Janlw's Weblog

We did a few things differently than our last trip to visit NYC a decade ago. That time we were in NY to see an Edvard Munch exhibit. We stayed in a small hotel with a tiny room near the Theater District. This trip we stayed in a nice hotel Lotte Palace on Madison Ave. We had a room much bigger than a closet and a GREAT view of the back of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A trip to see the inside of the Cathedral was our first stop.

Much of NYC was just as we expected. Fifth Avenue and streets anywhere near Times Square (which we avoided) were crowded with pedestrians. Long lines of families waiting to get into FAO Schwartz toys and the Lego store were a surprise. Also, there were several girls carrying their brand new GIANT American Girl dolls in visible backpacks. So many new tall buildings, it’s hard to find a view of the Empire State Building. And, so much construction going on everywhere. Whenever possible we cut through Central Park and often found it almost empty. Perhaps, it was the cold mid-April weather or because it was a weekday. Something else not seen in Spokane, store windows showing dressy and colorful men’s clothes. In Spokane men’s wear displays usually feature colors ranging camouflage green to khaki and menswear suitable for outdoor sports.

**Definitely not seeing men dressed in this type of clothing in these colors in Spokane**

Slideshow of the somewhat unexpected –Pigeon Worship??
Cold wind! I bought a stocking cap.
Cold April 16th we are practically alone in Central Park
Ever taller buildings seen from Central Park
Photographer Central Park
Central Park on a Weekend
Finally Found the Empire State Building

This time an exhibit in the Morgan Library on rare books librarian Belle de Costa Greene motivated us. Both Dennis and I had invested quite a bit of time reading a door-stopper of a biography of Greene. My book group friend Sharon told me there was to be an exhibit devoted to Greene at the Morgan Library. Dennis & I were intrigued and ready to pack our bags.

The Morgan Library & Museum isn’t much to look at from the Starbucks across the street.

We enjoyed the exhibit on Greene and enjoyed even more seeing the library arranged as J.P. Morgan kept it. Unfortunately the exhibits that could be photographed were not very picturesque.

Two BIG events we did NOT EXPECT to attend were a NYC protest at Bryant Park Public Library and the “Easter Parade” on Fifth Avenue. These were needed breaks from museuming.

Slideshow –Earliest attendees the young Socialist, Communist & old singers
There was singing
And people with a sense of humor
Lots of flags
The crowd grew
As we left families with kids arrived on buses

When the speeches,which we couldn’t hear, started we left the protest. Instead we marched through Central Park to the Neue Gallery which features Weimar period German art including The Woman in Gold. On the way to the Neue Dennis let me stop in front of Trump Tower to wave a bumper sticker I’d been given at the protest. I opted to not to cross the street. Not very brave I guess.

We spent most of the following day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was good to see that
the Met has not purged it’s collection of pieces by artists from under represented groups. We hear so much about institutions purging anything that might be considered DEI. Plenty of information on why particular works are included, important, or interesting

Slideshow– A few of the pieces that interested me
Afro-modern room
A Dennis favorite

A friend suggested we walk the High Line; great suggestion. Unfortunately a section of the path was closed with a laconic guard to make sure we didn’t jump the fence. We opted not to take the High Line detour route to continue. It was hard to stop and look around because the High Line was just as busy as some popular national park trails. In addition we’d had quite a walk to get to Penn Station to start the trail. Instead we enjoyed taking an alternate route back to our hotel thru the Chelsea neighborhood. We stopped for lunch at the Molly Wee Tavern. Quite a nice break from our own tourist oriented neighborhood near the hotel.

Dennis was on top of things. We had tickets t very that evening to the recently reopened Henry Frick Museum. NO PHOTOS allowed but I did take a picture of the entry line. In NYC, even if you have a ticket for a timed entry, you need to arrive quite early and wait in a long line. We arrived about 20 minutes ahead of our entry. The line was already around the block. The Frick was worth the wait!

I was especially interested because the newly remodeled museum was the home of the 19th century industrialist Henry Frick. Frick was shot by Emma Goldman’s boyfriend in an attempted assasination. Emma is my favorite Gilded Age radical and anarchist. Frick Museum next door neighbor, now Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick tried to block the Frick Museum expansion. We really maybe reliving the Gilded Age.

Almost got run over crossing the street. Dennis (in blue) in the line which winds around the block.

Easter was not what I expected. From our hotel room window we watched the line of individuals and families attending the Easter Mass at St. Patrick’s slowly build-up. Starting from the front of the Cathedral, around the side and the back of the building, almost encircling the block. I think everyone who wanted to attend was eventually admitted. I suspect the guards and metal detector at entrance of the Cathedral slow the entry process.

At about 11am we walked over to Fifth Avenue to see what we heard called the “Easter Parade.” It wasn’t a parade as we know it but it was fun all the same. Fifth Avenue was closed and New Yorkers appeared in their Easter regalia wandering up and down the avenue. Since it is New York, there are also musicians and food vendors.

Slideshow –Easter on Fifth Avenue

Dennis planned that our walk up Fifth Avenue would end at MOMA just as the Museum of Modern Arts opened. “Not another art museum!” “I don’t understand modern art. I can’t understand it.” I whined but stayed without too much more complaining until it was almost closing time. I was especially glad I insisted, although we were tired, on seeing the large works in the basement level. I will forever remember the balls of faceless stuffed animal hanging from the ceiling. with the title Deodorized Central Mass with Satellites. This is an answer to a parent’s question. What do we do with all those stuffies our children collect and then leave behind?

My favorite excess stuffed animal or Deotorized Central Mass…

THE LAST NYC MUSEUM– It was another cold cloudy day but even so I whined that I couldn’t go to another museum. “But we’ve NEVER been to the New York’s American Museum of Natural History and it’s open on a Monday!” I wasn’t ready with a better crummy day plan so we went.

There really is such a thing as seeing too many dinosaurs. These exhibits are rather old compared to the dinosaurs exhibits we visited in Albuquerque and Alberta,CA. I guess I know my dinosaur exhibits even if the dinosaur names and theories on their demise keep changing. I was fascinated by the exhibit on the evolution from early man to us. I only took 1 picture even though we stayed in the museum all day. There is a lot to learn there but my brain has only evolved so much space.

I may have seen too many mammoths to really appreciate this particular one.

Luckily our friends Judy and Dick highly recommended a trip to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. It was the break from the city we needed and it turned out to be a beautiful day. The train ride from Grand Central was a new experience. When we boarded there wasn’t any train crew visible on site. With only 2 people in our car could this possibly be the right train? Eventually a few more people entered are car most of them asking: “Is this the train going to the Bronx?” It was.

Slideshow–We started in the meadow

The garden is huge 250 acres and they claim a million plants. We saw almost all the gardens and woods. This was all we saw of the Bronx. The next morning we took the train to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia – Less than 2 hours by train away

In Philadelphia we saw ALL of “the rooms where it happened.” In the Old City and historic downtown my highlights were the Center for the Constitution, the Museum of the Revolutionary War, and my favorite the Benjamin Franklin Museum. The free for old people, tourist bus took us to the Philadelphia Free Library, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Barnes Foundation. We toured one restored Colonial home on Society Hill and walked to Rittenhouse Square. Of course all this was over several days.

The Philadelphia Difference

In Philly we rarely waited in line even when we hadn’t bought tickets. The narrow historic streets are sometimes not crowded and SO MANY BRICKS!

This historic street in Philadelphia does not feel crowded until we meet a tour group head-on.

This line at 7:20 am was those of us who didn’t buy tickets to visit Independence Hall 3 months ahead. Time in line was about 10 minutes however, those of us who didn’t plan ahead had to be in line at 7:30am.

All the National Park Service Guides were enthusiastic and engaging

Our Independence Hall guide held everyone’s attention

We went to the Constitution Center twice. There were a lot of interactive exhibits to see. Again the guards and guides were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. We were encouraged to get to know our life size founders.

The Benjamin Franklin Museum allowed photography but it wasn’t very photogenic. It was my favorite because many of the exhibits were interactive. You pressed a button and B. Franklin told you why and/or how he invented something. Press another button and you would see how the invention worked,

The Barnes Foundation

It wasn’t that the Barnes was so big. The Building is large but also it had SO MANY, MANY small paintings. A wonderful collection but I overdosed. I can live my whole life happily without ever looking at another little girl’s portrait by Renoir.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is HUGE. We couldn’t see it all in one day.

I really enjoyed touring the Powel House. Owner Samuel Powel‘s wife Elizabeth is most likely the woman who asked Benjamin Franklin: “What kind of government have you given us Dr. Franklin?” However, she was not in a crowd standing outside Independence Hall. She would have asked him over a meal at one of her many dinners for prominent politicians.