Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, it's been over a month since my last blogpost, but what a month it has been! I have had a hard and longlasting cold, attended two weddings, travelled to Bergen, Oslo, Stavanger and ... New York!!! I have picked a few from the hundreds of photos I took when I was there. The one on top is the Manhattan skyline, the short version seen from Brooklyn. After a delicious lunch in a restaurant close to the Brooklyn bridge, we walked over the bridge back to Manhattan. A great experience along with so many others. New York is a fantastic city and even though I have been half asleep from jetlag the week since I came home, it was absolutely worth it!
A little section of the spectacular view from "Top of the rocks" on the Rockefeller Center.
The Empire state building and the Chrysler building
The Flat Iron and the Chrysler building
A shop with a Norwegian name. Cool-looking too!
The Guggenheim museum by Frank Lloyd Wright was a must.
Some of you may remember that Son from the building company Helene & Son built the lego version of it a while ago. Of course I had to use the chance to get Son the lego versions of Fallingwater and the Empire State building as well since I have to get them from the net if I want to buy them in Norway. I will post about them later.
I went to New York with 25 other people from my office, and we stayed at the Paramount Hotel in the Theater District, near Times square. The hotel was designed by Philippe Starck, and here are some photos from the lobby. I forgot of course to take photos until just before we should leave, so unfortunately the lobby is packed with Norwegians on these photos.
The Guggenheim museum by Frank Lloyd Wright was a must.
Some of you may remember that Son from the building company Helene & Son built the lego version of it a while ago. Of course I had to use the chance to get Son the lego versions of Fallingwater and the Empire State building as well since I have to get them from the net if I want to buy them in Norway. I will post about them later.
I went to New York with 25 other people from my office, and we stayed at the Paramount Hotel in the Theater District, near Times square. The hotel was designed by Philippe Starck, and here are some photos from the lobby. I forgot of course to take photos until just before we should leave, so unfortunately the lobby is packed with Norwegians on these photos.
Very elegant stairs.
Even in real life accessories can be out of scale.
All of you who read callsmall's wonderful blog know already that I spent a perfect day with her in New York, with lots of talking and shopping (mostly paper and-no surprise-miniatures). I'm usually a bit reserved towards people I've never met, but it soon felt as we had known each other forever, and like her, I really wish we lived closer! She gave me some very nice gifts too which I will blog about soon. (I promise!)
Callsmall and me in the hotel lobby (I'm to the left, taking the photo)
A beautifully detailed house pointed out to me by callsmall when we were out shopping.
Polly Line and dr Whatson had taken the trip to New York as well.
Someone in New York must have known they were coming...
When callsmall and I were at the doll's house section of FAO Schwartz, they tagged along and used the opportunity to check out the Emerson House on display there.
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20 comments:
Hi Helene! I've wondered where you were! So glad you had such a great visit to NYC! So sad you couldn't also come to my neighborhood .... only a three hour drive away! But I am sure you had too much fun in the City... never enough time to see it all! I love seeing Polly and Dr. Whatson in NYC! Just GREAT! And welcome back!
Helene. such a great trip. I'm very happy you are fine, I was wondering where you were. Welcome back, Rsanna
Looks like you had a wonderful time in NY. It is one of my favourite cities, never boring and always something new to discover.
finally!
I waited!
So glad to hear your version of the new york trip. thank you for sharing.
As my niece will say "soooooo goooood! Not fairrrrrrr!" in a sing song voice :).
I was in New York in 1993 or 94. Back then , I have absolutely no interest in dollhouses and did not see FAO Schwartz. Ironically, all my 4 houses now were ordered from FAO Schwartz. Lucky me , I did not pay the bill :).
For the longest longest time, The Flat Iron was my all time fav skyscrapper :). It still is my all time fav in New York :). I am loving Gaudi more on a world basis. Can you imagine building a Gaudi in Lego?:O
I remembered how when I was there, the Guggenheim had a new extension like a block just next to the spiral building. I was walking with a New Yorker who commented how some of them had hated it because it had looked like a toilet bowl. I was too in love with Frank Lloyd Wright to think anything wrong with the building :):)+ I had met some lovely New Yorkers as well so to me, New York was WONDERFUL and everything was great!
Did you go to Central Park? You are so lucky to stay in Paramount. You didn't take pictures of the toilet??? :) Philippe Stark designed great toilets :). We didn't know how to wash our hands because we could not find the taps I think it was operated with our feet :). Nowadays its no longer unusual but back then .. I think it was 1991, Cafe Mystique in Japan. You took some fabulous pics, Helene and I am glad you are BACK!
Hi Betsy! So nice to hear you have thought of me :-) I would have loved to have met you too, I didn't know you lived that near, but I wouldn't have been able to drive to you, since the only time we had to ourselves on this trip was the 6 hours I spent with callsmall. Otherwise there was just an hour here and there to fix ourselves up before the next stop on the programme.
Polly Line and Dr Whatson would love to go back to New York, but of course it's much faster and easier for them who are travelling in the Sardis and don't have to wait in line on the airports.
Thank you for the welcome Rosanna, and I'm very fine. But some late nights have completely destroyed my jetlag mending, so I'm still a bit sleepwalking in the days. I don't know how you coped going to Singapore?
Thank you Josje, I did have a really wonderful time there, New York is absolutely amazing! I have so many other photos of great buildings I haven't posted. And even I was dreading the flight and timedifference before I left (and I'm still quite tired in the days)I'm already thinking of going back! There was so much I didn't have time to see, we only spent a few hours in Soho and I haven't been inside Central Park or Chinatown.
Thanks Oese, thank you for waiting for me :-) I have been sleepwalking with a nonfunctional brain ever since I came home. I just managed to stay awake the day we attended a wedding in Stavanger.
I saw you commented on callsmall's blog about a possible modern mini meet up. We just talked a little bit about it over lunch the day in New York because of a post on MiniModern's blog and I suggested London. I think it is the best place in Europe because of the connection to the rest of the world, but I think all the ones who would be willing to arrange it lives in the US, so perhaps New York is an option too. But so far everything is very unofficial and we just started to think about it. Perhaps two meet-ups instead, one in Europe and one in the US is a solution?
Dear Sans! I have been going through your wonderful blogposts from when I was away, and I absolutely loved the one about your childhood!
Callsmall felt the neew to stop me when I was at FAO Schwartz, but coming from a development land when it comes to dollhouse furniture I thought I should spend some money there. "Unfortunately" I spent the most on two 1:12 scale furniture (A noguchi table and an art nouveau style cupboard) so I'm not sure when I can use them, but I love them all the same.
Can you believe I didn't visit Central Park? I thought of going through the park when we walked from the Guggenheim museum to our hotel, but the others wanted to go the fifth avenue instead since they should go to the park on a picnic later. But I didn't go to the picnic since I was with callsmall that day. Much better I'm sure :-)
I have never thought the Guggenheim resembled a toilet! Being a Frank Lloyd Wright fan too, I absolutely don't agree!
And I didn't take photos of the hotel toilet neither. I had thought of taking photos of the room, but we had to share rooms to save money so every time I was there we were "fighting" over using the bathroom and mirror :-) But I think the rooms very rather ordinary and a bit worn out, even though the steel toilet was elegant (and not foot-operated either). It was the lobby which was the real gem of the hotel (and the breakfasts, a lot of fresh diced fruit - jummy).
Wow! I've thoroughly enjoyed all of this post - thanks!! :)
Love the Sardis ref!
Hi Helene, I think two meetings would be a good solution. Everyone is invited to come to both places in Europe or USA, if the decision is too hard ;-)
Thanks Glenda! Wasn't the Sardis signs cool? I didn't know about the place, just stumbled upon the signs by accident, walking at full speed from one place to another :-)
Thanks Oese, then we have a preliminary plan for next year :-)
And Sans, here you can find the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi in lego :-)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksmpocket/3689374423/in/set-72157620987163806/
I love that you loved New York! It is a wonderful city, and I am glad we got to spend time in it together! We were so busy talking that I should have suggested we look up more often :) I hope you have no "buyer's remorse" on any of your mini treasures. The FAO pieces were all so nice! When is your next visit??!
Hi callsmall! No immediate plans on going back I'm afraid, I just would really like to someday :-) And absolutely no buyer's remorse here :-) The Noguchi table looks so great with my large vintage armchairs and the art nouveau diaply cabinet has found it's place on my piano so I can admire it with the contents I put in it all the time.
OMG! Someone did build the Sagrada Familia with Lego! :):).
I was in Central Park with a girl friend and a TV crew came by and asked us to say "Hi! watch out for ____ show" into the camera. The show that was scheduled to premiere on TV. That was what I remembered most about Central Park :) Haha!
So nice to finally see you Helene. That was a fabulous time for you as the photos show. Hurray! Since you are a 3/4 scale gal, what did you think of the Brinca Dada house? Would you want one? Did you get one? What did your dolls think of that house? Love all your posts! Love the out of scale floral vase and arrangement too. Way cool.
Thank you Amy and so nice to see you too! I have been away most of the time after your return to blogland! You have done a fabulous job on your mother's house and it's always so fun reading about your peeps!
And yes, wasn't the huge flower vase cool, I'm really glad I took that photo!
I think the Emerson house looked great, but perhaps more stronger colour in the wood than what I had imagined and judging by the house in the store, it seems it can be difficult to assemble it perfectly. One of the floors in the store house was a little bit sloping. (I believe it's due to the assembling, I don't think it was made with a fault.) But I still want one, i'm not sure if Polly Line wants one though, she has settled in quite neatly now in her own house. I didn't buy one there, first because it was way more expencive than directly from Brincadada. And also because I would have had to pay over $300 to bring it on the plane with me.
I guess I will have to pay almost the same amount in shipping, but then I at least will have a guarantee and it's more practical for me too.
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