Christmas Day we took an invigorating walk on Long Island beach. The wind was howling, the sea angry yet it was so much fun…and COLD! The beach was practically deserted and made our time feel more intimate. To thaw out, we had a picnic of hot tea and cookies waiting in the car. Perfect end to a perfect day.
Photography by Michelle Mack
As we are getting settled into our new home, I thought I’d share a few more New York moments with you and visiting the Museum of Natural History was a highlight. In the main lobby, engraved in all four corners of these fabulous limestone stone walls were quotes by Theodore Roosevelt, which I found moving. The dinosaurs are always a big hit and the halls were packed with people. I kept thinking to myself…”I wonder what happens here after midnight?” Despite my efforts, I found no traces of suspicious activities.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to the worlds most precious & valuable art. Its structure is adorned with intricate architectural detail as you can see above. The Museum's Beaux-Arts Fifth Avenue facade and Great Hall (shown below), designed by the architect and founding Museum Trustee Richard Morris Hunt, opened to the public in December 1902. Today, the Museum's two-million-square-foot building houses over two million objects, tens of thousands of which are on view at any given time.
A comprehensive architectural expansion plan for the Museum by the architects Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates was approved in 1971 and completed in 1991. The Metropolitan Museum continued to refine and reorganize its collections. In 2007, several major projects at the south end of the building were completed, most notably the fifteen-year renovation and reinstallation of the entire suite of Greek and Roman Art galleries. I photographed some of this lovely exhibit to share with you. Not an easy task when the museum is packed with people.
The two photos above are from the Medieval Art exhibit. This bronze statue which is appropriately named “Winter” by Aristide Maillol was especially captivating.
We spent Christmas in New York this year, most of it on Long Island with family but we did spend two nights in Manhattan. Not enough time to do NYC right but we did we pack as much in as humanly possible. We took the subway everywhere, which I found really easy to navigate once you got the hang of it.
We planed to visit the magnificent 9/11 Memorial but it was incredibly crowded, so we vowed to visit next time in the early evening hours when the light is optimal. You can preview the 9/11 Memorial here. One World Trade Center is the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex with a completion date of 2013. It will be the tallest building in the United States and among the tallest in the world, with its radio antenna reaching a symbolic height of 1,776 feet in reference to the year of American independence. Love seeing the NYFD drive by.
As most of you, it’s been a bit hectic around here. Last minute shopping, getting presents shipped off in time, writing Christmas cards, baking Mom’s Sand Tart cookies to take with us to New York. We are attending a family holiday party the day we arrive and it just wouldn’t be right to show up empty handed. So in the spirit of the holidays in the Big Apple, I wanted to share this music video with you. It was shot in New York on a day it was snowing so heavy, it looks like feathers falling from the heavens. The contrast in black and white makes it all the more magical…and haunting. The song is “While I Shovel the Snow” by The Walkmen. Video directed by Jake Davis. Enjoy.
