Gallivanting Grandma

At the Farm Eats booth, Drew George and his family work at several Farmer’s Markets selling the most delicious meats imaginable. They’re local NY State 100% grass fed and finished beef, pasture raised pork and chicken, all free of antibiotics and no added hormones.

In the photo below, Drew was cooking yummy ‘sliders’ while his daughter helped out. It is the best most delicious meat ever!  Check out Farmeats.com for orders, info, and recipes.

I finally went to Whitney Museum of American Art’s new location in lower Manhattan to see their latest exhibit: Whitney Biennial 2019.

The building, designed by Renzo Piano, is a fabulous exhibition space comprised of galleries and located between the Hudson River and the High Line. The photo below is the New Jersey skyline as viewed from the Whitney:

The museum is dedicated to exhibiting American contemporary art with emphasis on living artists. Photogenic stairway at the museum:

The High Line is a 1.45 mile long elevated park created on former NY Central Railroad tracks. It’s billed as “the city’s newest and most unique public park.”  There are gorgeous views of the city on one side and the Hudson River on the other.  Artworks and special plantings are along the walkway:

The High Line passes the Meat Packing district. I remember this neighborhood and what it looked like when I grew up in the city.

The view looking down 14th Street hasn’t changed much in many decades.  The cobblestone street and buildings are still there. New cars and boutique signs mark the gentrification taking place.

Art and political messages can be seen from the elevated park.

Robert Indiana’s Spanish version sculpture:

Visiting the High Line on an overcast drizzly Monday was a good idea – no crowds. Everyone says the narrow pathway is very congested on sunny weekends.

Here’s a view of the new Hudson Yards from the High Line. It’s a 28 acre mega-billion dollar development of ultra-high end residences and luxury specialty shops.

Art and music on the High Line:

On another rainy day, I visited the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Guggenheim Museum:

The exhibit was very good. But the best part of the Guggenheim is experiencing the building.

Another theatrical event I saw was the Off-B’way British play, Handbagged.  It was a comedy about imagined conversations between Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth.  Yes, the play was funny, despite the lack of humor of the two real-life characters.

As the summer heats up and the weather grows warmer, I watch my neighbor’s flowers bloom:

Sunset over the Hudson River near the new Mario Cuomo Bridge:

So, the Gallivanting Grandma is keeping busy with local events & sights and planning her next adventure to experience the wider world.

Here are a few more photos I took this spring season.  “Meet me at the clock.”  Every New Yorker knows where that is!

The latest major exhibit at the Bronx NY Botanical Garden is Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx. He was a landscape architect, painter, naturalist, and artist who lived in Brazil from 1909 to 1994.

Roberto Burle Marx designed the black and white mosaic of the Copacabana Beach promenade. The NY Botanical Garden staff created a lush tropical garden outside the Conservatory with a black & white pathway simulating Rio de Janeiro’s famous beach walkway. A reminder of Rio!

Peonies were in full bloom!

The day I visited the Garden, Nation Beat played exciting rhythmic Brazilian music:

Visitors created their own blue and white paper “tiles” to decorate communal walls.

On another day I went to MoMA – the Museum of Modern Art for a special temporary closing event for members. It was my chance to see the museum before their next major expansion into larger new galleries.

Fabulous music was provided by Mathis Sound Orchestra. Mathis Picard was the pianist and bandleader of this “jazz infused brand of dance music” inspired by Picard’s French-Malagasy roots. Great Fun!

View of the sculpture garden:

Even the nearby water tower is a work of art:

MoMA will be closed until October 21. The photo below is the exterior of the new museum galleries and the adjoining high-rise residence building.

Grand Central Terminal as seen from the Apple steps:

The arch in the photo below used to lead to the main waiting room which was filled with high-backed wooden benches when I was a youngster and lived in Manhattan, a few blocks away from the terminal.

Ramp leading to the trains with a sign reminding everyone what’s important to all of us:

So, what does the Gallivanting Grandma do when she’s not wandering around the world?? Here are some photos I took this month with my cell phone while I ambled around my favorite city: New York.

Glenda Jackson was superb as King Lear, but the rest of the performance wasn’t quite up to her level:

Of all the kooks around Times Square, this Back to the Future look-alike with a real DeLorean got lots of attention:

The N. Y. Botanical Garden in the Bronx was gorgeous and in full bloom this spring:

John Guare’s Nantucket Sleigh Ride starring John Larroquette at Lincoln Center Theater was very entertaining.

After going to Egypt in February, I wanted to revisit the Egyptian galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have an excellent collection.

They’re planning to modernize the train schedule boards soon at Grand Central Terminal.  So I had to have a photo of the old boards before they’re digitized.

Luckily, we happened upon the colorful Nepal Day Parade which ended in Madison Square Park. The women graciously posed for photographers.

There’s so much construction going on in ‘The City’ that the Empire State Building is rapidly losing its status as “tallest tower.” According to a recent NY Times article, by 2024 the Empire State Building will be the 11th tallest tower in the city.

A “new” mode of transportation?

Monday Night Magic bills itself as “the longest running Off-B’way Magic Show in New York.” Jeff and I throughly enjoyed the magic show in Greenwich Village!!

The bear in my dentist’s waiting room was fashionably decorated for spring:

The Ferryman written by Jez Butterworth was the best play I’ve seen in a long time! The story is about a family of a former IRA activist living in Northern Ireland. Wonderful cast; touching story.