NYC Day 3: Statue of Liberty, WTC, and friends in Brooklyn!

 We had a bit of an early morning today.  We grabbed breakfast at a local cafe before heading down to the Battery to visit Liberty Island.  I went to Ellis Island when I was in college, but we didn't get to the Statue.  Sarah didn't either.  And, we never went when we lived in NYC.  So, we took the opportunity to go with an 8-year old!  The morning was a little cold and drizzly, but we went through security and ferried out in the chilly wind.  H loved taking photos from the outside decks.

So did I!

Once we got to Liberty Island, we looked at some of the small statues commemorating some of the visionaries behind her (everyone from Gustave Eiffel to Emma Lazarus).  S bought tickets to go up the pedestal, so we put our bags in a locker and took the stairs/elevator to the top of the pedestal.  There's a lovely walk around the perimeter, from which you can see all around the harbor, and also take an awkward ussie. 

One of the reasons we decided to visit Lady Liberty was that H discovered the book 'Her Right Foot,' which recognizes that the statue's right foot is raised.  The book uses that as a metaphor; the statue isn't standing still as a static beacon.  Rather, she's moving.  What we see is an instant of her, mid-stride, walking into the harbor to meet the ships full of immigrants.  So, when we saw her in person, we made sure to look at her right foot.

There are two museums on the island.  One is in the pedestal base, and one is in the National Parks Service area.  They were both well-done, and while they understandably had a pro-statue agenda, they were also engaged with the criticisms of the statue.  There were exhibits about how the statue has been adopted by different groups for critique and satire.  There were areas that talked about how some women of the period took exception to her being a woman representing liberty when women in the US had so little freedom.  There were areas that talked about the criticism from many Black Americans at the sheer cheek of celebrating liberty in a country that spent so little energy fighting for equality for its Black and Brown citizens.  

By this point, H was overtired and hangry for lunch.  She lodged her protest against museums:

One of the museums had a beautiful interactive video exhibit where you could take a selfie, add some imagery that represents what you think about what the statue represents, and then see your images combined with those of thousands of other guests.  It was surprisingly moving, and I definitely found myself getting misty, thinking about what the statue meant to so many immigrants (including my own great-grandparents)

We grabbed a quick lunch (our obligatory NY hot dog), bought some gifts, and headed back to Manhattan.  We had hoped to head to Brooklyn to visit the Transit Museum, but it was closed today.  Instead, we headed a few blocks north to the new World Trade Center and the observation deck.  It's a bit over-schlocked and glitzy, but it's a beautiful experience and a stunning view:

After that, we headed into Brooklyn to meet some friends for dinner.  A and I have been friends since 1998, when we were first-year MFA students and had to tap a keg at a party because the third-year students didn't know how.  We became fast friends and have stayed in touch ever since.  We've both got spouses and kids now, and it was a magical evening for me to enjoy some good pizza, sit with A, K, and S, and watch our kids enjoy each other's company.  

After dinner we headed back into Manhattan and back to our hotel.  I finished off the chapter of the book I'm reading to H and everyone drifted off.  Time for me to process photos (and the day) and sip on some bourbon.  Tomorrow's our last day in the city.

NYC Day 2: Natural History Museum

 Last night was my first night on the sofa bed in the hotel.  It was... surprisingly not terrible!  I slept alright and woke up with less pain than most other sofaabeds. Winning.

We got up and out the door in time to meet B & SZ for breakfast around the corner on Central Park South.  B & SZ are both alums of the UCI sound design program (MFA and BA, respectively), and both also have connections to my Yale Drama (instructor and student, respectively), so we had lots to talk about.  H & S were very understanding and indulgent of our deep nerd-dive, and after we got a few photos in Central Park before we went our respective ways: they to their days off, and us to...

...The Natural History Museum!  It was H's first subway ride (though she'll remind you that she's taken the London Underground, thankyouverymuch), and we had a great time at the museum.  We started in the outer space area, learning about the big bang and the timeline of the universe.

Then, we headed to the minerals and gems room, where we saw some truly stunning pieces.  The entrance to the hall was a 9' tall amethyst geode, which sparkled stunningly and only looks (modestly) like the galaxy in photographs...

When we viewed the cut gems room, H had a separate dance for each beautiful gem she found!

There was a rad touchscreen interactive exhibit where kids could combine elements and isotopes to make minerals.  This occupied her while S and I took in the rest of the gallery.

After space and gems/minerals, we took a break to rest our feet.  Then, it was off to the ocean room (for whales, sharks, seals, and polar bears)...

And then to the dinos/vertebrats/mammals room. There were some stunning skeletons of all sorts of animals, from huge titanosaurs that spilled into second rooms to cute teeny pterodactyls with a 10" wingspan.  

This turtle is happy to see you.

This goat/ibex/deer/demon is not.

We stayed at the museum until it closed and then took the subway (H's first transfer!) to August, a restaurant on the upper east side.  It's original location was in soho, and when S and I live here, we had a way-too-expensive-for-our-budget first-anniversary dinner here.  Since then, it moved to the UES, and we had a nice nostalgia evening with H for dinner.  H was tired and bit of a grump, but we all had a (mostly) good time.  

After dinner we had a 15-minute walk back to the hotel in the drizzle.

My feet hurt!  Blisters, shin splints.  Lame.  I iced them and then I read half a chapter to H before putting her to bed.  Tomorrow's another day!

NYC Day 1:MOMA & Central Park

Yesterday we hopped on a plane in OC and flew to NYC for a few days of spring break family vacation!  We landed in Newark at around 9pm, and went straight our hotel.  We had booked a suite, but the hotel screwed up the reservation.  We ended up in two individual rooms next door to each other for the night, with a promise that we'd be moved to a suite the next day.  After we got settled at our hotel, I took a little walkabout in the mist/fog to find an evening nightcap.

The next morning, the sun was out and I had a nice run in Central Park before meeting up with S & H for a visit to MOMA.  H is generally into modern art (the bigger, more colorful, and more interactive, the better), and while MOMA had a few of those pieces (the big Pollocks were a hit, as was this dynamic video piece), she was less moved than she was at the Guggenheim in June.  Still, we found some great pieces to look at, and MOMA had a fun area for kids to make their own inspired art!

Also I got to see my first IRL Christine Sun Kim piece!  We studied her in my Sound Art class, but I had never seen one of her pieces in person.  I'm glad to say that I recognized it right away as one of hers...

After MOMA, we grabbed some lunch at Turnstyle (an underground food court on 8th between 57th and 58th) and then headed to Central Park.  H climbed on playgrounds and rocks while S and I visited with B, one of my old students.  It was the first sunny warm day of the year, so the park was jammed full of people.  Many of the fields had signs asking people to stay off them... you can see how well that worked.

While we were out, the hotel staff moved our luggage to the new room, a suite with a view of the park.  We returned from our Central Park fun, rested our feet and unpacked, and then headed to the Carnegie Diner for dinner.  S had a lobster roll, I had a Reuben, and H had chocolate cake.  All were content.

Back at the hotel room for a 10pm lights out for H.  S was tired so didn't stay up much later.  I rallied and went out for a drink, but at this time of the night and week (10pm on a Sunday), not much is open.  I was hoping for a quiet bar with a nice cocktail.  I ended up in a Sheraton hotel bar, which didn't quite suck but wasn't the experience I was hoping for.  Maybe tomorrow will be more successful...

 

Day 11: Messy Travel Home

Our travel day started with a 7:30 shuttle ride to the Venice airport.  All eight of us took the same shuttle, even though our flight times were an hour apart (the front desk clerk thought the Virginians, traveling with baby R, might need a bit more time to get checked in and through security).  Once we were all at the gates, we met up for breakfast and visiting, including R's first gelato (he didn't like it, but we suspect he was too tired to appreciate it).  

At the same time my trio's gate came up for boarding, the Virginians saw that their flight to Frankfurt had been delayed 45 minutes.  They only had 75 minutes of layover to begin with, so they got concerned.  We boarded our flight for Zurich and saw the morning break over the Dolomites.

We had a brief layover in Zurich, long enough for lunch, potty, and traversing the airport from one gate to another.  The mountains in the distance sure were beautiful though.

Before our flight home took off, we got word that the Virginians had made it to Frankfurt and it looked like they'd make their flight to Newark.  Phew!

The flight from Zurich to LAX was uneventful.  I watched Taken, Rogue One, Australia, half of Raging Bull (hated it), and Valkyrie, read, and cared for H.  Once back at LAX, we got through passport control in 90 seconds and then took 60 minutes to get our bags.  Then, we headed over to the Global Entry interview line.  We hoped that the line would move quickly, but after an hour, we were less than halfway through the line, and we watched the quantity of agents taking applications drop by half, we bailed.  We had already been in the airport for 3 hours, and we just wanted to get home.

The journey from the airport home was not our finest hour.  We were tired, irritable, grumpy, hungry, and surly.  H was the only one who didn't lose her temper.  I tripped over four bags and took a faceplant in the middle of the parking garage.  We never ended up eating.  We got home at around 8.30, put H to bed in her traveling clothes, and zonked out as quickly as we could.  

But, our trip was less traumatizing than the Virginians', whose final connection to ORF ended up getting cancelled.  They rented a car to drove home, finally crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at dawn.  They're all in bed now, finally.  As I write this on the morning of the 3rd, S is already up and getting ready for work.

What a rough journey!

Day 10: Last Day in Italy!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Today was our last full day in Italy, and for the first time since we arrived, we didn't need to set an alarm clock.  Everyone slept in and started packing for our check-out later in the afternoon.

At noon, Grandma, H, and I headed across town to a mask-making workshop taught by an artisan in his private studio.  He taught us how to design and paint a mask, and then we got to watch his deft hand as he did the final decorations! 

Once we got back to the airbnb, we had a few minutes to finish our packing.  Then, we took a boat to the transit center and then two vans to the airport hotel.

The hotel is 200 m from the entrance of the airport, but since it was New Years Day, many of the local restaurants were closed.  The clerk at the front desk said that if we wanted something quick and open (it was 5.30, and most restaurants didn't open until 7), we could go to the little kebab/pizza stand next door.  We did, and while we were waiting for them to prep our food, we found a beautiful huge tree trimmed with huge plastic jugs, each with a lightbulb inside it.  Magical!

We took the food back to the hotel, had one last dinner with everyone, and by 7pm or so, we all started winding back to our rooms for our last night in Italy.  One more early wake-up, and then we're off on our journey back home!