A couple of weekends

Oh no!  We have catching up to do!

Last Saturday, I got flowers for no reason...and was speechless for once.

Last weekend was full of rain, but before it all hit we managed to spend some time at Dumbarton Oaks Museum and Garden in Georgetown.

The museum is a Harvard research library filled with Byzantine and ancient artifacts, a stately mansion which used to belong to a family who founded the gardens.  If you've ever read The Secret Garden, it's a magical like that, only not wild and not a secret.

My photos came out quite fuzzy because I didn't realize my camera was stuck between Auto and Scenery, so obviously didn't know what to compensate for.  However, here are some of the best, and a couple from Jeff's camera.

From J's camera - on the Juliet balcony overlooking one of the garden levels

An interior gate between two small gardens

The pebble fountain and wisteria

J and the spewing horse

The back of the library museum

White wisteria?









An urn garden

Pretty, but no public access area.

The rain started as soon as we left the garden!

I don't recall where we had dinner after that, but it was somewhere around Dupont Circle.  Afterwards we went to our favorite haunt the 18th Street Lounge, and oh boy do I have a story, which I already shared on Facebook so for some of you this will be a repeat but for most of you it will be new and "excessively diverting", to somewhat quote Jane Austen.  

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The 18th Street Lounge jazz floor is usually host to a sophisticated and level-headed crowd, unlike the young clubber types on the trance floor downstairs.

We managed to snag a sofa that was vacated not long after we arrived, but before the band set up. Jeff went to get the second round of drinks so there was me, a little space, my bag, and the next sofa. Some tall dude came and plopped himself down in Jeff's spot. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, somebody is sitting here." He looked at me like I was lying, asked if he could sit there until my drinks did arrive, and proceeded to introduce himself, "Hi, I'm Bob." He sounded Irish. He put out his hand and I gave him a fingertip handshake, as almost a reflex of politeness. 

He said, "Aren't you drinking?" I said, "I'm waiting for my drink." He said, "Are you here with your girlfriend or boyfriend?" I said, "My boyfriend." He said, "Just checking." Then he said, "Thanks for saving me a seat." I said, "This is not your seat." He looked shocked. By now I'm desperately thinking to myself, "Jeff, where are you...?"

He then proceeded to ask, "Are you in school?" I said, "No." He then asked, "What do you do for work?" I said, "None of your business." And proceeded to shoo him away, like you do with garden critters. And with audacity he proceeded to touch one of my shooing hands. I shooed again with more vigor and when I spotted Jeff approaching very nearly shouted at him to buzz off. He did leave and when Jeff sat down a moment later I told him my story and thought I could point out my "admirer", but he had simply disappeared.

As for Jeff, he too had a story. He said that a guy had bought us our drinks! There was some mix up with the queue so the guy who was mistakenly placed ahead of Jeff was kind enough to order in such a way that the bartender told Jeff that, by the way, the drinks were already paid for. 

Quite an odd evening at the 18th Street Lounge, if you ask me.

The following evening when retelling the story to Jeff's law school friend at dinner, when I was describing how "Bob" had taken hold of my shooing hand (I think I'd forgotten that part when first telling it), Jeff said with surprised cuteness, "He took your hand??? Nobody touches my Olivia...!"

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This past Thursday we joined 4 of his friends to see the opening of the Star Trek movie.  It was excellent!  I know prequels usually have a bad reputation but this one was perfect, probably not least because it had J J Abrams at the helm, he who created Fringe.  It was a great mix of drama, romance, action, and comedy without losing balance.

That is all I will say, since it's so new yet.

J and I ordered one medium popcorn and medium drink to share, and unsurprisingly, despite working hard at it, we didn't even finish quarter.  Next time, we should order small and perhaps get half of it finished ;)

We enjoy what we eat or drink but can't always finish, and waitstaff are continually surprised.

After the movie, we all went to a brewery restaurant which was alive and kicking at 10pm on a Thursday night.  I don't know how.  J didn't drop me off at home until past 12.30 - this was very wild of us, and I paid the next day by having waking dreams in front of my computer.

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We decided to have a relaxing weekend, so there are no adventures to recount.  We ran errands, ate lunch at Cici's Pizza (my first time there since leaving Texas!) scoured the stores for a game of Scrabble, and bought ingredients for baking.

We used my nice kitchen to bake Magic Cookie Bars, had a cup of tea, then left them to cool while we went up to Bethesda for a light dinner at an Indian restaurant.  I had the most intriguing tamarind margarita.  Didn't get a buzz off it, but it was an exciting blend of tart and spice with a latent burn in the throat, like an authentic cup of masala chai would give.  And the papri chat starter will probably haunt me this week, I liked it that much.

As is our wont, we shared the starter and the entree (tandoori shrimp with naan), so as to leave room for dessert.  While we were eating outdoors, a jazz band down the street caught our attention so we ambled down there to check them out.  They were playing on the raised patio outside the Haagen-Dasz place so customers and passersby were sitting and standing around, expressing their appreciation with generous tips.  The amount of stray quality bands on street corners in this area is amazing!  These boys were very white, kinda preppy, kinda geeky, and college-age, but that was some of the best jazz I've ever heard.

Dessert consisted of magic cookie bars with tea.  We played Scrabble.  He won by a long shot.  We're both good with words but I'm a better speller and he's a better strategist.  Girl vs Boy.

Today was an even quieter day, the usual Sunday tradition of hanging out in Bethesda watching people, children and dogs - and today it was quite a show because of Mother's Day.  

We were defeated by our brunch - buttermilk pancakes, eggs, sausages, bacon - but had room later on for one scoop each of Haagen-Dasz ice cream.

Tomorrow I see him again because he's taking me to the mall to pick up my shoes at the cobbler, and we'll have dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.

Annapolis Adventure

It's not often I wait until Wednesday to blog about the weekend, but it's been a busy week and I can't quite figure out evenings.

I work from 9.30am-6.30pm.  I've worked those hours before in London, with an equally long - but much more tiring - commute.  Perhaps the reason I'm confused is that back then I stopped planning as soon as I got home.  Now, the 9 o'clock hour is reserved for talking to Jeff, so I like to get chores done beforehand and internety things afterwards - and weekends are also no longer laundry-filled lolling about in pyjama days.  I have things to see, and places to explore, with somebody!

So anyway, this has been a hard week so far, mainly because of this one English project.  I got one phase of it QC'd and handed over but it was mind-boggling because the client gave it to us so mangled up the project managers and graphics department are in overdrive.  And I have to sift through that confusion.  I tell you, it was such a relief to turn to the relatively simple Italian documents sitting on my desk all morning.

You know what I like hearing when I am on the metro?  Leaving the Foggy Bottom-George Washington University station, the driver often says, "This is the last stop in the District of Columbia.  Next stop is Rosslyn, the first stop in the Commonwealth of Virginia."  I'll have to tell you more sometime about Virginia, the Old Dominion founded in 1607 as the first English settlement in North America.  And of course you know it's named after Elizabeth the Virgin Queen?

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But you want to know about Saturday, of course.

It was a lovely nearly-hot day which was pushed a little late because J had training to do at the office.  When he picked me up, we went to get a hat for me (which I couldn't wear because it was so windyu) and a pair of sunglasses for him (which he wore because it was so sunny).

On to Annapolis.  It's only about a 45-minute drive so we were there around mid-afternoon and wandered about a bit, taking in the atmosphere and watching the people, including midshipmen (male and female) in their summer whites.  It is a quaint, pretty, quirky town full of arts and crafts, seafood bars, galleries, antique shops, cafes.

Then we came upon a 40-minute boat cruise on the Severn River, which took us past the US Naval Academy, towards the Chesapeake Bay.

Up the Severn River with the US Naval Academy to the left

A pretty sailboat

Afternoon skies over the USNA

Sunset over the Severn River

Sunset over the USNA dorms and chapel dome.

The dorms are the second largest in the world, housing 4,000 midshipmen.

The chapel dome has a gilt cupola on top.

Returning to dock after the cruise.

Jeff's cool new sunglasses and my old ones

McGarvey's Saloon and Oyster Bar on Pinkney Street, Annapolis.

It was all wood-panelling, tile floors, marble tables, Tiffany lamps.  There was an atrium room where we ate in the left building, which had a real tree growing out of the floor and it reached the glass ceiling.  I couldn't take a pic as by then it was too dark.

I was taking a photo of the chocolate marquise we shared to round out the 3-course seafood dinner.  Even this we couldn't finish.  We rarely finish anything.  And yes, J is well aware that any photo I take could end up here, which is kind of why he did that.

The Maryland State House and Flag on State Circle, Annapolis.
Built in 1772, the state house is the oldest continually-used capitol building in the US, and for a short while even served as the nation's capitol.
The Maryland flag is unusual and probably the only one in the union to be based on heraldry:

It represents the quartered Calvert and Crossland family crests.  MD was founded in 1639 as a English colony by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore.  Crossland was his mother's family and as she was an heiress he was entitled to use her family crest in his own (the red and white cross bottony).  The yellow and black palisades represent a fortress.  Maryland is the only state to display a gold cross on its flagpole.

Coming up for air

Yes, Glo, here I am - I read the late comments on my last post!

Omigosh!  It's raining cats, dogs and a few horses out there!  It started just as I typed the last sentence.  This evening walking home the air was heavy, warm and moist, like a primordial soup, with a few silent flashes of lightning.  Like the rebirth of life was about to happen.

Anyway, you want to hear about the job.  The image of the cherry blossoms above are from the two trees flanking the office entrance in Arlington.  Everyone is so nice and friendly there.  It's a quiet and studious environment, which is perfect for me.  When it's a hectic week, you can hear a pin drop.  When there's not enough work, it gets noisy.

So far, I've edited documents in Latvian, Portuguese, French, and - get this - Azeri (from Azerbaijan) for things I shouldn't tell you about.  But I now know how to say gamma and neutron in more than one language.

I'm a tri-stater now:  live in DC, work in VA, hang out in MD.  I've never crossed state lines so much in my life.

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This weekend with J was wonderful!  Saturday was hot - nearly 80F/27C - so we absolutely had to stay outdoors.  We went to Great Falls national park which sprawls across both Virginia and Maryland.  We were in the Md. part of course, on a part known as the Billy Goat Trail.  Being a native Marylander, J knows all that there is to do in that state.

Some rapids where we spotted a few kayakers going sideways

After about a mile hike, resting on the rocks at a small inlet beach

Leaving the inlet and heading back the way we came, we stalked a blue heron.  This is 5x zoom.

At a quiet pond we spotted another heron - can you see it?



There he is - being all still and zen waiting for a meal

Roots of a log that spans the stream



Pretty blue flowers (any of you expert floraphiles know?)

Gritty, sweaty, and icky, we freshened up (good thing he only lives 10 minutes from my place), I got picked up again and crossed back into Maryland where we went to dinner at a very swanky Vietnamese place in Bethesda.  It was some of the nicest decor I've ever seen in an Asian restaurant down to the details - very homey despite the soaring ceilings, the fancy aquarium and the waterfall behind the bar.

As a result of all the clambering and climbing, I was very sore today.  My quadriceps and even my deltoids are feeling it because I used my arms a lot to climb up and down.  It's funny because J feels it in his calves, but mine are fine.

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Sunday was very Sunday-ish.  J picked me up and we went to lunch and then Macy's.  My mission failed in that they were out of my shade of makeup.  J's mission was accomplished in that I helped him pick out a new shirt and tie for a client event on Tuesday.  If it doesn't work I accept the blame.  Even though I used to buy ties for Dad, I haven't had that much practice matching them with shirts and suits.  Then we went to DSW Shoe Warehouse where I made up for the lack of makeup by buying two pairs of shoes for work.

We rambled around downtown Bethesda for a while and enjoyed the band playing Led Zeppelin outside Barnes & Noble.  When it tried to rain, we retreated inside to share a big cookie and sat together reading magazines until it got dark and chilly outside.  Finally, we went to Austin Grill for a dinner of starters, enough for two small people.  I think we stayed out much later than I had expected for a Sunday night!

Two interesting cakes in the window of a cupcake bakery:

I shall call this one Wedgwood

Gallivant II: The UN and BBQ

Third day of Jason's visit to NYC.

In terms of experience, this was the best day!  What did we do?

Hold on tight because there are a lot of photos, and I know you all like those!  

:-)

Chris suggested that I sleep "under the stars" which was what Vera did when she stayed with him.  That is, on the (comfy but very narrow so no turning for fear of falling off) sofa with the blinds open.  There is a wall of windows looking out to Manhattan and no matter how often I visit, I never tire of snapping photos.

The sun rose at 7 am sporting all sorts of lovely colors.  It was impossible to sleep after that, with the light, and the reminder that I was missing so many pretty pictures, so finally at 7.30 I jumped up, took a pic, then closed the blinds and slept again until 9.30 when Chris marched in and opened them back up and put on the heating.  Which meant it was time to get up.

The sun was a little higher by 7.30, so only the Empire State Building was pink.  Nice touch.

Of course the view is much closer in real life, but photos never show the full visual in-your-face impact of such things...*sigh*.

We ate porridge for breakfast and because there were three of us it took 3 hours to get ready.  

While waiting for the bathroom, we played the addictive Japanese game Katamari Damashii in which you, a little prince, have to collect into a rolling ball all sorts of random things from insects to hairdryers to people, according to your size ("the earth is full of things") so the king can recreate the stars, which he destroyed on a drinking spree.  Oh my lord, I think they were smoking mushrooms when they designed that game.  The King of All Cosmos with his psychedelic barrel head and his rainbow yawn ("I feel a swoon coming on") is only the start of it ("BA-NA-NA").  The music is awesome, and the parts where the king talks to you has music that reminds me of A Clockwork Orange.

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We went to Battery Park, where Chris hunted high and low for the cruise we went on when the gang came over from Houston in August, to no avail.  Meantime Jason and I took pictures of the waterfront, where we could see Jersey and the Statue of Liberty.  You saw those pics in the summer so I won't repeat them.

The following is one of my favorites out of the entire batch.  I approached to take a shot of this seagull at rest on a pier in front of the USCG building, but the bird was suspicious of my pointing lens, so after eyeing me sideways for a second he unfurled his wings.  I snapped immediately, and was pleasantly surprised to see what I'd captured:

With no water tours available, we opted to try the free Staten Island Ferry, but as we looked at our watches and noted it was already 2 pm and we wanted to see both the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum AND the United Nations, we decided to drop the ferry and get moving.

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We took the subway to Times Square and from there needed to catch the bus that has the Intrepid on its western terminal and the UN on its eastern. This was my assignment - to get us to the Intrepid which was not far away.  However, in reading the bus maps, my eyes only saw "UN".  I totally forgot we needed the Intrepid and we ended up at the UN further away.  In the end, this was just as well because we booked into the last tour of the day.

When you enter the United Nations, you are no longer on US soil.  Isn't this an amazing concept?  Likewise, in London, when you enter the US Embassy, you are no longer on UK soil.  I find this endlessly fascinating.  Also, the statue of JFK in London is standing on a little piece of American soil.

Olivia, tangent.

Back to the UN.  

Piccies galore (pun?) for your viewing pleasure:

It might be 1960s brutal governmental architecture, but it sure makes for good photos.

I ran the following photo through the Russian Lomo effect.  I think it really suits the modernist glass and concrete:

On our way to the visitor's entrance, we passed this section, which I believe may house the circular Security Council chamber. It certainly looks like a bomb shelter, doesn't it? It is usually part of the tour but is closed for the next 5 years for refurbishment.



We waited in a long line for the airport-style security screening, but it moved quickly.  Meantime, another Lomo style pic.  This is one of many Sfera con Sfera sculptures by Arnaldo Pomodoro found all over the world.  I first saw one in the courtyard of the Vatican museum.  Another was damaged outside the World Trade Center and now sits in Battery Park, a warped golden egg.

Right inside the entrance there is a Foucault Pendulum, another UN object found worldwide.  I've seen the two in the science museums in London and Houston, and the original at the Pantheon in Paris, of course.

As for the squiggly blue paintings, Chris claims he was trying to tell me (but I wasn't listening) that this painting goes - *sigh* seemingly like everything else here - all over the world.  Not sure how and can't be bothered to find out right now, but I believe him because he doesn't forget a thing.  Neither does Jason.  My cousin tells me I have Alzheimer's, I'm so forgetful, but Jason and Chris are like having a walking diary.  Just like how I'm Vanessa's walking encyclopedia, well, if there's an entry I'm missing I can just ask one of them.  And Jason will be able to recite verbatim any one of our hilarious conversations a year from now.  Did I mention, they were still making me laugh too much?

Incidentally, speaking of things going all round the world, there is a huuuuuuge Flemish tapestry in one of the open spaces outside the General Assembly.  Our guide told us that if unravelled, the yarn would circle once around the globe.  Something that hangs on one wall in the UN could do that!?!?!  Boggles the mind.

This is the wall of UN Secretary-Generals.  There have been only 8 since 1946, starting with Trygve Lie of Norway.  The first one I remember in my lifetime was Boutros Boutros-Ghali but Kofi Annan served for much longer.  Which one do you remember first?  

If you were to look closely, they would look like pointillist paintings.  This is because they are carpets - prayer carpets, in fact:

Chris:  "Oh my God, I look so much like Ban Ki-moon!"

Jason took this photo downstairs.  His comment:  "Yep.  Good enough for government":

Early in our tour, we were encouraged to glance over a wall filled with modern tapestries depicting the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  I could relate every one of them to a human condition or to an historical origin, but I shall put that aside for now.  They are all very noble ideals, but the UN has neither the power nor the resources to enforce them.  If every nation in the world had a constitution based on this document, we would probably be living as close to Utopia as this world is likely to accomplish, human nature aside.  [Can someone please improve that sentence for me?  I don't like the wording.]  If I remember correctly from school, Eleanor Roosevelt had a hand in the development of this document, and it reminds me very much of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Take a look at them - what do you think?

The UN General Assembly:

A center of great power and proclamations.

After exiting the Assembly, we were shown a variety of sumptuous objects in glass cases, gifted to the UN by the governments of assorted countries over the years.  A 300-pound ivory carving from China (given a few years before the ban on ivory trade came into effect).  Golden filligree temple box/bells from Malaysia.  A scale model of the King's barge from Thailand. An abstract brass representation of New York City from the King of Sweden.  And so on.  I wish I had taken a photo of the Soviet-looking tapestry in flaming colors on one of the walls.  (The tapestry in this collage is not it.)

Does this not look to you like an abstract flailing man?  Does it perhaps represent the abundant flailing that undoubtedly goes on within these walls?  I am sure it stands for something completely different, but we were being escorted out of the tour area by this time to hand over our badges, and I was snapping at random.

The next one is a bit tricky.  It was dark when we went outside, but we were able to take some interesting photos.  I like the stark lines in this one, but mostly I was thrilled that Venus was bright enough to send some light through my camera lens, and here you see it:

It had been an eventful and exciting day, though probably not as prolific as we'd intended.  And we were hungry.  So we walked westward into town in search of dinner.  

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On our route along 42nd street we saw some perfect art deco office buildings, like the terra cotta Chanin Building - a real gem - and the New York Daily News Building, complete with globe, where Clark Kent worked in Superman.  Later on we came across some brass plaques lining the sidewalk, depicting these and other landmark buildings in the area.

I've never seen a city with as many artistic brass plaques in the sidewalks as NYC.  Earlier in the day when we were downtown on lower Broadway or "The Canyon of Heroes", we noted the commemoration of each ticker tape parade since 1886 is actually set in brass letters on black granite at regular intervals on the sidewalk.

Luxury department store chain Lord & Taylor in its Christmas finery. To think I used to shop there once upon a time!

The Empire State Building on its Christmas light schedule.

Sorry, that was another tangent.  

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Chris's original idea had been dinner at Chevy's Mexican on Times Square, but when a few blocks south of there we passed some Korean BBQs, I made a decision.  This was also on the list, but as the next day would be Jason's last in town, I decided that Texans should never come to NYC to eat some mediocre so-called Tex-Mex when they can get the real thing at home.  So I suggested we pick a Korean place - right now.  Chris remembered that he'd met some friends once at an out-of-the-way place last year round there, and they had all enjoyed it.  I remember I was supposed to go but couldn't because I was at my cousin's place.  We circled a couple of blocks and found it surprisingly quickly.

I can honestly say it was one of the best meals of 2008.  I am no fan of beef, and the last time I ate some it made me unhappy, though it's usually ok as a burger.  As a result of this dinner, I have resolved that the only time I eat unground beef will be at a Korean BBQ.  The tender cuts of angus beef were just perfect.

Beef has just been placed on the gas-fired copper grill. There is my cold saki and a glass of blackberry wine.  We are sitting trying not to demolish the plates of seasoned nori (seaweed), kim chi (spicy cabbage pickle), bean sprouts, and daikon (radish), which were to be wrapped in the lettuce leaves along with the beef.  I drool just thinking about all of the wonderful fragrant food and aromatic delicacies, and how happy your stomach can be without carbohydrates.

We did have starters.  The beef was so outstanding, though, that I can't remember what they were.  Steamed dumplings?  And a complementary plate of something battered?


Jason doesn't usually like to be photographed, and regarding a photo of the three of us, he kept saying, "Eh, we'll do it tomorrow" at which I knew it wouldn't happen.  I noticed that Jason was always quick to jump out of frame, but Chris was not, which is funny because he usually whines about being photographed - he certainly did in London last year.  Still, he appears a few more times in my frames.  On Facebook, Chris pointed out that we never did take that pic of the three of us, and Jason said he'll just have to come back sometime so we can take it. Most of my friends stopped reading this blog when I moved to Facebook, so I can say all sorts of things about them here and they won't be embarrassed!

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We decided we were going to get drunk at home.  Ever since I can remember, we've failed at this - yes, at university - therefore I have never seen any of my Houston friends drunk.

So we put on our jammies, drank Grey Goose vodka (impressive!) with cranberry juice, and settled in.  In the end, we each had only one glass.  I know, what?!

I battled valiantly with my eyelids for a while, but fell asleep during the last half hour of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

I loved how every time Jason brushed his teeth, he came out of the bathroom to talk to us unintelligibly, or Chris walked around in the morning tucking in his shirt and asking me if he should get a pinstripe suit.  This is what happens with people you've known for 10 years.

Fasten your seatbelts, Part I

For yet another whirlwind weekend in the Big Apple!

HALF DAY ONE


Houston Sunrise...................................

Vanessa arrived early Thursday afternoon (having departed Houston at sunrise). We grabbed a Chinese lunch round the corner from me and just spent time with each other, in fact I even gave her some of the dresses I've grown out of. In the evening, we headed into the city to meet one of V's friends from tango who happened to be in town (happens every time that someone somebody knows is always in town), and then back to Laguardia to pick up V's boyfriend Pierre.


Home



Most NYC subways are filled with mosaics, each stop having its own theme. This could be a blog post in itself.


City of contrasts (between 5th and Madison)



Apple and Bergdorf Goodman

On the way back through Manhattan to Brooklyn we got out at Union Square and went to the University Diner (near NYU). At 10pm we had a salad Nicoise and some REALLY good handmade pasta in a pink (between red and creamy) vodka sauce with zucchini and portobello mushroom. It really was deliciously yummy and I can't wait to eat it again. I've never eaten such tender, springy pasta - maybe THAT'S what al dente means...


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DAY TWO - BROOKLYN WANDERINGS

We were a bit useless, despite waking up rather early, we only managed to make brunch (my now famous scrambled egg in a wrap with sausage patties), and left the house in the afternoon! The afternoon, I tell you!




Going up a few stops into another part of Brooklyn, we got out at Union Street subway and explored Park Slope towards Prospect Park (there's even a mini-movie), where we saw Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Public Library.


No two houses are alike in this city...


Fairytale alert!



Grand Army Plaza, in memory of those who died to preserve the Union (Civil War, 1860-1865)







A gazebo at Prospect Park



The Brooklyn Public Library (wiki), built between 1912-1941 (no typo here). Brooklyn borough is the fifth largest public library system in the USA.
Apparently from above it resembles an open book, with this face being the spine


All variety of symbology and literary figures cover the doors. All three entrances are flanked by excellent quotes carved in stone


If I had to choose, I would be Athena, and I like owls


We kept walking and saw some of the park. It is an intriguing park. After entering between two columns you find your way to a sort of keyhole tunnel, which transports you into a rolling meadow filled with ancient trees. It felt a bit like English countryside and we wanted to explore more. There is a lake, a boathouse, a Quaker cemetery, a Dutch farmhouse, the Botanic Gardens, and and and....but it was nearly 4.30pm by the time we'd snapped a few photos, so we legged it to the Brooklyn Museum (website) and had about 20 minutes to breeze through the decorative arts and room displays on the 4th floor.


The Brooklyn Museum (wiki), opened in 1897, is the second largest museum in NYC and one of the largest in the USA.






The Jan Martense Schenck House, built in the 1670s when Brooklyn was still Broekelin. Dutch houses abound in this part of the city and I would like to explore them.


Half is laid out in the original Dutch colonial style of Jan Martense and the other half in Nicholas Schenck's 18th century style.

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THE DINNER PARTY, Judy Chicago:




This exhibition, which has travelled far and wide, is over 30 years old and represents many of the most powerful and influential females of history - warriors, rulers, writers, poets, innovators, activists. This one is Boadicea. Emily Dickinson's setting is pink and frilly and her embroidery more delicate.






Rodin's Burghers of Calais


Rodin sculpture gallery in the lobby


Inside the lobby at closing


In the Museum Plaza after a surprise sunlit rainshower

We ate hot dogs at the ubiquitous Sabretts stand outside the museum, then walked back into Prospect Park where we attempted to rescue a giant lost caterpillar on the pathway that refused to stay on a tree, so we abandoned him to his fate. But at least he was on the grass by then.

We returned home where we ate leftover egg rolls. Pierre stayed to take a nap (he was fighting a cold) and Vanessa and I walked to Shore Park to see the sunset. We went all the way to the veteran's memorial/POW-MIA pier at the top of the park, then into the pharmacy to pick up some meds for Pierre, and then took the subway two stops back home which saved about 20 minutes.



We were hungry again, so we went down to a sushi restaurant that I love. Had crispy tofu, seaweed salad, three types of sushi maki ($2.50 gives you 6 rolls); Pierre had beef teriyaki.

It was a pleasant stroll back home as we were very full.


..............................................New York sunset


[P.S. cross your fingers - I have an interview at an animal hospital on Monday.]