Don't tell MoMA

Thursday
Off to Queens today on the 7 (that's the subway line). I alighted at 33rd and Queens Boulevard (!) and figured out where the Museum of Modern Art was. They moved the collection to this temporary home in Queens more than a year ago while the Midtown museum is being renovated. Seeing as the Queens gallery closes next week, there wasn't a lot left, except for a brilliant retrospective of Lee Bontecou. There was also an exhibition called 'Tall Buildings' where there were architects' models, of amongst others, the Swiss Re building, 122 Leadenhall Street and the London Bridge Tower. In addition, all the entries for the World Trade Centre were on display.

It was still bright and sunny when I came out of the gallery, so I decided to take the subway all the way to Flushing Main Street. This was a little scary - and got scarier the further I travelled away from Manhattan. At Flushing, I followed a four and a half mile walk passing some fairly historic property dating from the 17th Century.

Eventually made it to the botanical gardens and Meadow-Corona, the site of two World Fairs. Saw some turtles the size of dinner plates in a ditch, got scared by some freaky people in an underpass, and then came across the huge Unisphere constructed for the 1964-65 World's Fair. This was pretty impressive and I was taking some photos when I was approached by a young lady who asked me to take her photo. She then asked if she could take some photos of me. She was Brazilian and I think she wanted to be my friend. She couldn't believe I was British because, she said, all British men are ugly. This made me nervous.

I wandered through the huge parkland in the early evening and looked out at Manhattan, just a tiny silhouette on the horizon. Eventually I found my way to the subway station passing the National Tennis Center and Shea Stadium. It was a long ride home in a carriage full of would-be hip hop rappers. I chose not to join in.