Casa Loma & Hockey Hall of Fame

Friday 8th May 2009
Kensington Market was unexpected and very different from all those other public markets before. Firstly, it was an intersection of two streets. It was a collection of eclectic shops selling the mundane such as fruits and clothes to odd musical instruments and retro artifacts. Friendly shopkeepers and smiles.

Next I headed to Casa Loma Castle which means "House (on the) Hill". Henry Pellatt who made his fortune in harnessing electricity form the Niagara Falls to power Toronto. He was fascinated by the middle ages and built this medieval castle in 1909. He even built a castle sized stable for his horses. His wife was unable to walk and so he built a room for her overlooking the toronto city below. Back then, there were not many high rise buildings and it is said that from her window she would have been able to see the Lake Ontario. Unfortunately, the Pellatts only stayed in this magnificent castle for 11 years because of financial setbacks in 1924.

Opposite the road was the Spadina House. I was fortunate to get a free admission pass into the house from a friendly teacher I met. The guide was very thorough with his tour. Among other things he explained the practice of visiting the house back in the 1800s. I was interesting how the secret servant doors were used so as not to be seen by guests and the family members. The interior was decorated with genuine items accumulated over four generations. At the lower level, I learnt that the house had been burnt in 1835 and when the estate was rebuilt, James Austin acquired the house. There is a story about one of the Austin owners building a special room for his son who was suffering an incurable disease. They wanted him to have a special room fro himself. Unfortunately, the son died during an overseas trip.

The door I am standing in front dates back to the old Baldwin estate and was preserved because it had hosted many prominent people (such as the first prime minister of Canada, if i'm not wrong). Anyway, notice that the Austins owned the Consumer Gas company and their home had many gas powered appliances. And so, there was a rivalry between the Pellats and the Austins.

Went to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. Pictured above is the original Stanley Cup. The NHL began as a pasttime in Canada during the winter season. When life throws you plenty of snow, play Ice hockey. At the beginning of NHL in 1917 there were a few teams, namely Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs. Not having much exposure to Ice hockey before I appreciated looking at the exhibits such as the Timeline of NHL and the Stanley Cup dynasties. There was also a special centennial celebration commemorating the Montreal Canadiens.

Went to St Lawrence Market to buy last minute Canadian maple biscuits and syrup. Expensive here but I couldn't find any other shops. Although I would still be conitnuing with my holiday in USA, I felt sad to be leaving Canada.

Grand Central Terminal and other famous places

Saturday 9th May 2009

Arrival in USA and NY. After settling down our belongings we decided to go check out the attractions which are free.

First stop was Grand Central Station. The station is huge and just as I had seen from TV.

Chrysler Building which at first I had confused for Empire State Building. This building was in art deco style and reminded me of Batman and Gotham City. On the ceiling of the lobby is the painting of Chrysler building itself.

Next, visit to the New York Public Library. Met up with my nusso friend Gareth. Firstly, Rose Main Reading Room is beautiful and seems conducive to study except that groups of tourist walk in every now and then. The clouds painted on the roof symbolize open learning and the vast knowledge available. Followed an afternoon library tour but I was so tired walking all over the huge library. Also because of the overnight bus ride from toronto. The tour guide told the story of foreign immigrants who became wealthy because they had utilised the resources of the library to improve their skills. When they first came to the states, they were barely proficient in English. I remember the guide saying such language classes are still conducted for free today. Outside the library are the two lions patience and fortitude.

M&Ms shop at the famous Times Square. Pick and Mix. I tried looking for the MTV TRL show. My hope of being a live studio audience slowly declined. And only recently, did I find out that the TRL show had been cancelled long time ago. I partly blame Canada and its alternative "MuchMusic". TRL has such a good tv format that I just assumed it would be in Times Square forever.

Taxis make up most of the traffic. And its better to be aware of them when crossing the roads. We recce-ed various broadway musical theatres. And put our names for the 6pm lottery at Gershwin Theatre for Wicked. No luck.

Flatiron Building completed in 1902. It looks flat from this corner and the point faces north to another New York landmark the Empire States building. Went back to the NYU apartments for an early night.

Liberty & Central Park & Tower View

Sunday 10th May 2009

Statue of Liberty was was meant to celebrate the 100years since the declaration of independence. Grover Cleveland unveiled it finally in 1886 recognising the symbolism of liberty and peace behind the statue. The statue is beautiful and the many pictures were taken, of which below is the more silly one as I fail in my attempt at a handstand.

Alexandre Gustav Eiffel was the notable french engineer designer behind this statue and also the Eiffel tower. Poet Emma Lazarus, publisher Joseph Pulitzer, sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and Edouard Rene De Laboulaye were also dedicated through some interesting metallic sculptures below the Statue of liberty.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! Give me your tired, your poor, Your juddled masses yearning to breahte free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore; Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Emma Lazarus

Museum of Natural History which due to time constraint decided to visit another day. Theodore Roosevelt statue in front.

The museum was facing the west side of Central park. It was a Sunday and was very packed. The boats in the Lake which we did not manage to ride because of the long queue.

The crowd at the fountain belies the true numbers of people who come here on a Sunday afternoon. The crowds were joined by many buskers. The photo was taken after a show in which the finale was a jump but more time was spent persuading the crowds to hand over their cash.

Strawberry fields. We expected to find real strawberries but what we found was even better. There was a group of Beatles Fans who were playing beatles tunes here complete with drums guitars and their voices. So very zen. And the crowd pushed their way through the narrow pathways being very mindful not to block this tiled tribute on the floor. The garden is dedicated by Yoko Ono Lennon as a Garden of Peace.

Reading book with Hans Christian Anderson.

We spent the remainder of the night atop the Empire State Building. The City Pass included an audio tour which was very helpful and informative. Only problem was that it was really cold and windy but I endured it to take in the sights of city from all corners of the Empire State Building. Night scenes pictures will be included in another post to accumulate all my favourite night scenes on the end sem trip. Above is the very top of the Empire State Building in Blue today. I believe it changes colour daily and this is one of the distinguishable icons of the New York Skyline.

Museum, Wall Street, Groundzero, Bluenote

Monday 11th May 2009

Museum of Natural History. First stop, dinosaur bones.

More and more bones, enough to track a certain evolution of life beginning with vertebral column and braincase followed by jaws. There were also exhibits on many civilisations such as the Indians to Pacific Peoples, Caribbean. Of course, time did not allow me to really look at any artifacts in particular. Touch and go.

Next headed to Wall Street, so named because in 1653 the city of new amsterdam erected a wall along the northern edge of town to protect the inhabitants from attack. It ran from the hudson to the east river but was abandoned in 1699 because necessitated excessive repair. Nearby was the Bowling Green Bull. And nearby to that was the US custom house and Bowling Green Park which is a historic centre of activity in the early days of New Amsterdam. There was a statue of King George III there until it got toppled by the rebellious Sons of Liberty after the reading of Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Nearby Bowling Green, was Ground Zero. Picture taken from opposite the road at One World Financial Center.

Washington Square Park. A variety of activities such as playing chess, jogging, basketball, squash-using-hands (which I can only figure is very painful). But the square itself is closed due to construction.

Will Calhoun at Bluenote. His band consisted of a saxophonist, trumpet, bass and keyboard. Other than 'Afroblue', they played Calhoun's own composition 'Pyramid' and 'Dorita'. There was also a song titled 'Imojo' meaning unity and is a tune from Brazil. It was interesting how Will Calhoun I think made use of loops or pre-recorded material to enhance the mix of their pieces. For this one song he was playing a special drum which sounded wired to some electronics. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get a chance to ask him about it after the show.

Rockefellar UN-Met Phantom

Tuesday 12th May 2009

The Metropolitan Museum. The special exhibit 'The Model as Muse' displaying fashion trends over time from 1947-1997. These are haute couture fourties, swinging sixties, toned athelticism seventies, and ubiquitious celebrity supermodels or idiosyncratic and eccentric diversity in nineties.

Metropolitan Museum was huge. Consisting an odd bag of everything from Egyptian relics(top left) to Gothic revival interior to Weapons of various civilisations to Monet's impressionism to some weird steel art by Anish Kapoor from India to Oboes (bottom right). I did not manage to go to every section of the museum and I even got lost.

I enjoyed hijacking museum tourguides and listening to their stories- Pollock's painting or 'Burghers of Calais' by Rodin. After the Met we went to see the outside of gugenheim but his works weren't ready for us and similarly we weren't eager to dive into more art that day.

Visited UN which is officially land not belonging to the USA. The exhibit on the plight of Rwanda although only half done was enough to made me shed a tear for them. Each member country had to present a gift to UN and I can't remember whether this was one of those gifts.

GE building of the Rockefeller Center. Some kind of philantropist and his words of wisdom on display in front of Prometheus.

I watched Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater. Fanastic costumes and hearing those familiar beautiful tunes live was surreal. Story abit complex at some parts.

End of the day eating MacDs fries and sundae in the middle of Time Square.

Stadium & Poppins

Wednesday 13th May 2009

Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. There was to be a commencement of NYU students in their Purple graduation gowns. All so happy and maybe some look high enough to assume the possibility of drunkenness.

Unfortunately, the ceremony meant no stadium tour today. The stadium looks so prestigious, like an institution in itself with its grand arches and high ceilings. The public area behind me was Babe Ruth Plaza.

Took the Subway downtown and walked many many streets to the Intrepid Sea-air-space museum. One of the heroic aircrafts carriers built for the WWII. Other notable duties included recovery of the space missions Mercury and Gemini. It had been turned into a museum with planes and helicopters on the flight deck and military guns still placed on the hmm . Exploring the island and the bridge was made more educational because of friendly guides eager to share more about the how the ship functioned. Forgot to take a photo, but i particularly remember the 'Portraits with Valor' exhibit at the Hangar deck. I liked it because gave me a chance to sit down and just watch videos of war veterans talking. By 2pm, I was getting tired from standing and walking that I just needed to rest. I played a flight simulator on how to land. Barely being able to find the aircraft carrier I had crashed into the sea.

Next off to Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately, I didn't find much to do there and the Rose Museum was about to close as I got there. So off to Lincoln Center. Fatigue had caught up with me and after exploring Julliard School and the Avery Fisher Hall, I went to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Took a book and started reading and then decided I shall go find some music to listen to at the same time. Just as I found the correct CD to play, the library announced it was closing. What lousy timing, and So I had to slack around somewhere else.

I found a good resting spot at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Where I lay my tired head, body and legs. Before leaving I took a stroll and the above picture is a Reservoir. On the other side is the Upper East Side.

Mary Poppins Musical at the Amsterdam Theatre. I was absolutely delighted with the memorable disney tunes, the stage props (Mary's magic bag).

The Amsterdam Theatre was magical. I sat beside an excited family, complete with infant in arms. Was it 3 weeks old or 3 days old? Woohoo! his first musical and my second.

MOMA and Circle tour

Thursday 14th May 2009

Visited the MoMA. A huge collection of Monet, and all those famous artists. The Starry Night (1889) by Van Gogh was on loan to Netherland but there were many of his other works to enjoy.

Three Musicians by Picasso in summer of 1921 . The one with loud triangles in orange and yellow represents Picasso, often self portrayed as a Harlequin, or clown of some sort. On left and right are his two friends. Look also there's a dog beneathe the table. The audio clips did help boost my appreciation for some of the styles and progression in the artist's work.

Too little time and too many floors to explore and many different exhibits from the very educational prints to the bizarre films. I didn't realise my watch had seasonally failed again and slowed down a quarter hour resulting in my lateness. Time to head to the Hudson River for the Circle Tour.

Weather not looking to well but this meant we had lots of space on the boat to roam around for a good vantage view of New York. First step to identifying New York skyline is look at those skyscrapers and identify Empire State Building or Chrysler Building.

I believe its New Jersey on the left and New York on the right.

Under the Brooklyn Bridge on the East River. I did not manage to capture but the sight of the Brooklyn Bridge framing the Statue of Liberty in the distance was sort nice. Then with my view still fixated on the Brooklyn Bridge, the boat passed under the Manhattan Bridge. I had the satisfied feeling of just being in New York.

Due to good planning, the return journey showed a nice scenery of city lights from the river. You know I'm on a boat because the camera couldn't be stabilised long enough for a good night shot. I was already looking forward to returning here even before the trip to Boston, DC and Philly had begun.

Boston Freedom Trail

Friday 15th May 2009

Megabus to Boston and when I was awake I enjoyed the scenery. Slow rivers weaving through the grassfields and trees. There was this nice quiet looking city where we passed through. Hartford, which happens to be the capitol of Connecticut.

Unfortunately, we had change of plans which meant no Boston Pops concert. Which leaves plenty of time to enjoy the nice sunny day as we walk the Freedom Trail. Start at Boston Commons.

'To the men of Boston who died for their country on land and sea in the war which kept the union whole

Destroyed Slavery and maintained the constitution

The grateful has built this monument that their example may speak to coming generations'

inscribed on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

There was an old mine laid down to remember the Navy personnel during world war 1917. And of course a monument on the Boston Massacre which occured on March 5, 1770. Inscriptions by Daniel Webster and John Adams.

'From that moment we may date the severance of the British Empire'

'On that night the foundation of American Independence was laid'

Check out the gold leaf dome on the Massauchusetts State House. Behind me is the Shaw Monument depicting the march the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regimen. I had an appreciation of the back story because I had watched the movie Glory which is great.

Thanks to extended hours, we managed to sneak a peak inside. Other than the Massachusetts General Court and the office of the governor, this rotunda below the dome exhibits among other items the 13-star flag fabricated in 1781 and the Regimental colors of the 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry which was defended proudly in battle.

Patriot and cousin of John Adams. This is at the Granary Burying Ground which is the resting place for many other notables:- John Hancock, Peter Faneuil and even Mother Goose. Unfortunately, we arrived at the same time they were chasing people out of the cemetery so they could close it.

I liked this picture because of its cute drawing of little Benjamin Franklin and friends. His statue is outside the building.

At the shorter side of the Long Wharf. This was once the focal point of the city's shipping industry and the scenery is some sort of special.

Quincy Market for dinner and walked to the Haymarket station. Right in front of the market is Faneuil Hall, which is where the boston people gathered as speeches were made to put forth the idea of independence from the British. And right next to Faneuil Hall is the Old State House, where John Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and other patriots debated the future of American self-government and this set in motion the American Revolution.

Harvard in Cambridge

Saturday 16 May 2009

The tour was conducted by harvard kids and it was good. I tipped them a dollar at the end. Boston is so full of American history and through these gates many of the finest have entered. Some grew up to become the patriotsJohn Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams. Actor Tommy Lee Jones and VP Al Gore were room mates. Matt Damon dropped out. The Presidents T Roosevelt and JF Kennedy too came from Harvard. Many stayed in the building to the left of the front gate to the Harvard Yard. Some superstition about front gate and side gate. Pictured adjacent is the Harvard Business School which is exclusive in that it on the other side of the river from the rest of the school.

Picture adjacent is some building in Harvard Yard where the tour guide sat us down to tell us a story Henry Elkins Widener who died at sea with the sinking of the Titanic. The mom bought a Library for Harvard with terms ensuring its permanence. Last picture on right is the statue of Harvard. Rather, the statue of 3 lies. Inscripted were the li(n)es "John Harvard, Founder, 1638".MIT. Looks a tad dull on a weekend and I think school ended already. Still, was sensing the smart vibe from the place. On the topic of prominent schools, Berklee College of Music is in boston. Unfortunately, I did not know and so, did not visit.

USS Constitution the oldest naval vessel which is still afloat. In the museum ship, the story was told about the impenetrable hull which was sort of invincible against the attacks of the British HMS Guerriere. Thanks to the new technology incorporating a trilayer of woods, the USS Constitution got within firing range of the enemy and sunk their foe. That day, there was a navy ceremony about to take place and a navy brass quintet had begun to play when we left.
Bunker Monument Hill. Which I'm sure was magnificent but we just admired from a distance from the boat.

Going back was frantic searching for the entrance to this elusive train station. Ended up going to our favourite Haymarket Station.