Arrived on the eve of the new year,
Cynthia from Paris, me and Dominique from Toronto; we all met after arrivals at
the Newark Terminal around 1pm; drove (by taxi) to town, Cynthia and I to the
Tuscany Hotel in Manhattan, Dominique to her friend in Brooklyn. We all got
together for early dinner. At Benoit Bar and Restaurant, a French
bistro-like place, full of balloons for the New-Year celebrations! Did not go
to Times Square to mark the countdown and see the ball go down – it was very
cold dand we were very tired (especially with Cynthia’s “décalage horaire”!) Contended
to watch it on TV! (Lots about mayors as well: last day of Bloomberg and
inauguration of de Blasio!)
Walked around the morning after (on New
Year Day). Cold and no one around! Guided by article on visiting New-York in
December (Condé Nast Traveler magazine, December 2013 issue): Washington Square
to see the big Xmas tree under the Arch, at the bottom of 5th
Avenue; meatpacking district; could not get a table down there as everything
was closed (tried Torrisi and Carbone, even at Parm for a
sandwich). Went back up mid-town; had delicious ramen at the bar of Sapporo
on 49th, before walking to the Rockefeller center to see the huge
decorated Xmas tree. Walked back to the hotel and stayed in!
On January second, driven to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) to see a few exhibitions (and
renewed annual supporting memberships!) : Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom, featuring
artifacts (gold and Jade) excavated from the various tombs around the then capital (now the city of
Gyeongju), dating back to about 400 to 800 A.D. and kept in Korea’s National
Museums in that modern city and in Seoul (including a marvelous bronze “
Bodhisattva in a pensive mode”, dating also from that period); Interwoven
Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800, a story told from a global
perspective from the golden age of the European navigation when textile was
often used as a currency to acquire spices and other desired goods – with
textile works (dresses; tapestry; etc.) from the Met collection and loans from
other museums; and finally a short visit to see Balthus’ early paintings (a
French artist of the 20th century). Early lunch at the familiar Petrie
Court Café at the Museum , before going to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on
47th Street to see “Betrayal”, a play by Harold Pinter, directed by
Mike Nichols (more familiar with his films…) and played by Daniel “James Bond”
Craig, and Rachel Weisz – not good! Dinner that night (as the severe winter
storm was gathering strength outside!) at Josephine, an idea from
Dominique who is love with Josephine Baker and who knows her grand-son runs the
restaurant! Dropped her at the Lincoln Center (she was going to some Jazz
show!) as the taxi driver made his way back to the Hotel, fighting the
blizzard!
Breakfast at the hotel on the 3rd,
getting a cab and leaving for the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal – out of Manhattan,
on the other side of the Hudson river – to
board the Queen Mary 2. It was sunny;
the storm had stopped but had left a good 8 inches of snow on the ground, which
made some of the “uncleared” streets very icy! The drive along the FDR and
through the Battery tunnel was OK but it was a very, very slow drive once we
reached the Terminal and a real pandemonium to get our luggage out on the quai,
and to embark on the ship!
NYC, January 3, 2014
