More modern art, musicals and medieval Manhattan

So another fun filled busy busy busy New York days.

Yesterday - Sunday - I caught the bus way up the north end of town to Fort Tyron park and the Cloisters museum - which is part of The Met. Its's where they have most of their medieval artefacts - like statues, relics, tapestries, columns, furniture, illuminated manuscripts etc. Its all very atmospheric & gorgeous as they have built a medieval style monastry to house it all and demonstrate how the objects would have been placed in real life. And it has 4 cloisters (central courtyards growing medieval style plants). Such a beautiful and tranquil spot. That took up most of the morning - the bus ride alone was about 40 minutes.

Then I headed back midtown to join the halfprice tix queue, securing a ticket to Legally Blonde: The Musical! More of that later...

Then to the Whitney Museum of American Art - which currently has a small selection of its permanent collection on display and the Whitney Biennial. Loved the permanent collection - great stuff by Claes Oldenburg (giant fries and the like), Georgia O'Keefe, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Robert Maplethorpe.... I wasn't that much impressed with the Biennial stuff - too much video and boring photography...

I was planning on catching a bus back down to Broadway but 5th Ave was closed for a Jewish Parade - 60 years of the state of Israel???? So I walked the 20 odd blocks back to the theatre. Legally Blonde was lots of fun, very silly, stuck closely to the movie and was very very very pink!

Today - Monday - most of the museums etc were closed - apart from the Guggenheim - which was only partly open and mostly covered in scaffolding. Last time it was closed was in 1992. Guess when I was last in NY? Anyway after a walk through Central Park, I got to see a fab show by a Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang - all these amazing installations of life size animals like tigers and wolves that had been made from who knows what (but not taxidermy). And saw some of the permanent collection - including a beautiful Odilon Redon, some Oskar Kokoschka and now i can't remember what!

Following that I headed downtown to Radio City to do the Stage Door tour. Radio City is the most glamourous Art Deco theatre - and it seats about 6000. The tour took us backstage, into the main theatre, we met a Rockette and heard all about the shows etc.

Then I did a little shopping - mostly of the window kind and dropped into the NY Public Library for a look around. (Yes Anne Doherty - its a busman's tour!) The 2pm tour had been cancelled, so I wandered around for a look on my own. Their catalogue is called CatNYP!!!! And did you know that they have the original Winne the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eyore and Roo??? Neither did I - but there they were in a glass cabinet - having been donated by someone (Christopher Robin maybe?) quite some years ago! And they look very well loved and patched and hugged!

Later this afternoon I did a couple of official open top bus tours - Uptown (Greenwich village, etc), caught a ferry out to visit the Statue of Liberty and then did the NY by Night bustour. And now its almost 11pm and I need to get organised for tomorrow. I have time in the morning for a quick trip back to The Met - to see their Modern stuff before catching the shuttle to the airport and heading home to London!

Some other thoughts about NY.... The Lions at the Public Library have names and I have forgotten what they are!

At least 5 people have stopped me to ask for directions! And I've got to the stage where I can point them in the right direction.

I find I am shocked at the profligate use of water in this city. People hosing down streets,, leaving taps running... I have obviuosly taken Sydney's water restrictions to heart.

I have They Might Be Giants song New York City stuck in my brain - except I can't recall all the words and its driving me nuts.

People are friendly and generous and willing to talk and help. And are still out walking their dogs in Central Park at 10 pm....