I had no plans to visit the Ladurée in New York.
Hard to believe, I know, but apparently there wasn’t room in our bloated itinerary of things to do in New York for a trip to ‘a sweet shop’.
So there I was, having a nice stroll in Central Park on my way to Belvedere Castle when I spotted a cute couple perched atop a rock having a little picnic, I stopped when I spotted the pale green bag… and with a daringness usually reserved for people I know, I asked them where the Ladurée shop was.
“71st and Madison” they said, “it’s pretty close too, you could be there and back in twenty minutes tops”
That’s all I needed to hear – I cut through the park, meandered through the Upper East Side and minutes later I was in pastel coloured confectionery heaven…

The macarons are flown from Paris everyday, which I guess works, because macarons are best eaten two days after they are baked.
Luckily, the wait wasn’t long; they were unfortunately out of the salted caramel (my favourite).
I went for the classic vanilla, pistachio and rose.
The macarons were delicious – smooth, slightly chewy and soft.
And I added another jewellery box to my collection of cute Ladurée boxes.

Maison Ladurée
864 Madison Ave
(between 72nd St & 71st St)
New York, NY 10021
(646) 558-3157

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – 1000 5th Ave, NY

One of the first things I did when I visited New York during the Easter break was go to the Met.
I’d put off the Met for years. It was always one of those things on my itinerary that I never seemed to get to.
I decided to do it first this time… because when it’s between spending my last day in New York on the High Line and a museum, chances are I’ll choose the park over the museum every time.

With scant hours to spare, I did a few collections from a section of the museum and decided to leave the rest for another time (a tip I got re the Louvre).
I loved everything about the Met; from the stairs, to the collections I saw, to afternoon tea at the café with the views of Central Park.

The American Wing Courtyard

I spent most of the time getting through the amazing collection of ‘Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas’ – nine galleries in all, which was about all the time I had.
It reminded me of Quai Branly, which is probably my favourite museum.
I find that I’m drawn to ‘indigenous’ art (not surprising, really), it’s inspiring and motivating, I come away wanting to create.

The African galleries includes an extensive collection of pieces from the Dogon people. Fascinating people…
I loved seeing was El Anatsui’s ‘Between Hell and Heaven’ – his installation ‘Akua’s Surviving Children’ is one of the most moving works of art I’ve ever seen.

And here are a few photos from the Met…

Entrance – The Met Stairs

Art from Oceania & Sunlit courtyard

Necklace - René Jules Lalique

Between Earth and Heaven – El Anatsui

Couch and footstool with bone carvings & More art of Imperial Rome

Marble Sarcophagus

Afternoon Tea at The Petrie Court Café

The Struggle of the Two Natures in Man

Once a year, around Easter, I usually take a red-eye flight from SeaTac to JFK to spend a few days in New York.
From the airport I take A Train towards Manhattan, and get off the first stop in Lower Manhattan, I meander through the massive construction zone, busy traffic and pedestrians; the city is surprisingly active for that time of the morning.
I find my hotel through the chaos; it’s a welcome sanctuary. I love it here; it may not be the swankiest hotel in all of Manhattan, but they know me here, I’ve written about this hotel before.
Uncle George works here, I met him the first time I stayed here and he instantly became my uncle by virtue of the fact that he too is originally from Ghana.
He’s been with the hotel for almost a decade now, and he has stories to tell… boy, does he have stories to tell…
He was working the morning the towers were hit, and was out of a job for several months after the hotel shut down for repairs.
His stories of the morning of the attacks are gut wrenching.

My room in the ‘sky’ has views of the Hudson, Jersey City and Hoboken, the views are splendid, but it’s the view looking down that gets to you – Ground Zero
It’s a colossal construction site, it looks deceptively like any other site, you can’t tell what transpired here by just looking at it.
Yet, it’s mesmerizing I point my lens down towards the construction and I can’t stop snapping away.
It’s surreal; this is the closest I’ve come to a place where that many people have perished.

The One World Trade Center tower is almost complete, it stands tallest in Lower Manhattan, and has already melded into the skyline.
For the next few days I do the same things I do when I visit New York; the High Line, Central Park, Chelsea, and restaurants, shows, galleries and places on my to-do list, and every night I return to my hotel room exhausted.
Restless, I steady my camera on a ledge and try to capture as many images of the construction site as I can, in between I think of that morning a decade ago.
Everyone’s got their September 11 story; everyone remembers where they were.
Uncle George doesn’t like remembering too much, he’s looking forward, he says.

 
The High Line is one of my favourite spots in New York.
Here are a few photos from my last visit…

 
Chelsea Market, New York City…