Ryan was asked to be faculty at the Portrait Society of America conference this year which was held in Philadelphia. So we thought we would go to New York city first and then take the bus to Philly, I think we planned too many days in NYC, I'm not a big city person. We stayed with a friend that lives in Harlem. I was a little nervous there at first but it ended up being not such a big deal.
When we arrived, our friends were out of town so we found a really good Italian restaurant that was in their neighborhood. Authentic and home made tasting, so good.
strolling through Central Park
Our first day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This painting is by Edwin Austin Abbey, that is how we came up with Abbey's name. Did you know that the rip off admission price of $25 for the Met is just a suggested price? You can pay a penny a still get in, FYI.
Republic in Union Square. Probably my favorite place that we ate at.
Ground Zero. I didn't know they had already started rebuilding..... but to look around and try to imagine what 9/11 would have been like was unreal.
time square. Not very exciting in my opinion.
second day at the Met. I had to capture how Ryan spent most of his time there, photographing all the art he loved.
My 2 favorite paintings. Both by William Bouguereau.
Magnolia's Bakery. I had an amazing slice of rhubarb strawberry pie, I didn't eat dinner that night because I was so full from the pie.
the famous Katz Deli. such good meat but I was a little over meat sandwiches after this one, the thought of it made me sick. and yes, those are home made pickles, yummy.
Then on to Philadelphia for the conference. We took a bus that we had to catch in China town. It took us 45 minutes of walking and subway rides to get there. That is what I don't miss about Italy, waiting for public transportation, riding public transportation and walking with all the luggage. The bus ride was only $12, so you can imagine the type of passengers on board. But we survived and it all worked out.
If you are ever in Philly, you have to go to the Reading Terminal Market. They have every food possible and it is so good and so huge. My favorite was all the Amish.
Ryan did the "paint off". 15 artists paint for 2 hours from a model and then there is a silent auction to raise money for the Society.
Philadelphia from the "Rocky stairs". Which is really the art museum, yes, another art museum.....
And then finally home to these wonderful faces! We celebrated school being out and us being home by going to dinner at Maria Bonita's.
