yk's NYC Trip Report: 4 days-2 Fodorites, 3 operas, 4 tours, & 4 museums

I'll start off with Eats. As I said earlier, we didn't dine at any fancy restaurants. Most of the places I/we ate were recommended by our NYC friends. I'll list them by neighborhood:

Lincoln Center
Cafe Fiorello
http://www.cafefiorello.com/

We had early dinner with Fodorite MademoiselleFifi here, on her recommendation. The 3 of us split the huge Antipasto Grande platter, which we could choose 4 seafood and 6 vegetables, plus Prosciutto, cheeses and olives. Every thing was delicious, with my favorite being the eggplant (and I don't even like eggplant!) and langoustine.

While the food was good, we had an even better time talking, about travel of course, and about NYC and art. This was our first time meeting MademoiselleFifi and we certainly enjoyed it.

Along Central Park South
Bouchon @ Time Warner Center 3rd floor
http://www.bouchonbakery.com/

Bouchon has both a serviced restaurant and a self-service counter on the 3rd floor. I think the menus are the same. As I was in a hurry, I only got a slice of Focaccia (with sundried tomatoes and spinach) to-go. They do heat it up for you on request. It was fine, nothing to rave about.

Sarabeth's Kitchen
@ 40 Central Park South
http://www.sarabethscps.com/

My friend suggested this and we met here for breakfast on Saturday. I had the Garden Omelette which is decent. The place is quite big but it filled up fairly quickly by 10am. The prices are on the high side, but of course, we're paying for the location. Service was good and all the staff was courteous. Even though we finished our food by 10am, no one rushed us out the door.

Midtown East
Chiyoda Sushi
41st btw Madison/Fifth
http://www.chiyodasushiny.com/

Another friend suggested this for a quick and cheap meal. There are actually 3 Japanese "fast food" places on that block, and I ChiYoda is the nicest and most expensive one. All 3 places mainly sell pre-packaged sushi/sashimi or bento boxes, but they also offer a limited amount of hot food such as noodle soup.

I had a bowl of seaweed and vegetables soba noodles, while my friend got one of the pre-packaged sushi assortment. The sushi was fair - what you'd expect from supermarkets, and my noodle was fair as well. For $7-8, it's a good option if you are in the Grand Central area and are craving for cheap Japanese food.

La Mediterranee
2nd Ave btw 50th/51st Sts
http://www.lamediterraneeny.com/

My DH's friend met us there for Sunday brunch this morning. The place is... hmmm... a bit old-fashioned. It's the kind of restaurant that hasn't changed for a few decades, with low ceiling, low lighting. Probably perfect for a romantic dinner (for older couples), but certainly not an ideal setting for brunch.

After days of eating unhealthy food, I opted for an egg white omelette with steamed vegetables. That was, not surprisingly, relatively tasteless. However, it came with french fries which were VERY good. DH ordered the French Toast which he said was VERY good "crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside" were his comments. The restaurant was empty except us when it opens at 11:30am but by 1pm it was quite full, because it offers live music starting at 1pm. 99% of the patrons are way past middle-age - the folks who have lived in that neighborhood for decades.

Smörgås Chef @ Scandinavia House
Park Ave @ 38th
http://www.smorgaschef.com/index_scandinaviahouse.htm

I met Fodorite 111op for a late lunch there. It was MY idea, as we've eaten at AQ Cafe before, and I didn't realize Smörgås Chef had replaced AQ. Anyway, we still ate there because I don't think there is much (if any) Scandinavian food in Boston.

They offer a $14 2-course "power lunch" which includes soup or green salad, and then choice of sandwich or entree. I chose the soup of the day, which was cream of mushroom soup; followed by a Norwegian smoked salmon sandwich with chive scrambled eggs. Some greens and potato salad were on the side. Overall, it was good but I don't think their menu is as "exotic" as AQ cafe according to my memory.

Chinatown
Super Taste Restaurant
Eldridge St @ Canal
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/super-taste/

I picked this hole-in-the-wall place based on Chowhound reviews as well as the proximity to the Tenement Museum (about a 10-min walk). We met 2 of my friends there for a quick lunch. The restaurant is small, sits no more than 20. Menus are on the wall, all in Chinese, but they also have a printed take-out menu with English translation. The 4 of us ordered 4 different kinds of noodle soup, plus we shared a plate of dumplings. 2 of the noodles were good (oxtail and lamb), but 2 weren't as good (tendon and beef brisket, both of which require a long stewing/cooking time or they will be tough, which was the case). The steamed dumplings were really good, and a bargain at $3 for 8 dumplings! The noodle soup prices range between $4.50-$5.50 IIRC. I really couldn't tell if the noodles are hand-made. If they were, they didn't really seem so because all were of uniform size...

Hi yk. I eat at Cafe Fiorello when going to the ballet and usually eat that antipasto as my dinner. Did you go up to the antipasto bar to pick what you wanted? I like to do that. It used to be CHEAP for that dish, but it's gone up a lot in the last 2 years. Looking forward to the rest of your report. Oh, did that bus stop in Providence? Or was it NS?

Didn't I suggest AQ as one of the options? But I concede it was your idea to eat there. I'm glad it wasn't disastrous. Seriously it was nice seeing you again!

Very nice trip report and sounds like a wonderful trip too. Nice when you can stay for free!

Did you take the Bolt (Greyhound) Bus? I've taken it between DC and NYC and I love being able to use my computer and plug in electronics. It is longer than the train but, as you pointed out, at a fraction of the price.

Lauren- We took megabus (megabus.com) this trip and also on our last trip. I think it has more frequent departures compared to Boltbus, as Megabus offers 11 departures daily during the week and 13 on weekends. However, their buses don't have power outlet, so my mini laptop runs out of battery before the trip is over. I may try Boltbus next time if the time is convenient and the fare is just as competitive.

Centralparkgirl - Did you and your DH have a good birthday? I guess you guys went to SF? Anyway, the Megabus makes one stop at Hartford, CT.

The 3 of us just split the huge antipasto platter. I sent my husband & MademoiselleFifi to pick the food out. We were hoping to get seats at the antipasto bar but a table opened up first. The "regular" antipasto plate (3 seafood, 4 veggies) is $30, and the "grande" antipasto platter that we shared is $50. We actually couldn't finish all the food on the grande, so in retrospect, the "regular" plate would have been enough. (We actually wanted to get the "regular" but our waiter didn't think that would be enough food for 3 as dinner, since we didn't order anything else.)

111op - yes, you certainly did suggest AQ as a potential choice.

yk, was up in NYC the weekend of March 4-9 on a much less interesting trip than yours. I was on a "FAM" (familiarization) tour where tour directors learn how to deal with groups in Manhattan. We were also in a prep class to take the NYC tour guide exam. All of us passed it. I live in DC and have been guiding/tour directing here and want to expand to the entire MidAtlantic. We did do Top of the Rock and NO (sigh!) operas. Groups don't go to the opera. I would have much rather done what you did, but, then, I would not have passed the test.

I grew up in Connecticut just outside NYC, so I sort of had a head start on the the tour guide exam. You need licenses to work in DC and NYC legally.

yk - my mistake - I get the $30 antipasto for dinner - it used to be $21 or so not so long ago. I usually request the banquet room (to the left in the back) because it's quieter. I can't remember how you know about our birthdays - mine was Wed and dh on Fri - we celebrated here in the city. I was in SF last w/end with ds and came back Tues. I asked about the bus because it sounds great and ds takes Peter Pan/Bonanza from Providence. Did you see the Chagall exhibit and if so, did you use the audioguide?

Lauren - Yes, I did read your TR earlier this week. Congrats on getting the license.

Hi CPG- you were very helpful answering all my Qs in this thread (in which you mentioned your b-days)
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/tentative-itin-for-manhattan-mid-march-lots-of-qs.cfm

I don't think any of these bus companies serve Providence, since it is kind of "out of the way" between BOS/NYC.

More about Chagall and the rest of TR tomorrow. I need to upload my pics so that I can post the TR with pics ready.

One of these days, when I get to NYC, I do want to go to the Met. I go to the opera once every few years in DC. I like it but I am not a fanatic. I also like the theater as well. When I was in NYC, I passed the line for TKTS and sighed. I didn't have time with all the studying.

Looking forward to your La Sonnambula report.

We're seeing it this Saturday. Dessay and Florez certainly were a fabulous pair in La Fille du Regiment, so we can't wait.

Ah, isn't it nice to have friends w/apt. in the city...enjoyed the 'eats' portion...looking forward to the rest.

Hi yk - I'm enjoying your trip report, and looking forward to the rest, particularly info about the tours and Tenement Museum. I'll be in NYC for one day on May 16th, and I'm trying to decide what I want to see and do. I want to have a good weather and bad weather plan in place, just in case.

Robyn

Your title looks like the itinerary from my recent trip to Paris, only my trip lasted two weeks and yours was only four days! If you had managed to do all that and finish the trip report on the bus back to Boston, I think you would have beat some kind of record, but you do get special mention for getting as much of the report written as you did. Looking forward to the rest.

Thanks for all your kind comments!

Next:

In search of French macarons in NYC

A few months ago, there was a thread about Laduree macarons over in the Europe forum which made me have a craving for good macarons.
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/laudree-macaroons.cfm

Sadly, I tried a couple places in Boston that offer them, and all were terrible. Several posters recommended a couple of places in NYC that make good macarons, so I tried 2 on this trip.

Macaron Cafe
W 36th St @ 7th Ave
www.macaroncafe.com

and

Bouchon Cafe @ Time Warner Center 3rd floor

I bought 1 dozen assorted flavors from Macaron Cafe ($21), and 1/2 dozen from Bouchon ($12). Both are fairly comparable, with very nice texture. Crispy but not crumbly on the outside, and soft/slightly chewy on the inside.

Some flavors are better than others, such as lemon and coffee. However, some just look pretty but I couldn't tell what flavor they are. Both are quite sweet, sweeter than I would like. I think, overall, they're not bad, but still don't seem as good as Laduree based on my memory.

I didn't get around to try those from La Maison du Chocolat, so that will have to wait until next time.

Enjoying your report, yk. Just as much as I enjoyed the London one I read last night. Love your details! Glad you had a good trip.

I forgot to mention that I have been to NYC dozens of times over the years, so that's why you won't find me visiting places like Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Sq etc as I've been to all those before.

Walks & Tours

United Nations Tour $12.50 for 45-min tour
http://www.un.org/tours/pages/gi.htm

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3073.jpg
Detail of an entrance door at UN http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3074.jpg

The UN offers guided tours M-F. The visitors' entrance is located at 46th/1st Ave, allow yourself extra 5 mins to get through the security check. The first tour starts between 9:30-9:45am. They don't sell tickets in advance, only first-come, first-serve.

The UN Lobby is free to enter. There are usually exhibits in the lobby, plus, the beautiful Chagall Peace window is in the lobby as well.
http://www.un.org/events/UNART/VisitUs.htm
http://www.peacewindow.org/window.html

The 2nd link above gives a good overview of the Peace Window. Unfortunately, there are no descriptions on location. I wish I had read/printed the overview before my visit.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3075.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3076.jpg

The guided tour takes us into the restricted section of the buildings. Majority of the tour involves explaining the work of UN, with lots of posters/exhibits in galleries. The main stop of the tour is the General Assembly Room.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3078.jpg

The last portion of the tour showcases some of the unique gifts from different countries to the UN. For example, the Japanese Peace Garden in front of one of the building; a huge ivory carving from China, the beautiful embroidered cloth that once covered the Kaaba in Mecca, and a tapestry titled "Chernobyl" from Belarus ... etc etc etc
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3077.jpg


NY Public Library Tour Free
http://www.nypl.org/research/calendar/tourschedule.cfm

The NYPL offers free building tours twice a day of the Humanities & Social Science Library building at 5th/42nd. I didn't realize this is a research-only library.

Sculpture on the side of the main entrance:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3104.jpg

Our tour size is quite large - at least 30 people. The tour is fairly interesting and we were led into various reading rooms. What I find disappointing though, is that the NYPL holds many, many rare (or historic) documents and books, yet very few of them are on view. Our guide kept telling us about their special collection of this and rare collection of that, but we couldn't see any of it. I wish the NYPL would do what the British Library does - create a space/galleries as an exhibit to show off all these rare items.

One of the most fascinating fact I learned on this tour, is that the site of the library was a reservoir before the library was built. There is a gallery in the library which details the building of the library, complete with historic photos.

Right now at the NYPL is a small exhibition of Art Deco Design, on view until mid-May.
http://www.nypl.org/research/calendar/exhib/hssl/hsslexhibdesc.cfm?id=479

Some photos of the interior of NYPL:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3106.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3082.jpg

Outside the Library, across the street, one can get a great view of the Gold & Black Art Deco top of the American Standard Building.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3108.jpg

Walks and Tours continued

Central Park Walking Tour FREE; 1.5 hrs
http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/programs_walkingtours

The Central Park Conservancy offers a variety of walking tours, all free to the public. I chose the Cross-Park Promenade simply based on my schedule.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/programs_walkingtours_CrossParkPromenade

The tour is fantastic, and I really encourage everyone to take one of the tours. Our group that day has only 5 people, plus 2 guides who are very knowledgeable. Weather that day was gorgeous with beautiful sunshine. Temperature was in the high 30s, which is fine with me coming from Boston. Of course I came prepared - down jacket, thick-soled boots, cashmere from top to bottom (hat, scarf, sweater, knee-high socks).

The Cross-Park Promenade starts at 72nd & Fifth on the East side, and ends at 72nd and CPW on the West side. At the start of the tour, we learned about Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead (designers of Central Park) and the history of Central Park.

Along the way, we saw many statues and sights, such as the Samuel Morse statue, the Conservatory waters, the Alice in Wonderland sculpture group, Hans Christian Andersen and his ugly duckling (http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3085.jpg )
Waldo Hutchins Bench with its equinox lines inscribed and a beautiful sundial: (http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3084.jpg )
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=11309

We walked past the Boat House, then the Bethesda fountain, followed by the highlight on this tour - the recently restored Bethesda Terrace Arcade.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=virtualpark_southend_bethesdaterrace

The ceiling of the arcade is decorated with beautiful Minton tiles from England. The tiles were removed in the 1980s due to water damage from seepage of water from the road above. The tiles were finally repaired and restored, and the terrace was reopened in March 2007.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3087.jpg
Minton tiles ceiling: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3086.jpg

Continuing westward, we arrived at Bow Bridge (http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3092.jpg ) and a lake (http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3089.jpg ) and then to Cherry Hill with its horse fountain, before we finally arrived at Strawberry fields and ended with the John Lennon "Imagine" mosaic.

As I said, the tour is truly wonderful and is the one I enjoyed the most out of the 4 tours I took on this trip. The small size and relatively quiet surroundings made it easy to hear our guides, and Central Park itself is quite amazing. I plan on taking other Conservancy tours in my future visits.

Hi yk!

I'm not planning a trip to NYC, but I just wanted to say, as usual, your trip reports are extremely well organized and a pleasure to read.

Walks and Tours continued

Grand Central Neighborhood Walking Tour FREE 1.5-2 hours
http://www.grandcentralpartnership.org/what_we_do/promote_free_tour.asp

This tour is offered once a week on Fridays. It is different from the Wed afternoon tour of Grand Central Terminal.

Anyway, the tour I took has pluses and minuses.

Pluses: it's free and it's educational. It took me inside buildings which I never thought about entering, and showed me decor/architecture which I seemed to ignore even though I have walked past many of these sights hundreds of times. I learned about history of the neighborhood.

Minuses: it's free, so the tour group is HUGE. My tour has no less than 50 people - imagine trying to listen to the guide while standing at the corner of 42nd/Lexington. He also doesn't have the time/patience to wait for everyone before he starts talking. As hard as I tried, I probably missed half of what he said on the tour.

The tour begins in the indoor Sculpture Court at 120 Park Ave. This is an excellent choice, because it is quiet, climate-controlled, and has plenty of seats. The first 30 minutes of the tour is spent inside the Court where we learned about the history of the neighborhood.

Next, we stepped outside and looked at the facade of Grand Central - built in Beaux-Arts style, with Mercury in the center, flanked by Minerva and Hercules.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3109.jpg
Close-up of colorful clock on facade:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3111.jpg

Our next stop is the lobby of Bowery Savings Bank, located at 110 East 42nd. The lobby connects to the subway entrance, and the subway sign is highly decorated with a dolphin on top:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3113.jpg
Side view of subway sign:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3119.jpg

The elevator lobby of the Bowery Savings Bank is quite beautiful. The ceiling has gold leaf decoration:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3114.jpg
Elevator doors:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3115.jpg
Detail of a gate:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3121.jpg

Next door to the lobby, is the main hall of the Bowery Savings Bank. It is now owned by the Cipriani's. We were able to go in for a look.
http://www.cipriani.com/ciprianinew/locations/new-york/events/42nd-street.php

The interior is massive, with huge marble columns - each one is made of a different marble. The floor is also all marble, again made with different kinds and colors to make it a mosaic pattern.

Next, we stopped outside the Chanin Building at the corner of 42nd/Lexington. This is a beautiful Art Deco building, but we didn't go inside. Our guide pointed out the beautiful wrap-around frieze just above the store-front level. The frieze depicts various types of life form, including jellyfish, fish, water fowl. It is supposed to depict Darwin's theory of evolution, which of course, was (and is still) quite controversial at the time of construction.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3122.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3123.jpg

Our second to last stop is the Chrysler Building. First, we cranked our necks from across the street to look at the outside of the building - hubcaps, wheels, eagles etc. We then entered the lobby, which is fairly dark and our eyes took some time to adjust to the low lighting. The lobby is beautiful, clad in red marble with Art Deco light fixtures.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3126.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3124.jpg

The elevator doors are made of wood marquetry
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3127.jpg

Our final stop is the Grand Central Terminal. We entered via the passageway where the food vendors are, and I swear we must have lost 20% of our group there! All the vendors there are supposed to have NY connections in order to set up a stall there. Inside GCT, we marveled at the main concourse, and finally ended the tour at the Whispering Gallery.

Even though the tour is supposed to be 1.5 hours long, our tour lasted for 2 hours. Do keep that in mind if you plan on taking this tour.

While I was in NYC training we also took a walk in Central Park. We saw some of the same things you saw.

By the way, the Marc Chagall window at the UN is one of the things you need to know for the tour guide test. The last time I was inside the UN was when I was in a model UN experience in high school. I assure you that window was not there then because I was in high school in the Late Middle Ages.

yk - I am enjoying your report immensely - thanks for the great links and pics. You were in some of my favorite parts of the park. In fact, tomorrow and Wed I will be walking the 'Lower Loop' (trying to burn off Tartine Bakery) entering at E. 76th and heading past the sailboat pond to the loop at 72nd St. Wanna join me?

If I were in NYC, I'd be happy to join a walk in Central Park anytime. Unfortunately, I'm not.

Museums

Jewish Museum FREE on Saturdays
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/

I visited the Jewish Museum on Saturday because of the free admission. I arrived 3 minutes before opening and there was a short line at the entrance. The Jewish Museum is housed in an elegant mansion built in the French Gothic style.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3129.jpg

My main goal on this visit is to see the Chagall and Russian Jewish Theatre exhibit (closes this weekend).
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/JewishTheaterUSSR

I was disappointed to learn from MademoiselleFifi that there is NO audioguide available on Saturdays (I guess it's for observation of Sabbath), but she had kindly emailed me the link with all the plays' synopses a few days earlier.
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/jewishtheaterplays

I really enjoyed the exhibit - which has photo stills, set models, costume sketches, *some* videos of all the various plays staged in Russia in the early 1900s. The crown jewel of the show is an entire room of Chagall's murals.
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/jewishtheaterchagallmurals

The very last room/gallery of the exhibit was very somber though. At first, I thought that room was not part of the exhibit, as it was separated by double glass doors. Also, the walls of the gallery were painted black, whereas the rest of the show had white walls. It was about the murder and death of Mikhoels in the late 1940s, who was the last of the remaining theatre artists in Russia. This was followed by a mysterious fire of the Theatre Museum in 1950s which destroyed most of the archive.

If you can't make it to NYC before this weekend, this exhibition can be seen at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco from April through September, 2009.
http://www.thecjm.org/index.php?option=com_ccevents&scope=exbt&task=detail&oid=38


Tenement Museum ~$20 for a 1-hr guided tour
http://www.tenement.org/

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3131.jpg

Okay, so I have NEVER heard of the Tenement Museum until I read about it over and over again here on Fodors, where everyone raved about it. I was somewhat skeptical because few of my NY friends have heard of it and certainly none had been there.

I also thought $20 was a bit steep for a 1-hr tour, considering I can spend an entire day at the Metropolitan of Art for the same price.

Nonetheless, I decided to check it out. Thanks to the sage advice of Fodorites starrs, sf7307, and telechick, I booked our tickets in advance online. My husband and I took the 2:30pm Getting By Tour. When we arrived, the earliest tour with tix available was for 4pm.

Well, after the tour, I retract all my skepticism. It is indeed a well-done "museum" and very educational. I also think the $20 ticket is justified - since we were shown parts of the building that were not renovated, which made me realize how much time, effort, money and research had gone into recreating these apartments.

We really enjoyed the Getting By tour, in which we saw 2 apts of different periods - first one was 1860s and the second one was 1920s. The difference in amenities (no electricity, no running water in the former), and difference in building codes (no windows in 2 of the 3 rooms in the former apt) were quite obvious.

Pretty much everyone on our tour seemed to enjoy it, with lots of questions asked and participation. The only exception was a teenage boy who looked like he was bored out of his mind.

Bottom line:

Hi yk!

It was a pleasure meeting you.

Great report and pictures-- I especially enjoy the part about the walking tours. I've photographed some of the same buildings before without knowing what they were (the black & gold one and the fish).

Centralparkgirl - I would LOVE to join you if I were still in the city! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Boston, and I bet it's the same in NY!

If you have time this Friday morning, consider taking this special tour of the Cross-Park Promenade walk (the one I took).
http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/programs_walkingtours_CrossParkPromenade

There is a Special Spring Equinox tour this Friday at 11am. As I've mentioned above, the Waldo Hutchins Bench is specially designed that the shadow cast by the bench hits the equinox lines inscribed on the ground. I think it'll be pretty cool to actually see it in person.


And in case anyone else is still reading this trip report, just a quick word about the Jewish Museum. Obviously, there is a lot more to see there than just the Chagall special exhibit. However, due to time constraints, I only had about 1 hour there, which I spent only in the Chagall show. I will need to return there in the future to visit the permanent collection. Also, beware that if you go on Saturdays, not only there are no audioguides available, the museum shop is closed as well.

yk - I am working this Fri am, but I am definitely going to do a different cross-park promenade walk soon. It's amazing how much we don't do because we live here. Sounds great. I'm also going to fit in the Chagall this week. Dh and I were supposed to go last Sun, but it didn't work out. And of course, now it's the last minute. I read that Chagall's grand daughter's voice is on the audio tour with Liev Schreiber.

Museums continued

Metropolitan Museum of Art FREE with our reciprocal museum membership
http://www.metmuseum.org/

Since DH & I can get in the Met for free, we stop by for a visit every time we're in town. As a result, we have seen many parts of the museum (at least the ones we're interested in).

Our goal this time, is to see a special Vermeer painting - A Young Woman seated at the Virginals. You may recall a few years ago in the news about Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn who paid $30M in 2004 at auction for this Vermeer painting. Its authenticity had been in question until recent years, and with renewed examination it is now generally agreed to be painted by Vermeer. Wynn has sold this painting last October to an unknown buyer, and the painting is on view at the Met until beginning of June.

I have never seen this painting in person before, and given the unknown future of it (will it end up in someone's vault for the next 50 years?), this short showing at the Met is a golden opportunity for us to catch a glimpse of it.
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/baron_rolin.html

After our mission accomplished, we went to check out the Beyond Babylon exhibition. It was okay, but we aren't too interested in that subject. Having said that, there's something special about looking at works of art (gold jewelry for example) made 4000 years ago.


Forbes Galleries FREE
http://www.forbesgalleries.com/index.html

Entrance to the Forbes Building on Fifth Ave @ 12th St
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3102.jpg

This is my first time visiting the Forbes Galleries. I was attracted by its special exhibit as part of the Extreme Hungary festival.
http://www.extremelyhungary.org/

On view until end of this week, are 160 incredibly beautiful pottery pieces made by the Zsolnay factory in the city of Pécs during 1890-1920. These works (vases, chalices etc) are collected by Dr. László Gyugyi who owns over 600 pieces. This is likely the last time they can be viewed in the US because the collection is donated to Pécs which is designated European Capital of Culture 2010. The former Zsolnay factory and family home have been converted to a museum/exhibition hall which will be the future home of this collection.
http://www.forbesgalleries.com/jewelrygallery.html

What I love about the vases are: elegant shape and style; vibrant colors (reds, blues), and most importantly, the iridescence which one can only appreciate in person. IMO, these pieces are prettier than the vases I've seen at Louis Comfort Tiffany's exhibitions.

If you are in NYC this week, please try to go see it before it closes this Saturday.

2 other temporary exhibits on view right now are 1 gallery of paintings by Hungarian artists, and 1 small gallery of porcelain figures from Staffordshire.

Apart from the changing exhibits, there are multiple galleries that hold permanent collection, most of which I am not interested in (Toy boats, Toy soldiers, and Trophies). However, on one wall hangs 8 beautiful Art Deco glass panels designed by Jean Dupas (1882-1964) for the Grand Salon of the luxury ocean liner Normandie.

Unfortunately, no photography is allowed in the galleries.

A few comments about budget sightseeing in NYC

NYC is probably one of the most expensive cities in US to visit. However, as you can tell from my trip report, it can be done on a budget. Of course, we are lucky in that we can stay with friends in Manhattan for free, and we have relatively cheap transportation option to NYC.

But here are a few budget sightseeing tips, such as this Fodorites' contribution thread The 100 Best Free Things to Do in New York City:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/the-100-best-free-things-to-do-in-new-york-city.cfm

Also, in this thread, there are several links to free walking tours in NYC:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/free-guided-tours-in-manhattan.cfm

For museums, if your schedule is flexible, many offer free admission on certain days and certain times. Here's a list I find useful:
http://www.ny.com/museums/free.html

And if you are a member of your home museum, consider upgrading your membership to the level which provides FREE reciprocal entry at over 200 museums in US & Canada. On our one visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art alone, we saved $20 x 2 (admission) plus we received 10% off our purchase at the museum shop.

For getting around, the 7-day unlimited Metrocard at $25 is a great deal, even if your stay is less than 1 week.

What a lovely report. Nice to see how much can be done in such a short time.

Thanks for all the great information, yk. I am envious that you have a free place to stay in NYC, AND cheap bus fares to get into the city!

Robyn

3 Operas at the Met

If you are still reading this, you must be an opera lover to some extend. But before I begin describing the performances, let me say one thing about Lincoln Center and Alice Tully Hall.

I had every intention of taking the Tour of Lincoln Center ($15) on this trip.
http://www.lincolncenter.org/asc_load_screen.asp?screen=visitorinfo_indivtours#lcindiv

However, I had to cancel my reservation in the end, as I ran out of time. If you're in NYC between now and this weekend, consider taking the $5, 20-min special tour of Alice Tully Hall.
http://www.lincolncenter.org/asc_load_screen.asp?screen=visitorinfo_indivtours#ATH

I didn't have time for that either, but the Tully Hall is truly beautiful from the outside.
Day time photo:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3101.jpg
Night time photo:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3096.jpg

Metropolitan Opera House at night - you can see a transparent screen in the middle for La Sonnambula; plus the 2 indoor Chagall murals on either side.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3098.jpg
More about the La Sonnambula image by Cindy Sherman:
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/features/detail.aspx

Close-up shot of the Red Chagall mural
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/NYCMar2009/IMG_3128.jpg

Currently, there is a small gallery exhibit of Anselm Kiefer's works (from Metropolitan Museum of Art) relating to the Ring. The Ring Cycle will be performed at the Met in May.

Rusalka with Renée Fleming
I saw this on Thursday night, and my seat was the last row of Orchestra ($80). This is the 1993 production by Otto Schenk, which is stunning visually. Acts I and III are set in the forest by a lake, and one can almost believe there is real water on the stage. In the final scene of the opera, we see Rusalka literally sinking into the deep waters - what an incredible image. I also enjoyed the color schemes and lighting: cool lighting with blue/green hues for Rusalka and the underwater world; warm lighting with red/gold colors for the humans.

The music by Dvorak is beautiful, as is the singing by Flemming, Aleksandrs Antonenko (his Met debut), and the incredible mezzo Stephanie Blythe. Because my seat is below the overhang, I don't think it did justice to Flemming's singing (sounded a bit muted from my seat), thought Blythe's voice came through very well.

Despite all the positives, the audience seemed less than enthusiastic, which was the case noted by NYT reviewer on opening night a week earlier who was blaming it on the weather.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/music/11rusa.html

I have a better explanation. The opera, no matter how beautiful it is, is way too l-o-n-g. It consists of three Acts with 2 long intermissions (30 mins each), so I think by the start of Act III, the audience is tired. Act III is another 45 minutes, and when it finally ended at 11:45pm, everyone was just in a rush to get home on this school night.

That ny.com list of free hours seems suspect in some places. I think that MoMA is free Fridays 4-8.

It also claims Jewish Museum is free Tuesday nights, and as you've mentioned in your report, the museum is free Saturdays. I tried checking the museum's website directly and I don't think it lists Tuesday nights as free.

I think that it's best to cross check third-party information with the horse's mouth. And if it matters that much, be sure to call.

The Met's suggested admission is interesting. Theoretically the $20 is suggested, and a while ago I read an article in NYT about money-saving tips in which this is discussed. If I remember right, the reporter tried paying $1 (I think) and was given a dirty look. But there's nothing that prevents you from paying, say, one penny.

Operas continued

One thing I LOVE about the Met, is the ability for one to see multiple operas (not to mention, sung by the best singers in the world) during the same week.

Il Trovatore
I wasn't planning to see this opera on Friday night until I arrived in NYC. Originally, my friends were trying to get discounted tix (via work connections) for Jersey Boys. However, no discounts were available for the Fri night, so I ended up with a free evening.

On the bus to NYC from Boston, I read the review for Il Trovatore in NYT, which was a positive one, so I decided to get a standing room ticket Friday morning.

In retrospect, I should have opted for the cheaper ($15) ticket @ Family Circle, but instead, I got the $20 ticket @ Orchestra level. Just like my seat the night before, the spot is underneath the overhang, and it obscures about the top 1/3 of the stage.

This 08-09 Il Trovatore is a NEW production. I'm not too crazy about the set designs which is inspired by Goya's dark paintings (too barebones for me). Marcelo Álvarez was the tenor, who did a good job. However, after the intermission, there was an announcement by management that Álvarez got too ill during the performance, so he was replaced by Philip Webb (Met debut) in the second half. Webb did a decent job on such late notice, and he received a warm welcome from the audience.

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky sang the role of Leonora. The audience was completely in love with her, while I was scratching my head the entire night. She has a very loud voice, but to my ears, her voice is piercing and almost has a squeal quality! Thank goodness on repeat reading of the NYT review, I found Anthony Tommasini agreeing with me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/arts/music/18trov.html?scp=1&sq=trovatore

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bass Kwangchul Youn were fantastic as well.

Operas continued

La Sonnambula with Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay

OMG, so much to say about this opera production!!! I have been looking forward to this for 4 months, after I bought our tickets. Our seats were the last row in the Family Circus (aka Family Circle) for $42 each.

The GOOD first:
The singing. Oh my goodness. I've seen Florez sing live several times (with the most recent in Nov 08 at Covent Garden), and his singing here is the BEST I've heard. His voice, while lightweight, filled the entire auditorium well. I remembered thinking that his voice was too thin for Covent Garden last year. He has such a beautiful voice for bel canto arias, and the audience just went wild.

And Natalie Dessay! My goodness too. I've never heard her live, as I've only seen her at theatre last year for the La Fille du Regiment LIVE in HD. She is incredible, and she can sing while she's dancing too. And what is best, is that Dessay's and Florez's voices really compliment each others well when they sing the duets.

Now, the REALLY BAD:

This is a brand new production by Tony award-winning, MacArthur recipient Mary Zimmerman, who also did last year's New Production of Lucia di Lammermoor. Her take on La Sonnambula was truly awful and terrible! I bet Bellini was probably turning in his grave.

Zimmerman decided to transpose the opera setting to modern day 21st century, with the cast in a rehearsal room rehearsing for La Sonnambula. Instead of Amina being an innocent orphan in a Swiss village, she enters the stage wearing sunglasses and yapping on a cellphone like an opera diva.

Confused already? It gets more confusing when the "Count" enters wearing a suit underneath a cashmere coat. It is impossible for the audience to tell which is real and which is just part of the rehearsal. Is the "Count" just a singer in the rehearsal, or is he truly a visitor from the outside?

Before the end of the first half, when Elvino finds Amina sleeping in the Count's bed and rejects her, both are heartbroken and sing beautifully. However, in the background, the chorus is busy trashing the rehearsal room - a complete distraction from the duet - and worse still, the silliness of the trashing elicited laughter from the audience! I was fuming by then. The whole scene should be about 2 lovers who are heartbroken, yet Zimmerman made it into a farce.

Something similar happened in the second half. Elvino decided he is to marry Lisa instead after he found out Amina's "infidelity", but then Lisa was exposed as having seduced the Count. Elvino proceeds to sing about his confusion and sadness, about how everyone has deceived him. Again, while this beautiful aria is going on, the modern-day set made it impossible to believe his genuitity, and many of the audience were laughing again. I was totally disgusted by the production, by how it butchered such a beautiful opera and made it into a joke.

It would have been such a great opera with the excellent cast, the beautiful music and singing, yet it came out completely wrong.

No wonder Zimmerman was BOOED on opening night when she came out for her bow. If I were there, I would have booed too! Come to think of it, while it's been 3 days since I saw the opera, I am still mad.

You can read NYT's Anthony Tommasini's review here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/arts/music/04sonn.html?scp=5&sq=sonnambula

A few NY Moments...

Some strange sights I came across on my trip:

1) Horse carriages clip-clopping down 8th Avenue towards the SW corner of Central Park. This was around 9:30am on a weekday morning, and I was on a bus towards Lincoln Center. Next to our bus was a horse-carriage - no doubt on its way for business @ Central Park. But such an odd scene with buses, taxis careening down 8th Ave, the horse is completely oblivious to the traffic. It doesn't even stop for red lights running down 8th Ave!

2) Street corner in the UES, we were walking from the 86th/Lex subway station to the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 9:30am on Sunday. A woman had a folding table and chair set up at the corner of the sidewalk, proceeded to eat a huge steamed dungeness crab! There are no restaurants nearby, so it's completely inconceivable to us why she would be eating this on the street at 9:30am!!!

3) One very grumpy bus driver yelled at me for asking him where the next stop will be. He was the only rude person I encountered on this whole trip. "Same question every single day! Same question every single day!"

4) I chatted with an older gentleman on the bus (after Il Trovatore), who travels to NYC 6 times a year from Springfield MASS for operas. However, instead of staying overnight in the city, he heads to Grand Central after the opera to take Metro North to Connecticut, then picks up his car and drives another hour to get home. Crazy things we do for the sake of opera...

----------------------------------------

That's about it, folks. I thank all of you who took the time to read this. I hope this is entertaining for some, and informative and helpful for others.

I tried to include as much details in the 4 tours I took, since they are not usually mentioned or described here on Fodors.

I'll be happy to answer any specific questions.

yk: Thanks for a delightful and very well-linked thread! It's invaluable for my visit later this year and so am bookmarking this thread!

Sorry La Sonnambula turned out to be such a disappointment in some ways. We had the same thing happen in San Francisco for five years when every other opera was "modernized" - we had half naked women and machine guns in operas! The SF Opera was losing members. We're so relieved (about 2005-06) when we went back to classical interpretations which really seem to go more with opera.

The NY Met has done some very daring things with more modern aspects, but they have such great talent to call on. Sorry to hear it didn't quite work out this time.


Some of the tours you went on sound fascinating! Thanks again for posting in detail!

Hope to see you in May!

HI easytraveler - I'd love to hear what you think of La Sonnambula after the HD broadcast this weekend. I mean, I was glad I went, as the singing is just incredible! And don't forget to check the Kiefer's paintings and drawings at the opera house.

I want to tell you that my husband and I will be in San Francisco around the 3rd weekend of May. Will you be around or are you in NY for the Ring at that time? Drop me an email if you're in town and see if we can do a GTG.

yk - About your 'strange sights' - I could write a book of strange sights in NY (as I think many other locals could). What can I say? Living here makes us strong (and sometimes a little crazy! lol) No excuse for the bus driver. I would have taken his number!

Really enjoyed how you structured your report and btw, you are the link queen!!! Thanks for the great info.

this was great!! I am going next week with my 17 yo daughter. She has never been!
I love the idea of the free walking tours in Central Park.
any Brunch ideas prior to this anyone??? Sunday.

Thanks so much for the very informative report!!

Hi annesherrod - glad you find this useful. For brunch before Central Park, definitely check out the Sarabeth's Kitchen on Central Park South I wrote about in the Eats section. They offer brunch on weekends starting at 8am.

yk: Thanks for the offer to do a GTG in Boston. I'm going to be at the LA one this weekend and am so looking forward to meeting your brother there.

The speedo-wearing panda will also be there. I'll email you after next weekend on the panda, La Sonnambula and a possible GTG, either in Boston or here.

My friend tried to get tickets near Century City but they were sold out a month ago, so she had to get tickets in Burbank. Seems like NY Met simulcasts are even more popular in LA than they are up here!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

yk-you know there is a GTG in Boston for the Asia board being planned? Wish you were here in LA this weekend so we could meet, but I'll just have to substitute your brother instead. And easytraveler too, of course!

Thanks, yk, for your detailed report on La Sonnambula, which (I misspoke earlier) we're seeing on the 28th. I hope we're not as put off as you were by the updated staging. I hear you loud and clear though.

My fear is that the new Damnation of Faust, which we loathed despite all the technical wizardry applied, does not bode well for the next Ring Cycle, to be created by the same production team that committed the Berlioz.

After Sonnambula, L'Elisir d'Amore and Don Giovanni, we have the last Ring Cycle in May, likely to be the last time we'll see the current productions and the last time we'll hear Plácido Domingo as Siegfried and James Morris as Wotan. Of course, maybe the Met will be strapped for production money, come to its senses and retain the current Ring.

Hi Kristina - Yes, I know about the Oct Boston GTG. It's too far ahead for me to think about it yet, but if I'm around and I'm not busy I'll try to go.

bspielman - I hope you'll enjoy it more than I did. I don't think that many people get as angry as I did (eg, my husband), and I almost never get mad over an opera production. But somehow Zimmerman's production just really rubbed me the wrong way as I felt she completely destroyed something that could have been so great. Enjoy the Ring, though I've never seen it, I bet Otto Schenk's production was fantastic.

Great report. Lots of great tips and different ideas for things to do.

yk...loved your trip report, very useful, question for you, I have never gone to the opera and would love to go, how did you go about getting the tickets?

My understanding is that the tickets are very expensive, yet your tickets were not expensive.

Thanks,

Artie

If I may, Artie, I'll answer this.

While it's true that some tickets at the Metropolitan Opera are expensive, many are not, relatively speaking. The Met seats 3,800 people with an orchestra level and five balconies. Generally speaking, the higher in the House you sit, the less expensive the seats are. Prices range from $15 (for an obstructed view seat in the uppermost balcony) to $375 (for a seat in a center box in the first balcony).

You can inquire about tickets by calling the Met box office at 212-362-6000, or online at www.metopera.org. Should you call, tell them that you're an opera novice looking for suggestions about seating and about repertoire. They're very helpful.

This season at the Met is winding down, ending with Wagner's Ring Cycle in May. So, you don't have much choice left in terms of what to see,

The Met is a so-called repertory house, where many operas are presented consecutively, maybe four or five being presented in any given week. That's as opposed to an opera house where a single opera has a run of a week or so before another one is presented.

The 2009-2010 season, starting next Fall, is chock full of good standard repertory operas (along with some esoterica). Relatively familiar operas with familiar music and with easy-to-follow plots (well, everything's relative, but we do have Met Titles for instant translation!) will be frequently presented next season. Among them are Tosca, Aida, The Barber of Seville and The Daughter of the Regiment. The first two are dramas; the latter two, comedies.

One last thing to remember is the Met Live in HD telecasts to movie theaters all over the country. Next season, there will be at least nine live broadcasts. Tickets are $22, and it's a great way to introduce yourself to opera at minimal cost. Attending one of these performances is sort of analogous to watching a baseball game on television; you get great close-ups of the players, but little of the ambiance of actually being in the ballpark. Nonetheless, we've attended some of these, and they're really great, with the audience applauding just as if they were in the Opera House itself.

However you attend, and wherever you sit, enjoy the opera!

Hi Artie-

bspielman answered your question very thoroughly. Since I don't live in NYC, it doesn't work out for me to get season tickets. Season tickets are cheaper (per opera) than single tickets, and you get better seat choices.

For single tickets, I just buy them online from Met's website. They go on sale after the subscription period is over, as subscribers get first dip at seats. Many performances do sell out esp the ones with big stars (Domingo for example), however for others you can still get tickets if you buy a few months (or even weeks) in advance.

I do not recommend the back of the orchestra (the $80 tix for Rusalka) because the acoustics is not as great due to the overhang. Balcony is great but expensive; Family Circle is the highest level, and the full view tickets are $42 (for the La Sonnambula). While it's high up, the acoustics are great.

During the week Mon thru Thurs, the Met sells RUSH tickets - 200 of orchestra seats at just $20 - excellent deal. They also sell standing room tickets for all performances, which is what I got for the Il Trovatore performance.

The Met's website is very helpful and easy to navigate. It even has a section which helps you choose which/what kind of opera may suit you. After all, I would not recommend an opera novice to attend Shostakovich's The Nose as his/her first opera.

yk, what did you think of "The Nose"? I just saw that Met will be doing it next season.

MlleFifi - Surprisingly, I didn't mind the production I saw in Boston. The singing was very good, and the music wasn't too bad, at least more tolerable than Wozzeck. It got great reviews in all the papers in Boston as well. The director for the production is Russian/Jewish, so she has a good background of Gogol. I think what's most engaging about the opera, is the absurd storyline behind it, which keeps me wanting to know what will happen next...

I bet you'll be going to Attila next season? With Miuccia Prada and Herzog/de Meuron, it'll be interesting to say the least.

Hi yk love your reports having read your posts on Spain, London, Paris and now New York. I really don't know how you write them with such detail as I can't remember what I ate last night let alone several days ago. I guess I am a photographer rather than a writer and I just could not be bothered to make notes. I also love your Opera comments and you will just have to make it to the Sydney Opera House one day and write a report of course. I notice that you stay with friends in an apertment in NY, but if you had to stay in a hotel, as we will when we visit NY next year, can you recommend one (in your sort of price range) for a fellow Opera lover of course!

Hi DownUnder, thank you for your kind comments! I'd love to visit Australia but of course it's a very long trip and expensive too.

There are many more NYers who are much better with hotel suggestions, so feel free to start your new thread asking for suggestions. All I can say is to pick a hotel on the West side of Manhattan (perhaps near Times Sq if you don't mind crowds; or near Herald Sq/Macy's) so that you can just hop on the subway and be back at the hotel quickly. My friends live all the way over on the far East side, which makes the trip to/from Lincoln Center daily quite a chore as traffic is bad and there are no direct subway lines from the East.

DownUnder, I think you might find that visitors to New York can offer more first-hand hotel experience than we residents of New York or the Metro area. We don't tend to stay in New York hotels.

yk does make a valid point about East Side/West Side locations. There are crosstown buses, but they're as prone to traffic delays as cabs are.

yk, thanks for posting this report. It is well-written and takes people on an affordable tour of the city off the tourist track

I read the review of La Sonnambula in the Times and was shocked that anyone let Zimmerman have her own way with that production---a very expensive mistake, as it surely will not be mounted again. Emulating Pirandello's Six Characters in the staging guarantees it is a cliche before it even gets off the ground! One thing about opera, though, if the production is horrible you can still close your eyes and listen to the heavenly music that transcends even Zimmerman.

kswl writes:

"One thing about opera, though, if the production is horrible you can still close your eyes and listen to the heavenly music ...."

This is precisely what we did at The Damnation of Faust!

kswl - Juan Diego Florez is so cute that there's NO WAY I would close my eyes! You should have seen me drooling...
I guess most people did like Zimmerman's Lucia di Lammermoor production last year. I didn't see it but hopefully it'll be on PBS sometime this Spring so I'll watch it then. It'll be interesting to see if she redeems herself on next year's Armida production at the Met.

yk, not disagreeing! Florez is one major... tenor

yk, just a question,,,,what did you think of the Vermeer? I looked it up online after you or someone else on the European board brought it to our attention that it is at the Met.

It seems rather ho-hum even though that is almost blasphemous to say. I was in Amsterdam last month and, of course, was blown away by the art in general and Vermeer in particular. The 3 times I have been to NYC I have to go the the Frick to see 'the girl interupted at her music lesson' as well as the wonderful ones at the Met.

I was wondering if it seemed more impressive in person?

thanks...lynda

Hi lynda- It's a tiny painting... smaller than an A4 size, so there's not that much to look at like other of his bigger paintings. It's not bad, as I assume it has been cleaned/restored in recent years, but certainly not a painting that catches my eyes when I stepped into the gallery. The placard at the Met seems to imply that her yellow coat was painted by another hand.

Since I have an obsession of trying to see all the 36 Vermeers if possible, I try to take advantage of every chance I get, esp this one whose future dwelling is unknown.

yk, don't know how I missed this! Great report! Will come in handy when we head down in the next month or so.

In Boston news, we are headed to the MFA for the Shackleford talk on Wed the 25th (Impressionist use of color, I believe). My SO and I may try and see the Venetian exhibit before that if we get out of work in timely fashion, otherwise it'll just be the talk, but it sounds really good and my sis says he is a wonderful presenter.

Hi amyb - Thanks for the heads up on the Impressionist lecture this week. I'm not sure if I'll go, depending on whether I'm over this horrible cough I caught while in NYC! I'm pretty sure I have bronchitis at this point.

I'm not crazy about those Italian Renaissance guys, but I think the new show got lots of rave reviews, so I will go see it at some point.

Enjoy your trip to NY next month. The Wynn Vermeer is in the Dutch galleries section; right next to the Met's other Vermeers.

Yikes, feel better! That stinks!

Thanks for the info on the Vermeer...I was puzzled in London why they were rooms apart when they appear to be companion pieces! I need to get sis to pick a date and just go!

I am not a huge fan of the Venetian masters either but I have heard it is exceptionally well done and the MFA did a great job in presenting it. Of course my source is biased!

yk - really enjoy your report. I'll be heading back up there around the end of April, and I'll put much of it to good use!

smetz - April will be the perfect time for a walk in Central Park. I bet all the trees will be blooming and it will be beautiful!

amyb - When we got to the Met, I had a slight panic because even though I knew the Vermeer is supposed to be on view, I didn't research to see where it is placed! I asked one of the guards and he obviously didn't know, but pointed us to the direction of the gallery where the Met's Vermeers reside. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the other one. The placard doesn't mention anything about the story behind the painting, nor about it being temporarily shown for a few months, nor disclosed the owner. "Private Collection" was all it said.

Hi yk. A great and very useful report, as usual. Since you said you are on a quest to see all the Vermeers I was wondering if you had a chance to see "The Concert" before it was stolen, and still not recovered, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston?

Unfortunately, sharona, I did not. I didn't move to Boston until late 1990, a few months after the heist. While I don't want to give up hope, I have a feeling that it won't be found during my lifetime.

Still 8 more Vermeers to see (not counting the stolen one).

yk...

Thanks for posting this terrific report. I am only about half way through and looking forward to reading the rest.

I was interested in what you had to say about the Tenement Museum since I am leaving tomorrow for a long weekend in NYC and have tickets for the museum on Saturday. Good to know you enjoyed it!

LCI- Thanks for reading. Enjoy your long weekend!

Just back from La Sonnambula tonight at the Met. Dessay and, particularly, Flórez were spectacular, eliciting a thunderous ovation at the end.

The production, however, was laughable, especially the amateurish choreography. Choristers prancing around in rhythm to Amina's famous final cabaletta was the last straw. Zimmerman's conceit of modernizing the locale of the story and introducing the idea of a rehearsal of the opera within the opera was terribly misconceived.

Despite the amazing singing, not the Met's best night.

Hi bspielman - I'm glad that you at least enjoyed the singing! BTW, I was alerted by another Fodorite about an article/interview on Dessay in the March 2nd issue of the New Yorker. I finally got a chance to read it and it was a fun read. There's also an article on La Sonnambula in a recent issue of New Yorker (last week?) but I haven't had a chance to read that yet.

The March 2009 issue of Opera News has an article about this production: Zimmerman was all set to do a traditional Swiss village production. Dessay, it says, was adamant that it NOT take place in a Swiss village, so Zimmerman came up with this disastrous compromise. Some Swiss, some not.

In any case, full of holes.

We were also in a prep class to take the NYC tour guide exam. All of us passed it. I live in DC and have been guiding/tour directing here and want to expand to the entire MidAtlantic. We did do Top of the Rock and NO (sigh!) operas. Groups don't go to the opera. I would have much rather done what you did, but, then, I would not have passed the test.
http://www.club-penguin.org/

Thanks for your comment, hankjmatt. May I ask what the weblink you posted is about? Is it travel-related???

I missed this report when it was first posted. I was interested to see your account of the tour of Grand Central Terminal. My husband (then boyfriend) and I took an excellent tour of the terminal in the mid-1970's. It was sponsored by a group called Save Grand Central. There was then a serious danger that the terminal would be torn down
http://www.nypap.org/archives/110

We have a book called Lost New York with many pictures of the old Penn Station, and it is so sad to look through it and think of what was destroyed.

As for the Tenement Museum, I am glad you tried and enjoyed it. It was the first museum known to interest my younger son.