Travelogue: NYC (Part One)

May 23, 2009

Algae Screen, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

It’s been a lame, pathetic and shameful 14 years since I last visited NYC, and although this trip was far too short, I was all too happy to be back in the best city on Earth. I was there on other work-related things, and therefore spent the day at a “summit” at the UN Hotel. Had a beautiful walk over that morning from my diminutive hotel room; the weather was just fantastic. After spending the day cooped up inside, I walked over to my gay ex-boyfriend/best friend from high school’s law office for a quick hello. So good to see him, and so proud of him too! Later in the evening, I headed to Scott J Salon on the Upper East Side for a nice relaxing massage. Scott J is an Aveda salon, which I love, and I can’t begin to tell you how much better I felt afterward. I have fibromyalgia, so the previous day of travel and Friday’s day of sitting had made me very achy. So glad I planned ahead and made an appointment! After that, dinner at the sushi restaurant at the hotel, and resting up for a big long day in Manhattan!

My plan to be at MOMA at 10:30 went awry after the cab driver got seriously lost and I had to give him directions to the museum. But I arrived around 11, and spent the next few hours wandering around amazing works by Picasso, Dali, Warhol, Mondrian…among others. But what I was really there for? The architecture and design collections–an absolute Mecca for a girl like me. Seeing iconic pieces like Eero Saarinen’s original Womb Chair, Charles and Ray Eames’ folding screen, Marcel Breur’s nesting tables, and Le Corbusier’s LC/4, absolutely gave me chills. The collection of Thonet chairs was also quite a treat, as was Frank Gehry’s Wave chaise longue. I’ve been a big Gehry fan for some time, with my husband treating me to pieces from his jewelry collection for Tiffany, but being able to check out his original work was just awesome. And although I didn’t make it to the Guggenheim for the Frank Lloyd Wright retrospective (dammit!), I was able to see some of his drawings, as well as the model for Fallingwater. Another favorite was Richard Neutra’s model of the Lovell house in LA, as well as a collection of design plans of Roberto Burle Marx’s for gardens in Sao Paulo.