Three days in New York

I spent three days in New York from Thursday night to Sunday night. Going there proved a little more difficult, as the plane was delayed, and then delayed even further when it was about to take off. Someone actually got on the wrong flight! We had to turn back from the runway to return this dim-witted person to the terminal. Don’t bring a bottle of water, but go ahead and get on the wrong plane. Nice and secure.

I had never been to the Big Apple, so naturally it was packed with all the usual tourist activities. On Friday, I took a three-hour boat tour around Manhattan Island and saw the skyline from every angle imaginable. Chicago still wins the skyline battle; nothing beats the views from Lake Michigan.

Friday night I saw the hit-musical Avenue Q, where Sesame Street meets South Park. The production was excellent and the house was very compact, so even the less-expensive tickets had a great view. I booked this show before I realized that Bernard Haitink was conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the Lincoln Center. Better luck next time.

On Saturday, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has one of the most wonderful collections I’ve ever seen. In the three or more hours I spent in the museum, I unfortunately had to skip many parts (mostly the Asian sections, I’m getting much of that in Chicago already). And I just realized that I missed, for example, Pieter Bruegel’s The Harvesters, even though I browsed that section of the museum. I completely forgot it was at the Met and I would have been so excited to see it, as I remember staring at pictures of it in one of my mom’s books when I was little.

One of the best sections of the museum was the Robert Lehman collection, a private collection donated to the Met upon the business man’s death. Quite a stunning collection! I was thrilled to discover Botticelli’s Annunciation—my favorite theme in art by one of my favorite artists in history. The current exhibition on legendary Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard with many works by Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, and Picasso would be worth a visit alone.

On Sunday, I roamed through many of the neighborhoods, including Chelsea, Soho, and Chinatown. I also visited the site of the World Trade Center, which sadly was not a very moving experience as it’s a simple construction site. I had hoped for something more touching, more worthy of such a horrendous event in history. I quickly passed by Times Square and the Empire State Building throughout the stay as well.

New York was a pretty good experience. The stay was too short to take full advantage of all the great cultural offerings in the city. I would have loved to see some jazz and classical music at Lincoln Center, see a production of the Metropolitan Opera, see the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim, and see much more.

But home sweet home; I still like Chicago better.

16 October 2006 | Cultural Affairs, Stories from the Road | Comments