F E L I N E R S

Yesterday I brought them to Bryant Park, a public park in midtown that is home to the NY Fashion Week. It is also a favourite lunch and after-work drinks venue for executives working in midtown offices. Occasionally in summer and fall there are free music events like a little piano concerto or jazz.

There is a book corner in the park too

Tables and chairs are provided throughout the park for your convenience

Yesterday this guy was playing the piano. He started smiling at me from afar and Bee went, "Okayyy, what the hell was that?!"

We visited The New York Public Library, a landmark building that was built in 1911, just around the corner from the park. We went for a free tour of the historical building that was apparently built on a budget of 9 million dollars back then. Now it has an annual budget of 135 million to maintain the library.

Main reading room the size of a football field

Ceiling is actually only made of plaster paris. We guessed gold, copper etc. Haha.

We swung by Grand Central Terminal, the main train station in NY. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is apparently the largest train station in the world by number of platforms - 44, with 67 tracks along them.

Grand Central Terminal with the Chrysler building in the background. Grand Central Terminal is kind of etched in my mind as one of my first few NY experience as we were living in a hotel nearby when I first got here.

We got lunch from the market/deli at grand central

Cabs, cabs, and more cabs

In the evening, I brought them to Juilliard School for a free performance by the American Brass Quintet. If you haven't heard, Juilliard School is one of the world's premier performing arts conservatories. It is informally identified as simply Juilliard, and trains in the fields of dance, drama and music. Now located at the Lincoln Centre, the school instructs about 800 undergraduates and graduate students.

The recital at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. It was a showcase of trumpets, trombones and piano. So, there are tons of free things to be done in NYC if you know where to go. Our library tour, piano concerto, and evening recital performance were all free.

Poetry in motion?

Happy not-so-shiny people

I later bought them to Cafe Noir to splurge a little. Anyone watched Unfaithful starrring Richard Gere, Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez? Remember the steamy bathroom sex scene? It was filmed in Cafe Noir. It is a hip, dark, loungy Spanish restaurant that opens til 4am everyday.

Yummy tapas mixto platter and seafood paella