First post for the new adventure! As we tend to do, this starts off a few weeks before our departure. We are now exactly one month away. This is when things start to get 'real' and we start to worry about what we have not done to prepare. But before we get into the stress zone, I thought it would be fun to put this trip into context. For us, the 'blog' sometimes gets a bit isolated when we revisit it downstream in time. This first post to the blog will give a quick overview of the months of March and April, which started to shift seasons and welcome in the spring season.
The first 'welcome' in early March was the arrival of our wonderful granddaughter Louisa! What a beautiful addition to the family!
.....and celebratory cocktails!
The Shaw Drive Crowells at the Cabin in New Hampshire!
Followed by the Andi/Fiske trip to New Jersey and New York City. This is our hotel, The George, in Montclair, New Jersey. Really fun place, with a 'complimentary' candy closet and ice cream treats!
and the absolutely stunning tall, thin skyscrapers of NYC!
and a return to MOMA after too many years!......with a very nice lunch in the cafe.
The evening started with the annual 'Aperitivo' event at the Bogliasco Foundation on 53rd Street. It was wonderful to see some good friends and acquaintances, including Laura, Emily, Ray, Joan, and Ann. The event was highlighted by a presentation of a recently published book by Maria Kalman. It was great meeting her.......and as always the conversations were energized. It was great to connect with the group.
After the 'Aperitivo' we went down the street to the 'Old King Cole' bar in the St. Regis Hotel. It had long been a destination, but we missed it due to ongoing renovations during a previous trip. The highlight of the bar is the amazing mural by Maxfield Parrish that has recently been restored........just stunning. We had a reservation for dinner elsewhere after we had finished at the bar, but ended up staying in our soft seats for a couple of hours and had an amazing dinner there. It was a wonderful time. Then back to the hotel (Hotel 1) which was a lively and fun place to stay.
P.S. - NYC prices........the drinks were $35.........something to keep as a 'marker' for future reference.
On the way back the next day we stopped off at the Cloisters Museum in Washington Heights. We had not been there before.......and what a treat. It is quite an extraordinary place. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art and architecture, with a focus on the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Governed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it contains a large collection of medieval artworks shown in the architectural settings of French monasteries and abbeys. Its buildings are centered around four cloisters—the Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem, Bonnefont, and Trie—that were acquired by American sculptor and art dealer George Grey Barnard in France before 1913 and moved to New York. Barnard's collection was bought for the museum by financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr.
In April we were really getting Spring Fever......just anxious for winter to pass!.....reviving the greenhouse from its winter doldrums.
then welcoming the tulips!
but not escaping a late season snow (April 12th)!
and the annual Easter Egg hunt!
and April is brush burning time!
and the greenhouse continues to shift to seedlings!
and Spring is in full bloom!
