xanawu » morningside

the dalai lama in town

xanawu — Mon, 24 May 2010 19:57:54 +0000

the dalai lama came to two churches in my neighbourhood this weekend! on saturday he appeared at riverside cathedral for an audience with the tibetan community, and on sunday it was with the general public (at least from what I could tell from the people waiting outside) at st. john the divine. it was the first time I had seen so many tibetans en masse and in their formal wear (looks like a chinese qipao, but with a long-sleeved shirt underneath and a colourful apron on top):

the curious and well-wishers outside of st. john the divine, as the dalai lama’s motorcade exits (G claims he got a wave from the dalai lama from the back of a black car):

finally winter

xanawu — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:42:25 +0000

…and the sparrows are out?!

this is how it looked from 125th street station yesterday morning, as the snow was just starting–giant, wet, plops of snow:

general grant’s tomb

xanawu — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:24:10 +0000

one of the notable sights in my neighbourhood is General Grant’s tomb. built in 1897, it’s a massive structure made just to house Grant’s and his wife’s body–there’s not much else inside aside from a few photos and medals and busts.

it’s generally pretty empty, except for the occasional stray tourist. but on Wednesday nights in the summer, jazzmobile holds its free outdoors concerts here–and it’s a pretty cool venue:

close-up of one of the eagles (the inscription above is “let us have peace”):

other sights in the ‘hood include Riverside Church, the tallest in the US:

…and General Daniel Butterfield, looking very stately in Sakura Park:

and when I’ve had enough pompousness, this is my way back home down Claremont street:

the end.

not just peacocks… albino peacocks.

xanawu — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:49:40 +0000

my boyfriend’s parents were in town recently, which was a good opportunity to do some exploring of the city. the best part was riding on one of those double-decker open roof buses, especially since I would not have learned otherwise that in my own neighbourhood–at the cathedral of st john divine (that big church by the university)–there live two peacocks. and one of them is albino.

they just roam around freely on the church grounds! how random is that?