New York, Again

This was my fifth visit to New York, but I’m still not fond of the city. While I might like it better in better weather, I doubt I’m ever really going to be a fan. It’s not that I don’t like big cities, I love London, but I find the subway horrible, the museums expensive and the buildings generally dull.

However, like Bangkok, another popular big city I don’t much care for, New York is a transport hub, so I’ll probably keep coming back. This time, if I’d got up really early, I could have taken the morning Jet Blue flight and easily made the Lake Shore Limited, which leaves at 3:45 pm. Turned out, I might just have made it on the mid-day flight, as the E train in from JFK reached Penn Station at 3:17, but I would have been a nervous wreck.

With just one full day and iffy weather I concentrated on museums, again. I was horrified to see that the Met was now “suggesting” $25 admission, but since it was a suggestion I opted to pay less. I was just there to see the Byzantium and Islam exhibition, not the whole place. I enjoyed the exhibition, intrigued to see a mosaic from Mt. Nebo I’m pretty sure I saw in situ on my Middle East trip in 2009, and surprised not to recognize a few good pieces from the Archaeological Museum in Amman.

I did take a look at the Rembrandts, and at some lovely Assyrian carvings – always one of my favorites, as I looked for the way out, And the courtyard in the new American wing, where I decided against joining the lunch crowd in favor of Le Pain Quotidien round the corner on Madison.

I spent the first part of the afternoon admiring some fascinating artifacts, including a complete set of bone decorations for a horse’s harness, from Kazakhstan at the (free) Nomads and Networks exhibition. Then I traded cold grey weather at Central Park for sunshine at Washington Park, with coffee at the touristy but comfy Cafe Reggio.

The next morning I fitted in a third visit to the Rubin, where I enjoyed the exhibition on the physical aspects of sacred book, and ate lunch. Then I collected my bag from the Jane and set off for Penn Station.