Rain in New York

We enjoyed our special New York day yesterday, though the persistent rain, poor planning, and a bit of bad luck did slow us down some. With respect to the planning, the main unanticipated problem was that our goal to see MoMA's Matisses (Karen's favorite painter) was thwarted by the simple fact that it is closed on Tuesdays. Whoops! The bad luck descended when our favorite breakfast place at Columbus Circle couldn't cook breakfast at all, because of some kind of power failure. Yet, filet mignon was not out of the question, so we opted for filet. Delicious!

As for the rain, the more we walked and the more it came down the more our feet got soaked, causing that mildly uncomfortable squishy feeling in our shoes. But that was okay and once we hit the Met, we hardly noticed. We toured the contemporary galleries, stopping to gaze at the existential sculptures of Giacometti, the surpassingly beautiful interiors of Bonnard, and the inexhaustible genius of Matisse captured in numerous works. Speaking of inexhaustible, we then went searching through the maze of European galleries, pre-19th century, for the 17th century Dutch. We finally found them and especially the Rembrandts (Steve's favorite). Two in particular stand out, his Self-Portrait of late middle age from about 1660 and his Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer.

We left the museum, pensive but satisfied, but the rain continued to fall and we still faced a walk across Central Park before ducking into our Barnes and Noble on the other side and then heading home to prepare for our final Beethoven. Because everyone else wanted a cab, too, it was impossible. After quickly considering a downtown bus and then transferring to a crosstown, we embraced the rain, which had lessened a bit, and enjoyed a beautiful and solitary walk hand in hand through that greatest of parks. That simple walk, splashing down the lanes of Central Park, was the best part of our day yet. And if a cab had been available, we would have missed it. Good luck this time and all in all a fine day.