Summer Tour - New York Part 2

As promised, some further bonus posts from our Summer trip.

One of the real discoveries made during our Summer tour was the opportunities provided by the free tours offered by some of the Museums/Art Galleries we visited. 

I guess I had been vaguely aware that these were available but for some reason I had always contented myself with  an audio guide or printed programme - probably so that I could view the exhibits at my own pace (I am notorious for taking my time going through museums to get full value….). 

In any event, our visits to the New York Metropolitan Museum and the National History Museum - a highlight of our visit to New York- were distinguished by the enthusiasm and passion for their chosen subjects by the various tour guides we encountered. I think that I had seen the tours at the Met advertised when I had booked the tickets (the fact that the banner said “free tours” was always likely to grab my attention) and I had booked A and I on for the first tour of the morning that we went. 

This entailed a relatively early start (we had decided on a traditional waffles/pancakes/bacon breakfast at the nearby by Red Flame Diner) and - due to the ongoing traffic congestion in NY - a half hour walk in the glorious New York sunshine from the Hotel via a beautifully lit Central Park.

There were only 3 others on the guided tour - entitled “Greek Portraits” - and the elderly lady who conducted us through the striking funerary portraits in the Egyptian  sarcophagus section (slightly counter-intuitively given the title of the tour) and then on through the Japanese/Chinese rooms before finishing up in the European section with a terrific Caravaggio depicting St Peter’s denial of Christ proved both entertaining and erudite. 

We were sufficiently impressed to sign up for two further tours  - an “Impressionism/Post- Impressionism”  tour (again with a surprisingly low number of participants - less than 10 including  me and A) that took in the Met’s expansive collection of Monet, Van Gogh, Manet, Degas and Renoir; and then the “Museum Highlight’s” tour which also included  Chinese ceramics and a truly splendid “Bacchanal: Fawn teased by Children” by an 18 year old Bernini and a portrait of the “power couple” of the French revolutionary period - the Lavoisiers at a table with their scientific equipment by David  (although sadly not so influential that Mr Lavoisier was able to avoid the guillotine in 1794). This left an awful lot of the Met unexplored (although we did manage to take in its Vermeers) and so we will need to return!

The following day we paid a visit to the Natural History Museum on the opposite side of the Central Park and again took full advantage of the various free tours (although they were much more crowded than those at the Met). A much younger crowd and unsurprisingly very similar to the UK Natural History Museum (including the Blue Whale)  - we headed off after lunch to go to Broadway for the “Back to the Future” Matinee which was quite the spectacle - reasonably faithful to the film (albeit now a musical) and some excellent effects and afterwards headed back to the Hotel via St Patricks Cathedral and Rockefeller Plaza.

 

Summer Tour - New York

As promised, some bonus posts to finish off our Summer adventures. 

Our last major stop prior to heading to UK was New York  - another city that I had not previously visited. 

To be honest, I had not been in a great hurry to make its acquaintance - not quite sure why as it is clearly a globally renowned City with world-class museums and a storied cultural heritage. It does however have a certain reputation for “in your face” self regard, so the jury was out when we arrived. 

As matters turned out, we had a blast. 

The hotel was very well located on West 44th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. As a consequence, and due to the severe traffic restrictions caused by the 9/11 Memorial day preparations, we did a lot of walking around Manhattan as we were within around 20 - 25 minutes of Central Park and most of the major attractions.

In consequence most of our trips took us past Radio City (see photo below - we were a week or so too early to see Ringo Starr) and Times Square.

Our first full day coincided with my birthday and what better way to celebrate than with a bike ride around Central Park? The Park was framed by a beautiful blue sky and every where you looked was like being a film set - huge skyscrapers framed by a deep blue sky and the greenery of the park lit up by the Summer sun. I had also not realised there was some much water in Central Park - including a reservoir that provided some great views across to the towers and brownstones ringing the park. 

After a celebratory picnic amongst the squirrels (and it must  be said, rats) of Central Park, A and I made our way to the art deco splendour of the Guggenheim Museum. I have to say I am not much one for Architects but Frank Lloyd Wright was definitely on to something when he put this place together - somehow combining impressive scale with the intimacy required when viewing a collection of truly lovely artworks. Definitely a highlight amongst a tour of great museums and artworks.

We dined at NOBU - another destination that was new to me  and we were suitably impressed before ending up at the Hotel bar for a nightcap to round off a splendid day.

Summer Tour - San Francisco to New York

 We did not have very long in San Francisco but we did manage to visit the Modern Art Museum which had some interesting sculptures as well as a focussed. - if not especially large - collection of paintings. 

I must admit I have never been a particular fan of modern art in the Jackson Pollock/Mark Rothko sense but  on this trip I was  - despite my best efforts - appreciating it rather more than I had previously - particularly the use of colours and form (although I still find that I have to concentrate very hard to make much sense of some of it…..).

The museum itself was a very modern affair and had an excellent outdoor space where some of the sculptures were housed to good effect next to the dazzling glass and concrete and blue skies of downtown SF.

We also managed to book tickets to see Alcatraz. I had been before on my previous visit but A was keen to see it and it did not disappoint. The journey by ferry to it remains one of the most scenic in the World and the guided tours and audio guides provided really bring it to life. It helped that the sun was shining brightly which took some of the rough edges off the fact that it used to be a high security prison with no successful escapees - see photos below including A the sole occupant of a very blustery exercise yard. 

One added bonus was the unexpected purchase of a cycling top with the Golden Gate Bridge depicted in bright colours which was on sale in the Alcatraz visitor shop (and in fact was in the discounted items rack so presumably the other visitors may also have thought that this was a rather unusual item to have in a prison gift shop). Even better was that I found one that actually fitted me and I have been wearing it on my rides around Dubai ever since.

Our route back to the hotel took in various Cathedrals and also Chinatown which allowed us to take some photos showing just how steep the roads are in San Francisco.

Our last night in SF was celebrated in the Hurricane Bar in the depths of the Hotel - apparently something of an institution in the Fairmont and reached along a corridor displaying photos of every incumbent US President on their visit to the Hotel since 1907 when it was completed (apparently a mandatory obligation on any trip to San Francisco) as well as quite graphic pictures of the hotel and surrounding areas after the devastating earthquake and fire in 1906 shortly before it was due to open.

The centrepiece of the Hurricane Bar was a boat in what presumably used to be the main hotel swimming pool in which the resident band played a selection of popular songs - despite the rather cheesy decor (and the rain pouring from the ceiling at the end of each set) it was a really buzzy nightspot and we both had a good time.

Our journey from West Coast to East Coast was uneventful (save for having to unpack and repack our bags at checkin due to being over the weight allowance which was very strictly enforced  - we had actually weighed the bags beforehand but using the 23kg limit referenced on the American Airlines website rather than the 50lbs that was being applied by the check in staff which seemed to make all the difference…..) with our first glimpse of Manhattan being a nighttime view (see photo below).

So we have reached the last day of post a day November but due to my bad timing I have not yet managed to complete my exposition on our round the world trip in the Summer so there may be some bonus posts to complete the record - stayed tuned!

Summer tour- Hawaii to San Francisco

Our last night in Honolulu was spent on the beach admiring the sunset and the pristine waters. It was an interesting visit to what is a pretty remote place although I think it suffered a little in comparison with our experiences in Japan - not so much the scenery - Hawaii is a beautiful place - but more in terms of the  general ambience and the desire of the locals to make sure that you have a really good time.

The second stage of our hop across of the Pacific was from Honolulu to San Francisco - classified as an internal flight this time despite the distance so no ESTA issues (in fact the one that we had issued is good for 5 years apparently although I will definitely be checking this should I be venturing back to America).

We arrived to a foggy San Francisco and checked in to what was probably the swishiest accomodation on our trip - the Fairmont Hotel perched at the top of Mason Street with the City laid out below hiding in the late night gloom (see photo below).

I had visited SF some 25 years before on our Honeymoon (we had gone to Las Vegas first and then driven up through Death Valley and Yosemite) but I had forgotten how picturesque the CIty and the Bay area was. 

On a bright and breezy first morning, A and I took a bike ride through the Golden Gate Bridge Park to Sausalito passing the site of the SF Expo (some of the  buildings still standing from both the 1915 and the 1939 editions) and the over the bridge itself before heading down to the  harbour where we had lunch before loading our bikes onto a ferry and heading back to Fisherman’s Wharf.

The views back towards the main conurbation highlighted the steep inclines rammed with houses and buildings that characterise the city and also the contrast between the surrounding  green hills and escarpments and the sparkling blue waters of  Bay. 

We also passed Alcatraz Island and so decided that we would try to pay a visit. However, we arrived at the departure gate  just in time to miss the last ferry of the day which was a bit annoying but it gave us time to explore Fisherman’s Wharf and choose a restaurant for our evening meal. This we spent at The Crab Shack - a great example of how good food could be in the US if it is done well!