New York, New York 2018

It's been another whirlwind trip to NYC with Lauren.  I just love the energy of this city and how we notice new and different things every time we visit.

We decided to start our adventures at The Color Factory Pop-Up Museum in Soho.  We had read some negative reviews and almost talked ourselves out of going, but in the end if you go with the right expectations, it's an amazing experience.  It isn't really a museum … I would describe it more as an interactive experience.  In this room we had to choose and wear a button of our favorite color … what a tough choice with all of the gorgeous hues (surprise … Lauren picked PINK).

 

 

There were a number of rooms each featuring a different Color Experience.  We made music, spun on a merry-go-round, played with balloons, drew pictures and even danced (we decided to forego getting into the sea of blue balls since we were both pretty sure it would results in one of us injuring ourselves).  There were also little tasts of sweets throughout, which was a nice touch after a full day of travel.

 

You scanned a card and then took pictures at Instagram-like-stations that then e-mailed you the pictures.  I will confess, we both got a little quesy spinning on the color chart merry-go-rounds with the camera above our heads.

Yes, we were rather silly, but isn't that what vacation is all about.

 

 

Here are some of the fun takeaways we took home from the museum (we were sad that the things we wanted to buy in the gift shop were already sold out, which made us wonder if the Museum's time in NYC may be coming to an end soon.

 

Next we headed down the block to The Bombay Bread Bar for a small plate meal.  Thankfully we both love ordering several things and sharing them.

From the bottom up we had Delicata Squash, Short Rib Samosas, and Wild Mushroom Polenta.  We also had Laccha Parantha bread with a Chutney Trio.  Very fun meal.

Next stop was a few doors down at the Dominique Ansel Bakery.  They were already sold out of Cronuts for the day, but I did get a bag of tiny freshly baked Madeleines for dessert.  Our next stop was The Strand Bookstore, a book lovers' nirvana.  

I love that they ship my purchase home for me … then it's like Christmas after my trip ends.

Our final stop was our second bar … The Milk Bar … for some cereal milk ice cream for the walk back to the hotel.

For day two, we had ambitious Museum Plans.  We started out day by discovering that our hotel is next to a row of commercial flower shops that covering the sidewalks with their inventory as we walked to breakfast.

We had a French Breakfast at Mason Kayser … my goodness, every day should start with a Croissant.

Our next stop was the Museum of the City of New York.  I really loved seeing the Exhibition of Stanley Kubrick's photography for Look Magazine (he started selling pictures to them when he was still in high school).

We also really enjoyed watching the film about the history of New York City … fascinating story of how it developed (and regenerated) over the years of its history.

 

 

Next we wandered through what felt like a secret garden inside Central Park through the Vanderbilt Gate … this Bird Bath Statue was filled with birds and the flowers were attracting all sorts of bees and butterflies.

 

 

Next stop was the Cafe Sabarsky at The Neue Museum.  We both love their liverwurst and also shared some sausages.

 

 

Next stop was the Guggenheim.  They only had a few galleries open because they were installing the art on the ramps … however we also saw some most-excellent yarn-bombing along our walk.

 

 

We did enjoy seeing the Brancusi Exhibit.

 

 

I just love being in this space.

 

 

Since our Guggenheim visit was short, we headed on over to The Met to see the art on the rooftop … Huma Bhabha ~ We Come in Peace.

 

 

and since we knew our Thursday was likely going to get rained out, we rubbed our sore feet for a bit and then headed to China Town for some Dim Sum.  Turns out it was the Taiwanese New Year celebration, so we were also treated to a parade filled with music and some Dragons.

 

 

We tried a new (to us) Dim Sum Restaurant …  the Nom Wah Tea Room … which according to the website has been serving Dim Sum since 1920.

 

 

We made a few more stops from our Color Factory Map  … an ATM that dispensed art and Boba Tea from Boba Guys at Canal Street Market.

 

We ended our night hanging out on the roof our out Hotel (The Cambria on 28th Street … we would highly recommend it … so accessible to Penn Station and very quiet in our 17th floor room).

Here are just a few finds from my day of Museum Gift Store Shopping.

 

Another wonderful New York City adventure.  Next stop … New Jersey for a few days of our own curated Art Camp … we'll be foiling, Gel Press Printing, and checking out Gina K.'s Wreath Builder Stamps … lots more pictures to follow.