Day 6 - Mon 20 Oct 2008

A very good long night's sleep was had, although I'm thinking (maybe!) about getting some vitamins as my diet yesterday comprised meat, egg, cheese and bagel. I'm sure one can get essential vitamins from these foods but I'm also sure there's a deficit in many other vitamins. There is, however, a VitaminWater product they produce over here, for roughly $2 for a 500ml bottle, that claims to include various additional vitamins and they're quite tasty too so a couple of those have been consumed in the last few days.

Anyway, despite that health-conscious start to my thoughts my breakfast today was steak, egg, cheese and onion on a plain bagel, a cup of tea...and a banana! Note the "healthy" and overdue inclusion of the banana.

Hugo had work commitments today so I had the day to do whatever I wanted with. Given my twisted knee was still giving me a few problems, I wasn't be too fussed about another slog through a museum's galleries so I decided to go for a more-relaxing-on-the-eyes-and-brain walk through Central Park and to see what time was left nearer the end of the day to fit anything else in.

Entering the park at West 100 Street, I walked (roughly) south. this time skirting to the west of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir before stopping at the Tennis courts to observe any decent play. Surprisingly so, given it was a Monday, all of the many courts were in use, which brings me to one thing I'd been pondering...are there any New Yorkers (apart from those involved in the subway, shops, infrastructure) that actually ever go to work? Or do all of the people I've seen from the last few days who are not visitors to the city all too rich to bother about the minor matter of working?

As well as the tennis courts being packed, the running track around the reservoir was packed with joggers - again, despite it being in the working day. Of those other walkers in the park, a lot were walking dogs; I presume that most of these would have been locals, so how come they weren't at work either! Not that I really have a leg to stand on with this point, given that I presently don't have a job either.

A long stroll around the Great Lawn saw me arrive at the Turtle Pond and a hotdog stand perfectly placed to whet the appetite in to asking for a hotdog; a taste that, once acquired, is seeming rather difficult to neglect; even more so when one walks past the numerous combined hotdog, roasted nuts and drinks stalls many times throughout a day.

As is from my experience from living in England, I just expected Turtle Pond to be named as such due to its shape or size, however I thought I'd better check it out after consuming my hotdog. The rocks where I was sitting were quite warm from the sun and the wildlife seemed to think so too, with red dragonflies landing on them for a short while before going on their way doing whatever dragonflies do.

A small "jetty" extended a short distance over the pond (more a lake in size), so I walked to the end of it and was more than surprised when in front of me I saw...a little turtle swimming along! A very cool surprise at that. The turtle didn't seem at all put off as it swam for a while in the vicinity of the jetty, before I headed up to the Belvedere "Castle". Turtles swimming in ponds are something that you just don't get to see on even a rare occasion; if someone put turtles into their back garden pond, they would've been nicked in less than five minutes after they'd have been put in there!

It appears as if the Central Park Conservancy have been - and still are - in the process of renovating sections of the park; the Belvedere castle-like building being one of those recently restored.

This building is presently used as a weather-reading site, as well as it giving good views over Turtle Pond (from above, one can see several turtles in the water) and the Great Lawn.

The Ramble lays on the southern side of the Belvedere and needs no further explanation to explain it than the park's sign..."a place where the relationship between animals, birds, plants and the environment is protected".

Despite having left Reading, where I worked and lived for over three years it seems as if even in New York there are connections to Reading! The Falconer Statue was sculpted by George Blackall Simonds and depicts a young falconer in Elizabethan garb holding aloft a falcon poised for release. Simonds was born in Reading to a prosperous family of brewers, attending what is now Bradfield College; another of his casts - of Queen Victoria this time - is supposedly standing outside Reading Town Hall.

However, of the original cast of the Falconer in Central Park, it appears that as much of the original remains as does the broom of the character Trigger in Only Fools and Horses given that a "new" falcon was attached in 1957 before further vandalism caused the statue to be put in to storage whilst in 1982 the entire arm and falcon was replaced!

A walk down the mall before having a quick-play game of chess (being five minutes each side for all moves) at the Chess & Chequers centre, whereby my French Defence Advanced line went out of book early on and inadvertently gave white too much room and counter-attacking chances and after going an exchange down the resignation wasn't long in coming.

However, given the two players whom I'd seen play several games beforehand were moving their pieces prapidly and at a decent standard of play, I was quietly impressed with my first game in a fair few years.

And here I am, sitting in Central Park, New York, at 5pm as the day draws to a close; so different from the evenings I've been used to spending in Reading in mid-October it doesn't really bear thinking about. The Reading evening would have entailed an exceptionally-frustrating slow drive back home moving at a snail's pace (if at all!) whilst it rains hard outside and the winter cold starts to bite.

To be fair, the weather I'm presently experiencing here in New York is warmer than it probably is expected to be though it is meant to be become colder over the next few days; after all, its the American's autumn (or "fall" as I should put it in American-English!) here too, but it sure beats being back in England thats for sure.

The Carousel can be heard in near-distance, piping its tunes from Mary Poppins, Popeye and other television / movie favourites.

Time for a subway back to the hostel, then a nice meal with any luck.