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February 02, 2004
things about NY
I just got back from a four day whirlwind of museums, drinking and hanging out with friends and still feel utterly exhausted.
We decided to take the Acela, which was a mistake. Next time we'll suck up the extra $120 or so and fly. The Acela, a supposedly 150mph train that was to whisk us to NY in three hours. It took us six. About halfway there, the train decided to just stop on the tracks. We waited for an hour for another train to pick us up (in the meantime the slightly slower train that we had reservations on and we switched tickets to the earlier train...whizzed right by us). And let me tell you, that train NEVER went 150mph. Neither of them either direction. At the most we might have managed 100 or so, but only for brief periods of time. Mostly I bet we averaged about 70. We could nearly have drove for the same amount of time with less hassle.
And remind me to ask Sean why in hell he picked JANUARY to have a gathering? Damn it was cold! /whine off But seriously, he did an amazing job organizing it all. You would think that he was a wedding planner in a previous life. ;)
We spent Friday wandering the museums since the other 35 people hadn't yet arrived. At the Guggenheim, we saw the Kandinsky Several Circles painting that we love--the one that we bought a print for while we were in Vegas.
We also were able to see Van Gogh's Mountains at Saint-Rémy:
It was the first time I had been there and the building IS very cool, but damn, it needs a serious paintjob on the exterior.
Then we headed over to the Met and saw about 1/4 of it. It's just way too massive to see it all. They have the best medieval art collection and the best armor collection.
They have a really wonderful modern art collection as well. Some of the highlights for me:
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere--Grant Wood
Pollock's Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
But the most interesting were the 50 or so Men In Skirts.
We did some serious drinking that evening, but unlike others, we managed to leave the bar without consequence! ;)
The next day was all about the American Museum of Natural History, which is a really cool museum. The difficult thing about that is trying to tour a museum with 35 other people--not quite as difficult as herding cats, but definitely a challenge.
We had a really nice dinner at this cozy little Irish bar that night. We had a really wonderful time and was able to visit with both old friends and meet some new ones.
Now, it's all about recovery...I think it's going to take me a few days to regain my sleep!
Posted by crystallyn at February 2, 2004 10:10 PM
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Comments
I was actually just at the American Museum of Natural History this Sunday (yes, I went to a museum instead of watching the Superbowl), and I can't imagine doing it with a tour group. There is so much stuff there that even the three people with whom I went couldn't stay together - everyone wanted to see a different thing. Took us forever to reach a concensus on whether to see the saurischian or ornithischian dinosaurs first... Anyway, what I'd really want is a week off from work to lurk around the place on my own, undisturbed.
AMNH might be my new favorite museum.
Posted by: Brad at February 3, 2004 05:06 PM
I haven't been to a whole lot of museums, but I have been to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) 3 separate times. :) I would love to visit more museums someday.
Sounds like you had a great weekend! I'm sure Joe was happy about the Patriots winning too!
Posted by: Legenae at February 4, 2004 10:32 AM