Long overdue....

The view from our seats at the Giants/Mets game on Wednesday. The Giants lost, but the game was still an enjoyable one, with a home run, triple, a couple stolen bases, some great defensive plays, etc. Very nice seats in an exceptionally beautiful ballpark. Parking was super expensive, but at least I was also able to get the rest of my paperwork dropped off at the Swiss consulate before the game.



I got back from NYC at midnight on Monday and have to say I had a thoroughly wonderful trip. I walked an awful lot, but it was completely worth it and I am surprised how many 'icons' and 'landmarks' are within walking distance in Manhattan. I visited the UN building, the Empire State building, the Ed Sullivan Theatre (they were on hiatus), Hello Deli, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Rockafellar Center, Gramercy Park, Fifth Avenue, Madison Square Gardens, the WTC site, Times Square, Union Square, the MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Gugenheim, etc, etc. I love walking in cities because you can experience so much more that way. You interact with the textures (cobblestone, grass, pavement, glass, etc), the sights (dogs, people, architecture, sculpture, etc), the sounds (birds, sirens, shoes, a multitude of languages, horns, music, etc), the smells (fresh fruit stands, the grass after the thunderstorm, urine, sweat, exhaust, the many restaurants, etc) it a way you don't when you ride around in a car or subway. I was staying in the Lower East Side with my wonderful host Daphne and her dog Zelda. The weather was warm and humid, but I really could not have asked for a better introduction to New York City. I have lived outside of big cities long enough that I really do not want to live in one, but this was certainly a positive trip and I would definitely like to visit NY again. And if you love books, I now know a dangerous place called the Strand Bookstore, where they claim to have 18 miles of books. I was finally able to pull myself out of there with 8 new books, which I'll write about soon. The actual reading of those books is being postponed as I have to first finish "What is the What?" which I borrowed from Daphne. I like it so far. While it is listed as a novel, it parallels several documentaries I have seen about the Darfur situation and the Lost Boys so well it could be nonfiction.



Two shots from the Brooklyn Bridge, one looking at the Statue of Liberty.

The view from the eighth floor where I was staying in Stuyvesant Town in the Lower East Side, plus a loooonnngg shot of the Empire State Building while on foot.

The Hello Deli, where I was able to buy a drink from Mr. Rupert Gee himself, and the Ed Sullivan Theater right around the corner.

Lady Liberty last Sunday. If you have issues with the images, I'll blame it on the fact they were all taken with my cell phone, so I think they are decent given that admission.


Below are pics from the Bay to Breakers several weekends ago. Top row has Ramon and Jens S. Middle row has Jens H. (in orange on the upper right) and me. And third row is another fabulous picture of that sister also known as "The Brother from a Swiss Mother". For some reason Sara has no pictures, presumably because she was sooooo fast that the cameras could not capture her image as she flew by, but it is sad what ever the reason. Maybe the photographers thought she was so cute they kept the pictures themselves. Bad photographers, bad! I also got a copy of the next day's SF Examiner with all our names in it.