A friend went to the Matisse exhibit at MoMa during Thanksgiving break.

“It is the most extensive exhibition of this period of Matisse’s work ever mounted,” … The exhibition follows Matisse as he begins with small works of dancers twirling and leaping and figures in bright colors, using paper which was more expedient and less labor intensive than paint. It follows with Jazz, a series of works for a project for publisher Teriade, and continues with larger works such as “The Thousand and One Nights,” which depicts the story of fictional Queen Scheherazade from the Arabian Nights, and his four “Blue Nude” studies of the female form….The MOMA show … also includes “The Swimming Pool,” which fills a room in the exhibit with cut-outs of ultramarine blue swimmers, divers and sea urchins. Inspired by a visit to a favorite pool in Cannes, Matisse made the expansive work pinned on white paper on walls lined with tan canvas in his dining room in Nice. Other highlights include “The Parakeet and the Mermaid,” a massive cut-out work covering an entire wall with bright blues, greens, reds and blues; and “Ivy in Flower,” a large maquette for a stained glass window.

When I heard about it, I knew I had to go. I love French art.  I spent my junior year of college in Nice, France where there is a large Matisse museum.

So I called my friend, Eileen, and we planned to a trip to NYC for during my holiday break from work.

As usual, we took to Megabus down.

It was chilly but the sun was out (though the tall buildings blocked the sun but at least shielded us from the wind.) It was nice walking in a part of the city that I don’t often see. I love all the different kinds of buildings you get to see.

From 7th & 28th, we walked to have lunch in a restaurant on 39th & Park Avenue

It was a change from the theater district where we normally have lunch.

The food was wonderful.

mac n cheese, pumpkin croquettes, butternut squash risotto, beef, stew – we shared them

After lunch, we walked to the Museum of Modern Art with a brief stop in Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center.

We had Matisse tickets for 2:00 pm. The line was a mile long but luckily we didn’t have to wait since we had bought tickets ahead of time.

The Matisse exhibit was amazing. (Unfortunately you couldn’t take pictures.) It was unbelievably crowded. I was surprised at how any people were at this exhibit.

After the Matisse exhibit, I wanted to also see Monet’s waterlilies as well as Van Gogh’s Starry Starry Night.

I forgot how much I liked this museum. There was a whole floor of post-impressionists such as Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and modern painters such as Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, etc.

I accidentally stumbled upon a whole floor on Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters of Paris.

We could have stayed for hours but we wanted to get back outdoors and go to Rockefeller Center & Saks to catch the holiday lights that we missed on our last visit.

Before we left, we did visit the sculpture garden.

wishing that I could go back to Paris

Of course, it was crowded everywhere in the city especially at Saks. The windows were very creative and worth a view and it was getting dark so Rockefeller Center was lit up.

Then we headed to another bucket list item for me…a rooftop bar in NYC.

We fought the crowds on the sidewalks and walked to the Refinery Rooftop on 38th & 6th. We had an awesome view of the Empire State Building while having a drink and some appetizers.

view from the inside

The best part was that I got to visit with a former student, fellow runner & blogger and NYC resident. She brought her friend and the four of us had a great time chatting. (I can’t believe that she graduated HS over 15 years ago.)

From there, we walked to Penn Station to catch our train home…a long day…lots of walking…but

Happy Running! Anyone else share my love for NYC? And I still plan someday to race there!!