this isn't book related, but what's a blog for, if not to share things you want?
i took the afternoon off (not really; i did work on the train) to take the metro north up to new canaan, connecticut, and visit philip johnson's glass house. it was the perfect autumn day with vibrant colors, clear skies, and just enough chill, and i went a little photograph-happy, but can you blame me?
on most days, they offer tours in small groups (maximum 13 people), and i opted for the most popular: the two-hour tour of the glass house and galleries. johnson was quite an art enthusiast, it turns out (i went into this tour knowing nothing about him), and he actually had his roots as a classicist, not as an architect. he approached his acres in connecticut as a diary of sorts, and you could see how his sensibilities changed over the years -- the tour started with the oldest building (the glass house) and ended with the newest (da monsta). (it's a good tour; i recommend it.)
this is definitely a place i'd love to visit over the seasons. i really wish they opened for tours during the winter; our guide told us that johnson would refer to the glass house (he actually lived in it for fifty years! it was his weekend home, not his primary residence) as a "celestial elevator" because, if you sat inside and concentrated on the falling snow, it felt like you were ascending. also, i imagine the silence of snow adds a very different aura to the place.
unfortunately, because of neighborhood restrictions, tours are only allowed from may to november, but the driver (you have to take a van from the visitor center to the property) was telling me after that, now that i've done the guided tour, i can come back on the self-guided tour dates and meander at will. which i will probably do, especially because it's so easy to get to new canaan from nyc!
anyway, that's enough text! on to the photos! (reminder: all photos are mine; please don't take or use without permission.)
