Less structure – or more?

I’m thinking here about the Big Bambu which we saw yesterday morning…

Our last breakfast of the trip savoured and off we went again, enjoying another great late summer morning in the city.  Our hotel on 44th is ideally placed for everything and a short step to the bus stop, a ride uptown on the M2 and we were there at the Met in no time.

We’ve been so lucky with the weather this time.  It doesn’t really stop us from doing what we want, but being here under blue skies lifts the spirits so.

We had just a few hours so Edward zoomed off in the direction of his favourite Byzantine and Classical rooms, Mark and I made our way to the American Wing.

I can’t visit the Met without seeing the Tiffany windows

taking a close look at his drawings

and designs on furniture.

We spent a while in the room sets – this one from Richmond, VA.

However, it’s the stained glass windows which really make the heart sing.

The colours and textures within each small piece of glass are altogether breathtaking.

There were not too many people around, either, so we were lucky to have time and space to enjoy all the treasures as we wanted.

Time to admire the gorgeous arts and crafts era ceramics.

To savour those beautiful shapes and lustrous glazes.

After which we were meeting Edward up on the roof, firstly to admire the view, but then…

The Big Bambu!

The brothers are still working on this amazing structure and though we had no time to book a place on one of the tours, we could still walk amongst it, beneath the walkway where a guided tour was taking place.

Altogether an extraordinary installation, it soared above our heads, our beyond the parapet of the building and was growing outwards as more lengths of bamboo were being prepared and tied onto the framework.

Securely held together with polypropylene cord of varying thickness, it brought pictures of Asian scaffolding to mind, of building sites in Hong Kong where skyscrapers were constructed using this very technique.  The whole installation had an elegance and lightness and I regretted the fact that I couldn’t hover above it to get a glimpse of the whole assemblage.

Before we left, there was time for more conventional art.  The European galleries were more crowded by now, but there’s always time and space for  a little Van Gogh.

Some found it too much though, and curled up for a snooze!

For us, it was time to leave.  To make our way through the traffic jams created by the UN Assembly, under the watchful eye of New York’s Finest.

On arriving at JFK in plenty of time for our 10pm flight home, I half-seriously asked if there might be three seats on an earlier flight.  “Seven pm suit you?” was the reply.  So, after a speedy snack in the lounge we were away and six hours later woke to find ourselves about to land at Heathrow ahead of schedule.

Bless British Airways!