Glimpses of New York

Postmarked Tuesday, November 7th, 2006
Topic: Thoughts; Travel (123 words, 27 images, 3 comments)

OK ---> Here is what I was trying to post yesterday, while waiting for my grandmother's flight to arrive from Tehran to Dubai:

Sitting in the airport (still). It's now 10:43am local time. My new baby is juicing up and I am finally enjoying the use of a machine that can handle more than 2 photos at a time without crashing and/or making really loud clicking noises.

So, in light of this wondrous new addition to my world, I offer a few images from my recent whirlwind trip back to NYC last week. I will add a separate post very soon with lots of images from my stroll through Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Walking by Lincoln Center after sleeping over at my grandmother's the night before. She lives a few blocks away. My cousin and I were headed to her new apartment in Long Island City to meet with some of her renovation contractors. We passed through the new Time Warner Center on the way to the subway, which overlooks Columbus Circle. Here's a typical midtown street at 9:30am on a Saturday morning! Only in New York...
Here we go! This is the view (rainy morning) from my cousin's new apartment in Long Island City. The UN is the shiny green building across the river. Here's a view of the kitchen and main bedroom in the back... which she will use as an art studio because of its size and great light! Thinking about the renovations that need to be done!
By noon, the sun came out to greet us! We decided to stroll around my old neighborhood (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) by way of PS 1, a great gallery/museum a block away from her place... PS 1 is one of the coolest places to be in the summer, when they have their DJ season and host crazy sessions in the courtyard, complete with plenty of yummy Brooklyn Brewery beers. They always change the installations in the courtyard. The current one encouraged a sunbath.
Nice to be back... On a separate day, I visited Apple's new flagship store on 5th Avenue. Inspired by I.M. Pei's pyramid at the Louvre? It's right in front of Trump's big tower and FAO Schwartz toy store (made famous by Tom Hanks in the film Big). One of the highlights of my trip was seeing my childhood friend Aurelie. We literally grew up together and have always been in each other's worlds, families, etc.
Aurelie is now an architect, and we decided to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) together. Right next door to the MOMA is the American Folk Art Museum, which her firm designed. What a gorgeous facade it has... Aur and the MOMA. Here's a view from the MOMA's famous courtyard, which was not changed during the extensive renovations (lots of museum courtyards on this visit).
Inside, the changes are immediately visible. The main exhibition space is massive. There is a large emphasis on stairs and vantage points and areas to see and be seen, within the larger white spaces. This area overlooking the courtyard and the side street was my favorite new element. It made you want to linger and peer... Aurelie enjoys the view.
One question: Why put this classic Matisse painting in a stairwell with fairly obstructed views (except from the top landing)? So weird. And, one of my favorite paintings of all time. Can you name it? (answer in next photo) That's right! De Chirico and his Melancholy of Departure.  

Reader Comments

1.

Comment from Tisha

So the $50 Mac died??

2.

Comment from Tima

Digeh geej shodam Marjan joon .... hala koja-ee azizam? :-) I can't keep track of you anymore. Are you home and your grandma is here also? Love; tima

PS. You remind me of that old movie "80 Days Around the World" Seen it? Gotta see the original, with David Niven!!

3.

Response from Marjan (http://www.marmerm.com)

I know I know, I confuse myself sometimes! ;)

OK, for the record, I am in Dubai until November 10, with my grandma who flew here from Tehran. Then she goes back to Iran and I go back to London. [phew] Thank goodness for frequent flier miles!

And Letitious, my dear~~

I still ADORE my $50 Mac. She is alive and well (an old lady, really). I use her still, but needed something with a little more umph! so I could work on photo and film projects in my spare time!! xxx

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