Photo Hunter — "bags"

Carrie Bradshaw and her friends would
probably be here in a New York minute
to take advantage of this! Personally, I
wasn't even tempted to cross the street.
To each her own, eh?

Skywatch Friday

I'm standing at the corner of 42nd St. and
Lexington Ave.—with the Chrysler Building
directly behind me—and the shiny building
you see on the left is where I work. I'm lucky
to work in the very heart of such a vibrant
city, but I wish I was vacationing in Paris
right now (instead of "staycationing" here)!
[Find more Skywatch here.]

reflecting on the U.N.

Here's another one of the sculptures over
at the U.N. This one—one of many "Sphere
Within Sphere" works by Arnaldo Pomodoro—
was a gift from Italy in 1996.

abc wednesday - O is for "olives"

Not my favorite food, but so quintessentially
Italian that I have to love them! So, are you a
fan? (These, by the way, were for sale at the
wonderful Mercato Centrale, in Florence.
[See more abc wednesday here.]

another Brooklyn tree . . .

. . . and all my favorites seem to grow in the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This one is in the
BBG's Japanese garden, a lovely, peaceful
oasis at any time of year— but most especially
in the fall and winter, when visitors are scarcer.

[This post is part of That's My World Tuesday;
see more here.]

mellow Yellow Monday

Please don't ask me to explain this photo.
This guy was playing his accordion at the
Union Square greenmarket. Why was he
wearing this helmet? Beats me! Sometimes
it's better just to take things at face value
(so to speak).
[See more mellow yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

Here's another small part of my fave Paris
museum, the Musée du Moyen Age. I
passed this place every day when I lived
here back in the '60s—and never went in.
Now I go every time I'm lucky enough to
get to Paris. Older . . . and wiser.
[See more shadow shots here.]

Photo Hunter — "tied"

Really struggled with this one. Finally
passed this scaffold on a side street in
my Brooklyn neighborhood. God bless
the guys who climb up on these things.
I'm not afraid of heights, but this all
seems so . . . tenuous. Would you
trust your life to these ropes?

Skywatch Friday

Another view of the Brooklyn Bridge,
beloved nyc icon. This one was taken
from a car on the FDR Drive, but
whatever your viewpoint, this bridge
is always beautiful (imho).
[See more Skywatch here.]

street art

This is up on a building in the East Village,
appropriately near Cooper Union. It reminds
me of something (French), but—duh—I can't quite
place it. Any help would be kindly appreciated.

abc wednesday - N is for "Notre Dame"

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for my
once-upon-a-time home these days,
so here's an image of where I'd like
to be right now. Those of you who
visit Paris Daily Photo may recognize
Eric's famous perspective here (though
I took this shot long before I discovered
his wonderful blog).
[Check out more abc wednesday here.]

I don't get it

At the risk of sounding like a total
fuddy-duddy, could someone please
explain this "look" to me? Whenever I
see a kid with his pants belted below
his butt like this, I want to ask him two
questions: "Why??" and "How do you
keep them up?" Just out of curiosity,
I tried this myself at home—and, of course,
my drawers were down around my knees
in no time. And I couldn't DO anything
because I had to be thinking about my
pants every second! Seriously, I truly
just don't get it.

[You can find more of That's my World
Tuesday here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

Wish I could tell you who created this groovy
wall, or when (maybe it was 1987, but it was
definitely not 1787). It's on St. Mark's Place
in the East Village, where "groovy" is still a
perfectly good word to use.
[Find more mellow yellow moments here.]

shadow Shot Sunday

Looked out the window of my office
one day and snapped this shot of 3rd
Avenue near 42nd Street—and, for a
change, there were no fire trucks
(or sirens to announce their imminent
arrival). BTW, Midtown Manhattan is
a very noisy place!
[Join the shadow shot obsession here.]

Photo Hunter — "free week"

This is so much harder than having a
category! I finally decided to post the
last picture I took—this one from in
front of the U.N. The sculpture, by Carl
Friedrik Reutersward, was a gift from
Luxembourg in 1988.
[You can visit Photo Hunter here.]

Skywatch Friday—looking up Lexington

A stretch of NYC skyline that's very
familiar to all the millions of workers
who commute daily into and out of
Grand Central Terminal (and the vast
subway station beneath it).
If you should happen to visit NYC, try
not to find yourself at the NW corner of
Lexington Ave. and 42nd St. during the
evening rush hour—that's a lot of people
who just want to get home, and you don't
want to get in their way!
[Go here for more Skywatch fun.]

lace curtains

This is typical Brooklyn architecture.
Somewhat high end, though—hence
the 19th-century reference. And
what covers your windows?

abc wednesday - M is for "marble"

Which is what this beautiful flowing "fabric"
is made of—in the Chiesa dei Gesuiti, in
Venice. Even in person, it's hard to believe
that this is actually stone.
[See more ABC Wednesday here.]

He's in the building . . .

I had to leave my lunch date to hurry back
to work, but his gaze followed me intently
through the window as I departed . . .
Personally, I still love Elvis—how about you?
[See more of That's My World Tuesday here.]

Mellow Yellow Monday

Yes, I took this shot two months ago.
But I just had to share the sweetest
thing I saw on the beach all summer.
[Find more Mellow Yellow here.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

What can I say? It's become a small
obsession—walking around with the
camera and thinking, "Where's the
shadow?" And whadda ya know?—
sometimes I'm the shadow. (For
example, what was the first thing
I did when I got to my friends'
house in Montauk? Take this picture!)
You can find more shadow shots here.

Photo Hunter — "Sports"

Spent a long time watching these women
playing basketball on the courts at 6th Ave.
and Houston St.—mainly because they're
THAT good. If you want to see great b-ball
in NYC, you have two choices: Pay to see
the pros or come to these public courts.
P.S. —that ball? all net!

Skywatch Friday

This gorgeous sunset capped off a
perfect day—with good friends and
a great picnic on the beach in East
Hampton. I'm a lucky woman!
See more Skywatch photos here.

subway talent

This guy was actually pretty good.
Apparently, however, I was the only
person on this subway car who was
paying any attention to him at all.
New York is a tough town—no matter
what you do!

abc wednesday - L is for "laundry"

This is kind of far off the beaten track
in Venice—which in Venice is pretty
much exactly where I prefer to be!
It's the sestiere of Castello; my fave
sestiere is Dorsoduro.
Do you know Venice? And do you
have a favorite neighborhood there?
See more ABC Wednesday shots here.

surfer dude

You can't really tell, but this was
some serious storm surf (the best
kind if you ask me). Took this shot
off Montauk, at the very tippy tip
of Long Island. Gonna miss this 'til
next summer!
(See more My World Tuesday here.)

It's beginning . . .

The turning of the leaves, that is. I was
starting to think it wasn't going to happen
this autumn for whatever reason— our very
wet summer, global warming, who knows.
So, are the leaves turning where you are?
Find more Mellow Yellow shots here.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Not all Brooklyn real estate has green
space, but all Brooklyn brownstones have
a great stoop—where you can hang out
and greet the neighbors, watch the kids
ride their bikes up and down the block,
or enjoy a coffee and the Sunday paper.
See more shadow shots here.

Photo Hunter — "Words"

This was on an old wellhead in Venice.
Translation: Andrea I miss you too
much . . . I can no longer live without
you. I beg you to come back to me . . .
I love you! 6 months . . . and always in
my heart . . . ANDREA I LOVE YOU!!!
Apparently, this way of communicating
is common among the young people of
Venice. Takes me right back to the high
drama and raging hormones of junior
high!

Skywatch Friday

This is just one of the houses of worship
in Brooklyn, which is known as "the
borough of churches." Maybe that's
because there are almost 700 of them
in its 71 square miles. (BTW, as far as
I can tell, the largest number are Baptist
churches—shades of the South.)
Find more Skywatch pix here.

locked up tight as a drum

That's what the United Nations is when the General
Assembly is in session (as it was recently—I saw both
Obama and Quaddafi drive by). There are police
everywhere, and they actually remove the mailboxes
for several blocks around the UN. These trucks were
stationed at 2nd Ave. and 42nd Street. You couldn't
go east of here on foot or in a vehicle unless
you had UN ID. I did manage to get through, so I
must be special (or invisible).