REVIEWS937: Back In The Big Apple

(New York City) - The great thing about visiting New York City is you don't even particularly need a pre-determined plan to have an amazing time. Sure, if you want to go to a hot Broadway show, exclusive restaurant or concert, that might take a little pre-planning, but if you just have an idea of what activities you might enjoy, it's not hard to do a quick search of the thousands of places and things to do, hop in a taxi or take the train to wherever you want to do or see. You can ask your hotel concierge, consult online guides or maybe you're lucky enough to know someone who lives there who can really give you the scoop. You can visit New York a dozen times and it can be a dozen different cities, all just depending on what interests you. What's more, in the Summer there is always a parade or festival happening in different parts of the city.

Having just opened the Edward A. Dixon Gallery, of course, it made sense for my most recent trip to center around Art. Although, no matter what your interest, your trip will also focus a great deal on New York eats. It just will.

My first Art stop was to the world famous Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue across from Central Park. Famous of course for its artwork collection and exhibitions, but the Guggenheim is just as famous for the buildings circular design by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. From June 30th through October 4th, 2017, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will present Mystical Symbolism: The Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris, 1892–1897, the first museum exhibition on this revelatory and significant yet frequently overlooked series of Salons. Mysterious, mythical, and visionary themes, often drawn from literature, prevailed in the art of the six exhibitions, which were held annually in Paris from 1892 to 1897. Just be prepared for the incline while touring the museum or just taking the elevator to the top floor and make your whole visit "down hill".

The Art Nouveau style has recently become one of my favorites so getting a chance to visit the Neue Galerie and a show featuring Gustav Klimt and his portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer ended up being the highlight of my trip. Of all Klimt's portrait subjects, Adele was the only one he painted twice and both were on display in the gallery's exhibition Austrian Masterworks. Both Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and II were stunning but the gold and silver leafed, fully adorned first portrait was truly a work of art and the star of the show. Geometric shapes and random As and Bs adorn the highly ornamental and floral designed, gold background of the painting, but the eyes are always drawn back to Adele's contrasted flat portrait. No photography allowed so Google this one or just visit the gallery yourself.

On my trips to the Guggenheim and to the Neue Galerie, I passed the Metropolitan Museum of Art which sadly I didn't feel I had the energy to take on after my other art visits and my runs in Central Park. However, it is still a must-see if you visit NYC and are at all interested in Art or History. You can see some of the museum in one of my prior post here.

As I mentioned before, eats are an important part of any visit to New York with its 20,000 plus eateries that cover virtually every cooking style and culture. My one stop off Manhattan island was into Brooklyn to Peaches brunch spot. I ended up enjoying the ambiance more than the meal, but the very tasty cheese eggs were my favorite. However, I'm a pescetarian so I'm always aware my dining experience can be markedly different at some restaurants than meat-eaters.

Then, there's the rest of the Art trek and few other notable restaurants: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Jack Shainman Gallery, Taglialatella Galleries, street vendors, Thalia, El Vez and more...