A Walk in the Park, a very long one...

A Day in Central Park

October 2010

I didn't realize how big Central Park was till I saw it from the air and walked it from top to bottom and side to side. I think I spent a good 4-5 hours walking it.

A view of Central Park from my plane ride home.:

Right before crossing into the lower side of Central Park:

A closeup of the Lady of the fountain:

Many lovely bridges to be seen and crossed over.

The Gapstow Bridge was especially nice at night.

It's funny to see all the high rises bordering the park.

There was a big family celebrating an event in this pretty gazebo.

I tried not to intrude.

Another secret deserted area. I'm guessing wisteria?

Must be gorgeous when leafed out and in bloom.

The Staircase of Bethesda Terrace:

I was bewitched by the details in just the staircase:

Bethesda Fountain with its Angel of the Waters.

A pretty spot with lovers rowing boats behind it.

One lover wasn't rowing his boat very successfully :P

Under the stairs you'll find a the lower passage that has great acoustics.

I caught a family gospel group singing a capella. :)

A view of Bethesda's Terrace:

Conservatory Water with model sailboating:

The large Alice in Wonderland statue next to the Conservatory Water.

It took quite a wait to take a photo without little kids

crawling on the big mushroom for a photo. :P

You'll see and hear many musicians playing around the park.

Most of them were very accomplished. I took my time and stopped to listen to a few.

They had me humming tunes as I walked around. I think this is the Greyshot Arch Bridge.:

Another different bridge, The Greywacke Arch.:

And then I saw an ancient piece of Egypt. It was donated to receive aid to modernize Egypt.

It's from around 1500 BC and located behind the Museum of Modern Art.

The clearest side of the heiroglyphs.:

And welcome to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.

This is the largest body of water in Central Park. It's HUGE! I walked around half of it.

Another lovely bridge looking onto the Reservoir.:

The other side of the Reservoir looking towards the opposite end with the high rises where I started my walk.:

I walked all over to find this last stretch of hidden gardens, The Conservatory Garden.

I got lost and walked across and then back to find my way.

Here's the English garden section with this mini tribute to the English author, Frances Hodgson Burnett. I was surprised to come across this because I grew up reading the Secret Garden and The Little Princess and watching the films based on them.

The Italian garden with its wisteria pergola.

I wish I could see and smell this when in bloom.:

The French garden with the Three Dancing Maidens.:

The Harlem Meer at the top corner of Central Park.

Some swans were swimming around.:

Would've been nice to know Central Park's 51 blocks long, and at the top most end of it my hotel was about 60 blocks away. So I walked 120 blocks and who knows how much I zigzagged throughout the park. It made a lovely day though and I can't wait to go back