Saturday, July 23, 2005

Part 2 of Day 2 in New York

Didn't realise how 4 hours went by in the Museum of Modern Art. Loved every bit of it though!

Once we exited from the museum, we walked down Times Square again,looked at the NY map again.Finally, decided to head to the UNO! There is a guided tour of the UNO for visitors and I didn't want to miss that for the world!Had to walk quite a bit through the different blocks in midtown NY.Our legs were giving up and it was really, really hot.

Just outside the UNO, was yet another skyscraper that read, The Donald Trump Tower.Hmm, that guy owns half a dozen buildings in New York!It was an amazing piece of architecture and didn't fit in the frame of my new camera.But took a snap all the same, and then walked into the UNO building. My eyes feasted on the famous globe outside the UNO office.It was not very well maintained though and it was actually broken quite a bit.Felt bad that such a global organization had a globe that was all screwed up!Took a few snaps in front of the globe and then entered the UNO building.Felt as if I had entered yet another office,till I was to discover otherwise in a few minutes.

As we walked the corridors of the ground floor in the UNO,there were a bunch of portraits along the wall. These were portraits of all the Secretary Generals that the UNO has ever had, ending with the current one, Kofi Annan.It was an exhilirating feeling to be in the same building where the UNO's Secretary General sits!And 9 of them have sat since 1945,when the UNO was founded!

Rushed to the ticket counter,as we had to beat time - had reached the UNO at the fag end of the day and there were just 2 more guided tours left for the day.Got the tickets,and headed to the basement to grab a bite.We were famished,to say the least!Gobbled down a tart and a cranberry juice, exited the cafe and took a snap in front of the UNO logo and flag.It was a very different feeling to actually be holding the UNO flag in my hands.Hmm,it carries weight,I realised,in those couple of moments!Just before we left the basement,took a snap of the UNICEF office as well.

Hurried back upstairs to the main lobby to join the guided tour, only to be told that we had just missed our token number.Fortunately, they said that they would put us into the last tour for the day, which would start in a few minutes.Thank god!Would've felt miserable not to have seen the interiors of the UNO,after entering it and getting hold of those tickets!

Read on for more in the next blog!

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