You know me, I love a good museum. But today I went to one that was far, far over my head. Ryan and I nipped up to West 16th Street to the Center for Jewish History – an appropriate choice, I thought, as Hanukkah is reaching its end. And the building is a nice looking …
Read MoreCategory / Museums
December 1, 2013
…visited the world’s largest gingerbread village
Let’s get back to some Christmas events, shall we? How about a massive cityscape made of nothing but gingerbread, candy, icing and lashings of patience? Yes – I thought it sounded like a winner too. So today Ryan and I hopped in the car and went to the New York Hall of Science in Corona, …
Read MoreNovember 30, 2013
…was baffled by the Broken Kilometer
Remember when I saw that bizarre room filled with nothing but dirt a few months ago? Well, I recently discovered there was another permanent art installation right by my office by the same people, artist Walter De Maria and the Dia Art Foundation. So I thought I’d pop by. At lunch time, I danced my …
Read MoreNovember 25, 2013
…toured Wakehurst Place
Today Mummy Warren and I wrapped up warm and drove to Wakehurst Place, a National Trust Park in nearby Ardingly. Not only is it home to a stunning mansion, expansive nature trails and the world’s largest seed bank, it also grows England’s tallest Christmas Tree. Unfortunately, we were a little early to see the Redwood …
Read MoreNovember 18, 2013
…visited President Teddy Roosevelt’s house
Today I headed out to Long Island for an early Thanksgiving celebration with Ryan and, before settling down to mashed potatoes and delicious gingerbread cookies, we decided to stop off at one of its many historical sites. Battling the drizzle, we stepped out at President Teddy Roosevelt’s former home at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay. …
Read MoreNovember 16, 2013
…saw the Frick Collection
Saturday = Tourist Day. Today I went to the Frick Collection, an art museum on the east side of Central Park and the sort of place that features on tourist ‘to do’ lists. But while it’s a famous spot, I had zero idea what would be inside. As it turns out, it’s filled with recognizable paintings by the European masters, …
Read MoreNovember 10, 2013
…visited the Natural History Museum
Now that the city is being rattled by autumnal winds, a wander around its museums seems the perfect way to spend a chilly Sunday afternoon. So today Ryan and I visited one of its best: the American Museum of Natural History. The seemingly endless rooms of dinosaur bones, animal models, human artifacts, special exhibitions and …
Read MoreNovember 8, 2013
…visited the Morgan Library
All year I’ve struggled with museum opening times. There are hundreds of museums and galleries across the city, but most close by 5 or 6pm, shutting us workers out. Thankfully I’ve begun to realize that they don’t ignore us entirely, because a handful throw open their doors late one night a week – and entry …
Read MoreOctober 12, 2013
…visited The Cloisters
Today I jumped on the subway and about half an hour later, I was in Europe. Or so it seemed. I visited the Cloisters – a museum in Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights that’s built from European architecture dating between the 12th and 15th centuries. The building and its gardens – which are part …
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2013
…took a trip to Governors Island
If you look at a map of New York City, there are a few islands dotted around Manhattan. I’ve already been to Roosevelt Island, if you remember, and today I ventured to another: Governors Island – which was good timing because this is the last weekend of the year that it’s open. This is where …
Read MoreSeptember 19, 2013
…got the dirt on the Earth Room
New York is full of bizarre things – sheep sculptures at gas stations, zombie parades and loos with transparent walls – but none as bizarre as what I encountered today: A room filled with nothing but 280,000 pounds of dirt. At lunchtime, Hayley and I headed a few blocks north to the Earth Room at …
Read MoreSeptember 8, 2013
…visited the Museum of Sex
It’s been a bit of a hedonistic weekend – a gluttonous picnic, gorging myself at the Vendys and a fair few beers last night – so this afternoon I decided to continue the theme with a trip to the Museum of Sex. I had expected the museum, which is at Madison Square Park, to cover …
Read MoreAugust 28, 2013
…met the original Winnie the Pooh
I grew up just a stone’s throw away from Hartfield in West Sussex, where the stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friends were created. If you remember, earlier this year when I was back in England, I even played the characters’ favourite game, Pooh Sticks, at the bridge that inspired it. And even though I’m now …
Read MoreAugust 13, 2013
…saw sculptures made from Lego
After work, I headed to the Discovery museum at Times Square with Dave – the biggest Lego geek I’ve ever met – for an art exhibit of works made entirely from the teeny plastic bricks. The Art of the Brick is showcasing the handiwork of Nathan Sawaya until next year. Sawaya is a New York-based artist and famed …
Read MoreAugust 9, 2013
…went punk at the Met
I’ve got a couple of days off and have nothing planned apart from making the most of New York activities. Today I finally fulfilled my months-long aim of going to the Met; it’s somewhere I’d avoid completely at weekends. And even first thing on a Friday morning, the place was heaving. I made the trip …
Read MoreAugust 4, 2013
…went back in time on Long Island
Today Ryan and I drove an hour from the city to Centerport on Long Island, where he grew up. After passing gorgeous houses lining green streets and boats dotting the Long Island Sound, we reached the Vanderbilt Mansion. I’ve been to a mansion built by this obscenely wealthy American family (who owned most of the …
Read MoreAugust 1, 2013
…toured a tenement house
I’ve always said it’s a shame that German is the only foreign language I speak (badly, it needs to be noted) because every single person from Germany will speak better English than I do German. Well, it turns out that I’m just in the wrong part of the city – and in the wrong generation. …
Read MoreMay 26, 2013
…visited the Whitney Museum (and Edward Hopper’s house)
For many of these new things, I feel like I’m in a rush. But this morning when I woke up groggy from last night’s karaoke fest, I had a glorious realisation: For the first time in many months, I had nothing to do and nowhere to be. It meant that when I scooted up to the …
Read MoreApril 16, 2013
…had a Lower East Side history lesson
I love the Lower East Side. It’s shabby chic, so you’d think it hadn’t really been updated – apart from what’s in the shops – since its inception. But tonight I headed to the Tenement Museum on Orchard and Delancy to see author David Bellel talk about his new book, Then & Now: Lower East Side, and …
Read MoreApril 4, 2013
…visited a gallery on my lunchbreak
Usually lunchtime is a quick nip to a nearby deli, perhaps a walk around the block and then back to my desk. All within 15 minutes. But I’d seen there was a new exhibit at the Swiss Institute just a block away and I feared I wouldn’t make the 6pm closing time, so I decided to go there …
Read MoreMarch 21, 2013
…travelled back in time (to New York in 1993)
Tonight I went back in time – twenty years, to be exact – to see a New York of days gone by. The New Museum on the Bowery is currently showcasing art from 1993 – almost like a time capsule – that gives a brilliant insight into what was on the mind of New Yorkers …
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2013
…saw photos by Allen Ginsberg
In my post-cocktail fog this morning, I splurged on a camera thinking that it’s about time this blog had some semi decent photos. So in the two days it should take for it to arrive, I’m seeking some tips and inspiration. Tonight I went to an exhibition of photography by Allen Ginsberg at NYU’s Grey …
Read MoreFebruary 19, 2013
…visited a nighttime art installation at FIT
New York cares about us city dwellers who only emerge from our offices when it’s dark and rarely catch exhibits before they close. For us, they’ve provided Light Cycles in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center. The three-month installation (should that be outstallation?) by Anne Militello is comprised of different-sized disks of colour that glow hypnotically …
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2013
…went to see can-struction works
That ‘balloon animal’ is actually made of cans. Crabmeat cans to be precise. And it’s just one of 28 sculptures made out of non-perishables on display at the World Financial Center to encourage people to donate food as part of a massive food drive.
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