Phantasmaphile

Florida

Greetings from Florida, where I'll be keeping warm this week.  Posting will be suspended while I'm away, but I wanted to poke my head in quickly to recommend the Ringling Museum and grounds, if you ever find yourself in Sarasota.  John and Mable Ringling's mansion, Ca d'Zan, is a splendid neo-Venetian marvel, both Circus Museums are fascinating, and the Ringling Museum of Art is filled with an impressive collection, from antiquity to the modern age.  The property alone is worth the trip, filled with banyan trees, flowers, and my personal favorite, the Dwarf Garden.  Would love to come back here again.

Have a great week, all.

Away for a bit

I'll be away for a bit, on a belated honeymoon.  Blogging will be suspended until my return at the end of Feb.  Have a wonderful couple weeks.  XO

MN

Hello, Phantasmaphiles:  

I am in marvelous Minnesota visiting the Freemonster's family and eating fried delicacies at the State Fair.  Blogging will commence upon my return, after Labor Day.  Have a great long weekend all.  

XO,

Pam

Seattle, watch out

Hey all:

I'm off yet again.  I'll be in Seattle visiting this beloved lady.  Looking forward to exploring a new city, visiting the mother lode of pop surrealism that is the Roq La Rue gallery, checking out the Fantagraphics shop, and maybe visiting this madman's wonderland of a house, among other things.  Posting will be sporadic at best.  I'll be back on the East Coast on Sunday.  XOXO, Pam

<3 Columbus, Ohio <3

If you'll indulge me, I'm going to tell you about the perfect weekend I just had in Columbus, Ohio.  Should you ever find yourself in this fair city, I encourage you to follow these instructions to a T:

First off, you'll need to get yourself tickets to see Tom Waits in concert at the stunningly beautiful Ohio Theatre.  If you live in Brooklyn, like the Freemonster and I do, you'll know this is a bit of a hare-brained scheme, but do it anyway, gas prices be damned.

You should stay at the Sheraton.  Yeah, it's 20 minutes outside of the city proper, but the rooms are big and luxurious and dirt cheap.  So.  So.  So worth it.

You should walk right across the street from the hotel to the big movie theater and see Wall-E.  Touching, scathing, critical, adorable, epic.

The following day, meet up with a knowledgeable, generous local like this fella, who will show you his favorite spots.

Have a healthy, delicious lunch at North Star Cafe.

Stop by Collier West, an elegant, magical treasure trove of home goods.  We're talking taxidermy, Fornasetti dishes, fairy tale chandeliers, the works.  It's owned by stylish sweethearts Suzi and John, and shall someday furnish my castle.

Eat ice cream at Jeni's.  Their flavors are scrumptious and wonderfully inventive.  For example, Sugardaddy is cheesecake ice cream (!) with chunks of brownies mixed in.  Hea.  Ven.

Go to the Laughing Ogre comics shop, truly one of the best I've ever been to.  All the big guys are here, and tons of indie presses and obscure finds, too.  Buy a copy of Witchcraft, an out of print graphic novel by Vertigo about Hecate, the triple goddess of the occult.

Pop by the Book Loft, a 32 room multi-story maze of a bookshop.  It's completely ill-conceived, illogical, and madly magnificent.

Eat dinner at Lindey's.  Have a glass of Malbec, and marvel at their fresh baked bread.  It is hands down The Best Bread I Have Ever Eaten.  As in, "Can we have another entire basket of this, please?!"  Order the crab cake appetizer, the beef tournedos entree, and the molten chocolate cake for dessert.  Try not to die of happiness, because afterwards you need to see the time-stopping spectacle that is

Tom.  Freaking.  Waits.  A force of nature.  A sweating, writhing, growling, grimacing, crooning, quaking, ass-shaking, stamping, stomping, satin-and-sandpaper-smooth beast of a man.  A human pageant of pain and mirth and really awful puns.  A show so superbly powerful, I'm surprised I walked out of there without a black eye.  

Stick a fork in me, I am DONE.

In London

Hi, Phantasmaphile pals:

I am currently in London on business, so posting may be a bit spotty.  I am going to try and sneak off to see the Sleeping and Dreaming exhibition at the Wellcome Collection if time permits (delightfully enough, the wonderful Joanna of Morbid Anatomy did a write-up about the Wellcome Center today).  Back in the states on Sunday. 

XO,
Pam

Miami

My day job is sending me to Miami for a few days (anything I should see while there?).  Blogging will be on hiatus until Monday.  XO

Minnesota!

I'm off yet again, this time to the marvelous land of Minnesota.  Looking forward to visiting this guy's family, as well as the Minnesota State Fair, and DreamHaven Books.  Anything else I should check out while I'm there?  Back on Tuesday.  XO, Pam

Oh, Canada

Hello, fellow (and sister) Phantasmaphiles.  I am off to Montreal for a few days - anything I should check out while I'm there?  Back this weekend.  XOXO, Pam

Sedona

So I'm off to Sedona, Arizona for a week.  Blogging will most likely be on hold until I return.  Any recommendations of things I should check out while I'm there? 

Euro-flections

Deyrolle Boutique, Paris

Many apologies for my extended absence.  Blogging hereby commences once more!

My trip to London and Paris was simply glorious.  While I did not get to everything on the list I made on the 5th, I had some additional very happy discoveries.  Here are some Phantasmaphilic highlights:

Freud Museum:  London.  This is the house where Freud lived for the last year of his life, having fled from a Nazi-invaded Austria.  My favorite part was seeing the amazing room where he received his patients, which was stuffed to the brim with ancient objects and artifacts from Egypt and the Far East.  Gods, goddesses, animals, pottery, and hundreds of old books are to be found here.  (For those who are curious, a few books about Freud's art collection have been written: The Sphinx on the Table: Sigmund Freud's Art Collection and the Development of Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud and Art: His Personal Collection of Antiquities come to mind.) 

The Hunterian Museum:  London.  One of the most spectacular spaces I've ever visited.  This is a collection of anatomical specimens which were originally studied to prepare for surgery, and to compare the physiology of various species.  Thousands of jars of body parts from hundreds of animals are lined up in two stories worth of beautifully lit glass cases.  There are also old medical objects and a revolving art exhibit.

The Tate Modern:  London.  I've been to this museum several times, but it merits a mention due to its innovation, architecture, and eclectic modern art collection.  Sadly, I just missed the Gilbert and George show by a few days.

Catacombes:  Paris.  The astounding tunnels where there still are skulls and bones piled up for visitors to gaze upon.

Deyrolle:  Paris.  Stunning bi-level shop with a breathtaking collection of taxidermy and natural wonders.

Galerie Kugel:  Paris.  We got a private tour of this mansion, which houses priceless antiques and art to be sold to those who can afford it.  While they took one look at my velcro shoes and must have known I was far from a potential buyer, they graciously led us through each room and patiently waited as I ogled marvel after marvel.

Claude Nature:  Paris.  Unfortunately, this shop was closed when we went to visit it, but I wanted to mention it anyway as, from the outside, it looked to be a charming and elegant place to purchase natural specimens.  Kind of like a mini Deyrolle.

Cafe des Deux Moulins:  Paris.  This is the cafe where Amélie worked in what is one of my all-time favorite films. 

Lastly, I must mention one of the most surprising and delightful parts of my trip.  We were walking one afternoon in the Latin Quarter, when we spied a window on rue Saint Jacques.  It had sea shells, taxidermy, and what looked to be a unicorn horn beautifully arranged in a studied clutter, with the words www.cabinetdecuriosites.com painted above it.  However, there was no shop to be seen!  It was just this mysterious, wonderful lone window.  We decided to do some detective work, and entered the building behind it.  The first door we came upon was a dentist's office, and we went in to see if they knew anything about the window.  It turns out the window is maintained by none other than the dentist himself!  Dr. Phillippe Dorr came out shortly thereafter to speak with us about his cabinets of curiosity passion, and asked us to make an appointment to come back and speak further, as he had a patient waiting for him to continue his dental work.  We gladly came back two days later, and Dr. Dorr generously shared with us his collection of books, as well as bringing us on a tour of his collection of specimens he had in a separate room, right there in his office.  He had cases filled with, among other things, shells, simian skulls, animal teeth, and a stuffed sloth.  He explained that this was just a fraction of the collection he has in his house, and that he hopes to make his collection public some day.  (He also maintains the above web site, though he says it is a work in progress).  The entire experience was extremely surreal, strange, and fabulous.  Thank you, Dr. Dorr!

Travels

Man Ray "Noire et blanche" 1926

I am off to London and Paris for the next two weeks, for business (London) and pleasure (Paris), returning on the 16th.  I have been to both places several times and seen the expected sites and then some, however, I am always on the lookout for new Phantasmaphilic recommendations.  If you have any suggestions of unusual things I should be sure not to miss, would you kindly leave them in the comments section?

Some places I am hoping to get to this time around:

Freud Museum

The Fragonard Museum

The Museum of Magic and Curiosity

Deyrolle Naturalisation

Galerie Magda Danysz

Posting may be sparse, until my return.  In the meantime, please enjoy the archives! 

Voodoo Love

Inside of New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

So, I'm back from New Orleans.  It was an utterly glorious trip, and I fell head over heels in love with the city.  Besides being beautiful, it is chock full of magical voodoo goodness.  We went to Voodoo Authenica, a great supplies shop with altars to various voodoo gods in the back room.  The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum was a phenomenal place to visit and is teeming with wonderfully cluttered exhibits and displays.  There we met Voodoo Priest John T. Martin, and his gracious snake, Jolie Verte.  After having a consultation with him, we ended our day by paying homage to Voodoo Priest Marie Laveau with a visit to her tomb.  Can't wait to explore the city some more on my next trip!

New Orleans

So sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I'll be in New Orleans visiting a dear friend (anything I should see while there?).  Back on Tuesday, and I promise to write more actively upon my return. 

XO,
Pam

Minnesota

Diane Arbus "Identical Twins, Roselle, NJ"  1967

So, I am off to Minnesota today to visit my sweetheart's family.  I'm looking forward to spending time with the crew, as well as getting to explore a place I've never been before.  We're planning on going to the famous Minnesota State Fair (it's so big it has it's own zipcode!), checking out the Walker Art Center and other Minneapolis gems (they've got a Diane Arbus retrospective at the Walker right now which I am psyched to see as I missed it when it was here at the Met), and seeing some beautiful lakes, of course.  On a related note, I just read that there's going to be a Diane Arbus biopic starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey, Jr.  I'm curious to see how such a looming, populist actor as Ms. Kidman will come across in this gritty, visionary role.  Anyway, this is my long-winded way of saying I'll be out of commission for a few days.  Back on Monday.  Have a great weekend, Phantasmaphiles.  XO, Pam

Califortunate

Xanadu Gallery, interior

So my trip to the west coast was absolutely magnificent.  First of all, James and Suzannah's wedding was utterly beautiful.  It took place at a gorgeous ranch in Sonoma, called the Westerbeke Ranch.  (Joseph Campbell apparently spent a lot of time at this ranch, which made it all the more special.)  Secondly, I did a lot of happy (and serendipitous) exploration during the one full day I spent in San Francisco. 

For instance, we were walking along Maiden Lane (right off of Union Square), when I saw an unusual little building, decorated with an archway and metallic embellishments.  Without knowing what it was, I decided to peek inside.  It turned out to be the entrance to the Xanadu Gallery, which houses an impressive collection of international folk art from the furthest corners of the globe.  Besides that, we discovered that the entire building was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright.  The architecture was breathtaking, replete with a nautilus-styled, curving ramp, a plant chandelier, and secret, circular windows in the walls.  Truly, one of the most special places I've ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon.

Also on Maiden Lane was one of the few US storefronts for Diptyque, purveyor of lovely, esoteric-looking candles and perfumes.  And just a few doors down was none other than the San Francisco outpost of my favorite shop in all the land, De Vera.  It was much smaller than the New York branch on Crosby Street, but the aesthetics of the shop are the same:  marvels perfectly curated via surprising juxtapositions. 

Later, we went to the newly renovated de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.  They have a nice collection of works that span the ages, and again, is worth visiting for the architecture alone.  (There's a nice Kiki Smith installation there right now as well, which consists of large, glass waterdrops hanging from the ceiling).  After that, we strolled in the Japanese Tea Garden, and of course, shared a pot of tasty green tea.

We rounded up the day by going to the legendary City Lights Books, founded by poet hero Lawrence Ferlinghetti.  They have an amazing selection, and an upstairs room dedicated to poetry books.  Tasty indeed.

All in all, the trip was divine - I wish it could have been longer!