tigertail in new york

Today was another day of not-working when I thought I was going to be.. but today was going to be different! I was going to get outside before the sunset and do things! I did have an appointment downtown, but it was such a nice day I didn't feel like spending more time indoors, so I postponed it till tomorrow and took off up north...

The furthest north I've been in Manhattan is Fort Tyron Park - waaay at the top end of the island near the Cloisters. But the furthest I'd walked, until today, was 148th st - when I was looking at apartments. Today I walked up to 155th street. I walked along Riverside Drive, which runs along the Hudson, but elevated and before the west side highway, until I came to Trinity Church's cemetery and mausoleum. Since Trinity is way downtown, I wasn't sure if it was the same, but apparently it's one of 3 of their graveyards.

Those of you who've walked along the coast from Bondi to Coogee know how beautiful Waverly Cemetery is. Well, this was smaller, but divided by a road, and didn't have the amazing ocean views, but it did have views of the Hudson, and it was like something out of a movie. A small delicately designed cemetery, with some mausoleums looking like no-one had even tried to open the doors for over 100 years. Huge trees with massive trunks and spindly dried branches. All the leaves have fallen off and lay in huge swaths across paths and steps like some kind of patchwork blanket. The cemetery is built on a hill, so as you walk through, you ascend until you can see all the lower graves spread out below looking like they run down to the river.

So here are some pictures so you can see how beautiful it was..

From the cemetery I walked (a) through a dodgy tunnel (b) across a caged-in bridge over the train tracks (c) under the west-side highway to get to Riverside Park.

Riverside Park runs along the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan.It goes all the way up to Fort Tyron Park in the north. Until recently I hadn't been that much further north than my brother's place - maybe as far as 119th st. But when I moved uptown, we have a section that is the Riverside State Park extension - it has soccer fields, basketball courts, a running track and as I discovered very recently, an ice-skating rink, and... drum roll please.. an INDOOR SWIMMING POOL. That's right kids - no, it's not an ocean, but just to be able to swim is fantastic.

So I checked it out yesterday and then today I went for my first swim! It only costs $2, and you need to bring your own padlock for the lockers. The water is heated, but not overly so like some indoor pools back home, and although it's not salt water, it's also not chlorine - it's this new oxygenated system, so it doesn't get in your eyes, and make your skin smell terrible. There are free hot showers, and lap lanes and it's open 7 days a week - I'm so happy.. I did 12 laps!

So in the end I did achieve a whole lot of stuff - and had two phone calls tonight from people I wanted to speak to, so hopefully things are picking up!


* - the title of a favourite 90's song of mine by Sisters Underground for those of you who may remember...

Posted by Ness on Sunday, December 03, 2006 at 9:05 PM | Permalink