UNITED STATES: New York City

In this destination the emphasis is once again upon family. It’s been quite a while since I have seen my brother Craig and wife Reneé. I have been looking forward to this get together as much as I did my rendezvous in Boston.

ARRIVING IN NEW YORK

A NEW SKYLINE COURTESY OF RELIGIOUS FANATICS

The now completed Freedom Tower rises above its neighbors.

TIMES SQUARE – 40ft. Tall Hunger Games Video – Wow!

BROTHERS REUNITED – Same haircut, same glasses, same beard, same jacket, same shirt. Spooky, we’re giving the twins a run for the money.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER

 

Craig and Reneé

ELLEN’S STARDUST DINER – This is a great discovery thanks to Craig and Reneé. They have been coming here for years and shared this fantastic institution with me. The owner, depicted in the photo below, auditions waitstaff based on their singing abilities, and gives jobs to those who make the cut. It is a wonderful symbiotic relationship. Ellen gets the most amazing talent that packs the restaurant morning, noon, and night seven days a week, and the aspiring performers get the opportunity to practice their craft while they work.

As an added bonus they are often actually auditioning to anonymous show business people in the audience. About half of the staff end up hired out to various shows over any given six month period. Many of them end up in Broadway shows just a stone’s throw away. It is such a win/win situation. I love it. Had a delicious milkshake there to add to my tonnage.

ELLEN HARTA – Founder of this great NYC institution.

One of the waitresses giving an electrifying performance.

See the result! Actually, I just happened to catch the blond tossing her hair.

Singing and dancing precariously over the diners

FIRE! – It broke out in a bank building around the corner from where Craig parked his car.

LIV TYLER? – I looked out my window this morning, and the rain was coming down. I wondered whether it was worth venturing out into the Big Apple. My plan was to walk the three miles to the Guggenheim Museum taking a route up 5th. Avenue and then return to the ship via Central Park. I went up to deck fourteen to catch a late breakfast and looked over to see an Irish beauty who bore a striking resemblance to Liv Tyler. In Vietnam, I met Cate Blanchette’s doppelgänger and regretted not getting her picture for the blog.

In this case, I got the shot. The only thing missing is the slight gap between her front teeth. Her husband/boyfriend was a good sport, and I started my day on a pleasant note. Given my solitary nomadic ways, I do enjoy a little eye candy from time to time. At least it doesn’t cause weight gain like my considerable food consumption as of late. After being motivated by that vision of beauty, I grabbed my Beatles umbrella and made tracks for the Guggenheim in search of more of the same in nature and art form.

MOMA – Museum of Modern Art – One of my favorites.

TIFFANY & COMPANY – Audrey Hepburn’s favorite – 5th. Avenue Route

EVERYONE’S FAVORITE – If you have money to burn.

 

 

CENTRAL PARK EAST – Prepare yourself for a lot of Fall foliage as this will truly be my last look for this year. Don’t ever let the rain deter you from seeing the likes of this.

 

 

 

THE GUGGENHEIM

THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Alberto Burri Exhibition

 

 

Alberto Burri – His exhibition of abstracts featured a number of paints and materials in the pieces on display. Some were rendered in plastic, some in stitched together fabrics, some in paint that had been heated to cause fissures like the artwork above this text.

BURRI MINIATURES – I loved this piece because it showed a full exhibition of his work in one small, plexiglass encased mini gallery. Just a wonderful concept and beautifully executed.

I think at some point I may create something like this. They do wonderful replica art in Southeast Asia, and I could have an assortment of my favorite modern art pieces done in miniature and then assemble them in the same fashion.

Add a dash of Kandinsky. The photos of the artworks were all taken on the sly since it is prohibited. I didn’t get any shots of the collection of French and other masters. It was too well monitored, and I didn’t want to get barked at. It featured Renoir, Monet, Manet, Degas, Gaugin, Cezanne, Picasso, and Van Gogh.

 

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM – The name of a horrifying industrialist, fossil fuel proponent, and climate change denier adorns the fountain in the foreground. The temptation to urinate in it was unbearable.

Just a quick right after the museum and all thoughts of the Koch brothers are expunged by the beauty of Central Park in the Fall. It’s been so wonderful to indulge in the changing colors of Ireland, Boston, and New York. I think I shall have to do a Fall colors tour in 2017 as well. Who would have thought that a rainy day could be so pleasant?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of shots I know, but I did cut through a large swath of the park on the way back to the ship. I just couldn’t help myself. I need something to tide me over until my next real Fall.

The grand old lady waves goodbye on my way to Bermuda.