New York Architecture

When I tell people that we live in Vancouver, the usual response involves saying something about Vancouver being a beautiful city.   Which is not exactly true; Vancouver is a city with mostly bland, mediocre architecture, located in an extremely beautiful environment, with beaches, mountains and water.      People also say that Paris is a beautiful city;  what they are talking about is the grand vistas and famous architectural landmarks such as Notre Dame, as well as the stylistic unity of the majority of the buildings.   I have never heard anyone say "New York, what a beautiful city!"    I actually think, by some measures, New York is a beautiful city.  In terms of streetscapes and architectural variety, New York is remarkably varied and beautiful, but in a heterogenous way.  Pockets of extraordinary architecture mix with areas of ugly, modern glass and concrete boxes.  And the ubiquitous Manhattan grid somehow makes everything seem utilitarian; grand vistas of the grid?  Maybe.    And there is all the noise and constant human activity. But if you walk around almost any area of New York, you can find all kinds of beautiful and interesting architecture, with an astonishing variety of influences and styles.

Evidence:

The facade of the Metro Theater on Broadway near us (under renovation):

Some townhouses and buildings near us:

More...

The brickwork on this building is of a technique called "diapering"

Adventures in Dog Transportation

As our time in NY wraps up, it was time to send Maggie back to Vancouver.  This turned out to be an exhausting enterprise.  I thought she would go back the way she came, via Cathay Pacific, a direct flight.   I spent many hours on email and phone with them.  They wanted a certified letter from a vet specifying that Maggie was not a snub-nosed terrier, even before I could make a booking.  When I finally made the booking, they told me that the fee would be over $600, more than twice what we paid to get her here, and that they would need to be paid in cash...   Something is very suspicious there; a major corporation like Cathay Pacific does not normally require cash.   For Google searches, here is the phrase "Cathay Pacific Ripoff".  ( I have noticed that after a few days, whatever I put in this blog will show up on a google search..)

So we went with United, which meant that I had to take Maggie to Newark airport at 4:30 AM, and that she had to take two planes.  So there I am, walking Maggie on Broadway at 4 AM, for her pre-flight exercise.   Then the car service driver was somehow out of it; he took a completely roundabout way to get to the Lincoln Tunnel, and almost got lost when there was a detour in the Meadowlands.  If I hadn't pointed out the correct direction to him, we might still be somewhere in Secaucus.  When your driver is using GPS to get you from New York to Newark Airport, you know you are in trouble.
So after Maggie was finally settled,  I took the bus back to Manhattan, landing on 42nd Street at 6:30 AM.  (Unfortunately, the antique bus lacked a suspension; a bone-rattling journey.)  That's something I have never seen before, Times Square just before sunrise.  I don't plan on seeing it again.

The adventures were not over, yet.   Maggie was flying to Denver, and then was to be put on a flight from Denver to Vancouver.  The flight from Denver to Vancouver was 3 and a half hours late leaving; we had no idea how she spent the total of almost 6 and a half hours in Denver.   Then we called to confirm her arrival details, and the people in Vancouver told us there was no dog on the plane; we called the tracking center, and they had no clue as to where she was.  Panic time!   Eventually, things got sorted out, and it turns out she was on the plane.   Ada and Andrew finally retrieved her, she seemed in fine shape, and we were all relieved!

Maggie, back at home after 18 hours on the road...