Day 6: Saturday, in the park

It actually is the fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day America!

Actually, I was surprised how little July four was celebrated in New York. Most things were still open and whilst there were a few flags and people wearing t-shirts, overall it was very low key. You get a bigger reaction to Australia Day back home.

So today I got a lot done, even though I didn't get up til 9. First stop was the Museum of Modern Art. They had a special display on Andy Warhol and I quite enjoyed it. I'm suddenly starting to understand art more and more as I travel and I think it shows how terrible Visual Arts is at school that only now am I understanding the significance of artists. Andy Warhol's criticism of popular culture and mass production through his dehumanization of celebrities was actually genius and I loved it. Of course, the soup cans were definitely my favourite.

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Marilyn Monroe portraits were very colourful - I'd have this on my wall

You know, I'm still not convinced that this isn't one of Pollock's dropsheets

This painting was the only crowded one in the whole gallery. It's beautiful

I think this would make great dress fabric

Deja Vu - I saw Water Lillies in Paris

I did not realise that this was so small. It's less than A4 - probably close to an A5 page

Next stop was a tour of the Rockefeller plaza. This area was built during the Great Depression. Originally, there were a number of private companies who were investing in the construction, however due to the stock market crash they all pulled out. The Rockefeller family, who owned their land, funded it them selves. They originally made their money through having monopoly over the oil business before the government mandated it be split 37 different ways.

The area itself is gorgeous, containing numerous sculptures and art pieces. The entire area is a celebration of art deco design, with geometric shapes and Egyptian influences in the art. There was no censorship on the art, so you can find communist symbols and pagan gods throughout. It's an amazing area.

Radio City Music Hall - originally a complete failure, it had to be reimagined

This plaza celebrates the UN - on any normal day the flags of all the nations are here. Today is not a normal day 

This is where the Christmas Tree - which is donated by a private citizen - will go. They have restrictions on the size of the tree because one tree was so big it smashed windows when they tried to get it into the plaza

The Biggest Church in New York City - and Atlas

30 Rockefeller Plaza - another building I shall climb

The third most recognisable statue in America - Prometheus

Next stop after the tour was Top of the Rock - heading to the top of Number 30 Rockefeller Plaza and admiring the view. It was raining a little at this stage, but the view over the rest of New York was still amazing. It's probably better than the Empire State because it has a clear line of sight through Central Park. Definitely worth it to do both. Unfortunately, the photos I took came out really dark and aren't very clear. I'll need to fix them up when I get home - my current laptop barely handles the internet, let alone photoshop. 

By the time I reached Central Park the skies had cleared and it looked like it was going to be a good evening for fireworks. Central Park is gorgeous, but also really strange. It's so quiet and peaceful it's hard to believe it's in the middle of the City that Never Sleeps. I didn't see the entire park, it's way too large for that - but I did have a lot of fun wandering the parks and taking in the scenery.

One of the few moments you can see the city

 At 4:45pm, I headed towards the UN building to find a space along the foreshore of the East River to watch the fireworks. I had done my googling and knew I needed to enter at 34th street, but getting there was practically impossible. It was poorly signposted and police had barricaded nearly every cross-street to get there. After a very frustrating half an hour of being constantly pushed further away from the foreshore to get across, I finally made it into 34th street. When I reached the foreshore area we were pushed away from the high point by the police, which annoyed everyone. So I kept wandering down until I was in the shadow of a building and no one was telling me to move anymore. So I made my space right at the edge of the viewing area where I could see the water and hoped the building would cause too much of an issue.

Turns out I needn't have worried at all. From where I was standing, I could see all four barges that were located in the area. The only things I couldn't see were the Brooklyn Bridge and the barge associated with that - but that was really far away and I felt it was better to be where these barges were. Whilst standing around I met a family from Arkansas - one of whom was a Chemical Engineer who worked in the foam bed industry and another who was studying 13 years to become an oral surgeon.

The fireworks themselves were amazing. Lots of red, white and blue, many shapes and some of them, the neons, so bright they lit up the sky like it was daytime. On the way home, I got a good view of the Empire State Building lights.

One of the four barges

NYFD showing off their fire boat

My fireworks setting on my camera is really good - just a shame my hands shake when I take pictures

Empire State Building in Fourth of July colour

When I arrived home, Keith was back! So after living in his house for four days, I finally met him. And he's lovely - has really interesting hair! He's invited me to his drag show tomorrow night - which is so exciting. 

Unfortunately, because of timing, I won't be able to see a Broadway musical, which is a shame. I also have looked into the One World Observatory tickets and because I need to print them off, I can't do that either. Very disappointing. But after today, I've basically seen everything I wanted to see. The next two days are very relaxed - I can enjoy a sleep in and go wandering. Two days in New York left and then off to Niagara Falls!