A Ride Through Central Park

 

I've been to New York many times but it wasn't until this last trip that I considered taking a coach ride in Central Park.  It was fun and certainly a huge contrast to the busy streets.

It was late October so the fall colors were showing on the trees in the Park.

I got to see places I had only seen in movies and TV shows before like the Bethesda Fountain topped by the Angel of the Waters.

I didn't realize there were so many bridges in the park.

The driver made the obligatory stop at Strawberry Fields where we could see the "Imagine" mosaic on the ground.

And then the driver pointed out the Dakota Apartments where John Lennon lived and sadly, died.  

But that wasn't the only building on view.  In many places we could see the modern skyscrapers that surround the park.

Riding in the park turned out to be lots of fun.  I'd do again when give the chance.

American Fashion at the Museum

When I was in New York last fall, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art twice while I was there.  On one of the days I was there, they were opening a new exhibit called "In America, A Lexicon of Fashion".  There was a long line of people waiting to go through the exhibit and after some deliberations, I decided I should see why it was drawing such a crowd. I waited my turn and went in to see it.

It was organized to appear like a patchwork quilt, a metaphor for America and our diverse backgrounds. Each cube hosted a costume that was created by an American designer, some well known and others I had never heard of before.  

In addition, each costume represented an assigned "word".  The four words here are Continuity, Commemoration, Connection and Celebration.

This is Unity.

Here we have Ebullience.

Harmony is this one.

This one is Assurance.  Assurance is very flashy.

The word for this one is Sexuality.  

This one represents Closeness.  This might be a little too close for my taste.

This was my favorite of all of them (and there were many, many more than I've shown here).  This one is representing Joy.  

Here we have Respect.

This last one represents Realness and Authenticity.  Authenticity appears to be a dress made of the lining of a Burberry raincoat with the label still showing at the neckline.  

This exhibit was the first of a two-part exploration of fashion in the United States in the Anna Wintour Costume Center.  The second half of this exhibit is scheduled to open on May 7, 2022, just a few weeks away.  A word of advice in case one of you wants to go, wait until a few days after the opening.  The second show is likely to draw as big a crowd as the first.

California Blooms

 

One thing I love about California is all the wonderful plants and flowers I see there.  The climate is so different near the coast and that makes it good for some tropical plants like the bird of paradise above.  I love these blooms and I snap lots of photos of them when I visit California.

I also love seeing such a variety of lilies, many of them growing in wild spaces.

Though they tend to be in more landscaped spaces, I also see dahlias in many colors and sizes.  

The very dark blooms of a certain type of succulent are also more common in California than they are here in the desert.  

I always find and abundance of water lilies when I visit California.  These are such spectacular blooms that they just beg to be photographed.  

I cheated a bit on the orchid to the left.  It is in California but I found it inside a greenhouse.  

These are just a few of the wonderful variety of blooming plants I get to admire when I travel to California.  It seemed like Spring was the perfect time to showcase them.  

Favorite Photos from European Travels

 

Last week I posted some favorite photos from travels around the United States.  Today I have some favorites from travels in Europe.  First up is a photo from Florence Italy.  I snapped this photo during the golden hours from a window in my hotel.  

Here is another photo from Italy, this time from Venice.  I love that the lady with the blue umbrella stopped to look across the canal just as I was crossing a bridge.  Perfect timing.  I have a 16 X 20 enlargement of this one done on metal.  

I really love this photo.  It was taken inside a church in Verona Italy.  That angel has such a melancholy look.  I have a framed print of this one hanging in my dining room.

Here is another favorite from a trip to Italy.  This castle sits at the edge of the city of Sirmione located at the southern end of Lake Garda.  In fact, you enter the city through a passage located all the way to the left of this photo.  I have a large, framed print of this castle hanging on a wall in my office.

I have several photos of Stonehenge that I like but this is the one that I had enlarged and printed on canvas.  I've visited Stonehenge twice, the first time in 2000 when I took my Dad on a trip to London.  The second was on my last trip there in 2016.  

This is a photo from Paris France.  This is the Lapin Agile, the largely unchanged night spot where famous painters and writers would enjoy some libations.  It still serves as an old style night club to this day.  

This last photo was taken on the coast of Wales in the village of Portmeirion.  This is not a classic photo from this quirky village.  I walked down a narrow lane between some buildings to catch this view of a beautifully coiffed tree overlooking the estuary. The village of Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough William-Ellis who wanted to pay tribute to an atmosphere of the Mediterranean when he designed the village.  I did a post about this place that you can see here.