New york City

OK. Here's something different.

This is the way I posted photos on my trip to Europe a year ago and everyone interested seemed to be able to get it.

This is Herald Square and one entrance to Macy's. Did you know that he was the one who started pricing things just a few cents under a dollar? ($15.99 instead of $16)

Times Square -- one of the busiest places in the world.

Snow under the overhead train.

A few of the bell ringers at Trinity Church on Wall St. This set of 12 tower bells is the largest in the country, and its $1,000,000,000 cost was given by a single donor.

Notice the window behind them...

This is it from the outside. The bell room is behind the clock face. The actual bells are in the next story up behind the two tall windows.

After they finished ringing I enticed the "bell Captain" to take me up into the actual bells. This is one of them. You can see part of the wheel that's attached to the bell on the right side of the picture. The ropes that they pull go around the wheel, and the whole bell rotates to be rung in a very specific pattern with the other bells.

These are just a few of the steps you have to climb to get up to the ringing room.

This cruel, very steep flight is the last thing before getting to the ringing room. By the time you get there you're really breathing HARD to try to catch some air.

This is one room in Steinway Hall where they sell Steinway pianos. The pictures (which covered EVERY WALL) are all of famous pianists who play Steinway pianos.

A bronze cast of Arthur Rubenstein's hands from a display case in Steinway Hall. Actually kind of creepy.

The Empire State Building.

From the Broadway Show "Curtains" that I saw on Thursday night. I was in the front row. Those of you who've ever watched "Frazier" will rocognize Niles.

Pictures within the Steinway factory itself would have been the most interesting, but they're not allowed.

While there, other than being in class all day, I went to see:

A Prairie Home Companion

Spamalot

Wicked

Curtains

Beauty and the Beast

and did a LOT of walking and subway riding. I didn't make it to the top of any tall buildings which I love to do, but I certainly saw a lot of them. I have pictures of them, but they just don't show up well enough to be worth publishing here.

Here's my parting shot from the airplane as I was leaving NYC. Probably doesn't mean much unless you've been there or looked at it on a map. After I took this I realized that I was still in the time on the flight where electronic devices are not allowed. Nobody fussed at me and we didn't crash!

I didn't get to do several things that were on my list, so I guess I'll have to go back.