NYC - May 16, 2010

my pedometer reading

music and dance on Madison Ave.

The Pump - quick, healthy food

The J.P. Morgan Library

Awoke to another beautiful sunny day in NYC. After having coffee in my room and reading the headlines of the NYTimes, I ventured out to start my day. Someone had told me about their recent visit to the JP Morgan Library and Museum (www.themorgan.org) so I decided to head down to Madison Avenue and 36th Street to visit the museum. Even though the weather was beautiful I decided to take the bus down Madison Avenue. It wasn't a bad decision, because I reached my destination in no time at all. A visit to the Morgan Library is indeed an unforgettable experience. The museum has wonderful drawings by Rembrandt and Rubens, unmatched medieval and Renaissance texts, Gutenberg Bibles and Near Eastern carvings more than two thousand years old. Two current exhibitions were spectacular. "Written In Stone" is the title of an exhibit portraying rare inscribed tablets from the Middle Assyrian period of Mesopotamia. The second exhibit entitled "Palladio and His Legacy" features thirty-one original Palladio drawings from the Royal Institute of British Architects. These drawings were on view to the public for the first time in over thirty years. The show also traces the story of Palladio's influence on numerous architectural models including the Pantheon, villa Rotonda, and Jefferson's unrealized design for the White House.

During the exhibit, we were able to enjoy a concert in Gilder Lehrman Hall of the museum. The concert showcased young musicians from the Juilliard School's Pre-College Division. Several amazingly talented young students played various pieces of music composed by musicians whose scores are in the Morgan's collection of musical manuscripts.

After the exhibit, I was quite hungry for a late lunch. I walked up Madison Ave. to 40th Street and decided to check out The Pump. This is definitely a unique spot for lunch. All foods are made from scratch, every day. It serves healthy, unprocessed foods, and the menu is basically built around either a plate, a salad, or a low-carb whole wheat "twist" or wrap. You can select your lean protein from a number of selections including lean beef, turkey, grass-fed bison, chicken breast or organic tofu. You can check out their menu at www.pumpenergyfood.com/order.

I continued my walk up Madison Avenue and around 49th Street I noticed a small crowd gathering around a street scene. I heard the loud music of a boombox and watched the crowd view several young men and a few children performing dance routines on the sidewalk. The loud music and the applause from the viewers drew even more people to the scene. You just never know what you'll run into when you're taking a walk in the city.

By the time I returned to the Affinia, I checked my pedometer for the day. I knew that I had walked alot, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a number over 17,000!! This is a number that I certainly never reach while walking in Los Angeles. And my legs and feet were ready for a long, warm bath.