Museum Fridays: A summer in review

Like most people, I started my summer with a plan. You see, I live in one of the most interesting places in the world, and yet because of my awesome job (which I love), I don't often have the time to take advantage of all that NYC has to offer. So this summer, when my office closed for several Fridays in a row, I decided to use that time away from my desk to enjoy a little more of the city... and I decided to have Museum Fridays. The goal was this: I would take the Fridays when I would normally be at work and visit a museum in NYC that I hadn't seen before. It was a really simple idea, and yet it was SO much fun! Not only was I learning all sorts of new information, but I was able to enjoy my local museums without the normal weekend rush that I would encounter while visiting on my 'normal' days away from work (Saturday and Sunday). Now that my summer has drawn to a close, I'll admit that Museum Fridays didn't last nearly as long as I would have liked, but it was a great excuse to get out and explore my town! So today, I thought I'd share a quick overview of my photos from Museum Fridays: Summer 2011, and encourage you to check out any of these awesome museums next time you're in NYC!

I started my Museum Fridays with a visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. I had a blast wandering around the deck of the humongous ship checking out all the different aircraft on display. (In case you missed it earlier this summer, you can read more about my visit to the Intrepid here, here, here and here.)

Next on my calendar was my visit to the New York City Tenement Museum. This museum couldn't have been more different from the Intrepid, but it was still a lot of fun. Plus, I learned so much history about immigrant life in NYC! (While I couldn't take pictures inside the museum, you can read about my visit on this post.)

After a couple of vacation weeks, I returned to NYC and made my first trek to the NYC Transit Museum. Even though I had to schlep all the way to Brooklyn to tour an un-air-conditioned museum, this was still one of my favorite stops of the summer. From the amazing variety of subway train cars to the history of this fair city's transit, this hands-on museum is a treat! (If you'd like to check it out again, you can visit this, this and this post.)

Later on in the summer, I visited the Cloisters. I cheated a little bit on this visit as I had travelled up to the Cloisters several years back... however, since my brother was in town I made an exception and took him (on the hottest day of the summer, no less) to visit this beautiful museum of Medieval art. I think the Cloisters are a real 'gem' here in NYC, and I was happy to have the opportunity to share them with my bro! (Feel free to check out my posts on our visit to the Cloisters here and here.)

With only a couple of Fridays left in my summer, I stopped by the American Folk Art Museum for their exhibit on quilts. It was a stunning example of handmade, practical 'art', and I took a ton of pictures. However, I must say that this museum is likely to close soon (due to financial difficulties), so if you're hoping to visit it you should go sooner rather than later!

(I blogged about these beautiful quilts here.)

And in my last Museum Friday, I visited the Museum of the Moving Image. I had an absolute blast wandering around this interesting (and interactive) museum, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes movies or television. (You can read more about this super fun museum- and even see the fastest stop motion video ever- here and here.)

Thanks for joining me in my review of Museum Fridays. I had so much fun this summer- and I'm already making a list of the museums I want to visit next year!

Oh, and many thanks to everyone for their kinds notes yesterday- we consider ourselves so lucky here in NYC to have gotten through the hurricane without any damage! So thanks to everyone who was thinking and praying for us out here on the east coast... we appreciate it a great deal!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Goodnight, Irene

We had some interesting weather on the east coast this weekend! Hurricane Irene (which was later downgraded to Tropical Storm Irene) barreled her way up the coast, and since we don't often get such severe weather in NYC, it was a big deal!

All transit was shut down for the weekend, and I (like most New Yorkers) spent the days holed up inside our apartments periodically checking the news to see what the storm was up to.

In my neighborhood the storm started with lots of rain...

So much rain, in fact, that my backyard started to flood.

But I am happy to report that this little bit of flooding was all the storm did to affect me. Considering the damage it caused in other parts of the city, I am a very lucky lady!

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you had a nice weekend!

Practically a prairie!

Per my little teaser yesterday, my brother and I visited the High Line! (Did you guess that?)

For those of you who don't know, the High Line is a new, urban garden on the west side of NYC.

Several years ago, the city of NY decided to take a one-mile section of railroad tracks from a former elevated freight railroad spur, and turn it into a garden.

It's the one of the coolest restorations projects I've ever seen!

There are tons of different aspects of the High Line that encourage interaction with nature.

This interesting structure was actually a series of bird houses.

(And yes, most New Yorkers would kill for the view of the Empire State Building that the birds had!)

I love the way the public spaces of the High Line blend into the garden spaces.

And since I've always loved prairie grasses, I think the landscaping is perfect!

Don't you agree?

So the next time you're in NYC, I think you should head on down to the High Line.

And even if you've been before...

You should go back...

Because another section of the High Line was opened this summer, and it's great!

In the new section, there are areas where trees were planted at street-level, so the top of the trees reach the elevated park... it's so cool!

Thanks for joining me on this photo tour of the park!

(And SBV: thanks for visiting me and carrying around my bag all afternoon- I had a blast!)

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Shopping in the street

Throughout the summer, street fairs pop up all over NYC. These fairs aren't really advertised, so whenever I happen upon one it's a surprise. For example, the other day as my brother and I were heading to a Broadway show, we got to walk through one such fair!

I had my camera with me, so I took some photos of all the things that were for sale within a few short blocks. From name-brand cosmetics...

To "silk" scarves for $1...

All sorts of food....

(Like cups of watermelon pieces...)

NYC-themed tchotchkes...

$5 sunglasses...

Hats...

Halter dresses...

Pleather belts...

And even more scarves, there was something for everyone!

I guess you never can tell when you'll happen upon in the streets of NYC throughout the summer!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a great weekend!

"The Crossroads of the World"

(Did you know that was a nickname for Times Square?)

I was on 42nd street the other day, so I stopped by to take some pictures!

It never ceases to amaze me how many different things are being advertised within these few blocks!

From clothing and cell phones...

To sports drinks...

And Broadway musicals (my personal favorite)...

There's always something bright, shiny and new to behold in Times Square!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great weekend!

More Cloisters fun!

As I shared with you yesterday, when my brother visited recently we visited the Cloisters.

We enjoyed all sorts of medieval art in the museum... like these silver-stained roundrels. This one is called "Souls Tormented in Hell" and was painted between 1500-1510.

This one is titled "Playing at Quintain" and was painted in 1500...

And this "Nativity" was painted between 1510-1520.

We also spent some time in the West-Guilhem Cloister, which was built in the 12th century.

We particularly liked this cloister because each of the capitols and shafts are different. (This one is really intricate- and it was carved before the year 1200!!)

My brother really liked the zig-zaggy shafts... they were so cool!

As if the interior of the cloisters weren't lovely enough, there's also a garden cloister.

From wild honeysuckle...

To other fruit trees...

There are many different plants growing in the cloister. Some of the beds are thematic, featuring some of the plants/herbs that would have been growing when the cloisters were inhabited in France.

These areas of the museum show how practical, and beautiful, gardens can be.

See?

There are also dwarfed fruit trees...

And trained fruit trees on the property (I love this pear tree SO much!).

Oh, and remember how I told you about the thematic gardens?

This one is the "magic" garden, and it's full of poisonous plants! (That pyramid-shaped structure supports a bittersweet bush.)

In one corner of the property there's also a gardener's area, and I loved walking by because it smelled like the room where my grandma used to dry flowers when I was a kid... yum!

Of course, after all that time wandering through amazing art and beautiful gardens, we were in need of some sustenance. So we selected a table, pulled up some chairs...

And dug into lunch! When a museum serves mozzarella and tomato sandwiches that are this good, you can't lose!

As you can tell, I'm a pretty big fan of the Cloisters. So if you're ever in NYC and you have time to travel up to the museum, I highly recommend it!

Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great day!