No KGB Bar Stories

We agreed to go home tonight instead of spending the full 3 day weekend in NYC so we could have a day at home before the work (laughing to self here) week begins...with the agreement that we would get up early and enjoy the WHOLE day in New York.

Gerd is not a morning person.

But, I have to admit, I'm not either (although not as bad as he is). So I wasn't too upset this morning when I heard Gerd hit the snooze button. Although we didn't leave the hotel until around 9, that's pretty good for us.

The only thing we'd decided we really wanted to do was have a nice breakfast, read the Times, and have a decent cup of coffee. Everything else, we decided, we could figure out after the caffeine kicked in. While it took us a while to find a paper (and once we did find a kiosk we found the one that was directly across the street from us from the start) breakfast was just as we planed it. Naturally I was off the diet as coffee cannot be consumed without sugar in my opinion.

We found a booklet in the hotel room with suggests for the city so I decided to make use of it. The first item of the day became Rizzoli's, a bookstore specializing in photography, art, literature, and international books (but that turned out to be false, all they had were Italian books). As far as bookstores go, Rizzoli's was an independent upscale dream of a store that we spent hours pouring over books of photographs in.

The Museum of Modern Art was a few blooks away, so we headed over to see what MoMA was all about. Turns out, MoMA is worth the $20. Most museums are by donation only, but MoMA had an actual set fee. We got through part of 2 floors in 4 hours. My favorite part was the Artist's Choice area, where the artist (can't remember his name) set up a rebus of art. Each piece of art was connected in some way to the piece before it, leading the viewer in a string of conciousness. Gerd liked the off the wall descriptions of the artwork. Newton has a huge red canvas on the wall...if you go, listen to the audio tour explanation. I'm paraphrasing here...Artists had already shocked society, Newton aimed to shock other artists...Artists were upset because it appeared that Newton's work could have been created by any ordinary house painter...It took years for art critics to distinguish that the red was actually several layers of reds.

The photography exhibition, describing the movement of pictoral art from woodblocking through the digital age was also enlightening. While I couldn't see the difference between some digital techniques, it was interesting to hear the methods of print.

We tried to fit the KGB bar into our schedule, but it didn't work. According to our booklet, the KGB bar is the ultimate literary establishment. I looked it up online too, and saw that the interior is supposed to be decorated in communist propaganda. Had we been able to stay longer there was a 7:00 fiction reading that sounded interesting, but that's the time our train was scheduled to leave. The doors were locked at 5:00 when we showed up, so I guess we'll have to go back next time.

Oh, but before I get away from New York, I've got to mention our evening in Brooklyn. A friend from New Mexico ran away to join the art scene and moved into an artist commune in Brooklyn. I thought I'd visit. One of her fellow artist commune members pointed us to Moto. Thank goodness she did. Honestly we never, ever would have found out about it unless someone mentioned that it existed. Literally, there's a solid metal door without a sign on it. If you know it's there, a classic Schwin bicycle is mounted from the roof. Inside two French singers serenaded the diners and we managed to get the last two seats in the house. Odd clocks and motors hung from the ceiling and were fixed on the walls, and the place was lit by candlelight. The food was very good, although not gourmet, but he wine was fabulous. Rose petals sprinkled the tables and the bar, and led the way down the stairs to the bathroom area. Gerd noticed that the Irish Declaration of the Free Government was posted on the basement door. I noticed the WC sign on the ladies room.

Things to See in New York
MET
MoMA
Rizolli's
Wicked
Central Park
Rockefeller Center viewing platform (Gerd's recommendation)

Places to Eat in New York
Pigalle (got us in even though we didn't have a reservation...fabulouse goat cheese salad)
Khyber Pass (Afghan food)
Moto (Brooklyn, but worth the trip)

Places to stay in New York
Brand Bed and Breakfast
I'll have to find the name of the other hotel later