15/1/13 – The Book of Mormon

Went to the gym this morning and along the way noted the types of businesses on the street front on my twenty block walk down York Avenue. Leaving aside the plethora of restaurants, I noted that York Avenue has twice as many nail bars as dry cleaners and twice as many pet shops as both of them put together. People here sure do love their dogs here in NYC! Cameron says it is because it is marginally cheaper to keep a dog than to have children, but I think it’s because dogs are easier to look after and they are always happy to see you. I just hope everyone has bigger apartments than us as we have seen some very big doggies being walked down the street. When being walked by their owners these pooches are often richly adorned with coats and collars … today I saw a husky with purple boots! I can’t wait for Summer to arrive so I can see them in their sunglasses and hats. There are also cute signs along the way that say ‘curb your dog’ which I assume means take your dog for a pee/poo on the street edge (curb) but no one does and one is continually dodging little yellow puddles on the pavement. Most New Yorkers do however pick up their pet’s ‘doggy poop’ these days!

After my workout I returned home to learn that Cameron had booked tickets and was planning to take me to see the hottest show on Broadway, ‘The Book of Mormon’. Peter was still too sick with the ‘flu to go out so Camo and I set off to collect the tickets but before hitting Broadway I wanted im to see the Frick Collection. He was impressed. Then before the show, we popped in to ‘Gyu-Kaku’ for some Japanese BBQ. Lucky Cameron - it was happy hour and so all of the food and beer was half price. Needless to say we ordered twice as much and it was delicious!

Even before we took our seats in the theatre it was clear that the place was packed … this really is the hottest show in New York right now! And it soon became clear why it is in such high demand. The show is a fast paced, irreverent ‘piss-take’ of those people from Salt Lake City. The story line is focussed on the journeys of two missionaries to Uganda. It was hilarious! You’ll just have to see the climactic dramatic  interpretation of the locals of the Mormon’s story for yourselves because I simply can’t remember all of the outstanding one liners they managed to fit into this skit. The guys from South Park who wrote the work have outdone themselves! When you are next in NYC do yourselves a favour and pay whatever it takes to secure a ticket for this show … it comes highly recommended.

14/1/13 – Farewell Jenny and Richard. Welcome back Cameron!

Amazingly we all managed to be out of the apartment by 8am and made our way down to the food hall under the Plaza Hotel for breakfast. The décor and expansive selection of food choices was impressive and after some coffee and pastries we toured the rest of the complex, in the course of which we discovered the ‘Palm Court’ which serves traditional afternoon tea and sandwiches (and which also offers a fine selection of French champagnes). I think we could be coming back here sometime soon!

Jenny and Richard popped off to Times Square to buy some souvenirs while Peter and I took a pre-booked ‘genius’ class at the Apple store (probably a marketing blunder to call it a ‘genius’ class … better to call it by its correct name - an ‘iStuff for dummies’ class). One can book online for an appointment or attend classes 24/7 to improve your understanding of, or develop some expertise in the Apple products … and all at no charge!  Our session was more about co-ordinating our devices. Peter now has his own iTunes account and the consultant was keen to show all of his friends that Peter’s iPhone was still operating on ios 4! But he’s up to speed now and his iPad and phone now talk to each other.    

We then returned home so that Jenny and Richard could pack. Not long after they left, the key turned in the lock and in walked an exhausted Cameron back from Las Vegas. We barely had time to hear of his adventures before he was off to see ‘Sleep No More’ – a ‘dramatic personal experience’ where one wears a mask and wanders around a ‘hotel’ set in England in the 1930s taking in the theatre that is happening in a variety of locations……Peter and I stayed in and ordered Chinese  – they pick up and deliver everything here in NYC.

13/1/13 – Cycling to the George Washington Bridge

Sunday morning dawned cool and overcast … but not windy. It was perfect cycling weather. So while I slept, Peter took Jenny and Richard for a long bike ride up the East River Greenway. At first this seemed like a very smart plan, but then the Greenway ended abruptly at 135^th Street and instead of a nice smooth flat bike path to travel on they found that they had to carefully pick their way across heavily trafficked streets through Harlem and up the steep hill to Washington Heights before descending again to the Hudson River Greenway and pushing even further North, to the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge. Good ride filled with adventure.
 

Peter then met up with Dirk and Hua (our hosts) to discuss the waterproofing of the shower over a few beers at a local pub. In the end they resolved that we would have to be out of the flat by 8am so that the contractors can pull down the tiles and set about their job over the next three days. Luckily we have a gym membership so showering shouldn’t be a problem.  

To our surprise Jenny and Richard cooked us a farewell dinner and presented us with a basket of goodies tonight.  We had the most succulent NY cut steak with salad and fruit followed by tea and dark chocolate. It is going to be sad to say farewell to them tomorrow as we have had such fun. But unfortunately for him, Richard has to work next week. Luckily Jenny has a year off school to ‘find her mojo’. So they’ll be on their way home soon but not before they drop into Toronto to collect their bags and then stopover in Hong Kong for a whirlwind visit. Peter has given them a packed itinerary of things that are a must see so I hope they enjoy themselves. Ah good old HK – some good memories there and not all of them related to their national pastime - food!

12/1/13 – The Frick Collection

Well if seeing Picasso yesterday was enjoyable then viewing the Frick Collection today was exulting! Henry Clay Frick’s quest for artistic perfection is to be commended as his collection is stunning and much appreciated by even those with an imperfect eye – such as me.

I found the most delightful aspect of this collection is that it is set in his home and that the works are all displayed there in the places and the manner that Mr Frick had chosen for them. One therefore gets a real sense of the pleasure he must have felt as he wandered past these works each day and especially each night before he retired to bed – a ritual he repeated routinely every night. It seems a shame that he only lived for 5 years after the house was finally completed and his collection fully installed.

After his death his daughter continued collecting and these later additions to the collection make a visit to the Frick a ‘must see’ in and of themselves. But wait, there’s more. In addition to the Frick Collection the Museum is currently hosting two magnificent special exhibitions. Firstly, Van Gogh’s  ‘Portrait of a Peasant (Patience Escalier)’, on loan from the Norman Simon Gallery in Pasadena, is rich and full of Vincent’s determination to paint what comes from within him rather than to cater to the artistic tastes of his time.  But the second of the exhibitions is even more impressive.  

‘Mantegna to Matisse: Master Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery’ is almost obscene in its scope and quality. In keeping with its tradition of exhibiting masterworks from collections outside of New York, the Frick has assembled in this collection some fifty-eight drawings drawn from the massive resources of the Courtauld Gallery, London. This exhibition marks the first time that so many of the principal drawings in the Courtauld's renowned collection have been made available for loan. It was almost painful having to keep moving past so many master works by names like Rembrandt, Rubens, the Buonarroti, Bruegel (the elder), Veronese, Tintoretto, Bernini, da Vinci, Durer, Goya, Seurat, Degas, Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec and Manet and equally painful to read that many of the works were collected by the British government from private owners who offered them up to the State in restitution for unpaid (and unpayable) inheritance tax! Viewing these special exhibitions left only a small time to view the rest of the home. Luckily we have membership now and can return as often as we desire.      

After the Museum closed we met up with Jenny and Richard we caught the subway to Greenwich Village where we strolled through the streets for an hour or so. The East Village in particular is one of THE places to be (and to be seen to be) in NYC and after just one hour picking through the narrow winding streets (so different from the neatly ordered wide avenues and streets of the Upper East Side) wandering past interesting little shops, pubs, restaurants and galleries of all kinds it was obvious

to us why this is so. We paused to take in some really excellent Indian food on Bleecker Street but that was just the entrée … unbeknown to the boys Jenny and I had agreed that the main purpose of this outing was not to be seen or eat great Indian, but instead to secure some velvet cake from the famous Magnolia Bakery (see Sex in the City for the location).

With that mission achieved (with bonus caramel, lemon and peppermint choc chip cakes tied up in those sweet little boxes) we travelled home to devour them over a pot or two of tea (since we find getting a decent cup of tea in a restaurant is something Americans still struggle with). Ohhh no…despite all of the hype they were a major disappointment.  Like a lot of food here in the USA, they looked great but they had no taste. Guess I’ll just have to stick to Bob’s bagels!

11/1/13 – Picasso’s ‘Black and White Exhibition’ at the Guggenheim

If last night was devoted to opera then today was devoted to art and to the art of Pablo Picasso in particular. After a slow start in the first rain we have had, we trundled up to the Guggenheim for a look at a few of the great man’s sketches that had been spread about the walls. Contrary to Mr Wright’s design intentions the collection (which was arranged in chronological order) began on the ground floor and wound its way up to the 7^th floor. The audio guide provided not only significant assistance in providing chronology and interpretation it also included wonderful recorded accounts from his first child Maya. It was delightful to hear her recall special moments spent with her famous father particularly during WW2 when he refused to leave occupied Paris. What a hoot it must have been for them at the end of the war, after Paris had been liberated by US troops (some of whom had made a point of visiting with Picasso and his family and taking photographs of the many works of art they found displayed in Picasso’s studio) to read articles on the front pages of all the American newspapers claiming a major art scoop and displaying photos of what they claimed were ‘Picasso’s latest works’ but which were instead works by Maya and her younger siblings!  

It was a joy to watch his work evolve in form and complexity as he grew older, passed from place to place, wife to wife, lover to lover and muse to muse. He led a good life according to some in our party! The pieces explored removal of colour to highlight the formal structure and autonomy of form. The masterpieces on view included The Milliner’s Workshop (1926), The Charnel House (1944–45), The Maids of Honour (1957) as well as Female Nude with Guitar, (1909), Study for Sculpture of a Head, (1932), and Man with Pipe, (1923).

But for me, despite the quality and vast size of the Picasso collection, the greatest pleasure lay in turning occasionally to view the colour and movement of the people viewing the exhibition and how they caught the light to form an artwork in their own right. It was amazing and exactly what Mr Wright had intended. To celebrate my delight I bought some ‘Guggenheim’ coffee mugs!

Looks like we found our local chinese - The Shanghai on 3rd Avenue.

10/1/13 – ‘Turandot’ at the Met

Today was the day we had put aside to take Jenny shopping! So we started at the ‘Lululemon’ store on 3^rd Avenue where Jen bought some gym gear which only came in sizes 2/4/6/8, then on to ‘Bloomingdales’ before treating ourselves to the New Year’s sales items at ‘Century 21’ where the mink coats were discounted from $5000 to only $1500. This took most of the day and after a stroll through the park we all arrived home exhausted but loaded up with considerable loot.

Later that night, Jenny and Richard had tickets to ‘Lion King’ and we were off to the Met’s final of three performances of ‘Turandot’. So we put on our glad rags and what a wonderful time we each had. Unbeknown to us this was the last night of the Met mini-series of performances of this famous opera.

The series was being run to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Franco Zefferelli’s original production of ‘Turandot’ and, as a farewell treat, they were using the Zefferelli original designed set, which having been kept in the archives for all of that time and is now to be retired (much to the anger of many New Yorkers who were braving the cold outside that night to get people to sign a petition to have it preserved). The first act used a sombre blue set of bridges and chinese temples. It was nice, but nothing to get excited about.

But when the curtain drew back for the beginning of the second act the scene had changed. We were now transported into the throne room of the Imperial Palace and found ourselves beholding scenes of such opulence and luxurious splendour that they drew from the audience a collective gasp of surprise and a spontaneous standing ovation. The gold and silver set that was revealed shone so brilliantly in the otherwise darkened theatre that it actually hurt one’s eyes to look upon it. It was a grand production with a cast of nearly one hundred performers.  We enjoyed ‘Nessun Dorma’ (of course) but as is almost always the case nowadays, we were left a little underwhelmed. I suppose it was bound to happen, after all any rendition of this famous aria will always be compared (inevitably unfavourably) to the perfection of the Three Tenors.

Just when I thought that the night could not get any more wonderful I learned that Peter had arranged for us to take supper in the ‘Grand Tier’ dining room that straddles the main staircase during the two intermissions. In the first break we were treated to delightfully light chicken and lobster dishes and in the second dark chocolate brulee and profiteroles. With both we had matching champagnes. It was truly magnificent!

 After the performance we took our time leaving the theatre and instead walked down below the staircase to view the ‘wall of fame’ which boasts paintings and photos of the who’s who of performers that have graced the Met Opera. There we found Melba, Caruso, Domingo and ‘Fat Lucy’ to name but a few. But the most exciting thing we found was the corridor devoted to all of the performances of Wagner’s ‘Ring Cycle’ dating back to the original performance commanded by King Ludwig in 1869 in Munich. Having enjoyed and survived (along with Hans and Sue Sauer), the epic 20 hours of the Met’s 2012 simulcast performance conducted by James Levine and featuring Bryn Terfel (as Wotan) and Deborah Voigt (as Brunhilde), we were amused by the crude staging and costumes used in the 1869 production. Compared to Robert Lepage’s incredible stage design with its 24 identical wedges rotating independently on a horizontal axis across the stage and alternately providing level, sloping, angled or moving surfaces facing the audience as well as a flat surface onto which bubbles, falling stones and fire could be projected, the 1869 set did seem very primitive.

It was quite simply a magical night. (Apparently Lion King was good too!)

9/1/13 - WTC to Brooklyn

We woke to a grey and cloudy sky and so it seemed fitting that on such a day we would visit Ground Zero and the World Trade Centre Memorial. As expected security was tight and it took some time to get through the lines (not keen to try this when it is tourist time). But it was worth the trouble, as the much debated design was finally taking shape. It was interesting to see it after having heard so much about it after hearing so much about it for so long and after a careful inspection we concluded that it felt like a fitting memorial to those who perished here.

The nearby humble Trinity Church (where George Washington prayed after becoming the first President of the United States) whose stained glass windows remained intact during the attack was visible through the army of construction workers and concrete trucks ferrying supplies to the site. The pear tree that survived the 9/11 blast (and Hurricane Sandy) has recently been replanted. The grass has been laid and gardens planted.

The names inscribed on the edges of the waterfalls that now stand in the footsteps of the twin towers are a powerful tribute to human determination to overcome adversity and the ‘Freedom Tower’ at 1776 feet will stand as a reminder to all of the sense of pride Americans take in the fight for liberty and freedom and their contribution to achieving this.     

Still moved by what we saw and read at Ground Zero, we walked along the southern tip of the Hudson River Greenway to reflect. It was there in Battery Park that we came across a giant damaged metal ball. After researching this strange object that was sitting awaiting its fate in the remodelling of the park, it turns out to be the remnants of Fritz Koenig's 25 foot tall and 45,000lbs "Sphere for Plaza Fountain". This sculpture was created as a symbol of world peace and had once adorned the foot of the World Trade Centre.  No surprise then that the sphere's survival serves as a poignant symbol of resilience after such an horrific act of terror and has come to represent to the people of NYC a message of hope, faith and the enduring values that are needed to overcome intolerance.

Still pondering the story of the damaged metal ball and overcome by cold, we sought respite and ventured into the nearby Museum of the American Indian which is located in the Alexander Hamilton Customs House. Funny creatures we humans - all that effort into remembering 3000 people who died in 2001 and yet there across the road from all this shoved into the back of the now disused old Customs House was one man’s collection in a museum commemorating the lives of the millions of American Indians. 

 

And to add insult to the Indian’s plight the guided tour of the museum only covers the architecture and history of the Customs House and one is left to read the plaques on the displays to get any feel for the vast range of native civilisations that existed from the Arctic circle in the north to Terria del Fuego in the south of the Americas prior to this continent’s ‘invasion’ by Europeans. (By the way, did you know that Jimmy Hendrix’s grandmother was an Apache woman?). As the Statue of Liberty had been calling to us all afternoon and we had a little time up our sleeves before dinner, we took a short detour on the Staten Island Ferry and took some photos of her and the view back to the southern tip of Manhattan. As the day was grey we will be back again to do her justice.

After these unexpected adventures we boarded the subway and set off for Brooklyn to meet up with Camo for dinner at Roberta's Pizzeria in the Brooklyn suburb of Bushwick. I wish I had a photo of our faces when we stepped out of the station expecting ‘hip and groovy’ and all we could see was ‘graffiti and grime’! Not to mention the second photo that would have shown us going for our phones to ring Cameron who was not there to meet us only to discover there was no coverage.

Expecting the gangsters that we later found out to be two blocks to the east, we huddled together and asked at the local co-op store owner where Roberta’s Pizza joint was. Having repeated the name of the establishment three times – twice in my unintelligible Aussie accent and once in Richard’s Canadian accent, we gave up and agreed to have a wander to see if we might see the illuminated sign indicating it entrance. Well nothing could be further from the truth.

We found it ok but the ‘door’ turned out to be a piece of red cloth covering a hole between two pieces of rusted corrugated iron. Silly us for not seeing it earlier taking pride of place in a street with no street lights! But once inside it was a different story all together.

The guy at the bar greeted us with “You must be Cameron’s parents. Come in we’re expecting you.” And with that we were in a whole new world of cool! The patrons of this establishment were very funky and we enjoyed looking at how they had put together their look/signature outfits. Cameron arrived shortly therafter and enthusiastically took us to the ‘back cubby house’

for a pre-dinner drink.

He taught us how to delineate between a true Brooklynite as opposed to one from Manhattan who was just there for the image enhancement and those who are Brooklyn Uni students who have not yet earned their ‘brooklynite badges’.  After drinks we ventured into the main playground for the pizzas and a bottle (or two) of a rather neat little red wine from Slovenia. Now as Cameron had managed the Pizza Express at South Perth we knew he was a discerning pizza man and we were not surprised when he arranged for the most interesting and tasty of fare. Who would have thought that vegetable like organic parsnips and brussel sprouts would be the feature ingredients for a Brooklyn pizza but there they were and they took pride of place in amongst the always welcome prosciutto, mushrooms, chilli and olives.      

We left Roberta’s in fine form and Cameron escorted us home to the ‘big island’ (we think only so that his reputation for dining with his parents didn’t spread past the pizza place). Only hitch was that there is no ticket office at Morgan Avenue subway station and so Cameron flicked open the alarmed gate to allow us passage through to the platform and we all stood there like naughty schoolkids waiting for the guard to catch us.

But s/he never arrived and so we boarded the train and gleefully recounted out big adventure in the ‘hood all the way home.