Painting the Big Apple Red: Too Much To Do and Too Little Time

We have done so much, so fast that it's hard to get time to put it all down. Sunday evening when my friends came in, we went down to SoHo, walked around and took Mulberry Street to see Little Italy. Dinner was at Balthazar and afterwards we stopped in for the view atop the Peninsula Hotel.

Mulberry Street

A view of Central Park and 5th Avenue

Monday, June 10

Monday began in the rain so we went to a movie at Lincoln Center Plaza. We also stopped in at the Julliard Music Store looking for more six-hand music. Didn't find much but the associate was very helpful and pointed us to a website that listed several pieces.

A view in the rain

Tuesday, June 11

Tuesday was a pretty day. We walked around SoHo and then went over to the Meatpacking District and had lunch at Spice Market. Afterwards we gallery hopped around Chelsea. Tuesday night we had tickets for the premier of the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom which was a TimesTalks event. After the showing, the New York Times music critic along with the film's director and three of the featured backup singers, Darlene Love, Lisa Fischer, and Merry Clayton, held a panel discussion. It was fascinating.

Afterwards, we met Lane Stone, a former news anchor in Shreveport who is now a producer for the local NYC CBS affiliate and related to Jane's daughter-in-law. It was late by the time we left Lane and we were hungry so we went to Carnegie Deli. It was serendipitous because several things came from this very random stop! The place was almost deserted as far as diners go, and we were seated next to a man who was by himself. Long story short...we met him and visited with him for quite some time...he was Phillip Kawin, a Steinway concert pianist who is on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. We loved visiting with him. He gave us two names of contacts at Steinway Hall, the big Steinway store, performance space, and practice rooms on West 57th Street. He encouraged us to call and ask for a tour. We were giddy walking home Tuesday night, thinking about meeting Phillip and hoping for a tour of Steinway Hall the next day!

The three of us with pianist Phillip Kawin

Wednesday, June 12

Wednesday was another beautiful day. We got to MoMA early for the members' special preview of the Rain Room. We had to stand in line for about an hour but it was quite the experience. Once inside, there is a large area of rain coming from the ceiling; however, as you walk around in it, sensors stop the rain in the space your body occupies. It was pretty surreal.

After the Rain Room we took the subway down to Madison Square Park for a burger at Shake Shack. When we walked up, I recognized a teacher at Magnet High School, David Wells and his wife. It's always fun to see someone you know in a big city where you least expect it.

The Flatiron Building

The art installation at Madison Square Park

Sunny day for lunch in the park with the Flatiron in the background

We walked down to Union Square for the green market. Lots of brightly colored vegetables and fruits!

We took the train back uptown to the Met where we were told to spend a few moments with T's "Lady" which of course we did.

View from the Met's Rooftop...a panoramic taken with my iPhone camera

A picture of me and the city in the window's reflection

The afternoon was pretty surreal: we saw Woody Allen and Paul McCartney all in a space of about 30 minutes!

Thursday, June 13

On Thursday we called our contact at Steinway Hall and were told we could get a tour at 12:30 so we headed over there and were met by a lovely young woman. She, of course, was curious how we got her name so we told her about meeting Phillip Kawin. Our tour was astounding. We were shown several piano showrooms and were told all about the US and German Steinways and Mr. Steinway who made the first one. We were taken to a room with photos of Steinway pianists covering the walls and our friend from Carnegie Deli was there! We were shown the basement area where the pianos are shipped out and where the concert pianos (numbered so artists can request a specific piano) are stored and where Rachmaninoff wrote his third concerto and where he and Horowitz had a few disagreements...a room full of musical history! It was special for the three of us!

Then we were off to the far corners of Brooklyn to see a couple of exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The El Anatsui Gravity and Grace was a treat for the eyes! (Photos of the exhibit follow.) We were all crazy about this special exhibition. We also saw the John Singer Sargent watercolor exhibit and, of course, it was wonderful.