New York the finale
Another glorious day in NYC.
Time for a bike ride on the Citi bikes.
Cross town to the East Greenway, downtown as far as the Williamsburg bridge
and across it to Brooklyn flea market
and a Smorgasbord market.
Every possible food you can imagine (German comfort food, Norwegian Smo, Thai, Argentinian, Cuban, Chinese, dumplings every way, fluffy pancakes, Ramen burgers, oysters)
It is a bit hairy on a Citi bike across town without helmet; the rides are time limited to 30 minutes and its always exciting to see if you will make the next docking station before your allocated time runs out. Sarah loves it.
I held my breath a few times but managed it ok.
We lingered a while under the Manhattan bridge soaking up the view North and South, (empire state building in the distance)
then headed back by foot over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Better to do this on foot as the cycle lane got swamped by a river of pedestrians.
It has been a great few days here.
On the East side, we discovered Hudson River park with a golf driving range and a park full of sculptures for children.
Further South, near Battery Park, the Museum of the American Indian in the Old Customs House,
contained many Indian artefacts, donated from a collector.
If you want history you need to read “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. There was nothing much about this version of history in the Customs House.
The Rubin museum (150W 17th st) had an exhibition of Himalayan art, exploring Buddhism in Nepal and Tibet. A few fascinating exhibits.
Mask of Songsten Gampo 605-649 early ruler of Tibet.
A huge Shiva mask used in festivals in Tibet to dispense beer to followers through a spout from the mouth. Known as "The terrifying one", we are sure that Shiva was far less intimidating after a mouthful of beer.
Some fun interactive art work supposedly for children, but we aren’t we all bigger versions of the same?
Other unusual signs and sights seen this week:
taking the dog for a walk
A day at the Metropolitan is a must whilst in New York.
The collection is immense as are the huge sculpture displays and open spaces
(one with full size Egyptian temple)
Sarah was absorbed with the Rodin sculptures,
whilst I most enjoyed the Monet and Van Gogh
and Hals.
Our entertainment in the evenings has been dominated by Wagner and opera. All except one day we squeezed in the play: ‘Hillary and Clinton.’ A 90 minute non stop debate about personality and perception, set in a 2008 primary between HIllary,(Laurie Metcalfe) Bill,(John Lithgow) Mark her campaign manager and Obama. It does not portray any of them in a good light and has an unsatisfactory "this all happens in a parallel universe.. so don't sue me" type of ending.
The Ring Cycle and all its Left motifs, resonates. We are enjoying Christina Goerke singing Brunnhilde and Volle singing Wotan. Siegfried sung by Stefan Vinke was a delight but he does not have all the boyish playfulness of Jay Hunter Morris. A good Ring, due to the strength of all the singers, but something about it does not meld for us. The music is the same but the pace is off. The conductor, Philipe Jordan is imposing his style.
‘Dialogues Des Carmelites’ is grim at the best of times. The Met Opera production opens with the nuns lying prostrate on a cross.
It ends with the swishing of the guillotine. Moving but gruesome although I was a little distracted and counted more swishes than nuns having their heads chopped off.
The best singer we have heard to date has been Rosa Feola making her Met debut as Gilda in "Rigoletto". Someone to look out for in the future.
Our last treat is Gotterdammerung tonight followed by an early morning flight to Vegas. Sad to leave, but we are ready for an opera free zone: Las Vegas and some of the South Western National Parks.
Time for a bike ride on the Citi bikes.
Cross town to the East Greenway, downtown as far as the Williamsburg bridge
and across it to Brooklyn flea market
and a Smorgasbord market.
Every possible food you can imagine (German comfort food, Norwegian Smo, Thai, Argentinian, Cuban, Chinese, dumplings every way, fluffy pancakes, Ramen burgers, oysters)It is a bit hairy on a Citi bike across town without helmet; the rides are time limited to 30 minutes and its always exciting to see if you will make the next docking station before your allocated time runs out. Sarah loves it.
I held my breath a few times but managed it ok.
We lingered a while under the Manhattan bridge soaking up the view North and South, (empire state building in the distance)
then headed back by foot over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Better to do this on foot as the cycle lane got swamped by a river of pedestrians.
It has been a great few days here.
On the East side, we discovered Hudson River park with a golf driving range and a park full of sculptures for children.
Further South, near Battery Park, the Museum of the American Indian in the Old Customs House,
contained many Indian artefacts, donated from a collector.
If you want history you need to read “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. There was nothing much about this version of history in the Customs House.
The Rubin museum (150W 17th st) had an exhibition of Himalayan art, exploring Buddhism in Nepal and Tibet. A few fascinating exhibits.
Mask of Songsten Gampo 605-649 early ruler of Tibet.
A huge Shiva mask used in festivals in Tibet to dispense beer to followers through a spout from the mouth. Known as "The terrifying one", we are sure that Shiva was far less intimidating after a mouthful of beer.
Some fun interactive art work supposedly for children, but we aren’t we all bigger versions of the same?
Other unusual signs and sights seen this week:
taking the dog for a walk
A day at the Metropolitan is a must whilst in New York.
The collection is immense as are the huge sculpture displays and open spaces
(one with full size Egyptian temple)
Sarah was absorbed with the Rodin sculptures,
whilst I most enjoyed the Monet and Van Gogh
and Hals.
Our entertainment in the evenings has been dominated by Wagner and opera. All except one day we squeezed in the play: ‘Hillary and Clinton.’ A 90 minute non stop debate about personality and perception, set in a 2008 primary between HIllary,(Laurie Metcalfe) Bill,(John Lithgow) Mark her campaign manager and Obama. It does not portray any of them in a good light and has an unsatisfactory "this all happens in a parallel universe.. so don't sue me" type of ending.
The Ring Cycle and all its Left motifs, resonates. We are enjoying Christina Goerke singing Brunnhilde and Volle singing Wotan. Siegfried sung by Stefan Vinke was a delight but he does not have all the boyish playfulness of Jay Hunter Morris. A good Ring, due to the strength of all the singers, but something about it does not meld for us. The music is the same but the pace is off. The conductor, Philipe Jordan is imposing his style.
‘Dialogues Des Carmelites’ is grim at the best of times. The Met Opera production opens with the nuns lying prostrate on a cross.
It ends with the swishing of the guillotine. Moving but gruesome although I was a little distracted and counted more swishes than nuns having their heads chopped off.
The best singer we have heard to date has been Rosa Feola making her Met debut as Gilda in "Rigoletto". Someone to look out for in the future.
Our last treat is Gotterdammerung tonight followed by an early morning flight to Vegas. Sad to leave, but we are ready for an opera free zone: Las Vegas and some of the South Western National Parks.
Comments
Post a Comment