February 25 - 27 - Philadelphia

Amtrak from Penn Station to Philadelphia - only an hour and half away - can't say a very scenic trip - mainly through industrial New Jersey. Walk to the Latham - first impressions of Philadelphia - quite beautiful, lots of old buildings - check in and spend rest of day sightseeing - very easy to get around - lots of streets have tree names - Walnut, Chestnut, Locust (yes it is a a tree!), Spruce, Pine - we're staying in the nice part of town - excellent meal at small French bistro, the Caribou Cafe - not cheap but good food and ambience - visit one of the local venues which I won't go into on the blog :)















Philadelphia City Hall

Next day we have tickets to the Cezanne and Beyond Exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - a pleasant walk from the hotel through town and up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway - a stunning boulevard very much in European style - see where the Barnes will be relocated - it is the first day of the exhibition - not very crowded - superbly-curated - the Cezannes are combined with artists who have been influenced by Cezanne including the American Marsden Hartley (a new name to me) and a wonderful Canadian photographer, Jeff Wall - a very educational couple of hours - walk back to town - find Macys and of course have to go in - wow! - it is in the famous Wanamaker Building and we hear Bach organ music when we enter - here is the reason....















Pipe Organ inside Macys

Of course we had to do some shopping - lots of bargains (until you convert!) - another pleasant meal at the Caribou and no after dinner

Friday - the visit to the Barnes Foundation - one of the highlights of the trip - a short train ride from Center City to Merion then pleasant walk through extremely wealthy district to the gallery - short explanation - the Barnes is the greatest private collection of Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse, Picasso,etc. in the world - estimated at US$6 billion! - and is truly unique - the walls are lined with great paintings all carefully hung in precise combinations by Dr. Barnes - it takes your breath away! - so glad I got to see the Barnes before it is relocated to the Parkway - it won't be the same in a modern building.















Back to New York in the afternoon - arrive Penn Station about 5.45 - straight up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for Steve Ross' lecture-concert on Lerner and Loewe - rather a strange evening - Steve was his usual suave self but he had three singers who performed in a completely different style - said hello afterwards but not much chance to talk - hope we can catch up again before we go - boy! it's been quite a day!