Today's plan was to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Because it was such a clear day I figured it would also be good for some building photography so I headed to the financial district first. There is a lot of architecture there I hadn't seen yet. Also, there is a Museum of Skyscrapers I wanted to visit.

I made my way on the subway and headed straight for the Museum of Skyscrapers. Wrong! I discovered it doesn't open until noon. I was going to skip it and head straight for MOMA but before I knew it there were interesting subjects to be photographed all around me and I stayed in the area instead. I had loose plans to find something to eat too but kept on getting distracted.

I took many shots that I might play with but won't bother posting here. But I did catch this one at a rare moment of being surrounded by glass buildings.

And of course, I walked past the stock exchange in Wall Street. 

What surprised me about the area is that a lot of the skyscrapers are older. In one particular area the streets were very narrow and the brick and concrete buildings around me tall and dark. Not shiny at all. It felt particularly cold and souless. Maybe appropriate for a financial district?

And the white brickwork on the side of this building intrigued me. It appeared to be a prominent building, yet the white bricks appear to be random and unintentional. Odd.

Around noon I made my way back to the Museum of Skyscrapers. It was very interesting, though not much I hadn't already learned. I'd hoped there'd be something in the bookshop. And there was, just nothing that wowed me. I need to think about my luggage weight coming home and purchase sparingly. 

After that museum I found the right subway station to take me back to the hotel. At one stage I noticed a gantry on the side of One World Trade Centre. Window cleaning? You can keep that job thanks. 

I decided not to take my camera to MoMA; to travel I little more lightly. And I'm not all that interested in photographing artworks. Others have done that for me, and better. It felt funny walking sans camera though. It's one of the few times I've done it this trip. But kind of liberating too. 

MoMA was amazing! So much to see and so well organised. You could wander most floors without having to backtrack at all. Floors 2-4 were my favourites; photography, design, drawings, painting and sculpture 1940-1980. Too many individual items to mention. If I have time I'm thinking of going back again. I'm sure I'll get something different from it. Besides, by this time I was feeling a little light headed because I still hadn't gotten around to finding some food. Too much to do. Consequently, my concentration wasn't what it usually is.

After all that it was nearly 5:00. I finally grabbed a snack. It was my intention to take the subway back to the hotel but peak hour pedestrian traffic made everything more difficult. By the time I found the station I was nearly half way back and I figured the subway would be manic. I walked instead. My feet are hating me right now! 

It's Wednesday and my 6th full day in New York. That means midday will be the half way mark. For the first time in a while I woke up feeling refreshed so I didn't waste too much time getting up and organised.

Yesterday I bought a ticket online for the guided tour of the UN building, so that was today's primary activity. I used the High Line to get part of the way and managed to see and snap some buildings and fascades I had missed until now. Then it was time for coffee and food before my UN rendezvous. 

The tour was organised very well and our guide was from Brazil. Unfortunately there has been major renovation going on and although the General Assembly Hall has been reopened, it's not accessible to the public quite yet; about another month to go. That was disappointing.  But still we got to enter one of the conference rooms while a session was in progress and visit the Security Council chamber. That was cool. Imagine the dramatic scenes that have taken place here.

Naturally, I located the Australian seat. 

This artwork is a simplification of the 30 articles of the universal declaration of human rights. I was hoping to get them in a book form but one wasn't available in the store. 

After the tour I decided to wander some of the streets I haven't yet visited. I took in Madison Avenue and Park Avenue to the North of where I was the other day. There were certainly more up market stores that end.

On the way I got the closest I've been to the Chrysler Building so I had to take some shots. 

When I got to W 53 and 6th I bumped into this guy. He looked blue. He didn't say much. I walked on.

I have no idea how someone got those flowers up there. 

Next I walked back downtown with the intention of visiting the famous Macy's. It was big, a bit old, very loud and I'm sure there would have been some great bargains; but it really didn't thrill me. I left quite soon and took the subway back to W 14 Street. 

As I was walking towards the hotel I noticed massive trailers parked along each side of the street.

Names on the doors suggested filming. 

A short time later I passed a wardrobe van and racks of clothing labelled by character.

But there were no film crews or stars in sight ... until I reached my hotel. Then I noticed lighting rigs at an intersection and mingling crowds. There was clearly some filming going on but I couldn't make anything or anyone out.

Later, when I looked out my hotel room window, I noticed more film crews, but I'm not sure if they were related. 

It's coming in a bit wet this evening. As long as the rain doesn't get too heavy I plan to go and see a French film (in 3D!) called "Goodbye to Language" directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The Village Voice says "Exhilarating ... features the most innovative 3D effect I've ever seen". It's on for a week, so if it doesn't work out for tonight I still have time to see it later.

I woke up this morning feeling exhausted. And that was after getting to bed at a very reasonable hour. You see, this is a funky hotel; cool rooms, restaurant, rooftop bar, cocktail bar/disco up top too. The downside of that is that it's popular and I've discovered the cocktail bar/disco upstairs 3-4 floors above me is a place to be Thu-Sun. Which is great ... if you're there. Not so great if you want to sleep through the dull duff-duff sounds cascading down. This isn't a complaint though; I knew what this hotel was like and you take it all as a package. But last night it just wasn't that easy getting to sleep. Earplugs didn't help. I had to put some calming music on the iPod player just loud enought to muffle the duff-duff but not so loud as to also keep me awake. So I didn't really sleep until the disco shut down. Luckily on Sunday that was around midnight.

Anyway, each morning I wake up I expect my good run of great weather to have come to an end so I can switch to indoor activities. But no. It was another superbly clear blue sky morning. Hmm. Dilemma. What to do? 

The Statue of Liberty was on my to do list so I investigated tickets. If I wanted to get to the pedestal viewing area I couldn't get a ticket until Thursday. Oh well, I thought. I really only want to see it and the ferry ride over would be just as good. So I bought a ticket just to visit the Island. Then it dawned on me. If I was happy with that, why not investigate cruises around Manhattan as some friends had suggested? So I did and there was one that would take you all the way around the Island. I know I could have done both but the weather today was so perfect I didn't want to squander it. So I ditched my Statue of Liberty ticket in favour of the cruise. Only a small $ loss but a big sightseeing gain.

I made my way to Pier 83 through a combination of subway and power walking, stopping for a bite to eat and a coffee on the way. I was worried that I might be out walked by the New Yorkers. But no. I think many of them would struggle to keep up with me. 

The ship was packed; over 600 people. And it was gently rocking even while docked. I did wonder for a moment wether it was going to get rough and how I might react. In the end, it was only the cold that was a problem. I sat down inside until they opened up the front, then spent the rest of the trip on the bow snapping frames from each side as we passed views. 

It was a great idea and a perfect way to really see the bigger picture of Manhattan and its incredible diversity. And the tour guide/announcer Chris was fantastic.

At the start of the journey they did warn us that it was a very high tide. That meant we might not make it under some of the smaller bridges (and there are many). Luckily we did; but with only a little room to spare.  

Afterwards, I made my way back to the hotel along the High Line. By now it was about 3:00. I wanted to regroup for a while. Tonight I plan to go back to the Empire State Building to try and take some evening photos. 

Yesterday was a perfectly clear day in NYC so I decided it was the day to use one of my Empire State Building tickets. The observation deck opens at 8:00 but by the time I'd finished fluffing around I didn't get there until about 9:00. But that didn't worry me because I'd purchased an express ticket online before leaving Australia. 

But to my disappointment, I still found myself at the end of the only queue once entering the building. This queue snaked around for a while and it took about 15 minutes to move through; I was starting to feel a bit ripped off about the express ticket. 

Then one of the attendants called out for express ticket holders and everything changed. I learnt to have my ticket with the express side showing and that made all the difference. One flash of that and I was ushered past countless subsequent queues and first into the lifts. I really didn't have to wait again. So my advice is pay the little extra; it is SO worth it.

As for the observation deck itself - it was crammed with people and freezing cold but utterly amazing. I've done quite a few towers over the last couple of years but this was the best by far. And being outdoors you had a really clear view as you can see below. I just kept slowly working my way around snapping and feeling totally in awe of this incredible city. It was a real "pinch me" moment. The only downside was that, because it was still early, the light was too low downtown to get good pictures. It ended up looking a bit hazy. But uptown had plenty of shadows and brightly illuminated buildings.

And all the time in my head was a line from "Moments of Pleasure" by Kate Bush - "the buildings of New York, just look like mountains through the snow"

I have another ticket and I plan to go back at night.

Today I had a ticket for the viewing platform of the Shard so I decided it would be a good day for walking around the city. I woke up feeling OK with no significant effects of jet lag. The weather so far has been mild but very overcast. My first mission was to get to a supermarket for supplies. I think it's fun shopping for normal goods in a new place - everything looks different and slightly exotic, regardless of how ordinary.

After breakfast it was time to move. The apartment is very close to Holborn underground station. But I have resolved to walk as much as I can so I set off in the general direction of St Paul's just taking in the hustle and bustle. Having been here 3 years ago there was a degree of familiarity while still so much I haven't seen. Even St Paul's seemed different because I had approached it from a different side.

I got to the Shard a bit early but was able to go straight up. It was amazing! Unfortunately the grey and misty skies hampered the view but it was still breathtaking.

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After the Shard I made my way to towards the Imperial War Museum. Unfortunately it's undergoing some major renovations so I didn't real see all that much. So I didn't stay long and then made my way to Southbank for a refreshing pint. By this time the sun was coming out and the afternoon ended up being gorgeous and perfect for strolling by the Thames.

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All in all a perfect day, but my feet are killing me. Time for an early night. Off to visit Bath tomorrow.