United States
From LA to New York and places in between. This part of our travel included a reunion with our son, a road trip from Santa Fe to Colorado and Utah, and a week in New York.
LA downtown - would not recommend for holidaying but interesting to stay one night. Recommend Figueroa Hotel. Small, Latin American flavour.
The Broad is a great free contemporary art gallery.. you just need to book your timed ticket online. Artists include Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein.
New Orleans
New Orleans was not what I expected. Had a romantic image of what French Quarter would be like and was disappointed. Bourbon street busy,noisy, no jazz, DJ music. No charm. Best streets are Royal and Frenchman (for live jazz - specifically the Spotted Cat). The plaza and cathedral are pleasant. Recommend Dragos restaurant for char broiled oysters - a New Orleans specialty. Take the 48 trolley to the Open Air Sculpture garden and Contemporary Art Museum. The Charles St Trolley to the Garden District is worth it to see some grand New Orleans houses and the above ground Lafayette cemetery.
Santa Fe
Such a contrast to New Orleans. I loved Santa Fe. Great art - visit the Georgia O’Keefe Gallery, The Museum of Contemporary Native Art, and the New Mexico Museum of Art. Lots of private galleries to visit along with Governors Place to pick up Native American art and jewellery. Slightly out of the historic centre is a great yoga and spa space called The Body Santa Fe. Also has a terrific Moroccan restaurant (vegetarian and yummy). A very walkable historic centre. The cathedral is also worth a visit as well as the Loretto Chapel with it’s ‘miraculous’ staircase.
New Mexico, Colorado, Utah road trip
Driving north from Santa Fe, we visited one of a dozen or so Native American Pueblos that exist in this part of New Mexico. Pueblo Ildefonso has a church and local pottery outlets that outsiders can visit. Go to the information centre for to pay for admission.
UTAH
Driving to our accommodation at Under Canvas, we drove the 128. A fabulous way to enter Utah from Colorado if heading to Moab. Under Canvas had well equipped tents and amenities. Shame it is a bit too close to the highway. However, we enjoyed grills, s’mores, yarning with other guests and a really well equipped tent. We spent our first day at Arches National Park. Truly breathtaking landscapes. Beware, they have introduced timed entry and you need to book online after 6pm the day before. The next day we drove to Dead Horse State Park. Less visited but well worth seeing. Highly recommend getting to Dead Horse Point via the East Walk/West Walk loop.
COLORADO
Colorado you took my breath away- literally. Big elevations.
Enjoyed great hospitality with friends in Vail. Hiked to Maroon Bells - stunning. Stayed on a ranch in Basalt. E-biked to Glenwood Springs and back with a stop off at Iron Mountain Springs for a soak. Then onto Aspen for the Saturday markets. Drove over Independence Pass - steep, narrow and twisty. One of the highest sealed roads in Colorado. Then a quick stop at Breckenridge for lunch and to say farewell to our son and daughter-in-law before heading to Denver. Loved this part of the trip!
PENNSYLVANIA
Flew to Pittsburg specifically to see Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses. Hired a car from airport and drove to Scottsdale. Stayed in a historically interesting bed and breakfast. Wednesdays the houses are closed and you need to book tours online in advance. So we spent the day visiting the Flight 92 Memorial about an hours drive away. It is very well done. Basically the field where the plane crashed on 9/11. They have the names of all passengers and crew who died on a wall next to the flight path. There is also a museum which gives a timeline of that day. Very sobering.
The black in the foreground of picture below designates the flight path.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses. Falling Water in the 1930’s and Kentuck Knob in the 1950’s. Both designed for local families. Falling Water was gifted to the State Conservancy and Kentuck Knob is privately owned but open to the public. Melding of the buildings with nature a key characteristic of this architecture.
All the built in cabinetry is original.
LAST STOP NEW YORK
Staying in Brooklyn in Bedford Stuyvesant ( or Bed Sty as the locals say). Great apartment but a little way from things. For tourists I would recommend Williamsburg or Park Slope if staying in Brooklyn. Restaurants in Bed Sty - Mama Fox the best.
To Do From Brooklyn:
We took a ferry to Manhattan from Williamsburg. Short walk to the World Trade Centre Memorial and Wall Street. Great views of Brooklyn bridge and the Manhattan skyline from ferry
Walk around Prospect Park - particularly weekends when there is a market. Red Hook Pound lobster has a stand for the quintessential lobster roll ( or go to Red Hook itself to their restaurant)
Check out the street art in Williamsburg.
In Manhattan we went to the Public Library which had some interesting artefacts on display- from original copy of the Bill of Rights to the toys given to Christopher Robin by AA Milne which inspired the Winnie the Pooh characters. Also on a literary bent, we. I sited the Morgan library and Museum and lunched at Bryant Park.
Private galleries abound in the Chelsea area and wwe saw the fabulous Yayoi Kusama exhibit at David Zwirner Gallery. Of course there is Central Park to escape the city.
