While I love living in Wausau, I never turn down an opportunity to head East, even if the schedule allows for only a one-day visit to New York City.
Earlier this month, Woodson Art Museum curator of collections Jane Weinke and I left Wausau on a Thursday morning for a quick, three-day trip. We made the most of it, to be sure. We left Central Wisconsin Airport on the 5:10 a.m. flight and were at baggage claim at La Guardia Airport at 10:20 a.m., actually ahead of schedule.
The balance of Thursday and Friday were spent working on Long Island, and with our primary objectives completed by 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, it was time to head to Manhattan. We met art gallery friends and colleagues for dinner, sampling French-Vietnamese cuisine at a charming – and delicious – restaurant called Le Colonial, located on 57th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues.
We had a long list of things we wanted to do on Saturday, which by necessity had to be reduced to the must-accomplish versus nice-to-accomplish because a 6:00 p.m. La Guardia departure meant that we had to be conscious of time.
Saturday was glorious . . . a picture-perfect, Indian-summer day in New York City. The sky was bright blue without a cloud and the temperature was mild, thus creating the perfect ambience for strolling upper Madison Avenue and visiting our favorite art galleries.
Visits to MME Fine Art (on 79th Street near the corner at Park Avenue), Arader Galleries (on Madison Avenue between 78th and 79th Streets), and James Graham & Sons Gallery (on 67th Street between Madison and Park Avenues) filled the day, with time out for lunch, of course.
Serafina Restaurant, on Madison Avenue just a couple of doors north of Arader Galleries toward the corner of 79th Street, is a haven for area art gallery visitors and neighborhood folks. Located on the second floor with an additional “garden” dining room on the third, the restaurant is known for its northern Italian cuisine and especially its pizza, baked in a cherrywood-fired oven.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was time to head to the airport. On-time evening flights brought us back to Central Wisconsin just before midnight. All in all, a very productive trip.
