The Grand Tour: July 2005

I'm stateside at last! I flew back 9 days ago and have been enjoying summer in New York and New England. I never thought I'd say this, but east coast weather is a major relief. The last week I spent in Paris was humid and extremely hot. It never cools down--it's 90 degrees at 8 am, at noon, and at midnight. I don't think I've ever sweated so much.

Boston was a great place to return to. I stayed with Hayden's parents in Brookline, and was able to relax and slowly recover from my jet lag. We took a trip down to Nonquitt (just west of cape cod) to visit Anne and Charlie Alexander. It's a gorgeous place. There are marshlands, beaches, forests, and beautiful homes. It felt like a great place to go to unwind. I particularly enjoyed sitting in their backyard and watching birds and squirrels competing for the best food from the bird feeder.

I've picked up the pace in New York. I'm staying on the lower east side with friends Gabe and Lisa. Lisa's apartment is next door to the Hell's Angels headquarters, which was jumping on the fourth of July. Generally speaking, I think they're good neighbors to have--new recruits are posted outside 24 hours a day to watch the bikes, so there's always some burly man around keeping an eye out for trouble. I met Kevin this morning, who politely introduced himself and asked if I was a new neighbor. On the fourth, however, they were less than ideal neighbors--there's nothing like 100 Harleys racing the block to keep you up all night.

I watched the fireworks from a rooftop in Tudor Village, a fancy collection of highrises on 42nd street near the east river. While I've heard several people complain that the show was disappointing this year, I loved it. We (Jessica, Colin, baby Charlotte, and I) were nearly at eye level with the display, and so close that we could smell the smoke.

I've spent a lot of time with little Charlotte the last few days--she's absolutely beautiful and wonderfully well behaved. Jessica and I took her to the new MoMA yesterday (which is wonderful, by the way) and she just gazed thoughtfully at the Pissarro/Cezanne exhibit, then slept for an hour while we toured the rest of the museum. We're thinking about tackling the Guggenheim this afternoon.

I've also seen the City Museum of New York (mediocre) and hope to get to the Jewish History Museum (big exhibit of Maurice Sendak's art) and the Tenement Museum. That should hopefully fill my art quota for the rest of the year.

I'm flying home on Tuesday. While I'm a little reluctant to get back to my real life (read: get a job), it will be great to be home.