Arting in NYC

 

We've been all the way to the big apple and back!  Brandon tells me that arting isn't a word, but I think it's exactly what he's been up to in New York City.  He spent nearly two weeks looking at art, talking about art, and traveling to and from art - he's been doing some serious arting! 

I flew up on Thursday to meet him and we traveled home together on Sunday.  We stayed in the same hotel in the Chelsea neighborhood as our last trip, and once again I was happy not to have a long train ride into the city each day.  NYC in May is my official favorite!  And, we discovered the High Line just around the block from the hotel.  It's a raised park, on an old rail way.    

It's so cool to be able to walk up a stairwell and have an elevated trail covered in wildflowers and shady trees.  

The train tracks are visible in some places.  Look, we're outside in public with no mask!  The trees with the white bark and small leaves were labled gray birch.  

The High Line passes between apartment buildings with cool architechture.  You can see inside the apartments sometimes too, which is fun to get a peek at urban life.  

When you look over the trail edge, you can see all the normal hustle and bustle, but on the high line everyone is strolling and stopping to admire the art and flowers.  

Most of the plants were natives, although there were some I didn't recognize.  I saw a bumble bee buzzing around the flowers. There really are polinators in the big city!  The entire trail has benches.  

There are overlooks, and sculptures.  

The trial took us directly to the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has some of the best art, plus the best views from the big windows and balconies.  In this picture you can see the comfy couches that let you view the Julie Mehretu, but if you sit on the couch facing the the other way you get to see this...

Picturesque skylines and boats on the water.  

This sculptural island park was having it's grand opening while we were there.  People were swarming all over it!  

We hopped from one gallery to the next, and spent some time at The Met.  There's so much art in the city, it's impossible to see it all.  When our feet and legs were tired, we took breaks for tasty beverages, and enjoyed Indian or Puruvian take-out dinners in our room in front of the TV, and went to bed early.  The morning we left for home, we watched the city from our room as it revealed itslef in the early light.   

Some of the tallest and shiniest buildings glowed with the sun rise.  It's strange to me to go from way high in the air, to deep underground to catch the train to the airport.  We were home before dark and so glad to get there!