Monday on the Subway with Buttercup

After four billion dollars -- yes, you read that correctly -- and decades of planning and work, the Second Avenue Subway opened for riders on New Year's Day. I didn't make it on January 1, but I did get to see the newest wonder of the New York world yesterday. And a wonder it was. There are four stations and I -- and what seemed like most of New York -- visited two of them.
 

I entered at Seventy Second Street and descended a very long escalator into the most beautiful landscape. Everything was perfect and new and as of yesterday afternoon, immaculate. It was still a holiday for most working people and the usual crush of commuters wasn't there. Instead it was all tourists, whether we were from New York or from countries thousands of miles away.   
 



 

This is the mezzanine level of the station. One hallmark of the new stations are fabulous art work and I felt I was at a gallery and not in the subway. There were lots of people strolling, not unlike the Parisians enjoying their Sunday afternoon of leisure in George Seurat's Sunday in the Park with George. But instead of parasols and summer dresses we wore our winter coats and carried telephones and selfie sticks.

The murals at Seventy Second Street were done by Vik Muniz, a Brazilian artist who works in Rio and New York City. His tile figures,"Perfect Strangers," depict thirty-six New Yorkers, random, diverse and fascinating. I know I will be back with camera to capture them. 

It was a great afternoon to stroll the art museum created by the MTA New York City Transit designers. As a note of disclosure: I spent almost twenty years working for the agency and a colleague/friend coordinated the art work.
 

The Eighty Sixth Street station featured work by the American artist, Chuck Close. His work features large photo based portraits and the size and scale of the subway station made a perfect setting for his array of New Yorkers. 

I'm still enraptured with the Waterlogue app and I turned a moment on the subway platform into a watercolor painting.

It seems impossible that we are three days into 2017. Wasn't New Year's eve just a blink ago? I'm getting back into my routine. I've been to yoga, run errands and signed up for several programs I've been planning to do. I'm also looking at travel for this year and I'm researching and enjoying learning about places I have in mind. These will all be the subject of blog posts later this month.

Tomorrow I'm back to Weight Watchers. It's going to rough giving up my holiday fun. I didn't go totally off the healthy eating wagon, but there were a lot more cookies in the last few weeks than there had been in the last few months. But those were treats and now it's time for veggies and more veggies, which are all waiting in my refrigerator.

As ever, thanks for traveling the Second Avenue subway with me. Keep cozy and take good care!
 

TurnStyle Pink Saturday

For this week's Pink Saturday fun we're going to the subway. We're not riding the subway, but we're going to a new shopping area that opened last month at the 59th Street Station. Twenty years ago I worked in a building right above this station and I've spent a lot of time here. We're going to follow the arrows...
 

...through the station to the exit closest to West 57th Street.

And we arrive at TurnStyle, the just one month old underground food hall. I get off at this stop often and I know I'm going to have fun exploring all the little food shops. I first stopped by last Monday on the way to my eye doctor -- just two blocks away -- and didn't have time for coffee, but I'm thinking a some research on the best coffee in TurnStyle is in order. 

 

There are a number of other branches of Fika, a Swedish coffee chain, in New York City, but this one looks especially inviting.

If I decide to take a hiatus from pastry abstinence, I'm coming here to Doughnuttery. Yes, I love the name, but the little doughnuts were enticing, too. I spent some time watching the custom dipping that takes place in the store, pictured below. 

It just happens that tomorrow morning I'm due to return to the same station and will be exiting via TurnStyle for a trip to the allergist. I'm not a morning person, so I don't anticipate stopping on my way to my appointment, but I might take the subway on the way home in order to start my coffee sampling.

Here's to a week of coffee, doughnuts, books and fun! As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.