I just returned from New York City and it was a whirlwind of fun.
After checking in to the Hudson Hotel Thursday night the beau and I went out for a casual late dinner and afterward ended up at the hotel bar, which like the rest of the Hudson is super trendy and full of unique design elements. Our room was very small but cute, with a glass shower wall through which one's companion gets to enjoy the view! (don't worry.... there is a curtain to pull for less exhibitionistic guests).
Friday morning we walked down to the Chelsea Piers for the Armory Show, which was completely inspiring and equally overwhelming. After a few hours we had to take a Thai food break but then headed back for more. Even still I think we only saw half of it, and didn't have the stamina to visit any of the adjunct shows nearby.
That evening we met up with friends at Webster Hall to hear Neon Indian and Holy Ghost. It was my first time at the 3-floor venue which became a labyrinth of possibility and adventure - go-go dancers in sexy lingerie whirling to DJs in the basement, throngs of people upstairs bathed in colored lights taking in the main event.
Saturday we decided to walk along Central Park and up Madison Avenue to the Whitney Museum for the Biennial. Along the way, we stumbled into a restaurant that seemed to exude classic New York ambience - and once we sat down we realized it was the legendary Oak Bar at the Plaza Hotel. Finally, I would get to live out my childhood Eloise fantasies! The beau ordered scrambled eggs with caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes and lobster.... i don't usually like eggs but I have to say the dish was incredible. For my part, I had a corn and lobster bisque that was divine. This was hands down the best brunch I've ever had (and not just because I paired it with a few glasses of champagne!)
Unfortunately, the Whitney Biennial was a bit underwhelming, although of course there were some pieces that stood out--most memorably, the Bruce High Quality Foundation’s video/ambulance/ installation We Like America and America Likes Us, which referenced a Joseph Beuys performance where he flew to New York, took that ambulance to a gallery where he co-habitated with a live coyote for 3 days (before re-boarding the ambulance and returning to the airport at the performance's conclusion). This make of ambulance was also used in the movie Ghostbusters, clips of which were projected on the windshield along with documentation of Beuy's performance and random images of America. Intriguing.
After the Museum visit we headed to Brooklyn. My best friend had a party in her apartment in the heart of Williamsburg and it didn't end until the wee hours of Sunday morning. When we woke up the next day, we found that the weather was unseasonably warm. With the sun shining and the sky blue, we had no choice but to bump our flight reservations back a few hours. We ended our get-away drinking mimoas OUTSIDE - at an adorable restaurant with an outdoor patio. Afterward we walked around Williamsburg shopping and drinking and talking and laughing. An incredible trip all around. Now it's back to the grind....untill next time.
