Whole Foods and the Guggenheim

I started the day with a haircut and a trip to Whole Foods in Union Square. I've been to the Whole Foods in Clapham at home and it wasn't that exciting, appearing overpriced and not that much different from a Waitrose.

In New York the average supermarket is much more expensive than London and the quality of the fresh produce isn't that great. The over sized apples are also a bit concerning. Growth hormones anyone? Whole Foods didn't seem that much more expensive than the local competition here. The quality, range of produce and the shopping environment are all good. The escalator to carry the shopping trolleys between the basement and ground floor was cool. There is also a warm glow knowing that everything you have bought is organic, locally produced or ethical in some way. Sucked in by the marketing? No, not me...................

In the afternoon I met up with my friends Pen and Clint and we visited the Guggenheim Museum. For those that haven't visited the Guggenheim, it is an iconic building with a central atrium and a large spiral around the outside displaying the art. There is currently an exhibition by Cai Guo-Qiang on display. My favourite two exhibits were an installation of nine cars suspended in the atrium filling the whole height of the building and a series of life size clays figures that were made on site and are currently decaying as clay dries out and cracks.

After the museum we went for a short walk in Central Park and popped into the Metropolitan Museum before heading to the East Village and a bar called Against the Grain where we may have had one too many beers on empty stomachs. They were nice beers, the bar was small, dark, atmospheric and had a pleasant little community park next door; so all is forgiven.