christo

Were you there? Did you see it? Everyone was there. I went to Central Park yesterday and I have never ever seen so many people there. The crowds themselves were almost the most exciting thing about it. As Michael Kimmelman noted in The NY Times, the flags make you feel as if you're part of a parade. Everybody marching around. And around and around. One really interesting effect that I noticed was that many people donned orange clothing or accessories for the occasion. It didn't even occur to me to do that, but it occurred to hundreds of other people yesterday morning. I only saw the southern end of the park, which is always where most of the visitors are. I think next weekend I would actually like to return to the north side of the park and hopefully see some more sweeping vistas. I went from The Plaza to The Met. At the Met I slipped in the handicapped/groups entrance, then beelined to the roof deck elevator at the rear. There was a pretty long line so I took the stairs, which were also mobbed. It was orderly but slow, like at the Statue of Liberty. You can't really go fast enough to get tired. Finally I got to the top and it was so underwhelming up there. I feel bad for anyone who paid the full $15 admission just to get up there. You could barely see any of the Gates. Not recommended! I guess the artists did say they were not meant to be seen from above, but that doesn't stop me from scheming to get to some higher vantage point that overlooks the park. One thing you can't get from pictures is the quiet little sound of the gates flapping in the breeze, and the feeling of the sun shining off of them. It's pretty cool, you should go. It will be up until the 27th.