Sadly, I think it had been three years since I was last in New York City. Seriously. So I opted for a long weekend at my birthday and went north. I have a friend in the west village who has an extra room, and it was free for the weekend. And amazingly, I managed to catch up--quality one-on-one time--with eight different friends while there. Fabulous!
I got in, dropped off my bags, and headed for lower Manhattan to meet a friend for lunch. After, I followed the advice of another to check out the sea glass carousel. Who knew? And it is rather fun. Yes, I'm sitting in a fish.
Then I went up to the World Trade Center. I've avoided this area for years but thought it was time to see the reflecting pools. And I'd also been told to check out the oculus by Calatrava. It is rather cool.
From the outside..... Then I went and had an incredible evening with one of my dearest friends. What a treat!
The next day, I thought I would meet one of my professors, who happened to be in town with a group of students. But I hadn't heard. So I headed to midtown for some errands. And so I stumbled--gladly!--into the Calder.
I think I need to start a list of all the Calders in the world and which I've already seen. He just makes me happy.
But then I did catch my professor and we had a chat of a couple of hours. It was so great to have some in-person time, and helpful too, for bouncing some ideas and getting some feedback.
Since it's me and since it's New York, I walked. A lot. I then headed west and down to the start of the High Line, which wasn't yet finished last time I was in the city and able to do it. I loved this industrial part, looking out over the rail yards; I'm glad they started it really at the start.
Because you do see the tracks along the way. This park really did turn out well; a nice walk, some history, a different perspective of the city, lots to see along the way, opportunities (now) for some vendors, well used by tourists and city folk alike. I like it.
I didn't get to the new Whitney; I had dinner plans this evening with my host and I was wiped out--and running late. But dinner was remarkable.
Saturday proved the best day of the long weekend, with spectacular sun, no humidity, cool temps and a light breeze. So glad I had an outdoor day planned. And how nice to have tulips and cherries and azaleas again! They were long since done in DC.... Glorious.
After breakfast with a friend I was up to Fort Tryon Park this morning, to meet another friend and visit, at long last, the Cloisters. I'd been interested in this museum since I first saw the monastery in France from which a large section had been taken and installed in the Cloisters. But the park itself is really lovely and we wandered and talked for a while, both before and after the museum.
The Cloisters is now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have shuttles and ticket passes too. But our IDs work just as well. It's beautiful.
At long last! Yes, from France. And they had good signage indicating all of that too.
I'm seeing more and more visitor studies where people say they want to know how things got into museum collections, so this was really interesting.
And materials were from other places too. This courtyard reminded me a lot of Spain, and I think pieces were from there.
The Cloisters are also famous for their unicorn tapestries. We caught part of a guided tour in this room and she was really good.
Then there was this odd figure on another tapestry. A bit spooky.
After we had a late lunch I took the train back to midtown and then wandered again. It was so nice to just be out walking and exploring neighborhoods for hours.
The next morning, breakfast with another friend, then off to meet another at the new Met Breuer. I cut through Central Park on my way from the upper west side, of course taking a wrong turn on a path and making myself late. But given the rainy morning, it was as though I had the part to myself, which was incredible.
The museum was interesting; I'm not sure I bought into the premise of the main exhibition, but I'm glad I went, as much to see the new building. After a late lunch/early dinner, I decided to walk back to the west village. There, my host was waiting, having somehow known that it was my birthday and ready to go out for dessert. Bless her.
The next morning, being my last, I wandered over to the Tenement Museum, one of my favorites. They had a new tour on the shops and shopkeepers of the building, and I could just fit it in. Surprise, it was really good. And they have a great bookshop there too, always trouble for me. I then grabbed a bagel and lox sandwich at Russ&Daughters, went to grab my bag, and then headed for the train back home.
Although cloudy and rainy much of the weekend, it was a fabulous getaway, made all the more special by the amazing people who went out of their way to spend time with me and make it truly wonderful. I know I missed some folks, and I'm sorry about that; I'll make sure it's not three years before I go back.
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