26:26 jfk

finally time to say goodbye, but not quite yet as i was told at check-in counter that the flight is delayed by 2 hours due to late arrival from amsterdam...

stranded at jfk airport... thankfully i have access to the lounge which provides me with full hot dinner and many other snacks and healthy stuff to munch on...

oasis lounge, not a bad one really, it is relatively spacious to cater many stranded passengers like me...

and if you forget to buy something from victoria secrets in the city, there is always another chance at jfk because there is an outlet here selling almost identical stuffs from the high street plus it is duty free here...

i showered, i ate, i surfed the net, edited my photos, facebooking but still time passes rather slower. i guess when i got onto the flight i am just going to sleep then...

this is my last daily post for my usa trip. i definitely had some fun and both hard work this trip, but the overall experience is an enriched and confident boost one....

till then, God bless america....

25:26 lunch.box.caf�

after MoMA it is time to satisfy a hungry stomach. someone recommended lunch box cafe at takashimaya awhile ago, i decided to check it out since it is just a few steps away from MoMA...

it is sad to know that takashimaya to close this june, so i am glad i made it here to try the bento (lunch box). the cafe is located at basement, tug in a tiny corner next to the tea section.

i ordered a soup (western) that has lots of chicken meat in it...

and a bento box, the taste is authentic, the service is attentive like the service one get in japan. plus i had a great conversation with an apparently very rich (just retired) couple who came all the way from long island just because they found out that takashimaya is to close this june. they both are professors in the university teaching literature, very well travelled, well read and open couple, seem to be able to quote books, authors by heart. it has been a delightful conversation...

i left takashimaya with a satisfied stomach and also a contented heart from good conversation... sometime it is best to leave the day unplanned and let the lord surprise me with great people... what a great way to spend my last few moments in nyc...

25:26 MoMA

it's been raining since last night and there is no sign that the rain will stop. my niece left early in the morning at wee hour of 5am while i continue my beauty sleep till much later as i have a long day including a night flight home.

i bought the MoMA ticket in combination with top of the rock and so i set off to MoMA at 50th street shortly after checking out.

it was really crowded, either all tourists have upgrade their sense for art or it is just because it is raining out there and so everyone trying to find a shelter to kill time. i thought i had a ticket that gives me direct access to the museum, later i knew that i only got a voucher that needs to be exchange into ticket under such a messy queue and crowds. what to do, thankfully there is free wifi service to past time.

it is quite hard to appreciate the arts when it is so crowded, elbow to elbow and navigating from room to room taking so much time

helicopter hanging in the hall way

can't remember the name of this artist/painter, but i saw the film in chicago institvte of arts as well. the painted objects are new to me

Abstract, hard to interpret....as usual

picasso, the earlier work and also some of the later ones

this is done by a chinese artist from beijing, converting a van by extending it with textile, one can even go into the car and enjoy a chinese song playing inside the van. it was quite cool to hear the chinese vocal...

here come the furniture design objects some are really funky, some totally impractical

nonetheless these are arty objects

look familiar, i also thought it's ikea show room, perhaps ikea got the ideas from here or perhaps ikea designer crews are as inspired as those items on display at MoMA

I must admit despite the crowds i still manage to enjoy myself to the fullest, finding my sense of quietness and enlightenment while appreciating some of the master piece creations and also enjoying some interactive design. the crowds don't seem to matter when the appreciation for art surpass the mandate of life...

MoMA, thanks for the arty fix of the trip...

24:26 top.of.the.rock

finally time to go up to the top of the rock for a night view of the city...

at the intermediate waiting hall in the rockefeller center

the night view from top of the rock, empire state building from a distance

the time square with the massive lights on the right

the view is quite enchanting

post card moment at top of the rock

we have walked, done and seen pretty much of the entire midtown strip today.

24:26 grand.central.station

grand central station, there were countless of movies shot here before... the building is really elegant...

it is hard to believe that this is even a transportation hub for new york city

as it looks more like a grand ball room for me where the rich and famous are hosting/attending dance party here...

love this building

it also looks more like the classical theatre than a train station to me...

lost? pretend to look at the schedule board that will get me to no where...

the overview of the interior, nice?

at the lower ground level, there are plenty of restaurants and cafe awaiting the passengers in transit but it is quite a gourmet famous hangout too!

24:26 fifteen.seconds.fame

i saw this in the dutch news awhile ago that if you purchase something from american eagle store, you may take a photo and appear at the big screen of american eagle in the time square for 15 seconds....

so we purchased some t-shirts, get the photo shot at the camera booth and rush out to time square to wait for the moment

it's coming... waiting with anticipation and excitment...

tada! me and my niece featured at american eagle big screen at time square, with a message to my nephew/her brother who loves nyc so much...

no special effect or edition, pure genuine15 seconds of fame...

another paper bag shot in front of the big screen of american eagle flagship store at time square

what a thrilled!! my heart was really bumping hard for the last 15 seconds...

24:26 rockefeller.plaza

we came here earlier in the day to purchase the ticket for the top of the rock.

mind! the hallway is beautiful with the swarovski crystal hanging floor length across a few floor

isn't it beautiful?

it's hard to believe this is just a stair case leading to ticketing counter, but this is rockefeller center, which the name should already made a statement by itself...

it's drizzling when we arrive, the ice skating ring still available to public and the surrounding open space is beautiful as well...

the crowd has gone when we arrived in the evening for the top of the rock, stillness brings forth another form of beauty to this place...

24:26 midtown.moments

today is a midtown day, we are just strolling around midtown east and west by foot, broadway, 5th avenue and madison avenue are the main streets that we set our footprint on...

gap store is every where in nyc, but this one on 5th avue is quite nicely decorated...

doing the apprentice at trump tower... i wish!

opposite the trumph tower is abercombie and fitch, i was trying to get in but the line is so so loooooooong and it's drizzling hard... no way i am queue in to spend my money

further down the 5th avenue, almost at the central park is this big apple store, was contemplating to get a ipod touch and pondering about the 'want' and the 'need', finally come to concise that i don't need one...



turning right a few blocks, we came to bloomingdale's, i was in there for almost 45 min and didn't get anything (well done) while my niece got something in this medium brown bag...

heading back to west, walking passed the edge of central park. it's pity that we couldn't sit down and enjoy on a wet day...

in front of us is the columbus circle with time warner center, just another mall along the strip

inside time warner center there is this huge bronze statue which is quite hilarious i think...

finally resting our feet at starbucks coffee just at the corner of columbus circus, manage to secure a window table to watch the passer by while enjoying our drinks...

just at the other corner of columbus circle is this museum of art and design, it was too late to pay a visit plus my niece is not a fan of museum... so give it a miss...