Desert Wanderers: New York, New York! Today I get cultural awareness

The one thing that is consistent about cruising is that every thing can change.. we were to enter the US in Norfolk Virginia but do to construction, immigration would not be able to board the ship to release it for face to face immigration checks..so the next best option was New York! Talk about a mixed blessing!!!

We were able to pass by the Statue of Liberty in the early morning and I will always remember it! It was worth every single cold moment. Even cocoa with bourbon didn’t make the chill go away.

At breakfast we could watch the sun rising between the sky scrapers. Our dock was right next to the Intrepid aircraft carrier. And within a short walk from downtown Manhattan. Perfect spot for exploring.

Our plan today is to head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then hopefully ride a carriage through Central Park.

Every time we take public transportation, Albert is all smiles.

Walking up to the front of the museum. Food truck heaven

The entrance looking down from the second floor

Second floor open balcony

There was a special exhibition of Mexican printmakers. Many of the prints were done during the 1950’s labor movement in Mexico and had powerful statements.

Each print was a work of art. It reminded me of when my father and I would print in our basement print shop.. learning the art of printing helped me to appreciate both the printed book and visual prints ad works of art.

Cy Twombly work titled” Dutch Interior”..wax crayon,lead pencil and oil… any of you parents our there find this familiar??

Of course if there’s a Jackson Pollack we must photograph it. We had tried to decide ahead of time which area of the museum we wanted to focus on.. I had a list of the 10 best things at the Met and since we had spent lots of time on our WC looking at Asian art and just recently perusing medieval art in cathedrals along the Rhine, we decided to try to see the contemporary artwork first. Realizing our age and stamina isn’t what it used to be, we figured we’d better get the good stuff right away…. And boy did we!

Van Gogh

Again Van Gogh!

More Van Gogh

This was the largest collection Ive ever seen of his work… I would imagine it is only outmatched by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It was wonderful to be able to see some of his lesser known works and see the progression of his talent/torment.

We also made sure to spend a little more time in the contemporary artists wing and found Renoir,Monet, Manet and more. It was exciting and I would encourage you all to put museum visits on your list of things to do.. Every museum has treasures to share with you. Maybe not Van Gogh but still something to reach your soul.

We still had time and energy so we pointed our steps towards the Greek and Roman statuary to find Perseus with the head of Medusa.

This sculpture by Antonio Canova 1804-06 (Marble)

Up close it is absolutely amazing at how fluid Canova makes the muscles and the cloth. I can not believe the cloth looks as real as it can and flowing off the arm. Again, I am absolutely gob smacked at how beautiful this sculpture is. The illusion that you just might turn to stone from the head of Medusa is perfect!

Next we headed over to the American wing to see “ George Washington crossing the Delaware” Like the “Night Watch “ we saw in Amsterdam,,, this thing is BIG..the frame alone was gigantic! It was an inaccurate representation of the event, but has represented the hero that is George Washington and Im glad I saw it…… that’s all Ill say

Also in the American wing,in the rooms of decorative furniture I found this:

A picture by Titus Kaphar (born 1976)OF William (Billy ) Lee. This painting addresses the erasure of black figures in Western art and how that invisibility impacts the telling of truthful histories. It is Tar and oil… it certainly made an impression on me.

We continued our viewing for another hour or so and then decided we had reached our energy level.

We were still smiling after the museum

And decided to find a carriage to tour Central Park

The pigeons love when the horses are fed…

In our carriage waiting for Emma our horse to be ready to work

Our carriage

Emma was a good girl and kept a nice steady pace. Her driver Kevin was informative and entertaining. Here’s a few pictures we took:

The park was relaxing and peaceful and I can see what a plus it is to have it right smack in the middle of the city. When we finished our ride we found a Nathan’s hot dog stand and wolfed down the best tasting hot dog ever… then it was a cab ride back to the ship as we were beat now… vacation is exhausting. Our ship is docked next to The Intrepid

If we visit again, this will be a suggestion to see.our big plan is to have dinner and then walk to Times Square.