New York's Museum of Natural History, 2009
After visiting the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island and the sights in Boston, Massachusetts, my partner, Marc, suggested that we pass by New York for a few days before our trip back to San Francisco. I had been to New York in the summer before and the heat and humidity really bothered me. It was good that the temperature was not so bad this time around.
After so many years, I was finally able to visit Washington Square in Manhattan. I first saw it on film when I watched the movie, When Harry Met Sally in 1990. I was still a student in Madrid, Spain back then but I knew I wanted to see the place for myself since the arch shown in the film looked so much like the Arc deTriomphe in Paris.
On this visit, I told Marc that I wanted to visit the Museum of Natural History. I had heard and read a lot about it but never visited it on our visits to the city. Hence, off we went to see it.
The museum's facade
Me in front of the Museum of Natural History
The Museum of Natural History had lots of visitors during our trip. The good part was it never got so full that it felt suffocating. Not at all.
The Main Hall and Lobby of the Museum. Can you see the skeleton of a dinosaur?
Me in the lobby next to the skeleton of a dinosaur
We spent a lot of time browsing and visiting the many varied galleries in the museum. Some sections looked old and outdated but interesting just the same. The exhibit about dinosaurs was huge and informative. Marc and I must have spent at least three hours in the museum. The artifacts from Central America stood out for me. They reminded me of the artwork displayed at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. It just reminded me how important it was for us now to travel to Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama on our future vacations since we really haven't been to Central America yet. It is so close to the States and there we certainly get more for our dollar.
One of the exhibits about the Central America and its Mayan culture
Another artifact about the Mayan culture
Now this exhibit reminded me of the Philippines' indigenous mountain tribes. The wooden male statue of a local tribesman particularly reminded me of the handicrafts we bought from Baguio.
The following pictures were from the exhibit about dinosaurs.
The First Thanksgiving. Looking at this reenactment of a meeting between some Pilgrims and Native American Indians