The High Line
E- and I visited The High Line the last time we were here and were super impressed, and now we hear that the next section has opened so want to visit it again, plus Mars has never been. The only downside is that it is almost raining. We've got some rain ponchos (thanks little apartment!) and it is not down-pouring, just kind of spitting rain once in awhile. Clearly it has not stopped the rest of New York from going outdoors as the place is busy busy busy. There is my favorite piece of art from last time-A Bell for Every Minute, but also a new one, Digital Empathy. Especially if you have played Portal, I would recommend that you drink from some of the water fountains :) Or check out the info about the art on The High Line page.
Rainbow City
So, this is pretty much impossible to explain. Experimental play space? Our experience was different than the happy pictures on the site...it was damp and cold and no where near grass...but still wacky and oddball. The best thing was they had food trucks! Korean tacos!
Spicy rice cakes with cotija cheese (texture of octopus, which is a good thing?)
And fresh dumplings!
So really, how could we not be happy!
ET Modern
This is another favorite stop of ours. If you care at all about the presentation of information you must read Tufte, even better go to one of his lecture series. But he is also an artist and a visit to his gallery on Saturday, when he is often there to give tours is a nice treat. He was in fact there and we did a whole tour with him where he talked about some themes that were familiar to me from his last tour-the play of light on surfaces, movement of the sculpture, whimsy, and using 'mistakes'. But he also brought up something new to me-observe/interact with with the art before reading about it. Once you have read/understood a thought, it can't be undone and it will be that much harder to let your mind follow the piece down a path of its own choosing. I am totally a reader of information in museums, so this advice really spoke to me! There is a new set of art he has been working on-the circus parade-very whimsical with the play of negative space and movement. This is also the trip where I am enchanted with the small tong birds sculpture-last time there were only large ones, but the smaller size is just right!
Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum
My favorite museum pieces are in situ, or when as much of the piece as possible is in the exhibit-the temple of Dendur in the Met, the Ara Pacis in Rome, or the Titan missile museum. It doesn't get any bigger than the Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, complete with aircraft, space exhibits and a nuclear submarine. As it is docked at an actual pier, we got to see a cruise liner leaving port-something we will do one day, but with irony! We only spent a few hours on the Intrepid, but managed to see almost everything, though at a rapid pace. The submarine tour is a must-do if for no other reason than to get the tiniest feel for the living conditions that are pretty much the same today. Serious respect for those who are willing to get crammed into a tiny metal canister with 40 others and live underwater. I mean really, that's nuts to even think about! There is currently a lego replica of the Intrepid-that is pretty amazing. We didn't give quite enough time to the far end of the main exhibit hall which has all the hands on stuff. You can lie on the submarine bunks, sit in a space capsule, and mess about with a bunch of science-type exhibits. Ah next time!
Arcadia
After a quick nap and change into our evening clothes we leave a little early and check out Times Square. Which is large and filled with tourists standing around. I like that it is a pedestrian walkway/destination, but we don't need anything more than a look and we are off to the theater. Before this weekend I had heard of Tom Stoppard, and then if someone said Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead I would say, oh yeah, I've seen that, but that was pretty much it. Seeing Arcadia however, has made me a fan. It is for the same reason I like Sondheim, interesting characters in a slightly complicated plot. No spoilers, because you will have more fun if you see it fresh. I will point out the only pitfall of the complicated plot-sometimes the people in the seats next to you are too dumb to figure it out and have to comment on their confusion-annoying!!
5 Napkin burger
After the play we stopped for dinner at this place we have been eyeing, because what a great name (and is recommended by the apartment owner)! It starts off a little noisy, but as we are pretty much the last seating of the night it turns pleasant and we have a lovely round of food and drinks.
We finish the evening with champagne at the bar across the way (we were the only ones there and as they try hard to drum up business they gave us a free round of peach-cello just before leaving) and crash off to bed.
One final classic New York treat before heading off to the airport-H&H bagels because the actual storefront is within walking distance of the apartment. How cool is that!
We <heart> NYC
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