Skip to main content

Re-visiting big metros on the east coast

 NYC and WDC.  It is always fun to visit places that throb with humans representing the globe's variety.

NYC of course is five boroughs, the most vertically dense and popular being Manhattan.  That it is an island is noteworthy and is sandwiched between two rivers, Hudson on the west and the East river.  

Washington DC also happens to be straddled by two rivers - Potomac and Anacostia.  And both cities are old establishments.

NYC has records going back to Dutch settlements in late 17th century versus the military architect L'Enfant asking President Washington to design the new capital for the Federal Republic in late 18th century.

Both cities have since grown dramatically in population and structures and their cultural diversity.  

Below are views of the landscapes and skylines today.

Popular former President's get classy monuments in the District of Columbia to remember them by -


Obelisk standing 555 ft tall in honor of the first President


Jefferson's memorial is by the pond formed by the Potomac running south


NYC of course is the epicenter of all things America.  From the Statue of Liberty that greets someone coming in by air or water (not many do that) it stands tall as a beacon of friendship and hope.

All of Manhattan glistens day and night providing a shock to the system even if you know its been there and having visited many times.

New spires keep getting added to allow more of our species to get a slice of the big apple.








A personal treat for me was to enjoy visiting some landmarks in the neighboring boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

But What If We're Wrong?

I attempted to read this book by author Chuck Klosterman backward to forward but it started hurting my brain so I decided to stop and do it like any other publication in the English language.  Start from page 1 and move to the right. Witty, caustic and thought provoking this is a book you want to read if you believe that the status quo might, just might be wrong. At times bordering on being contrarian about most things around us it tries to zero in on the notion of what makes anything believable and certain in our minds.  The fact that there is a fact itself is ironic.  Something analogous to the idea that you can never predict the future because there is no future. Many books and movies have tried to play on this concept - best that I recollect (I think I am) was 'The Truman Show'.  This book by Klosterman attempts to provoke the reader to at least contemplate that what they think they know may be wrong. He uses examples like concept of gravity, and how it ...

Peru, South America - Week well spent

Growing up in India the only Peru I knew of was a tropical fruit (Guava for those whose lingua is English).   Not until high school did I discover that it was also a country in the South American continent. So it was this early April week that we decided to hit up Peru - the land of the once glorious Inca people that lived 500 years ago.  Today Peru is the third largest country on that continent with a diverse geography that stretches from the drier Pacific coast plains to the high mountains of the Andes and the Amazon river valley to its east. Our trip was primarily a pilgrimage of sorts to visit the last remaining, lost (now found and documented), large scale, mostly undamaged, city of the Inca nobility, called Machu Picchu (MP).  The Inca were great architects and builders.  MP is a UNESCO world heritage site affording it high visibility to the tourism trade and therefore crowded year round.  Our timing was not quite high season allowing us...

You are important to us

Followed by piano music.   Followed by 'we are experiencing heavier than usual call volume'.  Sounds macabre like bleeding during menstruation or after a ghastly attack with a weapon on a hemophiliac.  Sorry Mrs. Johnson but it appears little Gertrude here has been bleeding heavier than usual what with her night time activities competing with the woodchucks in your neighborhood. Some services even go as far as to pick a random day to say - 'if you were to call us during the Chinese lunar month when the moon is axiomatically hugging the polar star with Jupiter intravenous when call volume is light'.  Well I will be damned.  I thought  I had checked with my astrologer before I placed this well focused call but  I guess this is what you get for listening to a quack. Umph! I am not sure which marketing genius came up with this personal touch concept of informing the caller that you are really a jackass for actually calling the customer serv...