Toulouse and the City: I love New York!

Pryant Park in New York City

Nina and I began our New York experience with Manhattan and Morgans Hotel. Designed by Andrée Putnam in 1983, the hotel celebrates a retro-contemporary/faux-industrial visual and tactile experience that starts with the lobby’s elegant “3-D” design carpet and the Spartan somewhat oriental-style furniture and reception desk. We got a room on the twelfth floor and as Nina made herself comfortable in the soft Paris sheets, I negotiated the bathroom with difficulty. As I did the waterslide down her sink—WOO! Splash!— I  realized that I’d become  submerged in Putnam’s world of French subversive design.

Putnam says that, “To not dare is to have already lost. We should seek out ambitious, even unrealistic projects…because things only happen when we dream.” Ah, a lady after my own heart…

The Morgans Hotel Lobby in New York

Avenue with a view of the Empire State Building and blocks away from New York icons such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Broadway and 42^nd Street, Rockefeller Centre, Radio City and the United Nations.

We wandered the streets, rather aimlessly—letting New York reveal herself in vignettes and catching glimpses of character, texture and history wherever we turned.  We started with the Empire State Building, whose tiered Egyptian-like Art Deco structure reminded me of Fritz Lang’s “Metropololis”. Towering 1,250 feet, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in North America when it was built in 1931 and is now again the tallest building in NYC. The spire at the top of the building was designed as a mooring mast for dirigibles (anyone remember the cool scene in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow?). They abandoned it because of too high winds. Kind of burst their

Lawn chaired patrons of Time Square

bubble, I guess…

Plane trees in Bryant Park

encourage pedestrian traffic. It worked!

But not every New Yorker likes it. Check out this link. Says one New York blogger: “Everyone sits there in haphazard rows facing the Jumbotron, like they were home in Toledo watching their wide-screen TV. They turn the City That Never Sleeps into The City That Ever Sits.”

Our unguarded wanderings led us to one of New York’s hidden gems: Bryant’s Park, a green oasis nestled amid towering buildings in the heart of New York City’s Midtown, located just behind the New York Public Library on 40^th and 42^nd Streets and 5^th Avenue and The Avenue of the Americas. I felt immediately at home as we strolled along the twin promenades, lined by London plane trees (Platanus acerifolia), past locals

Le Carrousel of Bryant Park

playing chess, busy on their laptops or enjoying a picnic. The plane tree is also found at le Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, and contributes to Bryant Park’s European feel. Did you know that these trees can grow up to 120 feet in height?

“Bryant Park is a remarkably peaceful space in one of the most urbanized parts of the planet.” (www.newyorkfirst.com).

As we rounded the south side of the park, Nina shrieked and ran toward an old carousel. As she spun around—thankfully leaving me unscathed on a bench—I reflected that le Carrousel at Bryant Park complemented the park’s French classical style. The rounding boards, inspired by the park’s elegant baroque-style torchères along 40th Street, blended rather nicely into the leafy canopy of the park’s plane trees.

After a few dizzying turns, Nina bounded back, face flushed with joy, and settled us on the outside patio of the Bryant Park Grill. We ordered a wonderful spread of cold meats, cheeses, salads and baguette at The Grill, and topped our

NYC Public Library

feast with an exquisite Pinot Noir.

The New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue was showing the exhibit “Between Collaboration and Resistance: French Literary Life Under Nazi Occupation”. We entered the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building to find a stately interior attended by art deco-style receptionist (complete with sculpted hair!). As Nina stood engrossed in some artwork, I glimpsed a mass of New York’s finest in blue from one of the windows. They’d surrounded the library! Leaving Nina gawking at a painting, I slipped outside to see what they were about.

Officer Montalvo, a smart cop with a penchant for small animals, befriended me and told me that they’d assembled to form security for President Obama’s cavalcade, expected any moment. It was quite a while before Nina finally flew out of the library, looking for me in a panic and panting like a

Toulouse with Officer Montalvo in NYC

terrier on a hunt.

Ah…It’s nice to be loved.

And speaking of love…I love New York. :-3

Photos by Nina Munteanu

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