Thursday

I venture up to 68th Street where I come upon

a statue of Mother Italy by Guiseppe Massari  -- Columbus with a rather spinster-prim hat to the right -- and I get to thinking of the female embodiments of countries like Britannia, Lady Liberty and Mother Russia.....and so on

then I stop thinking about that, and go to the Asia Society for lunch, where looking up the stairs is vertiginous and reminds me of the Guggenheim a bit...

the dessert is very small and very good (see scale of mint leaves)

on the right is chocolate banana bread pudding

in the 60's

the little dog is looking out of the window at his perfect heather-and-hellebore miniature garden.

Madison Square Park and 23rd Street 

On the way home there were all sorts of delays and cops all over the place because President Obama was in town.