We are almost locals now on the subway (yeh, right!). We have the map, know the basics, understand the line naming with letters or numbers and we get the uptown/downtown directions. Now we just need to get a handle on signage in the stations, the interchange connection walkways and route destinations – no biggie!
After a pancake breakfast, sitting in a booth in a midtown diner, we hit the Metropolitan Museum of Art just after opening. The place is a temple to the arts – beautiful objects and pictures are everywhere. It is fantastic and a whole lot overwhelming! Quick quiz: is one room enough to house your collection of Degas ballerinas, portraits, horse paintings and bronze sculptures? Answer: No, you need two and half rooms with multi-shelved cabinets to help! And Manets, Monets, Van Goghs? Again, more than one large museum room for each artist! And then we discovered the Rembrandt, Vermeer and el Greco rooms (el Greco had a few sneaky Picassos displayed to show the influences, fyi).
The number of big-name artists or displays of different schools/periods (eg religious icons, Renaissance, Dutch, portraiture across countries, centuries and styles) at the Met is phenomenal and such a joy to view. A few years ago, we visited an exhibition at the NGA in Canberra and had to queue, jostle and crane to see a single ‘big name’ artwork. Here we were at the Met, no crush and a plethora of beautiful paintings (in some cases two or three similar images) to ourselves to enjoy, savour and study in peace. And then there were the recreated Egyptian temples, French rococo interiors, Spanish palace courtyards and New York townhouse art collections rebuilt in situ. Mind blowing. Several hours later and fully satiated, we departed, having only seen a fraction of the collection.
To clear our minds, we took a walk around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Lake loop in central Central Park. The reservoir was frozen in places, which was exciting to see, coming from a Sydney/Brisbane Summer. Ice flows provided unusual perches for the waterfowl – merganser (aka goosander) with red-plumed heads, gulls and bufflehead ducks. The frosty walk gave us serene views back towards the downtown area.
Next stop was the Guggenheim Museum, out of the cold. The Frank Lloyd Wright designed building is one of Alistair’s favourites – and he was so happy to share it with Wanda. There was an Orphist exhibition on, which meant not all the expected artworks were on display. It was, nevertheless, a fabulous way to spend an overcast day in New York. On departing the museum, NY put on its best show so far – it was snowing! Gentle flakes swirled around as we giggled and delighted in the unexpected flurries.
To ensure we got the most out of the snow, we ventured into Times Square and watched the flakes settle onto cars, street furniture and the less-trampled parts of the pavement. After a careful-to-avoid-slipping-in-the-slush walk around the area, we squeezed into Jimmy’s Corner (proprietor is an ex-boxer; the bar is not on a street corner) and had a few IPAs in the tiny pub. Our trip home was easy … Jimmy’s is just across the road from our hotel.
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