Ruins of Empire II or The Earth Swallows the Master's House

We were right by the Whitney Museum as well, so it was well worth a visit. It's also a good point from which to pick up the High Line, but more of that later. America is in the run up to the Presidential elections and we once again found ourselves in the middle. I was struck by this artwork, which is a piece of the White House, made from earth and fixed to the roof of the Whitney. Being made of earth it has a strange life of its own, which includes baking in the summer heat and significantly crumbling away.The stars and stripes flutters upside down from its roof. The artist Kiyan Williams is somehow an activist and their other work, also on the roof is a likeness of Marsha P. Johnson.

Some will recognise the original protest photo from which this was taken and which showed Marsha P (Pay it no Mind) Johnson outside Bellevue Hospital, captured by Diana Davies.

Oh yes, we visited the New York Public Library too. And here's the version of the picture, as a sculpture on the roof of the Whitney.

“I may be crazy, but that don’t make me wrong.”

And there's so much more, just within the walls of this one building.

I need you, I don't need you and all of that jivin' around.

This time we were staying around Chelsea, an area I once worked close to and rather different from the part of New York that most tourists gravitate towards. We were staying close to the Chelsea Market and the High Line, both of which are busy yet different somehow from the Times Square vibe.

Of course the Chelsea Hotel is well-known and had rebirth recently, under new ownership. 

Many well know of the folk that have stayed there: I'll list a few: Chet Baker, Nico, Tom Waits, Jim Morrison, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jeff Beck,Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Iggy Pop, The Grateful Dead, Edith Piaf,Bob Marley, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollack, Cher, Madonna, Dee Dee Ramone, Joni Mitchell, John Cale, Marianne Faithfull, Bette Midler, Stanley Kubrick, Sid Vicious. Nancy Spungen, Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Janis Joplin, Dennis Hopper, Uma Thurman, Jane Fonda, Viva, Elliott Gould, Edie Sedgwick, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mark Twain, Arthur Miller, Arthur C. Clarke, Tennesse Williams, Sam Shepherd, Jack Kerouac, Quentin Crisp, Valerie Solanas, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso

...to name but some.

And the immediate area has the pretty cafes like in Europe. We enjoyed lunch in Pastis, a twist on a French pavement cafe. People from the ship, natives of New York, had recommended a whole string of places to us, all within short idle. 

Just around the corner is the bustle of the Chelsea Market and we're only a couple of Blocks from the Hudson River.

Oh, and did I mention that the cabs have changed? They used to be slab-like Ford Crown Victorias, but now they are nearly all Toyota SUVs or similar van creations. I could still spot the cabs from across the river which still looked traditional, but even the green suburban cabs have changed. Apparently Ford stopped making the iconic taxicab in 2011 and now there are just two left in the city. 

Its a helluva town

 

These are some clearer shots after the sun had risen. Liberty and Lower Manhattan, from our cabin (aka stateroom) on the liner.

Verrazano

 Well, we finally sighted the Verrazano Bridge, which is the way into the waters around Manhattan. It was about 03:30 in the morning and from the Sat Nav to our sighting seemed like a matter of seconds. I'd expected to capture its approach, but instead got a picture already underneath the bridge.

The area of water is called The Narrows and we sailed through, at the same time scrabbling to get up on deck to watch the unfolding of the morning and the approach of New York.

Then my worst ever zoomed picture of approaching New York...

I guess its 'in the moment'.

novel moment

Another fun thing were the around 20 plus 'events' scheduled for each morning, and then another 20 for the afternoon and maybe 15 for the evening. Some were inappropriate, but I found a few session on novel writing, both as a couple of presentations and then as some workshops in a slightly secretive part of the ship. 

Come to think of it, I'm not sure where this elephant cocktail fits exactly, but never mind.

I attended the first of the novel writing sessions, which was like a weird continuation of the sessions I attended on the South Bank in London a few weeks ago. There seemed to be more emphasis on  use of writing agents in these sessions, but I was able to listen with my own opinions as the topics unfolded.

It briefly brought me back to thinking of my own revisions and republication of novels, but I mentally put that to one side because this was 'holiday time'. That and the elephant.

I'll prepare a post about all of that when I'm back on dry land.

wasn't born to follow

So we had Roger McGuinn from the Byrds on the crossing and he was only too pleased to tell of his very varied musical career. 

Fascinating that some of the Byrds setup was entirely pre-meditated. They studied the Beatles, and watched a Beatles movie to write down the names of each of the instruments being played. Oblong-sunshaded McGuinn uses a 12 string Rickenbacker - which looks deceptively like a 6 string.

Then, they acquired suitable hairstyles and found the Bob Dylan track, fresh at the time, which became their greatest hit. McGuinn is a highly accomplished musician and decided to adapt the tune to a Beatles-esque lead line and listened to various twiddles of George Harrison to get a suitable accompaniment to the song. They played it back to Dylan and made the song, which was 2 minutes and 40 seconds of history.

Roger McGuinn had played with many other bands and singers before this and knew the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Ritchie Havens, Barry McGuire, and many of the troubadours who played in Greenwich Village. He even played the guitar for Simon and Garfunkel on their Sounds of Silence demo.

A deep dive into McGuinn soon yields Dylan Baez and McGuinn playing together.

The 'Byrds' mis-spelling was also in deference to the Beatles.

And its fascinating to see him  start out as a jobbing muso playing 12 string and banjo for other acts.

Passengers

Our fellow passengers were such an interesting part of the journey. The first evening at dinner, we sat next to some American women, who kind of blanked us. I know, our 2:2:2 tables were set about 15 cm apart, to give distance, but nonetheless. 

Then I realised we'd got a 'Red Card' mentality and needed to think like seasoned travellers. So from then on, we sat at the larger tables and could commune with the other passengers. 

It came as a great surprise that we were almost the only 'newbies'. I casually asked the people next to me how many cruises they had been on and they replied '8'. Then the people the other side of me said '23'. Okay. 

And the stories were always so fascinating too. One couple we met had decanted their lives into a truck and trailer and were now either in their caravan or else they were on the road. 

Their blog shows this combo, but I have a feeling they updated it to the similar setup below, based upon their fun business card.

And their extensive blog is here.

It was interesting because we have travelled several of their routes, both in the USA and also in Europe, but in our case we've not 'cut loose' in the way that they have. Long may they continue.

Another day we sat with one of the on-board workshoppers, who was providing art classes. And I even attended the creative writing/publishing sessions in the Planetarium. And a chance encounter with another traveller has given me a major boost in my knowledge of Greek stories.

Then there was Mr Tamborine Man - Roger McGuinn. I think I'll save that for another day.

transatlantic

The Atlantic Ocean has its own character, from the beginning when it brushes against the English Channel, to the mysterious fog banks on the way from the United Kingdom and then into the deceptively deep sections midway across.

Double-hulled V shape

 

We knew nothing about ships, but soon learned that the QM2 was specifically built for Atlantic crossings.  It has a more linear shape than many 'cruise' ships and this ensures greater stability, which is desirable on the Atlantic. It was other guests that gave us most of the Intel, and we were surprised to learn that many of them had made multiple Atlantic crossings and many other voyages. We were the newbies. We had the 'Red Card' passes for everything, and soon learned that this goes up through Silver, Gold, Diamond and beyond. We were also assured that our status would have improved to Silver by the time we disembarked in Brooklyn.

We also discovered that just about everything except drinks on board was included in our fare and we could eat from any restaurant at any time. Even order room service without those little extras like 'Orange Juice' being added.

And at the start of the voyage we were swamped by the sheer size of the vessel. Yet it seemed remarkable tranquil and uncrowded too, once the initial flurry of boarding had subsided.

Check out a small part of the Britannia restaurant.

rocking

We certainly left Southampton with a good party-style send-off. Champagne by the pool and a band playing 'Rocking all over the world' in the sunshine.  This promises to be an interesting trip.

Queen Mary 2

This seems to be the year of the ship for us, and this time we are upscaling to something bigger. No mere ship, this is the last ocean liner - The Queen Mary 2, which we've decided to take from Southampton to New York.

Click on the paperback

This should route to the paperback version of The Square.