Category: Museums

Down Under: Auckland Pt. 2

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AUCKLAND DAY 2

Last evening we had a very early bite to eat at the Occidental Belgian Beer Café, a rustic dark wood place with a long bar and lots of low and high tables. The menu had many options for mussels (green-lipped ones very popular here) with a variety of sauces, and of course, Belgian frites with mayonnaise plus a selection of small plates and mains. Being quite zonked by this point, we decided on the mixed olives with feta cubes (deliciously spiced), chicken croquettes, and, of course, a cone of fries, accompanied by some NZ wines.

Our boutique hotel is charming with just 25 rooms and a zippy décor with brightly colored furniture and a carpet with wide bright stripes. The staff is exceedingly pleasant and helpful and our room quiet.

But the wi-fi speed is abysmally slow so we’ve become part of the café culture.

This morning we sat in the lovely, spacious, and quite elegant Gloria Jean’s near the University of Auckland; we returned after lunch for more coffee and tea and more good wi-fi. For the record, we went back to the Occidental for lunch–this time smoked salmon for the Chief Penguin and their Caesar salad with chicken for me.

The Auckland Art Gallery is at the top of a hill near Albert Park and combines a beautiful old building with great detailing with a new sleek contemporary addition. In some ways, seeing the building was as impressive and enjoyable as viewing the art. We checked out the gallery of Maori portraits of tribal chieftains all painted by one man, Charles Frederick Goldie, and found them fascinating,    

We also toured another exhibit, “Paris and the Future of Art” with works by artists from around the world including a couple with Kiwi connections. I particularly liked Duncan Grant’s portrait of a pregnant Vanessa Bell and New Zealand painter Gretchen Albrecht’s “Dervish” in strong red and orange.

John Nixon’s simple bold graphics were the focus of an exhibit in the new building and they were exhibited on walls painted in the deep bright bold colors he employed in his paintings.  

Header photo is of the flower clock in Albert Park.  In 1994 the Chief Penguin’s parents spent 7 week’s in New Zealand and Australia.  His father kept a journal and so we know they looked at this clock too then.

All photos by JWFarrington except The Occidental (from their website)

 

Down Under: Ambling in Auckland

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NEW ZEALAND—DAY 1, AUCKLAND

We lost Monday crossing the International Dateline so it is almost noon here on Tuesday. After checking into our hotel, De Bretts, and getting cleaned up, we spent about an hour and a half wandering around center city Auckland. Our hotel is nicely located in an area of restaurants and shops and not too far from the ferry terminal and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  

Auckland’s weather today is reminiscent of San Francisco and with its harbor location, it reminds us a little of Halifax, only this is a much larger city. I’m enjoying the architecture which is very pleasing mix of 19th century stone buildings along with contemporary glass and concrete skyscrapers. There’s a lot of construction going on including the addition of several new stops on the subway line.

Our first impressions are that not only is this a coffee city (lots of coffee stands and cafes), but that they do breakfast in a big way. Almost every restaurant we passed or stopped in at had a breakfast menu as well as lunch and dinner and folks were sitting around noshing on croissants or scones or a full egg breakfast.  

The Chief Penguin also thought there were an unusually large number of barber shops—very hair conscious men perhaps.

For our lunch, we went to casual Al’s Deli for a fried chicken sandwich with a side of cole slaw and The Saint, smoked salmon with capers and onions with cream cheese (I nixed this) on a bagel or a brioche roll. Perfectly acceptable, but nothing special. Fries and sangria or the tacos of the day also were in evidence.

After lunch we wandered some more (keep moving to stay awake is our mantra) and visited the New Zealand Maritime Museum. Lots of canoes of various vintages and materials, an exhibit on the America’s Cup, artifacts related to various shipwrecks, ship figureheads, and two other exhibits that bear special mention.  

One is a temporary exhibit on knots of all types called, “Knot Touch.”  Colorful yarns and plastics beads and buoys were strung up utilizing different kinds of knots. You entered through a large hoop and were free to feel and touch and play with any string or knot you wished. Very creative and more like art than history or science.

I also found “The Immigrants” a very informative and rich exploration of individuals who came to New Zealand from the 19th century through the 20th century and why. The depiction of what it was like to cross the Pacific in the 1840’s was particularly graphic. Very good use of diaries and letters and photos of real families who came to settle here.

 

All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

 

 

Manhattan Adventures

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WAITING OUT IRMA

We led a schizophrenic existence the past few days enjoying lovely sunny fall days in Manhattan while mentally anxious about Hurricane Irma’s path and the fate of our Florida home. We were some of the fortunate ones; by the time Irma reached us, she had lessened in intensity and the wind direction sent any potential storm surge away from our house. We did not suffer any damage, just a few downed trees and branches around our property, while many in our area are without power.  While we waited, we walked, ate, went to museums, and spent time with our granddaughters.

EAST SIDE VIBE

The Upper East Side is a new neighborhood for us as we’ve always stayed in midtown or the West Village in the past. We love the West Village, its irregular streets, its funkiness, its cutting edge restaurants, and its overall small burg feeling. But, there is life for us in the UES too. The streets, while straight and grid-like, are bustling with people and places to shop, and a European aspect to some blocks. The dining is mostly more traditional, Old World German or French bistro-style, with in between a Chinese or Vietnamese eatery. Lots of bakeries too. Where Italian food seems to predominate in the Village, here it’s French. Although we did discover Nicola’s, a family-friendly popular restaurant serving delicious Italian food.

MUSEUMS

Met Breuer

We are a short walking distance from Museum Mile on 5th Avenue and have visited two museums already. We had long ago been in the Met Breuer building when it was the home of the Whitney Museum, but not since then. Flora Bar, their coffee and pastry outpost, offers a wide selection of coffees and teas, but also a tasty slice of greens pie and an awesome sticky bun that has sugar on top, but is not too sweet. It’s a pleasant spot to while away the time.

We were less impressed with the one exhibit on display. A retrospective of furniture, ceramics, jewelry, and textiles by the designer Ettore Sottsass, it was challenging for those who had never heard of him. With label text written in high museumese, it was not nearly as accessible to a general audience as it could have been.

We bought a Met membership since that gives us entry to the big Met on 5th Avenue and The Cloisters as well as here; if, however, we had bought admission tickets for just this museum, we would have been disappointed that there wasn’t more to see.

Neue Galerie

My friend Patricia has been singing the praises of Neue Galerie for several years, both for their collection and for the luscious Viennese pastry at their Café Sabarsky. We went and were very impressed on both counts. Feeling relieved after Irma left us intact, we indulged in a celebratory lunch starting with champagne and ending with a shared slice of apple strudel. The Chief Penguin went the traditional route with bratwurst, German potatoes, and cole slaw while I had what might be called, the “ladies special.” It was a mound of delicate fresh crabmeat salad covered by a silky ripe half an avocado with a few micro greens and cherry tomatoes around it. Just perfect!

Concentrating on Austrian and German art from about 1880 to 1940, the museum’s permanent collection includes lots of Klimts and Schieles as well as works by other artists of the period. An especially beautiful work is Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer,” which Gallerie founder Ronald Lauder purchased in 2006. This study in gold was the subject of the excellent feature film, Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren.

“Woman in Gold” from Neue Galerie

We also appreciated seeing the first ever museum exhibit of works by Richard Gerstl, an Austrian painter known for his revealing portraits, both of himself and his musician friends. His early suicide, after an affair with Arnold Schonberg’s wife, resulted in his work being sent to a warehouse for many years.

Note:  All other photos by JWFarrington.

Portland: Red Brick & Raucous Gulls

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MEANDERING IN PORTLAND

We had a day and a half to ramble up and down Portland’s red brick streets and to explore the shops and restaurants of this New England center of cuisine and culture.  The sidewalks of slightly uneven rectangular red bricks add charm and old world authenticity while echoing the 19th century building architecture, much of it also brick.  It’s a small port city that is enlivened by tourists in June, July, and August, and you are always within earshot of squawking gulls.

In addition to visiting both Sherman’s of Portland (Maine’s oldest bookshop) and Longfellow Books (a serious and well-stocked bookstore that is just books), I loaded up on notecards and stickers (the latter for my granddaughter) at Paper Patch, bought hostess gifts at K & Cotelette (a sophisticated home furnishings shop), and picked up knick-knacks and knives at Le Roux Kitchen.  We also stopped into Browne Trading Market to gaze hungrily (it was a day without lunch) at the fish case and to purchase some appealing-looking cocktail jams, and then into Angela Adams to ponder their colorful contemporary area rugs. For a return visit, I will be sure to check out Print, a new independent bookstore in the east end.

A walk to the art museum meant we could enjoy the recently mounted outdoor sculpture display.  The sun had just come out and we were hesitant about going indoors.

Human Structures by Jonathan Barofsky
Hearsay, 2014 by John Bisbee
Raising Cain, 1999-2000, by Celeste Roberge

On our way back, we stopped to inspect the trade posters in the Maine Historical Society’s windows, a fun teaser for one of their exhibits.

     

We also checked out the society’s shop (very nice!) and that netted a couple of postcards to mail to our granddaughters.  One of a Whoopie Pie for the 1-year old and the other of coastal Maine showing both Portland and Boothbay Harbor for the five year old.

While there, we did a brief tour of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House which was staffed by junior docents (think middle school age) and was free admission for that hour.  The house was built in 1786 by poet Longfellow’s grandparents and he and his parents moved here in 1807 shortly after he was born.  The last resident was his sister who bequeathed it to the historical society upon her death in 1901.  The house has been restored to look like it did in 1851.

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).