One of the truly great places to be at Christmas, if not skiing somewhere exciting, sunning somewhere warm or sailing in the Caribbean, is New York City. The city is festooned with beautiful Christmas lights and alive with wonderful Christmas shows. I love Christmas and all that it brings, including for me, a trip to the Metropolitan Museum to see the Christmas tree and its’ Neapolitan Presepio.
The Bernini show I saw was truly fabulous and gave me a real feeling of being in Rome among his gorgeous fountains which adorn every major square and his incredible sculptures which grace the interior of almost every major church.
There is actually a street in Naples where the “Maestri” of the presepio have their shops, the Via San Gregorio Armeno, otherwise known as the Via dei Presepi. When I lived in Milan I had a good friend from Naples who made his own presepio every year complete with water and electricity. It was very impressive.
One of my favorite places to have a drink in New York City is the bar in the hallways above the great hall at the Met. Years ago I wrote an article on the restaurants in American Museums but the bar at the Met is still my favorite. The wines are passable, the nibbles are too but the location truly can’t be beat. This year I tried a new wine on their list, Les Cepages from Baron Philippe de Rothschild.
It was cheery and nicely paired with the food on the list which this month is American fare to coincide with a show on Andy Warhol. At a retail outlet, I believe it sells for between $8-$15, a nice price for a wine to bring to a party.
