New York 2015: Friday
New York! Eric had a great trip to the city last September, so when we found cheap tickets, we jumped at the opportunity to return together. I've never had an urge to visit New York, but it won me over; I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and am looking forward to many return visits.
We stayed in an airbnb—not cheap!—and still a 6 floor walk up; not for the feint of heart.
We passed these pups in a pet store on our way to the subway station. I could relate to how this one was feeling.
We left SF on a red eye Thursday evening. It wasn't the most restful of flights, but upon arriving Friday morning, we hit the ground running. Our first stop (after dropping off luggage at the airbnb) was the old Whitney Museum building on the UES, designed by Marcel Breuer. It was closed to the public, so we were limited to gawking from the outside, but it was so lovely! We spied crews working on the interior, presumably converting it into The Met Breuer,
Next we walked to The Met. Since this was our first visit, we took more of a quantity-over-quality approach, and visited a good number of the galleries to get a sense of the diversity of work on display. We lingered in the Modern & Contemporary Art rooms. Despite it being a weekday morning, the museum was a zoo. A few hours here were enough for me.
We grabbed lunch from one of the many carts stationed outside the museum, ate on the steps, and then walked to The Guggenheim, our next destination.
The museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is a fascinating building. As is his hallmark, every detail relates back to the core concept and nothing is left unconsidered. It yields a structure that is art itself, unfortunately at the expense of function. Being in the Guggenheim is great; being in the Guggenheim to enjoy art is not. Eric noted that both exhibits he has seen at the museum have been weak. I wonder if that is simply the result of having a building that treats the art as secondary and less important than itself. If you go, the bathroom is not to be missed.
Last on our Museum Mile day was the recently re-opened Cooper Hewitt museum. We were feeling fatigued at that point, but the exhibit on poster design was engaging and the museum’s collection on display was quite manageable. Plus, they had electric pens to catalog the pieces we enjoyed as we went. And, we were able to see my coworker Tung's studio work on sale in the gift shop.
On our way back to the airbnb to rest, we grabbed a snack of apple crisp at Yura Bakery on Madison. It was on the sweet side, but good; most importantly, a very welcome opportunity to sit!
After taking a much-needed nap, we headed back out and grabbed dinner at Up Thai, still in the UES. Highly recommended - good food, charming interior, prompt and friendly service, and very reasonable prices. And as with almost all the places we visited, there was no wait for a table. Oh, how I wish I could transport New York’s food to San Francisco.
From there, we took the subway to see the new World Trade Center building and then the 9/11 memorial, followed by a quick jaunt to Times Square.
