Visual feast

Quite how I’d ever get anything done if I lived here, I don’t know.  Around every corner, on every street and in every subway station, there’s a feast for the eye.  This morning, walking out in search of breakfast (because our favourite Red Flame diner is closed for rebuilding, sadly) we came across this terrific advertising display on the corner of a very tall building.  So cleverly designed to exploit the limited space available, that long, thin screen showed parachutes, people in a lift and other similarly long and thin images and caught the attention of us all.  The technology of enormous TV screens has really moved on apace and there are many distractions to cause a crick in the neck!

Go down to the subway and the crick in the neck is gone.  The art here is on the walls and rewards the most relaxed search.  42nd Street station (correct me, please, Jordi, if I’m wrong!) has wonderful mosaics, including marbles

and great vignettes of people having fun.  This is the party station, it seems.

We were heading for South Ferry station and the Staten Island Ferry.

The ride may be free but the views are priceless.  On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, plenty of people were enjoying the fresh air on the water,

especially when a certain lady came into view.

I wonder how many cameras captured this image as we passed?  At least four in our party!

Fortunately we didn’t have to carry the paraphernalia Alice Austen did when she took her photographs.  We were headed to her house, on Staten Island, to the opening of a new exhibition of some modern photography.

Needless to say, we preferred the wonderful spirit of Alice’s own work.  The house itself was interesting too, but it was those wonderful photographs of Alice and her friends having fun which stayed with me.  Having never heard of her until our visit, I will now investigate further!

Back on the bus, the ferry and the subway, enjoying more station art.  South Ferry terminus has a tree theme running through.

Not only that, but that rare experience of having the carriage to ourselves for all of thirty seconds!

Meanwhile, on 42nd Street, the mosaic party goes on

observed by a party of ladies dressed more conspicuously than yours truly!