The Happiest Guy in the World

That is what Collin Huggins calls himself in his website. This former ballet accompanist lugs his grand piano to Washington Square Park nearly every Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting, just to entertain park goers with his superbly played classical music. At least that is what he was playing the last two times I saw him there.

As people walk into the park and stop to listen, he occasionally looks up to hawk his $10 CDs saying they would "change your life."

You can read about him at his website and keep up with his comings and goings from his Facebook page. And here you can see a You Tube video.

Stripes in the City

Just for kicks one day, I decided to take only pictures of people wearing black and white stripes.

Visualize Being Towed

Summer in Bryant Park

No matter the time of day, Bryant Park on 42nd Street is a welcome distraction from the masses of New York concrete and steel. On my first day back from a month in Cincinnati, my husband and I had dinner on the rooftop restaurant overlooking the lawn. You can see folks gathered for a free concert in this photo. I find it surprising that there are plenty of seats. Bryant Park has chairs everywhere. I have never not found a place to take load off here. 

A Break from New York

 

I was in Cincinnati most of the month of July which is why I haven't been posting about New York. What a July it was! Things I can't do in New York: lunch with friends, visit my folks, volunteer with friends at a soup kitchen, sort hundreds of my old photos, go Sea Dooing with my bro. But, it's all good. Now let's get back to life in the big city.

The Metropoltan Museum of Art

 

I have visited this exciting museum in years past, so I knew I would have a hard time seeing all the galleries in one day. Instead I purchased an annual membership on this day with plans to return and take in the place more slowly later. If you're visiting for one day only, I suggest you look at a map online and pick five or six galleries to see and ignore the rest, or plan to walk through them knowing you won't have time to digest them all.

This is without doubt one of the best places to people-watch in New York City. The pigeons will come up close hoping for a crumb or two, and the view is great looking both north and south. There is always a stream of visitors walking by, and it's a common area for the city workers to take their lunch break.

Oh, I should advise you: do NOT feed a single pigeon unless you don't mind their friends and family bombarding you immediately afterwords.

 

Please Buy My Music CD.

 

The guy in this photo got my attention as I walked past him asking me if I would please buy his music CD. This is third time I have purchased someone's CD off the street, but it's the first time I have done so without hearing the music first, i.e., most of the time the musicians are performing while selling.

He said it was rhythm and blues, but the cover sure looks like rap to me. I haven't listened yet, and I gave him only $5. The lady behind me assertively and politely declined his request. I'll probably need to work on that type of response in the future, but I figure no harm done for $5--unless the CD is empty! Ha ha! I'll let you know.