Seattle for the Fourth - Legos!

When we went to bed after the fireworks on the 4th of July, I told my parents that we didn't have any fixed itinerary for the next day, so they were free to take all the time they wanted in the morning and we'd figure out what to do with the rest of the day before they needed to be at the train station.

They took me at my word!

We left for breakfast at noon.  Or, rather, we skipped breakfast altogether and went straight to lunch.  We opted for a quick pizza from MOD Pizza at the Seattle Center Armory, because that put us only a few steps away from the Pacific Science Center and their very cool exhibition of Lego art.

Apparently this guy went to NYU Law School, practiced corporate law for a few years in a big New York law firm, and then decided one day that he could make a living playing with Legos instead.  Not just playing, making legit art!

The exhibition began with a passage through art history.  Here legos were used two-dimensionally to recreate other two-dimensional works of art.

The lego blocks gave a strangely pixellated effect to the artworks, evoking both the original subject as well as other art-historical movements such as impressionism, pointillism and whatever you call Chuck Close's technique.




By the time we got to the actual impressionists, we had moved beyond 2D into 3D.  Which is interesting because part of what made Van Gogh's works so exciting was the feeling of movement that came from the 3D effect of all those heavy brush strokes on the canvas.  Oddly, though, this rendering in legos was less effective for me, as it started to feel like cross-stitch.



Progressing onward, we started blowing out the famous paintings into fully formed vignettes.  Whistler's Mother is a little terrifying in this format.



And if you had any doubts about the ability of Lego to take on actual 3D sculpture, you shouldn't:  The "marbles" were super impressive.

The terra cotta warriors made into the show, too.  (And the enthusiastic docent informed us that the real things would be coming to Seattle later in the year.)

Once our tour of art history was complete, we moved into the artist's own contemporary world.  He was clearly fascinated with the human form, and with the ability that legos have to build and unbuild the world.

Dad's favorite

My favorite

The international art scene's favorite

We even got to take our picture with this "Green Guy" on our way out.



By the time we were done with the Lego exhibit, we had just enough time to walk down to the Olympic Sculpture Park for a quick walk along the water before heading to the train station.

It was a fun visit, and I hope we'll be able to do it again soon!

Saturday in London

Compared to the difficulties I had trying to get to Brussels, it was a cinch getting to London.  The small commuter plane left the tiny Luxembourg airport bright and early, touching down in the London City airport an hour later (though with the time zone change, we only lost about 10 minutes). 

 

I checked into the hotel, went into the office for the rest of the day, and then met up with Matt and Dorothea (Justin's brother and sister-in-law, who live in London) for a tasty Mediterranean dinner followed by a screening of a new documentary about the Met's Fashion Institute back at their flat. 

 

The next morning, Saturday, was my first real non-working day of this whole trip -- like a mini-vacation!  I spent the morning running through performance listings and ticket-sales websites to ensure that I didn't spend two days in London without seeing something good.  It was a dangerous exercise, though -- while I was happy with the tickets I got, I came away with the same "why don't I live here?" feeling that I always have in New York and Paris (biggest regret: not being here in two weeks, when Isabelle Huppert will be performing Phaedra, in French, at the Barbican).

 

As soon as the e-tickets hit my inbox, I headed out to find Matt and Dorothea for a day of exploring London.  We started with the Portobello Road Market, which is a delightful progression of charming shops selling everything from vintage Louis Vuitton luggage and Uzbekistani textiles (temptation, thy name is ikat) to cheap antiques of dubious quality and artsy street fashion. 

 

I hadn't expected it to be so touristy.  It was body-to-body pretty much the whole way.
Fun enough, but not my ideal for browsing.  Plus, the shopkeepers wouldn't bargain
with me the way they do in the Asian bazaars I've become accustomed to.

Nothing says "I'm in London!" like a fresh pineapple-banana-berry smoothie.

We came to a section of the market with all the food stalls and paused for a quick lunch.

I got a Vietnamese noodle bowl that was very good and almost as good as what I had in Vietnam.

After lunch we left the market and went over the Victoria & Albert museum, one of the major art museums in London. We had hoped to see two exhibitions, one about the history of underwear, and one about Boticelli.  Turns out we were late enough in the day that we couldn't do both, so we opted for the underwear exhibition.  I was hoping for something on par with the Met's Fashion Institute exhibitions -- on the whole it wasn't, but there were some interesting elements that made me glad to have seen it.


Seattle-based Chihuly front and center in the museum

They wouldn't let me take photos in the exhibition itself, so this is the best I could do.

By the time we left the museum, the hours of market- and museum-walking had caught up with us -- we needed a break and some food!  After a 15 minute power-nap, I went down to a neighboring French restaurant to meet up with Matt, as well as Paul and Rachel, two friends from church in Seattle who happened to have just arrived in London. 

I love meeting people from home in other countries!

I ended up needing to leave dinner early to get to the Royal Opera House in time for the ballet performance I was seeing.  I was excited to finally be seeing something in the famous hall -- among other reasons to know this building, it's in the Covent Garden flower market right outside this building that Henry Higgins finds Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.

You'd think this was the entrance.  Nope! Will call was on the complete other side of the
block. The building is kind of a nightmare to navigate.

But the interior is gorgeous.  And I had an excellent seat.

I love these old concert halls, with their gold and red velvet.

I saw the Royal Ballet do a mixed program.  The first was a world premiere of a work
that I didn't quite understand. The second was a disturbing tale of sexual violence. And the
last was a delightful, abstract piece by Christopher Wheeldon (one of my
favorite contemporary ballet choreographers).

Leaving the opera house, I was reluctant to go right back to the hotel -- the evening was fine, and I wanted to soak up more of London.  So I wandered down through Leicester Square and the West End theatre district, over to Picadilly Circus, and up to Oxford Circus.  The walk reminded me of when I was here in 2003.  I had no money to go into any performances or to pay for buses or even the subway, so I just walked all around town, looking at buildings and watching people, soaking up the atmosphere.  My budget is more generous now, and I've seen a lot of things in the intervening years, but I still feel that same wonderful energy wandering through the grand streets of this awesome city.

I love the curving facades of the buildings.

Midnight donut!

The British flags only hung over this one street -- I'm not sure if they're permanent.

New York - A three-star last day

Like all good things, our trip came to a close on Saturday.  But our flights were late enough that we still had the bulk of the day to play -- and play we did!

Nicole, a good friend of mine from Kennedy Center days, recently moved from DC to New York, so we began our day by meeting up with Nicole and her boyfriend, Bruce, for breakfast in the Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.  It was good to catch up and learn about what they're doing:  Nicole is head of development at the Park Avenue Armory, which sounds like a super interesting performance venue (she told us of a show that involves sheep and blimps that may warrant a trip later in the spring).  Bruce is an economist at the World Bank and the UN, currently working in Geneva.

We parted ways -- Nicole and Bruce to make some returns at West Elm; the three of us to find Trump Hotel at Columbus Circle.



The appeal wasn't the Trump brand, but rather Jean-Georges, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant nestled at the base:  We had a reservation for lunch!

I've always been puzzled why Michelin's "stars" look more like flowers.

This was our first three-star experience, and we were very excited.  The dining room was elegant and minimal, all white and gold, with the only color coming from a stand of deep red amaryllis in the middle.  Dress code forbad jeans and sneakers; jackets were optional before 6pm.

Our server handed us menus and invited us to construct our own tasting menus from the options listed.  We each chose three items and a dessert.

Three amuse bouches: a ceviche, shredded brussels sprouts, and spicy miso soup

Sea urchin with yuzu and jalapeño on black toast

Foie gras brûlée with dried sour cherries, candied pistachios and white port gelee

Crispy confit of suckling pig with rutabaga pudding and smoked bacon marmalade

Left to right: (1) hazelnut milk chocolate millefeuille, (2) warm chocolate cake vanilla bean ice cream, and
 (3) white chocolate ice cream yuzu sorbet

Closing treats: passionfruit jellies, hazelnut macarons, assorted dark chocolate cremes

Restaurants win stars based on a number of different factors, including the taste of the food, the comfort of the experience, and the quality of the service.  In this case, it was clear the emphasis was on comfort and taste.  

The room was lofty and felt spacious (there was none of the crowding we had felt at other places) and oh, so quiet!  Even at capacity, the sound level in the room never rose above a low murmur, which meant that I could speak in my inside voice the entire time and never once needed to strain to hear what Justin or Amanda were saying.  

As for the food, it was incredible.  The portions sizes were just right, the plating gorgeous, and the textures and tastes beautifully combined.  It was a reflection on the philosophy of the restaurant that the servers, when they checked on us, never once asked "How is your meal" but always "How are you enjoying the flavors?"  It was the flavors that mattered most.  

(And of course the service was excellent; I guess I've been spoiled by restaurants that greet me by name and manage to avoid traffic jams at reception even during the peak dining hours.)

We left the restaurant with full tummies and happy hearts (as the Puerto Ricans would say) and decided to give the Met Museum another try.  Fortunately it was open and the lines weren't too long.  

We decided to prioritize two exhibits:  First, the Costume Institute's temporary exhibition showcasing the fashion of Countess Jacqueline de Ribes.  There were some exquisite pieces, and a sense that the fabulously rich and glamorous live in a different world than I.

I love the simplicity of this dress, and the detail of the train tied up at the shoulders

If I were a woman, I 

de Ribes threw insane costume parties.  This one was for an Arabian Nights themed party.
She said she expected lots of bare tummies and arms, so she went with fur to stand out.

The next focus was the modern wing.  Justin, in particular, wanted to see that section, so we made our way across the museum to soak up the Jasper Johns, Giacometti, and Chuck Close.

Chuck Close does giant portraits in a sort of impressionist/pointillist style

When viewed up close, it's a wonder he's able to get the image to emerge so clearly!

The metaphorical clock began to strike midnight, and it was time for us to leave the ball.  We hailed a cab, collected our luggage from the hotel, and hopped on the subway to the airport.  We bid Amanda farewell at the Delta terminal, and Justin and I made our way to the American gates.

As we rose into the night sky, we had a glorious view of Manhattan below.  So strange to think that such a giant, exciting world could fit on such a small island.

We're looking down from the north -- that rectangle in the middle is Central Park

Good night, Manhattan!  Until next time . . . .

Amsterdam

After finishing meetings in Berlin on Wednesday, my colleague and I flew to Amsterdam for another series of meetings there.  These meetings could not have been more different!  The Berlin meetings were formal (in a conference room), highly contentious and underscored by deep distrust between the two parties, but the Amsterdam meetings were casual (in coffee shops), friendly and very collaborative.

The Amsterdam meetings were also blessedly short.  When we scheduled them, our Dutch counterpart had forgotten that it was a holiday.  He was gracious enough not to cancel the meeting, given that we'd made the effort to fly to Amsterdam specifically to see him, but he also recognized that all of us might be interested in having a free afternoon.  So we covered the key points that would benefit the most from in-person discussions, and then we split.  

I began by dragging my colleague to the Van Gogh museum.  He's from Texas and this was his first time in Europe.  Before the trip he had told me that he had no interest in exploring the towns, eating delicious food, or seeing art (one hour in a museum is all he could handle).  Obviously my job was to bring this benighted soul into the fold, and I figured that Van Gogh would be a good way to do that:  It's a small museum and focuses on telling the story of Van Gogh.  You really can see a range of the artist's work and evolution over time.  The exhibitions do a good job situating Van Gogh in art history, and I was able to add more commentary to help Steven connect.  And the great thing is that he got it!  He paid attention and started noticing things ("That harvest scene looks like where I went to school in Kansas"), then started having opinions ("I don't really like that outlining as much as when there's no outlining"), then asking questions ("But why is this important as art?"), and then finally making his own interpretations ("These paintings from late in life seem to show lots of sunsets, as if he knew he was on his way out").  When we left the museum he turned to me and thanked me for taking him; he said he had no idea art could be so interesting and cool.  Warmed the cockles of my heart.

After that we parted ways.  He wanted to find a windmill and some tulip fields; I wanted more art and food and city exploration.

This is the street where our Dutch publisher lived. We met him at his house and then
went around the corner to a coffee shop to talk.

Amsterdam's Museumplein -- a giant lawn surrounded by terrific museums

We started with the Van Gogh museum.
We had to wait in line for about an hour before we could get in.

The Rijksmuseum is next to the Van Gogh.
Here is were all the really great traditional Dutch art lives: Rembrandt, still life, etc.

The Concertgebouw, where the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra plays.
Sadly, they didn't perform on the one night I was in town.

Next best thing to a concert?  Why, lunch in the concert hall's restaurant.
I had a quiche.

One of the many canals lined with adorable, narrow canal houses.

Frites!  Because wandering through a foreign city is hard work.
(It's been so long since I had good Belgian frites --
I'd forgotten just how good they are!)

Panoramic street view.  From here I accidentally walked into the red light district...  It was awkward.

Amsterdam is easily the most bike-friendly city I've seen in Europe or North America.
They have dedicated bike lanes, where the traffic is heavier than in the car lanes.
And the bicycle parking lots are massive.

Hidden garden glimpsed through an ivy-covered iron gate.
I love that they take this much care to make a beautiful garden.

After what felt like miles of walking, I needed a break but didn't want to go back to the hotel yet.  My first instinct was to find a performance, but none of the orchestras, opera or ballet had a performance that night.  So next best thing:  Movies!  I found a cinema downtown that was showing Pitch Perfect 2.  I bought a ticket and had a great time watching that silly show with a bunch of chuckling Dutch fans.

Next morning it was time to come home.  One quick flight from Amsterdam to Seattle, nonstop.  We left at 10am and after 10 hours of flight landed at 10:50am.  I love time travel like that!