Birthday Weekend

"Perfect Harmony" Louis Icart (1932)

Saturday was my birthday, which meant a weekend full of doing some of my favourite things. I slept in both days, watched a perfect film, revisited the "Capa in Color" exhibit, drank delicious champagne cobblers at a speakeasy, ate decadent chocolate mousse at my go-to West Village restaurant, got a mani pedi in a fabulous new Essie colour, took advantage of the sun and did some people watching at a park, and received some lovely messages and cards. All in all, a weekend worth singing about.

Colourful Bryant Park

The other day I checked out the Tim Hetherington exhibit, "Fallen Soldiers," at the ICP School before crossing the street to the ICP Museum to see the Chim exhibit, "We Went Back," one last time before it closed. Needing something to counter the serious images, I turned my attention to Bryant Park.

The French-style park was busy. Children rode Le Carousel and a group of men played a game of Pétanque while large crowds of tourists and locals alike occupied the small green tables and chairs at either end of the large lawn, which remained empty. One could think that the French thing was being taken a bit too far (I still remember being chastised by an official for sitting on the grass in a Paris park) but it was simply closed for re-sodding (the lawn reopened this past Friday).

So I turned my attention to the flower beds that were in full bloom. Blankets of pansies and rows and rows of Tulipa ‘Orange Queen’ and Tulipa ‘Maureen,' which were complemented by Tulipa ‘Barcelona’ in large planters. Delightful.

Nearby a little girl was having a birthday party next to Le Carousel. In addition to horses, the carousel boasts a cat and rabbit and plays French songs, of course. Nothing like a little Edith Piaf on a spring afternoon.

Photos: Michele

Bryant Park

After visiting the ICP this morning (more on that later), I walked through Bryant Park. The carousel and green chairs let me pretend for a moment that I was in Paris. My little daydream came to a halt though when I hit the pavement and hailed a yellow cab. Au revoir Paris.

Photos by Michele.

Shades of Gold

Saturday after visiting an amazing exhibit (more on that at a later date), I found myself passing by Bryant Park. Although the lawn area was torn up (it's in the process of being re-sodded), I did get to stop and marvel at the surrounding buildings. The most striking was the Bryant Park Hotel. Originally built in 1924 for the American Radiator Company, its black and gold facade was designed to symbolize coal and fire, and at night can look like a glowing radiator.

The black and gold theme works so well that it can be found repeated in the fence around the park.

And even though it was rainy and grey, rows of lovely tulips were reminders that it is indeed spring.

These photos were taken with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. I used the Jimmy lens and Kodot XGrizzled film. Even though they don't always look as nice as images taken with a standard camera, sometimes I like to use the Hipstamatic and see what I get. In this case, the washed out, yellowish tint seems appropriate.

Photos by Michele.