Greenwich Village & The Whitney

Our busy schedule felt as though it was taking a toll, and having stayed up late the night before celebrating Joanna’s news that she was coming home for Christmas, we had a slow and leisurely start.

We began with B&H Cameras, a famed behemoth of the photography world, and probably the largest camera store in the western world! I’ve been having more problems with my little Panasonic which feels like it has been a lemon since I got it and I snapped up the offer of an early Christmas present from Chris. B&H takes up a whole block and is on several floors and we were directed to the right part of the store where the Canon expert helped us choose. The process then got more complicated as we took the print out of the camera we wanted, stood in a line till one of around 30 assistants was free and he input details in the computer. Ten minutes later, our order arrived by a conveyor belt in a big green box under the desk and he input the serial number and details. We thought we could then pay and go, but no … he sent our camera off in the green box to collections … and us to the cashier to pay! So we stood in a line till one of around 10 cashiers was free and paid. Finally, we stood in a third line until one of around 20 assistants was free to find our goods! The store was incredibly busy as they were only open till 1pm then closed for a Jewish holiday for a fortnight, and we left at 1pm.

A little delayed, we went straight to Greenwich Village, now often called West Village, and the artistic and bohemian heart of New York since the 1920s. Once home to the intelligentsia, these quaint streets of brownstones are now sought after by celebrities.

John’s of Bleecker Street has been making crispy pizzas in a coal fired pizza oven since 1929 and is still family owned. We shared a large pizza with mushrooms and olives and it was delicious … crispy on the bottom and tasty on the top so our New York pizza experience was definitely a hit.

We walked to the nearby Bedford Street to see some of the oldest buildings in the city – no 70 built in 1807 by a sailmaker and court officer called John Roome …

… the tiny No 75 which was built in 1873 on what used to be a carriageway entrance and No 77 next door, known as the Isaacs-Hendricks House which was built in 1799 before most of the Village streets had been laid out.

No 95 used to belong to J. Goebel & Co whose name and symbol is still displayed above the entrance with the 3 cups indicating he operated a crucible in the building.

We also passed this interesting wooden frame house …

… and across the street the building used for the exterior shots of the Friends apartment.

Christopher was surprised to find a street named for him … cool red shoes!

Time for some more art, this time the Whitney Museum of American Art which moved to its present location in a Renzo Piano designed building in 2015. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney began exhibiting the work of living American artists since 1914 and was the first to exhibit Edward Hoppers whose work we had come to see … all 8 of them, and here is Early Sunday Morning …

… and my nod to Hopper taken from the Whitney roof.

Others caught our eye like another Thomas Hart Benton …

… one of Jasper Johns flag paintings …

… this interesting image called Mount Vernon …

… and a Frank Stella of Brooklyn Bridge.

We took the subway back to the Rockefeller Centre for our booked ascent to The Top of the Rock. Unfortunately the weather was hardly in our favour, and we got more pics of a grey, moody city!

Once down again, we headed for Times Square, the heart of Broadway, for some shopping and the lights. It is even more spectacular at night with huge billboards, bright lights, entertainers and bustle.

We had thought about catching a show but with so many also available in London, we decided to give theatre going a miss. Close by is the Radio City Music Hall, a stylish Art Deco building nicknamed the Showcase of the Nation. We did check the listings but decided to pass on a Colombian singer we hadn’t heard of!