Day 8: On the Railway New York Bound

Well, not really. I actually left New York by BUS to Niagara Falls. But technicalities.

For my last day in New York City I took the opportunity with so much time - I wasn't leaving til 10:46pm - to see Brooklyn Bridge, Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

First stop was Brooklyn Bridge. Arriving by subway, I headed straight down to the water and found myself actually in an area full of old ships that were part of a museum. Unfortunately, because almost everything is shut on a Monday, I couldn't get aboard the ships, which was a bit disappointing. So I headed along the path towards the bridge. I couldn't find a way to get up on it, although it didn't really matter because it was headig so far out of the area I wanted to be in that there was little point. It's a gorgeous looking old bridge and I was very happy with the angle I got to see it at. Although, you didn't want to stand in the wrong spot - waves from the boat wakes would splash up through the gaps in the deck and wet your legs. Also, looking down showed you how filthy the water actually was.

A fountain in the park

My next stop was Guggenheim Museum. I had heard that the main attraction there was the building itself - which was quite true. I really don't understand modern art. Some of it looked nice, but its meaning was completely lost on me. But the building itself was impressive. I particularly enjoyed the way it spiraled around, making it easy to make sure you saw everything as efficiently as possible.

Poor Pinocchio 

The roof of the museum

And it goes around and around

Halfway up, down into the courtyard

After the Guggenheim museum, I walked down Museum Mile to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And I had a wonderful time. The Museum is packed full of ancient art, from all cultures and has a great focus upon the preservation of the cultures. I did have a lot of trouble finding things that were supposed to be in the gallery - such as the aboriginal wall art. However, I particularly enjoyed the reconstructed Egyptian Temple - a gift from Egypt to commemorate USA's work in preservation of ancient Egyptian history. 

Ancient Greece Sarcophagus

Papua New Guinean Roof Painting

Perseus and Medusa Statue

Reconstructed Egyptian Temple

The many statues of Hephaestus 

The museum also contained Renaissance art from different European countries. The best part of the museum is that some rooms have been completely constructed to be like period accurate rooms. It was incredible to step into places that reminded me of my european trips, seeing Versailles style bedrooms and corridors akin to German castles. 

A Faberge egg

Not France, Germany or Austria - New York City

I left the museum at closing time and spent the rest of my time in New York packing to leave. Sadly. At 10:45pm it was on a bus and on the road up to Niagara Falls. The bus was really good - better than I expected - although the power didn't work on my side so I had to swap sides of the bus at Buffalo. But more on that tomorrow.