I'm back from my 'trip for culture' to New York City. My business partner, Marie, and I have been taking these r and r trips for many years. We didn't have the time to go on the usual trips to South and Central America this year and so we decided on five days in New York City - in February! Everyone told us it was cold there so we packed our warmest black clothing and set out.
It was a totally delightful experience. Yes, cold for us Floridians, but also the hottest we have ever been! We had these gigantic heavy coats, hats, gloves, scarves, all necessary for walking around in below freezing weather. But New Yorkers crank up the heat in museums, galleries, restaurants, theaters and hotel rooms, so we always seemed to be tearing off the layers to get a decent breath. Our skin was coming off in hunks, our hair was flat, our thighs broke out in prickly heat!
We stayed in the Harvard Club of New York because it was wonderfully central and my husband is a member and the price was right. What a funny place! There are stuffed heads of everything from pigs to elephants on the walls, there is a fabulous library, and many public rooms lined with mahogany. Unfortunately, we were unable to go into the dining rooms, the bar, the library, or as far as I could tell, anything else, because we were either wearing jeans (actually nice ones, pressed and new) or anything smacking of athletic shoes. So we skulked out in the mornings to embrace the day.
Our room looked out on 44th St. and we soon discovered that this room was dedicated to the Harvard class of 1927. We were surrounded by old photos of young white men with raquets and various sports sticks. I then realized that above my bed was a photo of my father-in-law! He looks just like my husband, no question it was he. So immediately, Marie and I want to photograph it. We couldn't photograph the picture in place so we decided to take it off the wall to take it into the better lit bathroom. So, we wrest it off the wall, heave it into the bathroom to take the picture. It is major to get it back onto the wall, and we are laughing all the time.
We never had breakfast in the Harvard Club (due to sartorial issues) but we discovered The Red Flame, a diner on our block, where we ate breakfast every morning and came to know the regulars.
We just wallowed in art every day. We carefully examined the Museum of Modern Art, many galleries in Chelsea, photography exhibits, primitive art, the Guggenheim, arts and design. So much fodder for the mind. By night we went to wonderful music and shows and went to interesting restuarants. We spent a couple of hours in a bookstore. We didn't shop! Oh, well, I did buy a pair of gloves at Macy's because the ones I had were some stiff "Godzilla" things that made me feel like a penguin. I threw them in the garbage. The new ones are so soft!
We came back, having talked our heads off about everything from politics to pedagogy, renewed and rested. Stuff in our heads. For me, Kandinsky. I have already designed in my head my next fabric collage.
Times Square by night is a wonder of the world! But today at our ranch I witnessed the return of the chimney swifts from Peru darkening the sky, circling and diving, never stopping. I am alone to watch them. Like them, I need to have my space.
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