Jamison was interested in seeing this part of town so welcome to Greenwich Village!
We had breakfast at
Tartine Cafe in West Village (which has pretty good reviews) but I mistakenly thought it was related to the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. So it wasn't what I personally was expecting, but Jamison really loved her avocado toast. Whew! My choices weren't anything to write about but they were still good.
We walked to Washington Square park...where there was absolutely NOTHING going on and NO people to watch. Only a bunch of pigeons. Too cold.
But we saw the famous arch and some art.
(The arch opened in 1889 to celebrate the centennial of George Washington's inauguration as president of the United States. The last car allowed to drive through it was in 1988.)
The installation is titled: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors by Ai Weiwie.
Click here for more info. The project is a comment on the increasing hostility towards immigrants and the rise of nationalism throughout the world.
Lots of giggling ensued upon seeing our figures in the reflection. My tall, pregnant friend, yours was the best, and you know it girl!
I wanted to see some of the architecture and Christmas decorations in the surrounding neighborhoods so we walked around a bit.
One big reason I like New York is simply because of the architecture. So much history and different styles.
Then we got too cold. Time to go inside.
The Chelsea Market is the perfect place to visit on a freezing day. It takes up the length of a block and there are several shops inside.
Photo from http://chelseamarket.com
By the way, I would love to visit New York in the capacity of a street photographer sometime. Would I be good at it? Perhaps not. But I like it.
I saw this little scene below while walking through the market and I HAD to get a shot of it. It's so close to perfect: The white shoe laces and light rubber heals, the way the man is holding his hand to his face, the color of the table mimicking the wall, the spotlight, the candid quality....Sigh. So good.
Below: A shot of the hallway.
After going inside "hot fresh, and uniquely sugared mini doughnuts" from The
Doughnuttery were the first bits of food we stuffed into our faces.
Photo below from https://www.doughnuttery.com/gallery
Pick your quantity, choose your sugar flavors, and enjoy.
Some of the Flavors include:
Lemon Pop—lemon, vanilla, popyseeds
Purple Pig—maple, purple potatoes, bacon
Urban Monkey—coffee, banana, coconut
I don't remember how many we ordered...do you Jamison? I feel like we both ordered three flavors, 4 donuts in each bag. I do know we promptly gobbled up so many of them that there weren't many left for a photo.
I had been told these were the best tacos. I rolled my eyes. Uh uh. I'm from Texas, so I dare you to impress me. But they were good!
Image below from https://www.facebook.com/lostacosno1/
And then...the Lobster Place sucked me in.
It was bright inside, with fresh seafood of all kinds on ice all long the walls. In the center was a bar to sit and order/eat sushi.
Toward the back we noticed a lot of people standing around tall tables and bars along the wall. You could order crab legs, butter and a bib and get to crackin' or po'boys or hot chowder or whatever!
We definitely had to try hot chowder.
Hmm. Warm tummy.
Eating here...now there's a New York experience for ya.
Then we went back out to again torture ourselves in the cold, up a flight of stairs to the High Line Park. "The High Line is a 1.45 mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail. It was created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City."
It offers unique, midlevel views of the city.
We were completely FREEZING. I mean, my face was in pain. My two hats weren't even keeping my head warm. And NEVER explore NY without a scarf in the winter. EVER.
Don't worry...she said her ankles weren't cold. Blink. Blink. Really? But her hands were.
We passed some interesting architecture and installation as well. (I hope more art installations show up in the future.)
After our walk in windy, low 20 degree weather, we were absolutely numb and DONE being outside. I mean...so done that we actually paid for a taxi for our retreat to a museum. So done that Jamison said she will never go to New York in the winter again!
We had only an hour before the MoMA was to close and were wondering if the time limitation would be worth the entry fee. We spoke to a couple of elderly ladies at the help desk who were good natured with thick New York accents. They couldn't BELIEVE how far along Jamison was, and that it was her fourth, and that this was our last chance to get into the museum because we were from Texas and leaving the city the next morning.
They urged us to "tell our story" at the ticket counter and maybe we'd get a discount. Jamison and I both got a kick out of the encounter. We were just two friends from Texas visiting New York and one of us was pregnant. No big story right?
Photo below from https://www.moma.org
However, no storytelling was necessary. We discovered the museum offers tickets at half price for visitors who arrive close to closing. Put that little bit of info in your pocket because um...awesome!
You guys.
The hour in the museum was worth it. We went to the 5th floor where the modern art lives. And entered a room with a giant Monet triptych and I was floored. I cried. Not because it was outrageously beautiful or anything, but because I've studied modern art history, and seen so many of these pieces in books and slideshows, and taken tests on them... and so to see these masterpieces (like them or not) in person, and to see their true sizes and colors was unique, awe inspiring, and sort of spiritual. I mean...art does speak to your soul if you let it.
Below: Claude Monet—Water Lilies
Below: Henri Matisse (SOOOO much bigger than I was expecting. Wow. Wipe away the tears.)
Below: Seriously. If you don't know who painted this you are dead to me. (This was much smaller than I imagined.)
Below: Henri Rousseau—The Dream. (I like Rousseau. His style was seen as primitive and naive to other modern artists and they laughed at him. But his style did influence Picasso...so....)
Below: Andrew Wyeth—Christina's World 1948
Below: Pablo Picasso—Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907
Below: Wild guesses anyone? C'mon.
Then we got kicked out. Out into the cold. So we yelped an Italian place close by for dinner. I don't think we were dressed fancy enough and they told us we had to be gone by a certain time—but who cared? Warmth and food? And they were willing to seat us? Yep. That was for us.
Then off to our discount ticket show...Kinky Boots.
The show was funny in some parts and I enjoyed it. But, it's not really a family show and didn't have the "feel" of Broadway ya know? Mainly, I was a bit shocked by some of the drag queen's costumes, I wished they were a little more...tame. It's a fun and unique story, but I think I'd recommend the movie instead. Not at all sorry we went though.
It was getting late but you can't EVER leave NY without having a slice of cheesecake from Junior's. So that's what we did before bed. Oh golly!
Then we went back to the hotel, slept for TWO hours and got up at 2:00 AM to make it to the airport in time to wait for a standby ticket. Can't believe we did that. Worth it. Can't believe we did that. So worth it.
Jamison, you awesome girl! Thank you for the last minute adventure! Thank you for wanting little old me to go with you! And you totally rocked it! Even in the New York kinda cold. Even 8 months pregnant and walking everywhere! Fist bump. Twice.
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