Must-See Louis Vuitton Exhibit Downtown
 

For those who love the art of craftsmanship, and the pursuit of travel -- by air, rail, ship, auto, don't miss the wonderful, free Louis Vuitton exhibition on Trinity Place which runs through January 7, after being in several other worldwide venues. From Penn Station, jump on the 1 train to Rector Street and it's less than a block away. Fascinating story of how the family began their craft as box-makers and graduated to magnificent trunks to fulfill any and all requests of their customers -- shoe trunk holding 30 pairs of shoes, trunk for oil paintings, trunk of bookshelves for avid readers, whatever you could imagine. It follows the times from travel by ship, to road through Asia/Africa, air travel, auto, rail travel, and ends up with stunning fashions, and their American business which first started at Wanamaker. Beautifully executed. Check online for free reservation times, but today (Friday noon) there was no crowd. The Vuitton family polled their customers and was able to obtain back from certain families key pieces for this stunning collection -- worth an hour-plus, and remember, it's free, and there is a small shop and quaint free souvenir.

We saw this exhibition in Paris, where it originated. It was very good. But be advised that, since it's free, you may encounter LONG lines. The line in Paris extended around the block. Aliced, you were much luckier than the viewers in Paris, who often had to wait hours to get in.

FWIW, if you want to see something similar but on a smaller scale, the Louis Vuitton store at Marina Bay in Singapore has changing exhibitions that you can walk through to get to the store itself. No lines, no fuss, no reservations needed.

Aha! in NYC it's a bit off the beaten path at the site of the former American Stock Exchange, and right near the World Trade Center & Trinity Church. I did wonder why there were two lines, one for walk-ins and one for the online ticket-holders. What a pleasure. Will attempt to see the Michelangelo show this Wednesday at the Met; as its curator and my fave Philippe de Montebello suggest, see fewer items for a longer time to best appreciate the vast exhibit.