Walking to Walk and to See

A few days ago there was a great feature in the New York Times about someone who just walked around New York City.  It reminded me a lot of me!  Of course, I am not walking 20 miles a day, probably just a few miles.  But, still, I am doing it with the purpose of walking and seeing the city (and to not gain too much weight from the tasty treats here, but that is another story).  This afternoon I took advantage of the wonderful weather and went out for a walk in a different part of town that I have never visited before.  It was a great neighborhood and so interesting to see how things changed from the older homes to the newer (and icky) bloc apartments and to the brand new construction.

Here are some pictures from today's walk:

Yes, someone has a pet goose in their front yard.  A very loud goose.

I would so live in this house!

 I have no idea what this is, but it sure looks interesting...and different.

An orthodox church under construction (reconstruction?  hard to tell).

This is the first time I have seen a "fancified" bloc apartment, and it looks like it was done around the same time it was built.  A strange mosaic of blue and yellow tiles.  Unfortunately, it just looked old and sad.

Here is one place that actually tried to update its look by repainting.  It is amazing what a coat of paint can do, even for these bloc apartments.  I wish it happened more.

It is hard to believe that this house is in the middle of town - such a nice expanse of space!

Other people out enjoying the nice weather.  The central park was packed!

After reading the article below, I actually realized that this is something I tend to do all the time, no matter where I live.  In Arizona I would drive around town (definitely not walk!) and just see places.  Same on road trips that I take - even just driving between Arizona and Texas over the summers and Christmas vacations.  If I had time, I would take an interesting looking exit.  It has been a lot of fun and usually allows me to see some great places that I never would get to otherwise!  What is the old adage?  Stop and smell the roses.  Yep, definitely some sound advice, especially in a new city because it really allows you to get to know the place and the people. 

If you would like to see the story (audio and images), here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html#maggie_nesciur