Season's Greetings

In the words of Mark Twain:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
bloginfo: Thomas at the Leaning Tower of Pisa

christmastime in miami

Just got my JetBlue tickets for Miami in December. They now fly non-stop from BDL to FLL. Got the 'more legroom' seats; will see how that works out.

Friday, December 10th

Left early for the airport but security lines a little long. Took Jetblue flight327 nonstop BDL/FLL.

Miami Shores

Well the flight worked out very well. The seats were great and worth the extra money. I was in seat 2D and was able to board first, find an overhead bin for my carryon [no luggage checked even though the first piece is free] and sit comfortably for the three hour flight. Even got a whole can of soda and two packets of cashews.

Arrived early and met at airport by my hosts. Dinner at home of veal chops and asparagus with bearnaise sauce.

Saturday, December 11th

'Christmas Tree' @Shuckers

Spent most of the day at the restaurant [the real reason for my trip] decorating and setting up rooms for the annual Holiday Party. Lots and lots of nutcrackers. Met two new employees; one from Puerto Rico and the other from Romania. Too much to eat [as usual]: ham/eggs for breakfast, huge tuna sandwich for lunch, beer and wings at Shuckers on the water after work at 4 and spaghetti at home. Tired! Tomorrow is the big day. Sixteen for lunch and 70 for the buffet at 6:00. Have to break down the luncheon between 2 and 4 and set up that room for the party.



 Sunday, December 12th

Wan, harpist, from Thailand

Let's just say it was party-prep all day! Lots of manual work which I managed to avoid mostly [the excuse being it wasn't my kitchen]. Set up, change and reset were the orders of the day. Anyway all went beautifully and the food was terrific: Carved turkey and tenderloin, nova, shrimp cocktail, passed hors d'oeuvre and a super dessert table. The guests were very impressed and the best thing is that it is over until next year!

Went to Norman's in Miami Beach on Collins after the party was over and had some perfect hamburgers with a sweet potato fries and a cold Presidente beer. See food blog for Shucker's and Norman's and Big Apple Deli meals.

Monday, December 13th

storm 'damage'

Cold spell in Miami; 60's and very windy.

Slept in. My legs will recover eventually. I fell up the stairs yesterday [on my umpteenth trek from basement to kitchen] with a 55 cup coffee urn. No damage to either the urn or this ancient body. We took back the linens and dessert table to the rental place and did some restaurant shopping a Costco.

Today a day of rest and food: sausage and egg breakfast, brisket on an onion roll [takeout from Big Apple Deli], roast leg of lamb for dinner. Home tomorrow; maybe it will be warmer in CT.

Tuesday, December 14th

What goes up must come down! So we spent the morning dismantling the decorations and setting up the dining room for dinner service tonight. I, fortunately, had a flight to catch so got to leave at 3. This was quite an early arrival at the airport for my return flight but with the help of my Kindle and iPhone, I managed to survive and rest my weary bones.

Good flight home; on time departure and a smooth ride to BDL. Sleep!


Back in CT it was colder than FL, so be careful what you wish for.

Honolulu Trip

November 14th to 23rd
Kobashi Yasuhide Show
Honolulu Academy of Arts

Sunday, November 14th

Checked into the Bradley Airport Hotel to stay overnight and park car for 'free' because of early morning flight tomorrow. Little bit of a room mix-up; given room 724 but 724 on computer so at 11:30pm someone tried to get into the room. Front desk called and asked who I was and said the didn't have me checked in. Did fix it and got to sleep and made it to my flight the next morning.

Monday, November 15th

Delta first class flight to Atlanta, two hours. No big deal. Flight from Atlanta to Honolulu non-stop was on an A330 and that is one gorgeous plane. Seats recline almost flat and you are given a real pillow and a quilt instead of a blanket. All the services you would expect. For dinner review click here. Flight was just over nine hours. When we were just reaching San Diego [you could tell by the interactive map], they announced 'any medical personnel, please report to the rear galley' and several minutes later 'does anyone have extra anti-anxiety medication?' When most of the plane responded 'yes' they immediately said 'thank you, we have the situation under control'. Thought we would be landing in San Diego!

Met at airport by my host and proceeded to Aiea Heights where I would be staying at their home. I was quickly ensconced in the tea house guest quarters.

Door Illustrations by John Young

Tuesday, November 16th

reflecting pool

Visited the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu in a beautiful old manse reborn into the only museum dedicated to contemporary art in Hawai'i. Enjoyed Klöe Kang's video installation of 'Chinatown' the best and was able to purchase a signed fan of hers.

Fan by Klöe Kang

We had lunch at the Contemporary Café there. For review click here. I also enjoyed the Horse sculpture at the entrance.

Had dinner that evening at L&L BBQ. For review click here.

Wednesday, November 17th

Lunch at Elena's Filipino Food and for review click here.

banana lumpia

Then for the reason of this trip: Preview of the Kobashi show. Wine and Hors d'Oeuvres in the Chinese Garden prior to the viewing of the artwork. There were fifty invited guests including the Japanese Consul General. We met at 5:30 and socialized while anxiously awaiting entry into Gallery 14 to view 'Self Construction: The Art of Kobashi Yasuhide'.

'Kobashi Yasuhide (1931-2003) was a diverse artist, active in woodblock prints, painting, sculpture and stage design. In 1959 he moved to New York, where his art took on a decidedly international perspective. His work attracted the attention of Nelson Rockefeller, then Governor of New York. Rockefeller collected works by Kobashi, and even helped him obtain permanent residency in the United States. Rockefeller acquired a sculpture similar to Plumbob in this exhibition for the Governor's Mansion in Albany. Under Rockefeller's patronage, Kobashi began to design monumental sculptures, an activity that he continued when he returned to Japan.' [taken from informational material produced by Honolulu Academy of Arts]

Plumbob

Shawn Eichman, Curator of the Honolulu Academy of Art, spoke briefly on Kobashi's background and introduced the exhibit. Then were left to view, photo and discuss the works. The exhibit was expertly hung and the two sculpture centerpieces were amazing. I was intimately connected to both and had manipulated them many times. Seeing them in this museum context was intriguing. Many of the 30+ prints were new to me and some were old friends. The large piece 'Queen Ann's Lace' was striking and is the big brother to the piece I own, gifted to me by the collector three years ago on my birthday.

After the preview of the exhibit, we were hosted for dinner at the private Pacific Club. For a review of dinner click here.

Thursday, November 18th







Today we went to Chinatown to do some shopping. Saw some delicious produce and visited several art galleries with Louis Pohl's gallery on Nuuanu Street at the top of the list.

Had lunch at the EAT Café in a Design Center where we wandered around after lunch looking at furniture and decor from around the Pacific. For review of our Pitza, click here.

Friday, November 19th


Went to the famous Zippy's for lunch. For review click here.

Revisited the Kobashi exhibit to more fully photograph it with special permission to do so. Got pictures of every piece!

Private Party at night up in the Kahala hills. Beautiful house, beautiful people and a beautiful view that night.

Honolulu at night!

persimmons

interior foyer

We had appetizers and wine. Dinner was Beef Burgundy and a salad with leeks and persimmons. Dessert was apple crisp and coffee/green tea gelatin 'petit fours' [waiting for the recipe].

Got a chance to talk to many of the people that had attended the Kobashi show. Met artists and art lovers and had a wonderful time. Music, fun, conversation, laughter, cup-stacking demo and a great time.





Saturday, November 20th

'Goldfish Song' by Deb Young

Shopped at the Gallery at Ward Center. I bought 'Goldfish Song' by Deb Young. It reminds me of her and our conversation last night.

Lunch at Kako'ako Kitchen where you order and then eat outside. Had a great 'bento box' lunch; review click here.

Sunday, November 21st

monorail
@ pearlridge mall

Shopping at Pearlridge Shopping Center and Long's [famous] Pharmacy for 'pasalubong' gifts. I got the requisite macadamia nuts!

Javanese Gamelan

Concert at East West Center UHawai'i @Manoa. 'Dance and Music from Bali and Java' with two gamelan orchestras and two famous dancers, one Javanese and the other Balinese. Both were fantastic. Of the two gamelan orchestras, I liked the Balinese the best.

Balinese Gamelan

Thomas & Balinese Dancer

 Dinner at Shabu Shabu Bangkok for cook your own dinner, YUM! For review click here.

Monday, November 22nd


Last minute in a members-only Japanese store just like Sam's or Costco. Was looking for a maneki neko for my collection and found two.

my maneki neko collection

Bought some great sushi to go at the store: eel and shrimp tempura. I had the best hosts in the world! We were together in Barcelona and don't know when or where we will meet again but it will be an adventure.

HNL Airport

Then on to the airport in the afternoon to catch Delta non-stop flight to Atlanta. Then I connected to Hartford the next morning on arrival. Flight was great; same good from a different menu.

Tuesday, November 23rd

ALOHA, welcome home!

Escher @NBMAA

Made a visit to the Escher exhibit at the New Britain Museum of American Art today. This was my second time there but saw things I had missed earlier. The video of the 'Snakes' was intriguing. 

The show closes on November 14th, so go see it. The Escher that I liked in the Gift Shop was $4700; signed and matted but not in my price level.

bloginfo: Read the Hartford Advocate review here.
blognote: Also looked at the Nantucket Basket show which opened today. Small room, big exhibit. Didn't know that baskets could get so intricate and complicated.

artful afternoon...

Spent the afternoon looking at some good artwork.

First we went to the Hartford Public Library to see Kyle Andrew Phillips work. Read the review from the Hartford Courant. I saw his show at the Charter Oak Cultural Center earlier and really liked one of the pieces, Rust#1. So I have made arrangements to purchase it and will get it in January after the library show closes. I am looking forward to adding this to my collection.


Then on to the Wadsworth Atheneum to see the 'American Moderns on Paper' show.
Many of my favorite artists were on display there: Marin, O'Keeffe, Dalí, Tanguy and Noguchi. The show was a lot larger than I had expected  and showed the importance to American modernists of working on paper rather than on canvas.

blognote: See lunch review here for the Akropolis Deli.

The Philip Johnson Glass House

We visited the Glass House in New Canaan today. It was a smooth ride down the Merritt to exit 38. Parked in the Park Street lot with a lot of quarters but it worked out well. Met at the Visitor Center at 199 Elm Street and had a brief intro. The shuttle bus ride was about five minutes long. The tour was fantastic! The main house is, of course, the big attraction but both the art and sculpture galleries are not to be missed. The weather was beautiful and the foliage was prime time.

Then back to the visitor center, the parking lot and [with some additional quarters] off to a super lunch at Le Pain Quotidien.

Haight-Brown Vineyard

Foliage Trip to Litchfield, CT

and Haight-Brown Vineyard

Went for a nice long ride through Litchfield today to view the foliage on this sunny day, stopped for lunch and then went to a wine-tasting at the Haight-Brown Vineyard. We tasted nine wines; four of which we liked. These were two Chardonnay [one oaked and the other aluminum vatted], a dry Rosé and a 'Picnic Red' which was a varietal with Shiraz. 

The Wine Room upstairs had a decent selection of wine for sale by the bottle and a wine bar for wine by the glass. The view from the balcony over the vineyard was beautiful and we will come back next year on our own. 

past trips to havana

two humanitarian missions to la habana
september 2009
july 2010

past trips to brazil

three two-week education mission trips 
to belo horizonte
march 2007/8/9

past trip to london

london theatre trip
may 2009