Sunday, May 30, 2010

So long New York....hello Boston...no, make that Provincetown, nope, wait a minute...Martha's Vineyard!

By Tuesday we were all together again, and had a Chinese feast...

followed by Meg reading to Daniel (or perhaps Daniel explaining the solar system to Meg).
The next morning Daniel went off to school with Katy,

while certain persons who shall remain nameless took their time awakening to the dawn.
But eventually the day was underway. We were particularly blessed ot have Katy volunteer to deliver us to Penn Station, where we caught our train to Boston. Four hours and change later, we arrived, took a cab to our B&B and settled in for a single night. Our B&B, Lacapella, was comfortable and quiet, and we are looking forward to returning after our Cape Cod adventure.


After a funny but not so amusing mixup, we met Martha near the ferry and had a light lunch. Then it was off to Provincetown. We arrived in the early afternoon, got our rental car, and sped off to Woods Hole for yet another ferry to Martha's Vineyard.


Provincetown
Ferry #2 from Woods Hole to Martha's Vineyard.

Our B&B in Martha's Vineyard, Oakls Bluff Inn in Oaks Bluffs.

We took a walk in the threatening thunder and lightening, and spied a store named for or Martha, no doubt.
The next day, our island adventure began.
Oak Bluffs Inn, Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard

Monday, May 24, 2010

If we can make it there....

this will be our view from Katy and Sean's Manhattan living room window. It isn't the Bronx, but you can see it from here.
Our pretentious address.
Some of the 110 stairs from Broadway, and the subway station.
Our first day we went to the asia Society for a lovely lunch with Meg, Beth and Heather.
We now have photos of Heather.

After lunch we visited the frick, a most excellent museum, sporting three Vermeers. (No photos, of course.) Then we returned to the apartment so everyone else could depart for the country, leaving Tom and me all on our own in the Big City. We took a walk to a local restaurant, passing through a lovely park with dogwood in bloom.

The next day we hit the big time -- the Met. We went to see the Picasso show, featuring all of the Picassos they have, shown for the first time. There were a lot.
But first we went to the roof to see the Bambu show, an installation of a bamboo structure that will eventually look like a wave. We signed up for a tour, and after the Picassos we returned for our tour, which was a bit anticlimactic, but still cool. They will keep building until October and then take it down.



Tom would have liked to help, but no.


So back through the Museum, and the ceiling made of shields in the Oceania department,
and the ver-popular Greco-Roman wing.
Then we headed off to the Japan Center for a wood cut show, passing by St. Patrick's cathedral which was in full swing, crowded with tourists, flash cameras, and ... a wedding. Weird.


Then a walk to Tomes Square, where the street has been blocked off and tables and chairs set up in the middle of the street. Cool.

And a snack, of course.
Sunday brunch was a special treat. Heather made the trek back into the city and took us to brunch at Artisanal, modeled after a French bistro. we shared a fondue, given the house specialty of cheeses, then I had French toast made with an almond croissant, filled with ricotta cheese, with apricot compote and whipped cream. Tom had eggs benedict with smoked salmon, which was served over hash brown potatoes. Heather had a pate sandwich. We felt as though we had escaped to Paris for a couple of hours.
Then a walk around the neighborhood looking for the Turkish parade. We found the Israel day parade, but not the Turks. So we found the square where the Turks were gathering. It was a little strange, lots of yelling in Turkish, and people wearing red. We walked through and toward the bus stop, stopping at benches opposite the UN and chatted before heading off to Grand Central Station, where we all shopped for dinner in their excellent shops. A happy day was had by all.

Today was our last full day in New York City. We went to Times Square on our way to a gallery that had been reviewed in the Tomes this morning. It was showing a group of photos taken in the 50s and 60s of celebrities jumping. The photographer said that when jumping people show their true selves; Richard Nixon was smiling angelically.


Then to MOMA for the Cartier-Bresson photography show. It was excellent and thorough, showing not only his early work of iconic French images, but also his photo journalism work, including lots of examples of Life and other magazines that used his work.
We also saw parts of an installation by Marina Abramovic, a very odd woman who has spent her life using her body as art. There were videos of her hurting herself, hurting others, straining and generally being uncomfortable. The main weirdness are live models who are taking the roles she has played in the past, many of them standing among the museum patrons completely nude. No photos, of course. On another floor Abramovic herself was sitting through her 700th hour of watching patrons, who enter one at a time and sit in a chair opposite her. Odd. Art? So above is a photo of the latter portion of the show from the first floor.
Then the subway back to the apartment and a feast of Chinese food!