Sundays in New York: The Frick Collection

Holbein's portrait of Thomas Cromwell—he looks intimidating, no?

My time in New York for the season(!) is winding down quickly, and, at least as it stands at the moment, this past Sunday was my last until November. So a good Sunday adventure was in order. It's been cold here, but that didn't stop me from tromping across town to the Upper East Side for a little museum date with myself. I had planned to visit the Neue Galerie, followed by a slice of Sachertorte at Café Sabarsky. I've never been, and I was wishing for a little dose of Vienna. Alas, it was not to be. Their spring exhibits open this week, so all but one small gallery were closed for installation.

Instead, I hoofed it down a few blocks and visited The Frick Collection for the first time. What a lovely museum. Frick had it built as his home in 1914, knowing he eventually wanted to turn it into a museum of his incredible art collection. He only lived in the house for 5 years before he died, and it was completely converted to a public museum in 1930 upon the death of his wife. Most of the artwork is from Frick's original collection, although some was bought for the museum in the intervening years since his death.

No photography is allowed in the museum, but a few of the paintings can be seen at Google Art Project. I particularly loved the Fragonard room—what a peaceful place. And having just finished reading Bring up the Bodies, I was excited to see Holbein's portraits of Thomas Cromwell and Thomas More flanking a fireplace in the Living Hall. The whole museum is laid out beautifully, surrounding the stunning Garden Court, which was actually a driveway back in Frick's day.

Not far from the museum there's a sweet little Italian coffee shop and restaurant, Via Quadronno. They have arguably the best cappuccinos in the city, and a wide variety of delicious panini at lunch. I always get the "Non ti scordar di me," with speck, brie, and paté. Delicious.

Then back across the park to walk off my lunch. Not a bad Sunday.

Have you been on any adventures lately? I'd love to hear.

Sundays in New York: Union Square

The weather in New York the past couple days has been a gift. The city begs to be explored, without a coat, until your feet are aching. I spent a few hours discovering the area around Union Square—I love it! Turns out, Union Square itself is occupied by a holiday market setting up (I'll have to go back once it's open), but there's plenty to see and do nearby.

First stop: Vapiano for lunch. Obviously. It felt like home.

Then a wander through the amazing shopping nearby. The Strand bookstore is one of my favorite places in the world. I could lose a whole day in there.

Nearby is ABC Carpet & Home, which is a giant home store and a great place to get inspired. Also wonderful for buying gifts. I picked up a little something for CM's Christmas stocking. Then on to the Marimekko 5th Avenue flagship store, where I lusted after a navy puffy coat with yellow polka dots (sorry, I can't find it online), but didn't pull the trigger. I did, however, stop by Restoration Hardware to nab a soft cozy blanket for my apartment here. Once the weather remembers it's November, I'll need it.

My day wasn't all shopping, though. There's lots to see outside. The iconic Flatiron building must be photographed as much as possible.

And Madison Square Park is a lovely place to relax. And there's a Shake Shack outpost inside! If I hadn't been full of carbonara I would have been tempted to get a burger.

I finished out my Sunday adventure with a walk around the perimeter of Gramercy Park, which requires a coveted key given only to its neighbors. Oh, to live in a stunning Gramercy townhouse and to have the Park as my backyard...

What adventures have you been on lately? And where shall I go this week?


All photos by LMB, with my iPhone.

Sundays in New York: Discovering Columbus

In one of the more bizarre (and awesome) things I have done in New York, on Sunday I went to see the Discovering Columbus art installation. Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi (one of several pseudonyms) built and furnished a living room around the statue of Christopher Columbus that stands in Columbus Circle. The living room sits atop a tall scaffolding, so you climb about 6 flights of stairs to get to it (they also have an elevator if stairs are a problem).

Once you're in the living room, you can explore the space, sitting on the furniture, reading the books and magazines, watching TV, and looking out the windows at the gorgeous views in every direction. And taking pictures, of course. The only thing you're not allowed to do is touch the statue. That seems reasonable, given that it's 120 years old.

They let only about 20 people into the living room at any time, so it's not too crowded, particularly since the living room is larger than almost every Manhattan apartment I've ever visited.

The exhibition runs through November 18. Tickets are free, but you need timed entry passes, which you can get here. I highly recommend it, if only for the view.

The artist specializes in building around iconic sculptures. Sometimes he builds hotel rooms you can actually stay overnight in! How cool would it be to go to this one in Ghent, Belgium?

All photos by LMB

Sundays in New York: Smorgasburg

For this week's Sunday adventure I headed down to Brooklyn with The Banker to go to the first day of Smorgasburg in DUMBO (for those of you unfamiliar, that stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, and it's a tiny slice of Brooklyn right across from Manhattan). Smorgasburg is a large market of amazing artisanal food stands. On Saturdays it's at the Brooklyn Flea Market, but starting yesterday and running through November 18, on Sundays it's at the Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO.

We took the A train to High St in Brooklyn and then meandered through the neighborhood, making a stop at the P.S. Bookshop, a fantastic place to peruse used books. Then we headed over to Smorgasburg. There's a lot of food there, and it all looks incredible. We made a round to decide what we wanted, and then we dove in. It started at 11, and by the time we got there around 1:30 a few things were just starting to sell out. I imagine in subsequent weeks they'll judge better how many people to expect. We ate the following:

Strawberry lemonade and grilled cheese from Milk Truck

Duck spring rolls from Lumpia Shack

Porchetta sandwich from Porchetta

Watermelon shaved ice from People's Pops

Lemon poppyseed doughnut from Dough


Everything was so delicious, and there were about 20 other things we wanted to try. I think a return trip is in order. Next time I'll wear sunscreen.

We found a shady patch of grass to eat our lunch and then wandered down to the water to look at the incredible views from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The Banker, my date for the day

This gorgeous weather makes for some mighty pleasant adventuring. I'm already plotting how to spend next Sunday. How was your weekend?


All photos by LMB

Sundays in New York: The Cloisters

In what's turning into a tour of New York's most peaceful spots, I spent the afternoon yesterday at The Cloisters. It's a bit of a trek to get there, about 35–40 minutes on the A train from Columbus Circle, but completely worth it. Instead of getting off the subway at the closest station, 190 St, I went one station further to Dyckman St so that I could walk through more of Fort Tryon Park.

It's an uphill climb to the museum, but as a reward you're afforded some absolutely gorgeous views of the Hudson (and Pacific Palisades Park across the way in New Jersey).

The museum itself is a completely gorgeous building, built in the 1930s partly out of reassembled bits of medieval abbeys.

Because it's part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or the "other Met," as I like to call it), admission to The Cloisters is included in your Met Museum ticket. If you don't feel like doing both in one day, however (I didn't), the museum admission price of $25 is a recommended donation, so you can pay what you'd like.

If medieval religious art is your bag, this is the museum for you. That's not really my thing, but you know what is? Gardens.

A beautiful, peaceful garden surrounded by cool stone walls might be the absolute perfect place to sit with your Kindle (Shame!) and while away a summer afternoon.

And on your way home, go South through the park for stunning views of the George Washington Bridge (done no justice with this iPhone pic).

I'm loving my Sundays in New York. Although I'm thinking next Sunday, when I'm hanging out in Houston with CM(!), might just be even better.

Sundays in New York: Governors Island

For my first Sunday adventuring in New York, I spent a couple hours biking on Governors Island with a friend. I had never been before, and I found it to be completely lovely and relaxing. Governors Island is a tiny island just a 7-minute (free!) ferry ride from the Southern tip of Manhattan (or from Brooklyn, if you prefer). The island has served various purposes, most recently as an Army and Coast Guard base, but as of 2003 it's been open to the public and it's constantly being improved. It's open on summer weekends only, and it's the perfect place to go for a break from the hustle and heat of Manhattan.

You can rent bikes for reasonable prices on the island, but my date had an extra so we brought ours. There's a bike path that runs around the circumference of the island, with a conveniently placed iced coffee and lemonade truck right when you need it. Should you need more in the way of sustenance, there are several cute eateries and a place that sells ready-to-go picnics. There are playgrounds, and lots of public sculptures, and even some new art galleries. Best of all, there's a cool breeze that's in short supply in the city at the moment.

Highly recommended. I might be back before the summer's out.

Ferry terminal

View of Manhattan from the ferry

Lady Liberty from the Island

This lovely spot is the Food Court.

More Manhattan views

My date for the day

All photos by LMB. To see more photos, you can follow me on Instagram.

New project: Sundays in New York

There's nothing like discovering a new city, finding your favorite places, getting lost on purpose (or not), turning a corner and coming upon something unexpected. Every time I get back from a trip I feel reinvigorated—inspired to travel more, of course, but also re-dedicated to creating those moments in the cities I already know. One of my New Year's resolutions (it's August and I'm still thinking about those—are you impressed?) was to spend my free time in ways that make me happy and invigorated, and so far I've had mixed success with it (awesome European vacation excepted, of course).

On Saturday I leave for two months in New York, where I tend to stay within the few blocks between my sublet and work (one time I went north of 77th St and was amazed at how much was close by to my apartment that I had never seen because it wasn't on the way to the Met). Sundays are my free days every week, so I thought it would be fun to try to explore a new neighborhood or have a new NYC experience every Sunday (you know how much I love a self-improvement project). CM gave me this great book years ago, and I have yet to really delve into it, so I'm taking it with me, but I'd love your suggestions as well! What are your favorite New York places? What are those out-of-the-way spots I've probably never seen? What should I do with my Sundays? I'm starting this weekend, and I'll let you know all about what I find.


Photo by LMB