I went to college and graduate school and I worked in New York City for many years. But I returned to my home area in Massachusetts several years ago. I miss New York a lot still. I love the people, the energy and all the great things there are to do in the city.
It’s been 4 years since I was in New York. The last time, I was there to give a speech, and truth be told, I was a bit nervous. So even though I drove down to NYC the day before, I didn’t do a lot of fun things. Since then, I’ve been dying to go back.
On Sunday, Jeff and I drove to New York. I forgot my mobile phone at home so these photos were mostly taken by Jeff on his phone.
The weather was great, and though Jeff had some car trouble, we got there in one piece. We stayed at the Warwick Hotel on Sixth Ave and 54 St. I’ve stayed there before on business, and years ago, my old roommate Barbara used to be a waitress at Randolph’s, the Warwick’s nice restaurant. In fact, she used to bring frozen steaks home to us starving grad students. Fond memories. Our room was spacious and comfortable.
The first thing we did was walk from the hotel at 6th and 54th to 34th and 12th Ave to visit the High Line. On our way, we passed the famous Actor’s Studio.
The High Line was so much different than I expected. I heard that it was elevated but I didn’t know it was suspended over the train yards at 34th, and then it was squeezed in between buildings all the way downtown. The plantings were beautiful, and there were so many places to sit and read or look or just think. Loved it.
On Monday, we went to the Museum of Modern Art – one of the key reasons for our trip. I hadn’t been to MOMA since they renovated many years ago, and it used to be one of my favorite haunts. Got to see all kinds of things: photography from Nan Goldin, Japanese architecture, a retrospective on art and design from 1960-69,
and some of MOMA’s permanent collection which was like visiting with old friends. Here’s Klimt’s Hope II at MOMA:
We still hadn’t seen enough art, so next stop was the Neue Gallery on Fifth Ave at 86 St., the home of Ronald Lauder’s collection of German Expressionist art and artifacts including Klimt’s The Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer or for those who may have seen the movie with Helen Mirren, The Woman in Gold.
It was great to see it in person. Stunning. I was surprised that the canvas was almost square rather than rectangular. I wonder why it was square, especially since the canvas did not fill up the bottom of the frame? We were lucky to be there on the last day of the Edvard Munch exhibit. We saw several versions of The Scream and the Madonna as well as a number of lesser known but amazing canvases. Also, the show discussed Munch’s influence on and relationship with German Expressionist artists of the period: Kirchner, Nolde, Schiele etc. So happy we got to see it all.
I had been missing my long-time friend, MK, and luckily she was able to meet us for dinner for an Indian meal (our favorite!) after she got out of work. It was so good to catch up.
Finally on Tuesday before we left, we hopped on the subway to go down to the World Trade Center to see the 911 Memorial. So moving, so serene, so sad.
It was also my first time seeing the Freedom Tower up close – I could see it from afar from 6th Avenue in Midtown – but it was neat to see it from every angle.
I had been eager to see the new Santiago Calatrava-designed transportation center that is still under construction but looks to be almost finished – a beautiful bird taking flight!
Unfortunately, we had so little time, there was no time for shopping except for a quick stop at Chelsea Markets where I bought an exotic spice mixture for cooking.
It was a great trip! Hope I can make it back soon.
What’s your favorite thing to do in the Big Fruit?
I’m so glad you had such a nice time.I’m originally from Long Island and haven’t strayed too far(Now living in upstate NY).Many trips to NYC and there’s just so much to do and see.I love Central Park and the many beautiful sights there,I can still remember the first time I saw the Alice in Wonderland statue.I hit Times Square 2X a year on my way home to see my folks.My son loves it,it’s truly larger than life!
We really did have fun, Laura. We got to do everything that I wanted to do (except shopping) during this quick trip! Where on LI did you come from? One of my roommates from grad school was from Bayshore and we used to go there to visit his family a lot. Also, for several summers, I had a share in a few different houses on Fire Island so I’d go to Bayshore to get the ferry.
I’ve never been to NYC or to the US but I’m hoping to one of these days, just need to wait for little tyke to be a little older first. Where we live is very near to Seattle, we could just hop on the ferry and then be there, or at least something like that. 🙂
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I hope when your little one is older you’ll be able to go first to Seattle (a very pretty city) – so cool when Mt. Ranier is visible – and eventually to New York, a city like no other!
My sister took me to NYC for my 40th birthday. We shopped til we dropped. At first the prices totally intimidated us but once we got in the swing we were laughing at how “cheap” a little $250 tee shirt was. Later my husband and I went for a theater and restaurant trip that was short but so wonderful. I’m glad you had fun even though the beginning didn’t start out that way.
Thank you, Marcia, for taking the time to tell me about your trips to NYC! They both sounds fabulous and memorable in different ways. 🙂 I was amazed at the changes in the city after 4 years, the construction boom is beyond belief. I lived in NYC for many many years, and believe it or not, it was definitely possible to shop for bargains but living there made that more doable than a quick visit. But one thing I loved about shopping in NYC was that you could find things that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. Ah, nostalgia. Jeff wouldn’t let me do any shopping this time so I missed out. I’ll go back another time without him lol. Hope you’ll get back to New York too!