NEW YORK CITY PRE-HOLIDAY

last weekend my brother-in-law visited and we drove into the city for a quick tour. rather than photograph times square and other well-known spots, i tried to capture a few perhaps less well known sites. here is a pretty building in soho. my favorite spot for a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly day in soho is marie bell.the brooklyn bridge, heading into manhattan from brooklyn...
we went to battery park at the southern tip of manhattan; i don't remember ever being there before. you can see the statue of liberty in the distance.
i was impressed by the landscaping in battery park. i found it a perfect, modern frame for the city views...  looking north...a view of ellis island, which is just north of the statue of liberty...and more of the garden at the waterfront... i'll have to come back in spring and see what's blooming!we then drove north on the west side highway and passed the new iac hq, the first building in nyc designed by frank gehry.  this is not the best view of it, but it is spectacular from any side. at night, the building glows were the windows are not sprayed white.crossing town towards rockefeller center, we passed the nbc store with its lighted globe...rockefeller center was at its worst, with prometheus hiding underneath scaffolding while the christmas tree is being decorated above him.for you "gossip girl" fans (and i know you are out there) here is the entrance to the plaza hotel looking inviting. i've lunched there, but never spent the night.
nearby is 9 w 57th street, a beautiful building with sloping windows reflecting the facades across the street. out front is picasso's mythical bull statue, contrasting the tacky candy cane decoration. also pictured is an unknown tourist, who must really love him some picasso. well, he gives you an idea of the scale of the sculpture.
it was getting darker and colder by then, but before we retreated to the warm car i couldn't resist shooting these colorful marushka dolls at a street vendor's stall...