It is no longer any fun driving to New York City. There always have been "regular tolls" for bridges and tunnels, but The City just instituted a "congestion pricing program" for vehicles driving on "local streets and avenues at or below 60 Street". Also, the traffic has always been hit-or-miss (sometimes it worked GREAT, sometimes in has been a VERY LONG RIDE HOME). So I decided to spring for The Amtrak Acela train (out of Westwood/Route 128). It is expensive - $217 down, and $138 back (total $355), plus $7 parking, but I did reading, Sudokos, and resting. (of course, the non-Acela options are cheaper, but take 45 minutes longer - time is money)
I left the house a little after 6 AM, and was parked by 7:20 for my 7:29 train - nice train:
Pretty views along the Connecticut shoreline:
Slight delay, and we pulled into "Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station" at 11:07
A BIG PART of a New-York-City-visit is being out on the streets, seeing skyscrapers, theatres, and Times Square:
I reached Christie's at 11:50, and saw some fun stuff:
Francesco Guardi - "The Piazzetta of San Marco, Venice, looking towards San Giorgio Maggiore", no date, oil (estimate $600,000 - $800,000) [sold Feb 5, 2025 for $756,000]:
Hubert Robert - "The Antiquities of Nimes, Orange and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence", no date, oil (estimate $300,000 - $500,000) [sold Feb 5, 2025 for $252,000]:
J.M.W. Turner - "Lake Lucerne at Dusk", circa 1842, watercolour (Price upon request) ["Private Sale" = no results announced]:
J.M.W. Turner - "Binger Loch and the Mäuseturm", no date, watercolour (estimate $200,000 - $300,000) [sold Feb 4, 2025 for $226,800]:
NOTE: the picture you want to see may not be there: J.M.W. Turner - "The approach to Venice" or "Venice from the lagoon", circa 1840, watercolour (estimate $300,000 - $500,000) [sold Feb 4, 2025 for $327,600]:
Don't worry - maybe it will turn up:
UP FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE'S - if there is any art at your local museum, you BETTER SEE IT NOW, WHILE YOU STILL CAN. Top photo: Jan Both - "An Italianate landscape with bandits leading prisoners", no date, oil (estimate $1,000,000 - $1,500,000) [unsold Feb 5, 2025]:
I hit the MFA Boston website, and this is what I found:
I left Christie's and walked up to The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Getting there at 12:53
I am always impressed by The Entrance Hall:
My first stop was "Three Greek Vases". Old photo (top) was taken Nov 22, 2013:
Other "Comparison Photos" include Thomas Moran - "The Teton Range", 1897 oil. Old photo (top) was taken Oct 8, 2019:
Francesco Guardi - "The Grand Canal above the Rialto", late 176Os oil. Old photo (top) was taken Oct 8, 2019:
The last "Comparison Photos": Frederic Edwin Church - "Heart of the Andes", 1859 oil. Old photo (top) was taken Oct 8, 2019:
That's all for here, for this blog. I took pictures of 98 works of art at The Met, and I covered 2.5 miles in 2 hours 20 minutes:
10 blocks north was The Guggenheim:
I saw a Monet-I-have-not-seen - Claude Monet "The Palazzo Ducale, Seen from San Giorgio Maggiore (Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint-Georges Majeur)", 1908 oil:
It was 4 PM when I left The Guggenheim, so I took a cab back down to Penn Station. It turns out that the Train Station is under the original Post Office (10001 - New York, NY):
The Station is Beautiful:
I bought a pastrami sandwich (at Pastrami Queen), and boarded my 5:00 PM Acela. Nice views Heading Home:
The train got to Route 128 at 8:30; I was home by 9:30, and bed by 10. Thank You God for this wonderful art/adventure day!
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/
