and changed to 116st columbia uni station. i met dionne at the main gate and we walked upwards to some eateries and had lunch at a burger place. it was really quite amazing, sitting there talking to dionne. she sat in front of me in secondary school and we couldn't imagine we would be in nyc having lunch. she is doing her masters in education and shared with me how much she was blessed - seems like a reminder from God for me to give proper tithing.

half of the guggenheim was closed for preparation for a new exhibit so i couldn't go up the central spiral. there is still the metropolitan museum of art and MOMA that i want to go to. in the museum shop, frank lloyd wright was really commercialised. i didn't explore much of the rocker feller centre - will have to go there with mingyao again when he comes. can't wait for mingyao to join me in nyc. we shall have such a blast.

at my grandaunt's house i stay in the attic because there is a husband and wife pair of professors from china - aunt's friend - staying in the first storey guest room. they were very impressed with my mandarin. ah hem. my grandaunt is pretty strong and alert for a 90 year old. she is quite fiesty still and we are able to converse well.