New York City

I was briefly back in the city catching up with my group at the museum there. Lucky me, it was a great chance to catch up some friends too!

The first night I walked the West Side Highway up to SoHo to run some errands. Yes, new Fluevogs! And they'll travel with me next week too.


Lovely views from the tip of Manhattan, before I turned north along this truly beautiful pedestrian area. Love it!


But UGH - Times Square. I don't stay there often, and there's good reason. Too many lights, too much noise, way too many people. But I did appreciate the M&Ms. Below, the respite of my hotel -- gorgeous orchids all throughout the lobbies.


The next evening I met up with Athena. Sculptures by Manolo Valdés, which Wendy and I saw in Madrid last October, are now in the city, lining Broadway from Columbus Circle at 59th up through 166th. We were ambitious, but didn't make the whole trek before darkness took hold and we realized that we really needed to stop for dinner.


We started at Columbus Circle, but late -- two women who just can't get out of the office! Dusk was already descending. Four of the Reina Maria sculptures were here, and they looked beautiful!



Sadly, I didn't take any notes! Not only am I missing the name of this sculpture, which I don't remember seeing in Madrid, but I also retained very little of my art lesson. Athena is an artist -- her main medium is painting, but she also does printmaking and bronze work. Here she's pointing out how he used corrugated cardboard for his cast.



I wish I could share more about this! I know we were talking about technique. Some of this is fill, some has to do with how the bronze set. It was absolutely fascinating, and gave me a whole new appreciation for the complexity of this style of work, aside from the simple aesthetics.



I really do love these sculptures. Athena was really taken with the pitting in the bronze.



See, here we are!



This one was by the subway station up around 102nd Street. It was about here that we decided to call it an evening and find some dinner.

However, it was a beautiful evening and a great way to catch up! The next day I worked just a half day (it was my off day, after all), then met up with Leslie and her daughter Nina for lunch. Leslie recently moved to NYC and already seems to be fully adjusted. We caught up over pizza at Mario Battali's Otto Enoteca -- so tasty! Then, it was off to gather my luggage and catch the train to CT -- one day with mom and one day with dad. A great few days, then back to the craziness of end-of-fiscal-year and preparations for vacation! Next up: LEGOs.