Teasing

Vacations are filled with wonder and magical things.

In our day to day lives… we have a routine. We wake up, and do what we do. Be it pour a cuppa coffee. Or Tea. Get ready for the day. We get in the car – turn on our favorite station and head out. We know the roads and the route we will take. Already … we have an idea for the people we are going to see.

For the most part. It’s all set out in our minds.

Vacations … Vacations…..on the other hand… are.. completely and utterly different. Vacations are events we plan… we anticipate. We take time off from work. Make sure we cross off our lists. We research. We pack. And then we get there …and oh… then the fun starts.

EVERYTHING is a different story. The plane, checking in, the airport, how to get to the hotel, the check in process and in the back of my mind that question…..what will my room look like? You get in the room…. breathe… I’m here… my room is awesome. Now what? Oh – Now… what will we do these few days in town. After all… vacations is why we work. We work… to relax. We work… to get time off. To vaca. To… PlAy!!!!!!

The only thing on the agenda…………….is……to……………….Explore. Experience. Embrace.

When on vacations. Sensories are in overdrive. The city smells different. The air is a different temperature. Food, is different. And the air, is sprinkled with so many different accents and sounds.

Vacations are so special.

The memories last forever.

Loved… loved… loved New York.

We leave you with this picture of this tree. She had her autumn dress on… teasing us of what her friends (fellow trees) could look like. She was one of a few in her colorful splendor. Each leaf … represented the many options and adventures we could embark on. Each leaf.. teased us of all the endless possiblities.

New York is a wonderful city. Just to think about it… eyes closed… big smiles…. mmmmm.. yummmmy.

Magical.

Delicious.

We had fun exploring and hope that our travel journal will entice you to explore New York to enjoy it as much as we did.

A Railroad Apartment

1. A series of rooms connected in a line
2. First made their appearance in New York City in the 1800s
3. Designed to be a solution to urban overcrowding
4. Very narrow
5. Converted into a bed and breakfast (at least the one we were in). Called the Upper Yorkville Suites
6. So Comfy.  A home away from home. Fully equipped kitchen full of yummy treats and goodies – part of the package.
7. So much cheaper than a hotel. So much more room. Such an awesome home base when in New York

Shared Walls and Fire Escapes

New York Buildings are so gritty. Yet…interesting.

Greenwich Village Rocks

Greenwich Village ~ what an awesome place!

Sunday rolls around, first day in the city. We’d just got a glimpse of Central Park. And gotten on a train. When we got off the (wrong) train stop, we emerged from underground into the middle of a pie.

What does that mean? Well imagine a pie you cut into 6 pieces.  And then imagine yourself…. landing.. in the very middle of that cut pie.  Smack dab couldn’t be more in the middle.  So here we were, in Greenwich Village in an the middle of an asphalt pie… and if you turn around there are 6 intersections. That’s where we got off. NO CLUE where we were and couldn’t see the sun… so confusing.

Oh so much fun to wander around and explore the village, see the people.

Phone blowing up – where are you where are you where are you? Finally found the meeting place for our friend who had just relocated from California to New York – Andrew! He proceeds to take us to the four best bars in New York.

… in between all the bunny bar hopping…

… we take a time out… and… we… play with puppies at the neighborhood dog park.  Yup… that’s what we did!

A day full of laughs. Good friendships. Sunday football. PIZzZzzAA for free.. (which the bouncer gave me the scoop on and we had first dibs)… new people we met.

Oh so much fun.

I fell Off the Wagon. It was $5 for a pitcher of beer. We had sssshhheeverrrall….

what?

Someone had to taste it!

Criterion for Admission – Curiosity

Never did have a chance to step inside… and yet… you could still sense that the New York Public Library was an institution of knowledge.  Its myriad collections ranking with those of the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

There are a total of 86 libraries scattered through New York and the Bronx that make up the NYPL.  That’s a lot of books.  And a heck of a lot of dewey cards.

Autumn leaves and taxis

I’ve seen this shot before in so many different movies set in New York.  Super cool to actually see it in person.

Getting around

For $25 dollars you can get a 5 day subway pass. A few tips…

1. Never leave home without your subway map.
2. If you can’t find it – there’s a map inside the train.
3. If you happen to get on at 1 am on a Sunday night… know that there are “express routes” which means the train will fly past stops and you might end up at 125th street in Harlem.
4. Learn which side of the train you want to get on – one means uptown and the other means downtown.
5. If you get on the wrong one, you can always get on the other and come back.
6. Some train stops look pretty cool (like Bowling Green in Battery Park)

Tinkle tinkle

I imagine the pockets of those inside tinkle tinkle with coinage…?

New York Stock Exchange

Freedom

George Washington took his oath here. 

 

And at his feet – a photo shoot – we were trying to figure out for what?

 

And at his base – a flutist played. 

 

Our country is pretty free.  Is it not?

George’s favorite bar – back then it was called a “Tavern”

This bar has been around since 1772 and George Washington enjoyed having a cold one here.  

Napolean ate at Delmonico’s

Fine dining started in 1825 with Delmonico who opened up a restaurant downtown New York.  Patrons of Delmonico’s included, Charles Louis Napoleon, Oscar Wilde, a famous dinner in 1868 for Charles Dickens, Walter Scott, Queen Victoria and her eldest son, the Prince of Wales.

In 1891 Delmonico’s nephew demolished the building and rebuilt what is today 8 stories.  Oh… and the famous still came.  Charles Dickens ate there.  So did Mark Twain.  And several American Presidents.  

I bet there’s no chewing gum stuck under the tables.  

We were thinking of having lunch there but the Maitre D said we were way too famous and tip the scales.  Just Kidding.  

 

Old Buildings…

…abound in New York. Took a picture of this from the steps of the Met. It was across the street….not sure exactly how old this building is. Historic buildings are rare in the cookie-cutter-a lot-of-homes-look-alike land of Southern California.

Times Square = Neon Lights

It’s very very very bright in Times Square. It’s also very busy – no matter what time of day … or night… it is.

Even the US Armed Forces had a presence in Times Square.

oh

look…it’s ugly betty…

no…
not me silly

the billboard behind me

it was a cold night – maybe about 12 am. And yes – that’s coffee we’re drinking. It’s only 9pm in California and we didn’t necessarily have to wake up early the next morning either.

Art is in the eye of the beholder

or in this case….

art is in the eyes of the beholder

Where where you?

On September 11, 2001?

The site where the World Trade Center once stood.

Secrets and stories

memories awaken by sight
art previously unseen … yet visually familiar

traipsing down the stairs exploring the Met.

I’ve seen parts of her prior to this visit….all these years through history and art books, magazines and movies

oh to have had the leisure and time to explore the Met for a few more days…. (maybe another trip?)

an accordion of a building
a neatly folded labyrinth

whispering secrets and stories

The met is arguably one of the best museums in the world. They have a $20 suggested donation and after you pay they give you these little blue buttons made out of tin, with a white M … to pin on your person. I don’t even remember exactly how many exhibits they had that day. We spent the whole afternoon and had a chance to see the Asian exhibit on Buddhism as well as the exhibit on Ancient Egypt.

We were both in 7th heaven – to have seen what intrigued us the most.

How many Buddhas?

I was in awe…with the ancient Asian Buddhist exhibit. This was the first room we encountered…where the story starts off with the Chinese interpretation of their depiction of Buddha.

This room was huge… and the statues were tall…larger than life. They stood watch .. and even though their size dwarfed me….I felt at peace. We sat down.. and absorbed it all in … and meditated.

While we were in there, a small group of artists joined us and sat down, pencil in hand, and sketch books on lap.

The rest of the exhibit took was a maze of rooms that spilled and danced with each other. Each room was a different Asian country – and each country had its own idealistic views of Buddha.

Wondering through the rooms

half of me felt
ethereal

while the other half
was in wonder

we were very quiet…

using indoor voices

omm
ommmm
om

Here’s one of Dancing Celestial… She comes from India (Uttar Pradesh) early 12th century and she’s made out of sandstone.

I wish I knew …

I wonder if the funny shaped hat hides a funny shaped head?

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I wonder if she lost her nose because she tripped or if looters broke it off?

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I wonder if she had high or low cheekbones?

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I wonder what the jewelry boxed looked like to store these?

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I wonder what traveled light years to enlighten the ancient Egyptians?

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I wonder what happened to all of you – you disappeared. Why?

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I wonder if those elliptical images represent ufos?

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I wonder if this offering table was ever used?

All these questions… I wish I knew.

Peek a boo…

There’s approximately 55 miles of trails in Central Park. That’s 11 times my workday commute. Neither of us had a map, or any idea exactly what we would discover…and that didn’t bother us one bit.

We had some ideas of what we wanted to see and as we wondered around trying to find one landmark, we’d instead find another.

How lucky we felt when our path took us to the open courtyard overlooking Bethesda Fountain and Terrace.

Across the pond was the Boathouse where the ducks picked up their mid day snacks!

Rockefeller’s dreams

When Rockefeller was a young boy … he said he dreamt of living to 100 years old and to make $100,000. Well… he lived to be 98. And by the time he retired, he had made $1,500,000,000 which in todays day not even Sam Walton or Bill Gate’s net worth would come close.

And so here we are at Rockefeller Center, a collection of 19 buildings complete with underground concourses, tv studios, and an ice skating rink. Not bad.

How funny would this show be?

It’s probably a good thing not to live in New York. There would be way too many reasons to step outside and get entertained. We so wished we could have seen this show. *oH sIgH*

It was terrible – send it back

After watching Monday Night Football in Times

Square, we wandered into Roxy’s and had this yummy blintz.

Strawberry rolled pancake of sugar goodness!

Cheers to the blintZ!

Where’s our Frisbee? Or even a kite?

Sheeps Meadow in Central Park.

When you’re famous

At the end of The Mall is Literary Walk – where you’ll find statues of long gone great authors. As we bounced around from statue to statue we chattered about each one. “Fitz” struck our fancy. Was he coming to dinner? We asked. Was he bringing us some wine? Or was he just going to read from his book? You know you’re famous when someone turns your likeness into a statue!

I later find out Fitz was born in 1790, a great author and poet and the first literary satire of New York Society.

Fitz… I also learn… was rumored to be in love with… Drake… hmmmm. Had they been around in CA for yesterday’s election, would he have voted no on Prop 8?

Peace, serenity and a bag of sugar cashews

Stroll = Mall at Central Park. I have a pretty vivid imagination. And as I “strolled” down this tree lined promenade…I wondered how many others had “strolled” down this same walk. The leaves had turned a sweet yellow a shade before they would turn orange and red.

So peaceful. So beautiful. And so fragrant! Fragrant with the smell of sugar cashews we picked up to munch on as we took our sweet time floating from end to end!

Phaoroh’s Fantasy

1. not ours
2. approximately 3400 years old
3. part of a pair
4. made by pupil-less eyes
5. cleopatra’s needle
6. roman trophy of a conquered land
7. alien compass

Country road…take me home…

3 paths.  Which to choose.  To the far right – a mile and a half jogging path, to the far left – a paved road … and in the middle a wide ..quiet … country road.  We stood still for a second… to contemplate which way to go.  Such were the decisions we faced. 

It was breezy that morning and as the wind rustled through the trees and tickled us with a shower of leaves.. we could hear …come on in.  And so, down this country road we went. 

How peaceful.  And how special this path felt.  We could barely see any buildings.  We couldn’t hear the taxis. It was like we were… in the country.  Even started to sing the first lines of that country song to add to the ambiance.  We bantered back and forth only to pause to take pictures.  So many different shades of green.  Why did every tree look different? I must take a picture.  Oh wait – look at her all dressed in yellow? Another picture. 

And so we rambled down this path picking up mid sentence.  Our topics were many.  Our thoughts so random.  Yet I felt centered.  Once our conversation had a rare punctuation of a family on horseback.  We watched them pass us by and asked… I wonder where they keep their horses?  Was a stable by Central Park equivalent and as desirable as a yacht slip in our San Diego marina?  We kept tossing back scenarios in jest of what kind of lives all the people who passed us by lived. 

When on vacations, conversations are as playful and as random as these.

And as we strolled along this country road, I continued to admire the scenery.  The bridges were so beautiful with their lace skirts of cast iron. There was one that struck me in particular as being the most striking.  And as I admired her through my camera lense… my memory banks registered I had seen this bridge before.   I looked to the left, and to the right….and saw other familar things. 

Oh jeepers……we had GONE IN a FLIPPIN’ CIRCLE around the reservoir.   I mean, neither of us had a map, and neither of us was paying much attention.  I started laughing all all the silliness.  I could now say – I saw this path completely.  The song we were humming was a foreshadowing. This country road… did in fact take me home.   Reaching the path’s edge, we laughed, we shrugged, and turned down another.. and began our adventures once again.

New Yorkers Aren’t Rude

I’ve heard they were…yet we couldn’t find a single rude person our whole trip.  New Yorkers are brash.  Spicy you might say.  Quick, witty and funny. 

Here’s an observation.  People don’t drive in New York – they walk.  And that’s how they get places.  So of course, they are walking fast.  No lolly gagging. 

Think about it – on your way to work – take me for instance – I’ve normally hit the snooze button to the last millisecond.  I rush around the house like a sleepy tornado.  And get in the car and pedal to the metal.  I’m off to work! 

If I were to be stopped mid – route… I might go… get out of my way I’m running laaaaattteee.  So – case in point.  When in New York - we learned to be concious of those rushing to get to places. 

We found – so many others taking their time and making time for tourists like us and taking pictures of everything.  Some were even as nice to offer to take pictures of us! Now…isn’t that a nice thing!  Here’s one of us on the Great Lawn in Central Park!  Originally we thought it was Sheeps Meadow until we looked at the map. 

Holy Mary Mother of Subway Terminals

So – in San Diego we have the fast lane and carpool lane where you have to be driving 90 miles an hour to keep up. Same thing in at Grand Central Station. This is the epicenter for subway commuters. Get out of the way or you will be trampled. Oh. Ok. Maybe a bit extreme. But if could walk as fast as I could drive… it would be at Grand Central Station.

Grand Central Station is 105 years old (founded in 1903), the largest in the world by the number of platforms it has (44). The tracks are on two floors, the first having 41 and the second floor having 26. The large American flag that hangs in the Main Concourse has been there since a few days after the September 11 attacks. Oh, we were one of the 500,000 (yes that’s a whole half a million) visitors that go there each day. That’s not counting the 125,000 New York commuters that zip through each day. Wow.

It’s the yellow one!

Cab drivers are clinically crazy drivers.

McCain couldn’t get in

New York’s Society for Ethical Culture denied his application.  (or so the rumour mongers tell me).

Is Church for you? Only if you like architecture.

The Second Church of Christ,  Scientist, was completed in 1901.  Neo-Classical in style – Greek & Roman revival style in the mid 18th century (so long ago) as a return to idealized and authentic classical forms.  Many believed America to be the spiritual successor of Greece.  The style was so popular it came be be known as the National Style and was used for numerous state capitols, as well as the U.S. Capitol in Washingon D.C. …been there done that

 

Designed by Frederick R. Comstock, the Second Church is notable for the green dome atop its squat neo-Classical base. The First Church, designed by Carrère & Hastings, is a much more monumental edifice of very imposing grandeur with a high steeple.

Trump Owns the World.

He looks out of his penthouse office and goes… oh yes… I own..the world. 

I’m proud to proclaim. Subways are yummy!

So Yes!  New York is a foodies town.  Anthony Bourdaine would be employed for life and his shows wouldn’t even have re-runs if all all he did was focus on the food in New York.  Bet he never tried the Subway Pizzialolis.  Bread. Toasted of course.  Chicken.  Spaghetti Sauce.  Salami.  Veg.  All the sauces to make this so messy you needed a bib.  Subway.  New York Style.  Yum.  Yum.

Where did I park?

Going to Church

Not the kind of church you think about…..The Chapel Of Sacred Mirrors.  They didn’t allow cameras inside…but here’s a few from outside the gallery.  

 Grey’s gallery in Chelsea demonstrates his passion for spirituality.  It’s an exhibit that walks you through his interpretation of our journey to reach our utmost, spiritual self.

I cried

Confession Time:  Disney Movie Made me Cry.  And.. to watch it on Broadway.  *sniff*  So Powerful.  Artistic, Creative, Amazing.  I’m watching the opening scene and I get choked up.  OMG.  What’s that.  Big Girls Don’t Cry.  NOOOOOOO.  Oh what the heck.  Let it flow.  It was so beautifully done.  The performers had voices fit for greek goddesses.  The costumes were phenomenal.  So well done at times I forgot to see the actors and just saw the animal, the character they were portraying. 

After the show we crossed the street and had din din at Carmines.  All about southern Italian food, we sat at the bar.  To the right we had a foursome.  Boisterous local New Yorkers drinking cocktails with a name I can’t quite put on here because I’ll get booted off this site.  Warm, expansive, with smells that hit your core.  Like how your gramma’s house may have smelled like.  With portions to feed you, your friends, and the neighborhood.  I got a glass of wine.  My fellow adventurer said hello to Stella.  And when the food came, our tummies said – oh my. 

Good thing we ordered salad.  Yum yum yum.  I’d go back.

Donuts Donuts

Soft as cotten candy.  Sweet as a southern belle’s smile.  Without definition…a baker’s work of art.  Oh to taste the 75 cent goodness.   Saliva building… lips and tongue delighted with anticipation of first contant.  Oh… which donut should we eat.  Oh for the love of snowflakes.  Get more than one.  Our blood sugar totally needs it!

(oh – in case you were wondering… they were the most delicious donuts ever.  Ever!)

                                     

She’s a glow

Day 3 in NY (Oct. 22).  It’s crisp.  We’re both CA residents and don’t have winter clothing but who needs it when you have layers.  We do this well.  We have 4 layers each.  Ha! 

We were seasoned pedestrians.  Starting off at home base, all around Central Park, trekking to B&H (nationwide AV store only to find it closed all week for the Jewish Holidays – go figure), to Grand Central, to Madison Square Garden.  Taken mid stride… no time for posing…. (wannabenewyorkerwalkreallyfastnotimetowaste) style. 

We’re walking and get mid intersection… look back.

And gasp.  The Empire State Building – she’s… glowing.  It’s magic hour.  For those that are in the know.  The “magic hour” is when the sky is kissed by the sun…as a last …..warm…goodbye….before she leaves.  The magic hour is when everything is golden.  I reach for my camera.  Out of Juice.  He reaches for his camera… only 2 shots left.  click click.  Wait..she’s still glowing.  Thank goodness for camera phones… a clikaclickaclick.  BTW – for those architechturally inclined, the Empire State Building was completed in 1931 in the Art Deco style.  Taking its name from the Parisian exposition in 1925.  The jazzy style embodied the ideal of modernity.  Art deco buildings are characterized by linear, hard edge, or angular composition, often with vertical emphasis and highlighted with stylized decoration.  The New York zoning law of 1916, which required setbacks in buildings above a certain height to ensure that lights and air could reach the street, gave the style its distinctive profile.  Another Art Deco is the Chrysler Building.

Describe New York in the fewest words possible.

There’s 8.2 million people in New York City, at least according to Wikipedia. Multiply all those people living their own lives, doing their own thing, by 60 seconds, in 24 hours, and our 5 days there. How could I possibly summarize what we experienced in the “fewest words possible”. We live in a bullet point world. And back from the trip, I was being asked. So….described in the fewest words possible.. New York was…… “Magically Delicious”.

Why? You ask? Well….. New York isn’t about the landmarks everyone flocks to see. Nor is it about the park, or the museums, or the amazing architecture. Is it about the food, the subway, the art? To this, I say…it’s all of the above……and more! Let’s put it this way – New York is about…. …the people. You need the people, the New Yorkers….. to make up New York! The people from New York have flavor, they have spirit. They have spunk. In a city that large, they have hunger and curiousity for what life has to offer.

So – back to “Magically Delicious” and where that phrase came from. I saw this phrase on a T-Shirt the last night in New York. We were in the Lower East Side and found ourselves in the Living Room. You could easily walk by it and think of it as an unassuming bar – but oh how wrong you would be. Even Norah Jones used to play here. All day we had dreams of going BIG the last night in New York and lo and behold, we just happen to find ourselves in one of the most intimate music venues where 7 nights a week, up and coming musicians give acoustic performances to a mixed crowd from all walks and colors.

That night “The Real Ones” played to the crowd. A 5 member indie folk pop band, exported from Bergen, Norway. They had a loyal following of eastern Europeans with us that night, marveling as the band members played their guitars, sitar, Bouziki, banjo, and Indian Jaisalmer violin. As the crowd swayed and moved to the music, I thought, New York has depth. It has soul. It has spirit.

New York has to be felt. That night, as I looked around the room… I saw a guy walk by – green shirt and as I read what it said. I agreed. New York was…is…magically delicious!