FROM NEW YORK

(click on thumbnails to enlarge)

Yoga on Broadway

NEW YORK, June 22, 2007 - You can never get ready for what to expect when you get to Times Square.  The only thing constant is the crowds...

... such as this photo taken on Thursday evening.

Besides the traditional New Year's ball dropping on the old Times building (see the photo below), over the years, I've seen Times Square fights, robberies, rap dancing, beggars, rich folks... you name it.  But up until now, I have never seen yoga being practiced in public.  Yes, yoga on Broadway! Take a look...

These yogis were warming up before starting a practice right in the middle of Times Square!

I was on my way to see "Mamma Mia," a Broadway hit that turned out to be one of the best musicals I have ever seen.  In my books, it ranks right up there with the "Producers" among the top Broadway shows of all time.  The plot, the case and score are all outstanding, especially for ABBA fans.  But even if you have never heard any of the ABBA songs, you will get a charge out of the tremendous positive energy that the show exudes.

Here are some other interesting scenes that I caught on Thursday night around the Times Square...

The shot on the right is of the Morgan Stanley world headquarters building (check out at the ticker tape).  Yes, (some of) the Wall Street crowd have also moved to Times Square.  One of the biggest and most successful investment firms is also based here on Broadway, smack in the middle in the theater district.

A view from Times Square up 7th Avenue (right) and Broadway (left).  The two major Manhattan thoroughfares intersect at Times Square.

Not far from the Times Square (at 40th Street and 5th Avenue), one comes across Bryant Park, a lovely small neighborhood green oasis in the middle of Midtown hustle and bustle.  That's where I noticed for the first time a Nikola Testla Corner.  For those of you who may not know this, Nikola Tesla (1856-1943 - see the black and white photo) was a Serbian-born inventor, physicist, electrical and mechanical engineer whose inventions "helped usher the Second Industrial Revolution," according to encyclopedia texts.  He first demonstrated wireless communication in 1893, for example.  And here we are today still using it to connect to the Internet, not to mention its other widespread uses.  At the time, Tesla was widely respected as America's greatest electrical engineer.  What a pleasant surprise it was for me to happen upon something so interesting so unexpectedly.

This was a short trip to the Big Apple... just two days.  The following day (Friday, June 22) was a glorious day in New York.  A nighttime thunderstorm had washed away any pollution from the idea.  So the city and the water around it were sparkling.  Take a look at some of the scenes from around the East River as I rode in my cab to the airport...

And that's all she wrote from this trip to the Big Apple.

Also check out... Other 2007 Trips to New York

Back to Home