Intercision
6 years ago
I realize I've been rather silent lately. It is not because I have had nothing to say, but rather because there was too much to say and think about and I wasn't quite sure where to start, or whether to start. I try to keep a little divider between my blog and my real life and I am careful with what I share here, especially since this blog isn't anonymous.
Since my semester ended on May 25th, I've had a rather eventful summer. I think I could even say that I've had almost enough fun for one summer. I am definitely ready for the fall semester to start though; but I'll have to wait until August 31st for that. I miss Stern -- the classes, the friends, the Shabbatonim, the events and the fun.
I spent Shavuot in Washington DC with Ohev Sholom: The National Synagogue as part of YU's Torah Tours program, which was an amazing experience. The community was incredibly warm and welcoming, and I would love to go back there one day.
The rest of June and July I spent mostly in the city, meeting up with friends and relaxing for the first time since Pesach. My parents even went to Israel for a couple of weeks and I got a taste of independent life, which was nice. I've also been doing some writing, some of which I hope to be able to share at some point before the end of the summer.
There are a couple of topics I'd like to blog about (there's also a lot more to add to the homosexuality discussion), but for now I just wanted to say that I'm still here, still blogging, even if the posts are a bit slow in coming sometimes.
The two most popular winter break destinations among my friends are Florida and Israel, where it is warm and the sun is shining and coats and scarves and boots are unnecessary. They sound like pretty logical destinations during the cold winters that are typical of New York, and especially during this one, when we've had 3 snowfalls within the course of a single month.
As most of my friends must have realized by now, I'm not the type of person to do something typical. Nor do I get as excited about sunny, hot days as others do (which has earned me a reputation as a bit of a vampire). So I thought it would be a good idea to go to Boston with my friend. And it was -- until we almost got snowed in there. As soon as I returned from Boston, I decided that staying in Brooklyn wasn't a way to spend one's winter break, so I impulsively planned another little getaway to Philadelphia, which is one of my favorite cities in America (after Manhattan, of course). I managed to get back to NY before the third snowfall of the season.
I never really needed to use public transportation anywhere other than in New York, and I was pleasantly surprised and rather charmed by Boston's public transportation system, which we used throughout our trip to get to wherever we wanted to go.
Boston is a beautiful old city with such an important history. My friend and I went to see some of the historic sites, such as the site of the Boston Massacre, the Old State House, and the Old South Meeting House, which played an important role in the Boston Tea Party. The colonists who started the Boston Tea Party met inside this house. There is also a sign inside the meeting room that indicates where President Washington once stood.
We wandered around the Faneuil marketplace and found some lovely outdoor sculptures randomly standing or sitting on park benches. We then went to see the New England Holocaust Memorial, which is made of a few tall glass towers. It was quite sobering to walk through them and read the quotes printed inside. The memorial was right near an old-looking street with cobblestones, so we walked around since we had some extra time.
We also visited Harvard, which was beautiful, but somehow not as grand as we had imagined it to be. Although perhaps that might be because we were expecting something like Hogwarts, haha.
At some point, we found ourselves on the trolley with extra time on our hands, so we impulsively stopped by Boston Common and wandered around the theater district. We also went to the Skyline Observatory on the 50th floor of the Prudential Center to see all of Boston spread out beneath us, and we watched the sunset from there and then also got to see Boston all lit up at night.
And of course, no trip is ever complete in my mind without a visit to an art museum -- and ok, I admit it, the main reason I wanted to go to Boston was because I heard it had a great art museum -- so the last day of the Boston trip was dedicated to art, art, art. Boston's Museum of Fine Arts was wonderful and had a beautiful collection of American art. Seeing Childe Hassam's painting of Boston Common was especially delightful considering we had just been there the day before. What I loved about the museum was that there were many paintings of Boston and its history, which were fascinating to see. The museum also had a large collection of Renoir and Monet paintings, and of course, the necessary Degas and Rodin sculptures, which always make me smile.
After the Museum of Fine Arts, I walked to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which looks like a regular old unimpressive building from the outside but has an interior that is gorgeous beyond words. It has an indoor courtyard where I felt I could sit for hours, just dreaming and drawing and writing. And since they had a strict no-photography policy, I did find it necessary to do some sketching. It is simply breathtakingly beautiful and if anyone ever goes to Boston, this is a must-see. Seriously. Aside from the Museum of Fine Arts, it was my favorite thing about Boston. They are currently building a new wing, which should open in 2012, and if I ever return to Boston, this will be the first thing on my list of places to see. (And in my adoration for the courtyard, I neglected to mention that it also has a fine collection of art and antiques and furnished rooms.)
Although I originally planned to stay in Boston through Wednesday, Megabus sent me an email saying that my bus had been canceled due to the upcoming snowstorm. I got this email when I came back from the museums, at nearly 7 PM. Uh oh. Well, by 8 PM I was on a Chinatown bus to NY, with the help of my amazing hostess who rushed me to the bus station just in time. I don't think I ever packed all my things so quickly as I did then in order to make it in time.
I returned to NY in the middle of the snowstorm, when the roads were already filling up with snow. And that was my traveling adventure for my 2011 winter break. Or so I thought, until I was browsing the Megabus site and saw that I could get free tickets to Philadelphia for the following week. It was very, very, very tempting, since I love Philadelphia very much and have already been there 4 times in the past. And of course, it has a major art museum. Can you tell where this is headed? ;] At first, I thought that it would just have to remain a dream for now because I had only just returned to NY. But then I figured -- why not? I still had a week and a half of vacation left, and it was free, and why not enjoy myself? I quickly began working on making it a reality.
And so, this past Tuesday, I found myself on a bus to Philadelphia with another one of my friends. I was a bit overexcited about the prospect of being in Philly again, which even the drowsy side effects of Dramamine couldn't extinguish. I am glad my friend put up with it. :]
Since I have already been to Philadelphia 4 times and plan to return there a few times in the future, there wasn't much pressure to see everything during this trip. So we made it short and sweet and just focused on the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was amazing and beautiful and included me taking a picture with Marc Chagall's self-portrait. <3
I want to return to Philadelphia again in the near future and go to the Museum of Art again as well as a few other places I haven't seen yet. Actually, if possible, I would like to make trips to Philadelphia a yearly ritual. :] Who's up for being my travel buddy?
Hello, readers!
I am now in Cleveland, relaxing a bit after a full day of taking in the sights of Ohio.
We left New York on Monday, August 2nd, and drove to Clearfield, PA, where we spent the night in order to break up the long drive to Ohio. The air there smelled so sweet and fresh, you have no idea -- it was like flowers and freshly mown grass. That basically sums up Day 1 of our trip.
Day 2 (Tuesday, August 3rd) was much more exciting. After checking out of the hotel, we continued on our way. The time between Pennsylvania and Ohio seemed to pass by much faster when I was behind the wheel, although I don't think the other passengers in the car (my parents) felt the same way.
When we arrived in Cleveland, it was still too early to check into our hotel, so I went to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while my parents enjoyed the fresh air at a nearby park. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was simply delightful, and I only wish photos were allowed inside. The building is shaped like a pyramid and the walls are made of glass. I saw it during the day, but I think it looks even cooler at night when it is all lit up.
The museum had a lot of things on display for music fans. There were guitars that had been played by the Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, members of the Beatles, Johnny Cash, and so on. They had different artists' outfits, including Elvis, Ringo Starr, the Ramones, Mick Jagger, Bob Marley, Tina Turner, Brian May, David Bowie, Steven Tyler, and more. For Beatles fans, there were the electric guitars that John Lennon and George Harrison played, the jacket that John Lennon wore on the sleeve of the US single 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', the famous outfit he wore on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the piano that Yoko Ono got him so he could compose when he was away from home, and his handwritten lyrics. One of the fun things about seeing the outfits was being able to get an idea of how the person looked -- some of those people were much shorter than I had imagined, judging by their clothing.
The top two floors of the museum were dedicated to a Bruce Springsteen exhibition, and also contained outfits, musical instruments played by him, handwritten lyrics, and awards he won.
For me, the highlight of the museum was the little section of it that was dedicated to Michael Jackson. The outfits started as early as from the 1970s and spanned about half the length of his career. The earliest outfit was from 1971, back when he was part of the Jackson 5. The famous original red jacket from the 'Thriller' video (that is now commonly worn as an MJ costume) was there, but it was sadly very tattered. With it was displayed the animal mask Michael Jackson sometimes used for performances of 'Thriller', as well as his Grammy award. The outfit from his 'Bad' video was also there. My favorite outfit though was the blue sparkly jacket with golden epaulets that he had worn to the 1984 Grammy ceremony, when he won a record-breaking number of eight Grammy awards. And, of course, the signature white glove was on display as well, sparkling in the dimly lit hall. I could have stayed there much longer, just staring at it, but the museum was closing.
Day 3 was today -- Wednesday, August 4th. We spent the first half of the day at the Hale Farm and Village in Peninsula, OH, where we got to see historic buildings and homes. People in period dress were there to explain the time periods of the different houses and to demonstrate what it was like to live there. There were women spinning wool, weaving, and making baskets. There was a really cool glassblowing demonstration, in which the man showed us how he makes glass vases from beginning to end. (It was an incredibly hot day today, and I can only imagine how much worse it must be standing there next to a hot furnace all day.)
The heat was beginning to really get to us as well, so as soon as we had seen all we wanted to see (and I bought a bonnet and a Civil War-style Confederacy cap at the gift shop), we returned to Cleveland. I only regret that we were not able to be there for the Civil War reenactment, which is happening next weekend.
I spent the second half of my day in the Cleveland Museum of Art, which was absolutely beautiful. The architecture is magnificent, and although I am used to the Metropolitan in New York and already feel at home there, I loved the Cleveland museum every bit as much, I think. Admission is free, so it's convenient if you want to take your time going through the galleries and spend more than one day there.
I focused on the European paintings and sculptures, and I also enjoyed the collection of suits of armor and weapons (from the 16th century!), which was arranged very well and given more space than the one in the Metropolitan. There were so many galleries there and so many beautiful paintings. El Greco, Pieter de Hooch, Jacques Louis David, Boucher, Gainsborough, Constable, Monet, Renoir, Manet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, etc. My favorite things: the gallery of American paintings from the 1890s to 1920s, which focused on New York life and which I found very helpful in gaining a better understanding of the time for something I am writing, Degas' paintings and sculpture, and the entire gallery of Rodin's sculptures. To say I was delighted would be an understatement. There were art students sitting in every corner of that gallery, sketching the sculptures. Outside, in front of the museum, was a huge sculpture of Rodin's 'The Thinker'. So awesome!
I left the museum at 9 PM, only when they began escorting everyone out. I could definitely have spent more time there though.
So those were the first 3 days of our little vacation. Plans for tomorrow include a visit to the Toledo Museum of Art, to see -- you guessed it -- more art! :]
Author
- inkstainedhands
- I am a student at Stern College (Yeshiva University) and a young writer with an interest in observing the world and recording in writing what I see, feel, and think. I appreciate expression and most forms of art, which are themselves forms of expression infused with beauty. It is my belief that beauty can be found in the most unexpected places and people if one only looks for it. It can also be found in fear, in anger, in despair -- and it is the job of the writer, the poet, the artist, the photographer, the filmmaker, the actor, the musician, and the performer to convey that to the audience... And I want to be that writer. I also want to be the girl who lives life loving every moment of it and being thankful to G-d for all the wonderful things in this world even when it seems difficult. I love to learn, to understand new ideas, to see the breathtaking way in which things fall into place. I want to get the most out of every moment of this thrilling rollercoaster we call life.