Show Cleveland Some Love

Photo by Erik Drost. 

It's time to give Cleveland the love it deserves.

We've just got back from a long weekend up on the banks of the Erie and had a great time. In fact, we found some many things to do and places to eat that we definitely need to go back. But so many people thought we were mad for going there. So if you've tended to dismiss Cleveland as not being worth a look (and I admit I was one of those at one time), here are a few reasons to think again.

Places to Go.

We drove up from Lexington, KY on a Friday, arriving in Cleveland at about 3pm. Time to check in to the hotel and take a quick breather before heading out to our first stop.

Cleveland Museum of Art. Courtesy of ThisisCleveland.com.

Cleveland Museum of Art. By far, one of the better art museums I have been to, the Cleveland Museum of Art houses a magnificent collections that includes works by Dali, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, and many more of the masters. Whether your taste leans to ancient Greek, far Eastern, medieval religious, contemporary American, or sculpture, the museum will have something to whet your appetite. We had not bought tickets to the Yayoi Kusama exhibition and it was sold out by the time we got there, but that didn't matter as there was still so much to see. Be sure to check out the William Morris room. The Cleveland Museum of Art is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am. Admission is free. There is a charge for parking. 

Courtesy of ThisisCleveland.com and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If you're a music lover, you can't visit Cleveland without spending some time at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame so that was our first stop on Saturday. As with the Museum of Art, there is something for everyone. The museum starts downstairs with early blues and works its way up several floors, charting the history of popular music. Along the way you'll see exhibits and memorabilia from such greats as Elvis and Jimi Hendrix, and covering such events as the Summer of Love, the rise of punk, and much more. See who has been inducted on Level 3 and cast your own vote for who you'd like to see in the next class. (Votes for Warren Zevon from the both of us!) And on the higest floors, you can see a series of exhibits about music on TV and music video. But for us, the highlight was the musical performances. The Power of Rock Experience is a short film by Jonathan Demme that shows some of the induction highlights and which closes with a mindblowing guitar performance by Prince. In another theater, a four hour recording from Madison Square Gardens plays on a loop. Stay and watch the entire show or just sit and enjoy a few clips. (The Mick Jagger and Fergie performance with U2 is excellent). Plan to spend at least a couple of hours here but you'll probably want to linger and recapture favorites from your youth. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is open daily from 10am to 5.30, with later hours on Wednesdays. Buy tickets online before you go to save a few bucks.

Courtesy of ThisisCleveland.com

A Christmas Story House. Author Jean Shepherd may have grown up in Indiana, but anyone who has seen the movie adaptation of his beloved book will recognise this house, used in the filming. Take a tour of the museum and the house and see tons of memorabilia from the Christmas classic, including of course the infamous major award lamp. After looking around, buy your own leg lamp or bunny suit in the neighboring gift shop. Or book an overnight stay. The house is open every day with the first tours at 10.15am.

Lincoln Park, Tremont. Photo by Daniel X. O'Neil. 

The house from A Christmas Story is in Tremont, which was convenient for us since our next Saturday adventure was a food tour of the area with Taste of Cleveland. For three hours our guide Fallon shared the district's history with us as we stopped off at several local restaurants to try their wares. Taste of Cleveland also operates food tours in the city's West Side Market and Little Italy. If you remember, we took a food tour with Taste Indy a few years ago. This is run by the same folks so you won't be hungry by the end of the evening.

Community artwork in Tremont

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. On Sunday we faced the drive back to Kentucky but we weren't ready to leave just yet. A brochure in the hotel room mentioned that Cleveland's zoo had one of the largest collections of primates in the nation. Enough said. The zoo is set on 183 acres and is nicely laid out. We got there at opening time, which as great as we were able to chat with one of the keepers and learn more about the snow leopards. The selection of animals was impressive, and because the zoo was so spacious, it never felt overcrowded. We spent a little over three hours here, but could have happily lingered for longer.

Where to Eat.

We enjoyed some great dishes so below are the restaurants that featured on our food tour and another excellent discovery. 

Der Braumeister. Our first evening in Cleveland, good beer was a given. But what we also wanted was some good German food. Der Braumeister did not disappoint on either count. The traditional wooden decor took me back to my summer spent working in Bavaria. The servers were very knowledgeable about the beer and were spot on with their suggestions. Meanwhile, the food was wonderful. We started with some lox and cream cheese. Then, Nic had the sauerbraten with spatzle while I had a sausage plate. Lastly, although stuffed to the gills, we wouldn't resist sharing a slice of strudel, fresh from the oven.

The SouthSide, Tremont. The first stop on our Taste Cleveland tour of Tremont was this restaurant and bar on West 11th. And despite having lived in Kentucky for 17 years, it took my first trip to Cleveland for me to try chicken and waffles, complete with a rich maple butter, maple syrup and hot sauce. Apparently they have one of the best Bloody Marys in the city but I've never been able to face drinking anything with tomato juice.

Parallax, Tremont. Further along West 11th, Parallax is the flagship of a series of restaurants around the city owned by renowned chef Zach Bruell. Its menu offers fusion seafood and sushi. We were treated to tempura green beans and hanger steak pot stickers. Fallon tells me the cocktails are also very good.

Ty Fun, Tremont. Next stop was Ty Fun, and don't fret about the pronunciation. We were told that chef and owner Sunny Ting pronounces it one way, and his sister and co-chef pronounces it another! We got to taste the chicken satay and a sweet chicken curry which also featured Sunny's homemade tofu. Needless to say, both were delicious.

Tremont Scoops. You can't have a food tour without dessert, so our final stop in Tremont was Scoops for ice cream. Be sure to stop by for a cup or cone if you find yourself in the area. Vegan and dairy-free offerings are also available.

Although our stay in Cleveland was short, we managed to pack a lot into it and we enjoyed it all immensely. I had honestly expected a grimy industrial city. Instead we found a vibrant city with plenty of great attractions and some fabulous dining choices. And since there are still lots of other places there to explore, I believe a second trip may be in my future.

Courtesy of ThisisCleveland.com

Art Viewing in Vegas

I've been meaning to put these photos up since our trip to Las Vegas last summer. Staying off-strip in the Fremont Street area allowed us to see and experience so much more than lots of people I've spoken to who spend all their time on the strip. Case in point: all of this fabulous street art. The old downtown area is chockablock with some of the most wonderful and creative murals. Take the time to go for a stroll and enjoy the free exhibits.

And finally... on that just has so much going on, I'm not sure where to begin. Rabbits, cabbages, a rifle, and a scantily clad woman around the corner to complete the scene. Whatever way you look at it, you've got to love the Vegas street art!

Leiper's Fork, Tennessee

Continuing our non-country music visit to Nashville, just a short drive away is the historical town of Leiper's Fork. I have a liking for those little settlements that have now become havens for art galleries, antique shops, and weekend visitors, so this fit the bill perfectly.

Leiper's Creek Gallery

Not that I'll be spending much in any of the quaint galleries; the number of Lexuses and BMWs parked outside were an instant indicator that much of what I would find would be well beyond my price range.

Nevertheless, it's a charming little spot to browse, while away an hour or two, and enjoy a cold drink, not to mention engage in one of my favorite pastimes: people watching.

Spend an hour or two rocking on the porch at Leiper's Fork

May Be Smaller Than They Appear

I've been putting off writing for several months because it always feels a little odd to be writing about a visit to my hometown from the perspective of a traveler. However, it is time to get back into the swing of things and today the topic is art.

When traveling, I always try to make time to find and view art that moves me, whether that is a trip to the Louvre or simply wandering through an exhibition at a local library. And over the years, I have typically found that it is the lesser-known pieces which inspire me the most. In fact, some of the most "sought-after" tourist must-sees are often the least impressive. During a visit to the aforementioned Louvre, some twelve years ago, we made the obligatory pass by of the Mona Lisa. When I finally was able to fight through the crowd, my first though was, "It's so small." The canvas is much smaller than you anticipate and, to be brutally honest, it's not that incredible a painting. My favorite part of the Louvre were the sculpture rooms; many were completely deserted and offered a delightfully peaceful opportunity to enjoy the art on display.

My husband had a similar experience several years ago in Brussels, when he felt obliged to locate the Mannekin Pis, only to later call me and disappointedly note how small it was.

But back to art and my recent trip to Thanet. One of the primary local controversies over the past few years has been the use of exhorbitant amounts of taxpayer money to build the Turner Contemporary along the Margate seafront. Regardless of whether you approve or disapprove of its construction, let alone its architectural design, the Turner Contemporary is open and claims to be doing a booming trade educating the artistically starved Thanet residents.

Margate's Turner Contemporary

Before traveling home, my family decided that they should visit the museum to see what all the fuss was about. After all, it seemed wrong to criticize unless they had seen it for themselves. This led to a disgusted phone call from my mother, not to mention an equally disgusted letter from my young niece, both of whom shared the verdict that if this was modern art, it could go back to where the sun doesn't shine. My mother then insisted that I visit it, to see if I agreed with her assessment.

And so I found myself walking along the Margate seafront one cold January morning, my mother and another niece in tow. Fifteen minutes later, we were walking back the other way. Yes, that is how long it took us to explore the artistic treasures of the Turner Contemporary (including a restroom stop).

So what exactly did I find inside? I was fairly excited since the local media had been promoting a new exhibition, Walk by Hamish Fulton (on display until May 7, if you feel so inclined). I needn't have bothered. Upon entering the museum, my eye was drawn to what, in retrospect, was the only piece on display worth seeing - Rodin's The Kiss. The only problem with this was that I saw an incredibly beautiful bronze of the same piece in the Rodin Garden at Stanford just a few years ago. Still, this was in a rather nice setting, in front of a large circular window with views across the English Channel.

Kissing by the Sea

I attempted to explore this floor further only to find a locked door, the bathrooms, and a classroom where there appeared to be some sort of workshop going on. Upstairs, then.

Upon arriving upstairs, we encountered a wall with several arrows painted on it, informing us of the  distance and direction to London and Eastbourne. Further round the corner was the exhibition: a large wall painted with random facts about walking. On another wall was a television screen showing a video of people walking around and round in a square on Margate beach. Hmmmm..... In the middle of all this, sat a member of staff who did not acknowledge us but instead continued to read her book. We tried the doors to the other galleries but they were also locked and again, the incredibly unhelpful staff made no attempt to interact with us.

So that was our very brief (and oh so uninspiring) visit to the Turner Contemporary. I saw much more of artistic merit on the walk from the bus stop to the museum, than I did inside this multimillion pound structure's walls. (For the record, my mother was even more furious, proclaiming that it now contained fewer exhibits than it had on her previous visit).

To be fair, we later learned that the main gallery was locked in preparation for an upcoming exhibition of Turner seascapes. All the same, the most popular part of the museum was the tearoom. During my six week visit, I encountered many people who said they love to visit the tearoom but have no interest in the museum.

Fortunately, I did come across some much more interesting and inspiring art a week or so later, during a blustery walk along the Ramsgate seafront. Bordering a large area that is currently under construction, I came across a series of murals dedicated to the town, all painted by local artists, both amateur and professional. From paintings by schoolchildren to a piece charting the history of the town library, destroyed by arson a few years ago and now rebuilt, the artwork here was personal, full of life, and showed the interaction of art and local community. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me and I flew back to Kentucky the next day, but I hope it is still there on my next visit as it represented what I feel art should be.

Open Air Rodin

 

San Francisco is one of my favorite US cities to visit. Although it offers a wide variety of museums to please every art palate, it is still worth taking the short drive to the Stanford University campus near Palo Alto to visit the Cantor Center for Visual Arts. Collections at the museum range from African tribal pieces to European nineteenth century paintings.

The piece de resistance of the museum is the Rodin collection. I loved studying Rodin when I was in school so this was a little bit of art heaven. Visitors can wander through the Rodin Sculpture Garden where bronze castings of his works mingle with sandstone and trees to create a stunning visual landscape, of which The Gates of Hell is the focal piece. The collection, the largest of its kind, continues inside the museum with multiple works including The Kiss, studies for his sculpture of Balzac and, of course, The Thinking Man.

The Cantor Center is open to the public from 11am to 5pm Wednesdays through Sundays (open until 8pm on Thursdays). There is no admission charge.