I spent a couple of  gloomy, rainy gray days in New York City recently.  Not what I have often enjoyed in the Big Apple in December.  No “Elf” like scenes of Central Park or Santas brushing snow off their Coke-a-Cola red suits.

That combined with a bad case of tendonitis in my foot and  decidedly low energy leaves me with a bit of a quandary–what to write about on my blog?  Hmmm.

Get Real.  There’s always something to see in NYC. And, never letting weather spoil a good time, of course, I did.

 The Skyscraper Museum.  This one has been on my list to see for a while…..intriguing if you are interested in urban life.  I was struck with how our perception of high rise living and working has changed.  The exhibits communicates  man’s search for height from the pyramids to modern day buildings, seeking symbols of ambition and power.

Since 9/11, we look at very tall buildings with a different set of eyes, recognizing the vulnerability, fear and mortality.

The Museum,a tiny 5000 square space (small for a NYC museum), finds it’s home at the tip of Manhattan, actually only a few steps away from a viewing spot of the Lady Liberty and the site of huge devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.

It was really interesting, not only for the displays and intriguing stuff about skyscrapers but also  the ceiling is mirrored and most of the surfaces shinny.  It is actually a little disorienting.

I visited two different Asian focused organizations, one being the Japan Society on 47th Street near First Avenue.  Lucked out because they were doing a docent tour–an excellent experience.   I was a little surprised because there was no store or tea room, typical means for not-for-profit museums to increase their operating revenues.  Missed opportunity.

Funny: they did have heated toilet seats.  Go figure.

The other Asian organization I’m putting on my go-to list is the Asia Society at 725 Park Avenue.  I did a little holiday shopping in the lovely store there and plan to go back to view exhibits and to shop. 

 Found a couple of new (to me) retail spots to report on.   One is John Derian, known for his decoupage plates.  The store was chock-o-block full of not only his work but other artists’ creative stuff too.   Stimulating and fun.

Another shop getting a lot of media attention is Creel and Gow.  It’s in a little mecca of small fashion and design shops on or near Lexington between 69-74th.  The displays and curios really appealed to me. Everything comes from Mother Nature.

I made time to view the massive Andy Warhol exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Found it quite confusing.  While I know the white wigged wild man had a huge influence on the course of modern art, the exhibit contained more work of his contemporaries than his.  Even the audio guide seemed to jump around.

Also while I was there I enjoyed an exhibit called Faking It: Manipulated Photographs Before Photoshop.

Eye opening. The exhibit introduction says it best, “Through today’s eyes, we can see that the old adage ‘the camera never lies’ has always been photography’s supreme fiction.”

I always enjoy the great little cafe on the back side of the museum with views of Central Park. It is a soothing spot for the over stimulated who need to rest weary feet and enjoy a light lunch.  The area in photo below is  adjacent to the cafe.