Changing Weather and Changing Plans

---

I got up early and went for a run in Central Park in the morning. It was amazingly busy; I had never seen so many runners and cyclists. It was also amazingly humid and was a struggle, although there were plenty of water fountains to have a drink from.

When we were ready to start exploring again, the weather seemed to have turned and it was darker and cooler than it had been first thing. I shouldn’t have bothered getting-up so early. Then, when we were having breakfast, the heavens opened and it poured with rain. We therefore changed our plans and decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art, which was nearby and is, obviously, indoors.

We find this kind of art a lot more interesting than the older paintings, particularly all the religious art that dominates in Europe. We especially liked the massive maps of the world made up from all the flags of each country. When we got to one that was just a plain white canvas and another that was just a massive mat on the floor, we started to find it just a bit too modern for us.

Next we walked down to Grand Central Station to have a look at this amazingly impressive station. It makes London Victoria look like a bit of a clapped-out old shed. When we eventually found it, we enjoyed the Whispering Room where you can stand at opposite corners of the room, whisper and hear what each other are saying.

Next stop was the Statue of Liberty. There was a massive queue for the ferry, but once one arrived, everyone managed to get on. It was nice to walk around the island and see what is probably the most recognised and most iconic statue in the world. Unfortunately we could not climb to the top as it is closed for renovation at the moment. Obviously, this is all being done inside the statue and, fortunately, there it is not covered in scaffolding on the outside, which would have been a massive disappointment.

I stopped at Ellis Island on the way back. This has been turned into a museum covering its use as an immigration centre, but also a lot about the history of the United States, covering other phases of immigration and also the treaties, wars and annexation that led to the formation of the United States as it is today. Apparently 100 million Americans can trace at least part of the roots back to the people who came though this island.

I then also checked out the Skyscraper Museum. This is relatively small, but was interesting none-the-less, particularly the history of buildings covering all the major advances and iconic buildings going all the way back to the pyramids of Egypt.

We had planned to go to the top of the Empire State Building in the evening, however whilst we were in a restaurant having a meal, the heavens opened again, this time joined by a huge thunder storm. We assumed that it would almost certainly be closed, not to mention the fact that we would get soaked getting there, so we decided that we would go there another day.

---

Photos

Statue and Manhattan Skyline
The Statue of Liberty and Manhattan viewed from the Liberty Island ferry.

World Map
A map of the world made from the flags in the Museum of Modern Art.

Grand Central Station
The main concourse in Grand Central Station.

Lady Liberty
The Statue of Liberty.

Ellis Island
The old Registration Room in Ellis Island.