I arrived at JFK around 10:30 pm and immediately hopped into a cab headed for Manhattan. After meeting up with Kurt, Traci, Travis & Dorothy at the Fat Buddha, we ended the evening by stopping by the Tuck Shop for Aussie meat pies.
Me, Travis, Traci & Kurt (apologies for the darkness) just before eating our food.
Nothing like a late night (2am) ride in the subway. And, yes I did see a rat in the tunnel.
We ate lunch on my first day in NY here. Oddly, my first two meals in NYC both included meat pies. We headed to Brooklyn to try out Dub Pies, known for their NZ/Aussie style pies.
Amongst those pies we tried: steak & mushroom, steak & cheese, potato top and a sausage roll. Can't quite match the pies I'm used to eating (e.g. Bernie's) but pretty damn good.
After ingesting a bunch of pies, we took a leisurely stroll through Prospect Park (conveniently located next to the pie shop) and enjoyed the lovely weather. I lucked out by being in NYC on a relatively warm weekend!
Grand Army Plaza where we ended our journey through Prospect Park. We even caught the end of a small farmer's market. Very, very cool.
Next up, a subway ride back to Manhattan to cruise around a few of the museums. Here we find ourselves outside the Guggenheim.
And the Guggenheim from within. Beautifully quirky building (Frank Lloyd Wright FTW). As we didn't have too much time, we didn't get to view any of the exhibitions as we headed straight on down the street to the Met.
Temple of Dendur at the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met).
This ipu pic is for you Mum. Ho'o ma kau kau!
Maori tiki also found in the Met's Oceania collection.
Some funky looking furniture in the collection.
Me, Kurt & Traci enjoying our trip to the Met.
Seen in the Modern Art gallery.
Kurt.
More from the Modern Art collection.
Weird. Kurt & I as reflected by Anish Kapoor's mirror. Made of tiny hexagonal mirrors arranged in a concave manner, you get quite a view when you stand at the appropriate distance and gaze upon yourself.
Ah, Monet. One of these days I promise I'll make it to see your work at the l'Orangerie...and Giverny.
We entered in the late afternoon and exited in the early evening in darkness. The façade of the Met looks lovely lit up like so.
Sunday afternoon called for some Dim Sum at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown.
USC represent! Kurt, Travis, Dorothy, Gigi (sorta) & I after eating a ton of yummy food.
And since they ran out of egg tarts at the dim sum place, we walked over to a nearby shop to grab some tasty ones before walking on over to SoHo for a bit of window shopping.
Dorothy & Travis stopped at a cart to pick up some of their favorite nougat.
Dinner at Max Restaurant in Tribeca with Phil, Traci & Kurt. Great Italian food.
What better way to begin the last day of my whirlwind NYC trip than with a stop at the 5th Ave flagship Apple Store!
Followed by a trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for some awesomely modern artwork. Van Gogh's Starry Night!
And Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel. Ah, readymades...
Disappointingly, one of the works I wanted most to see, Dali's Persistence of Memory, was loaned out the day I visited. If only I had come a day or two earlier. :-(
Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans kinda started to make me hungry...
And this lovely shot of the center space of the MoMA. Visible at the bottom is a large (though looking relatively small in this pic) Kara Walker work.
Finished off my trip with a quick lunch at Takahachi with Phil & Gigi who both work nearby. You can see Gigi's black cod above and my Katsu don (I copied Phil's order) below. Yummy food, great company.
And finally back to JFK to fly back to the Bay Area. Farewell NYC. Until next time!
I am greatly indebted to those friends I had the opportunity to hang out with during my brief trip to New York. Travis, Dorothy, Gigi, Kurt, Traci & Phil, thanks a bunch and I hope I can see you guys out there again sooner rather than later. After having been away from NYC for over 9 years, I hope my next trip to the area won't require such a long wait!
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