A casual get up and headed to the French Cafe Un, Duex, Trois that was recommended by the Charleston folks from our hotel yesterday. It was also just down the block from our hotel. We did not know what to expect (especially price-wise), but wanted to try different ethnic foods and cultures on this trip.
Stepping inside the door of this large but intimate cafe was like entering a Parisian bistro. Little tables, beautiful delicate mosaic floor, crystal chandeliers, lots of dark wood, mirrored back bar, ornate columns throughout. The owner met us with a "Bonjour!" which topped off the atmosphere.
It took a while to start checking the menu as we took in the details around us. Wonderfully tasty coffee helped us settle into a leisurely breakfast. Mike ordered fresh squeezed OJ (cheaper than Food Dance in Kalamazoo) and traditional bacon, eggs, toast, and the French version of home fries with onions and red peppers. I had hoped for my favorite Eggs Sardou with artichoke heart, creamed spinach, covered with Hollandaise sauce, but alas not on the menu. So to stay in the moment, I ordered Eggs Florentine, a second favorite. All was delicious. For more info, see www.cafeundeuxtrois.com .
Our next goal this day was the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum located at 88th and 5th. We decided to take the subway there and stroll back through Central Park. We walked the few blocks to Grand Central Station (or Terminal) located at 42nd and Park Avenue. This place is amazing and I think there were as many folks taking photos here as there were passengers.
This magnificent edifice was built 1913 by the New York Central Railroad. In 1954 there was a proposal to demolish the terminal due to the railroad era diminishing and decline of the building. But over the years those plans drew huge opposition, especially from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. After much debate, planning and lawsuits, there came a major restoration during 1994-2000. We are so glad this NYC iconic building still stands today.
We browsed in awe from the top of a marble staircase at this amazing structure. We saw the beautiful brass (I think) clock in the center of the main hall, the ceiling which is teal blue and has constellations painted in gold (some primary stars glowing with little lights and much more spectacular than the photo here shows), the grand staircases, the original ticket windows (some still in use), sculptures, and much, much more.
We browsed a bit on the basement levels trying to find our departure platform and came across the famous Oyster Bar Restaurant. Mike loves oysters! Although it was 10am and we had just eaten, he was ready to dive in again. But alas it was closed on Mondays. We perused the menu though and vowed to come back on our next trip.
There were so many things to see here and we had not planned enough time. Its history is so long and interesting and quirky. So you must read and see more photos at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal .
We had to pull ourselves away and head to our morning's destination. We took the 6 line uptown toward Pelham Bay (of the famous Pelham 1-2-3 movie fame) and got off at 86th. It was lightly raining and there was an umbrella man waiting outside the subway exit. We debated buying one, but decided not. The fellow was very nice though and gave us directions to the Guggie.
Outside the museum were food trucks (so common everywhere in NYC). They sell everything from hot dogs to tacos, to stuffed potatoes, to you name it. Mike got a huge fresh OJ with a little banana blended in. We shared. Refreshing!
We admired the outside of another iconic NYC structure. No missing this one. White, round slices of circle stacked upon each other. Stark, no hint of the colorful artwork inside. Beautiful. To read up on the history of this one, go to:
www.guggenheim.org .
In this case, from the open expanse of the 5-story rotunda you see massive concentric shapes. These start from the skylight above and slowly and continuously evolve in increasing color saturation down to you. These shapes might be circles, ovals, even round-cornered squares, depending upon where you are standing or lying in the room.
Yes, lying. There were huge foam mats on the floor, covered with humanity of every age--baby to sage age--peering up into the "sky." Laying there was actually the best, or at least most comfortable, view of the installation. Others stood with necks crooked back as far as possible. Still others filled molded benches with angled back support
to offer some relief to necks and backs. We chose the angled seats.
The view up was fascinating, almost like looking at a stylistic version of the night sky. Colors gradually and continuously change from hues of blues, oranges, purples, reds, yellows, even grays and whites. The atmosphere and "temperature" of the room changed as the colors changed. The reds felt exciting, the yellows and oranges felt hot and dry, the blues were not cold but heavenly or angelic, if that makes any sense. Hard to describe. I guess you had to be there, and we were glad we were.
The color cycle takes 60 minutes. We saw about 20 minutes, but did not have enough gumption to see the whole series as our aged necks gave out too quickly. The environment was meditative, spaceship-like, and very cool. (Sorry no photos, but there is an article and photos here: www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/arts/design/james-turrell-plays-with-color-at-the-guggenheim.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 .)
After some hypnotic time, we took the elevator to the top floor and walked down the winding 5-story ramp. Again, we had expected to see what we have seen in so many movies, but we were somewhat disappointed. For this exhibit, no art lined the stark white outside walls. And normally the inside side of the ramp would be open to overlook down into the rotunda, but the nature of the Turrell exhibit prohibited that. The open inside space was closed off with white fabric scrims in contrast to Turrell's colorful art piece. Even though the circular ramp was all white and undecorated, we did see several other art exhibits in side halls. These included a static light display by Turrell and Kandinsky in Paris 1934-1944.
At the bottom of the ramp, we again admired the light show in the rotunda, checked out the gift shop, and exited into bright sunlight.
PS - Forgot to mention (and I'm sure you probably know already), that Frank Lloyd Wright was the architect of the Guggenheim. He is one of our very favorite architects and we try to see examples of his work wherever we go. One of the next exhibits coming to the Guggie is the FLW Usonian House. We saw that years ago, or a similar version, at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California. This Center was also designed by FLW and is a National Historic Landmark.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you have visited any of these places, we would love to hear your comments. Or send us recommendations of places we should not miss.