If You're Coming to New York City...

A few weeks ago a blog buddy sent me an email. Her son and a friend of his would be in New York City for the Big Game and they had one day for sightseeing. What would I recommend that they see? There's a lot to see in New York City and though I've lived here since 1975 there's always something new for me to visit. But I gave her request some thought and this is my quick one-day list for visitors to New York City.

Central Park is beautiful... 

 Whether snow covered...

Or in Greenery.

If it's Christmas Time Rockefeller Center is a must.

Times Square at night is on my list. 

But the my favorite top spots to visit are in Lower Manhattan.

Whether it's the view of New York Harbor from the World Financial Center...

Or the World Trade Center Site Rebuilding...

Or the top spot on my sightseeing list for New York City, our beloved Lady in the Harbor.

It might not be easy to them all in one day, but if the weather and the subway cooperate it could work, and what a great day it would be. 

I love to travel and one of my goals is to visit all fifty states. I've got eight left to see and I know there are lots of sights in the states I have visited yet to see. I've also got some spots across both oceans that I'm eager to visit, too. If I was traveling to your town what are the top spots you would recommend to me? I just might pop in for a visit!

Happily today was sunny and it's definitely easier to walk outside. I did my mile walk and a few errands on the way. Tomorrow is my rescheduled card class and I'm hoping to learn some new tricks for Valentine's Day next year. Please remember one of the sweetest bloggers anywhere, our dear Lura, in your prayers. She is hospitalized with complications of surgery and I am joining her friends and family around the world in prayers for a speedy recovery. 

As always thanks for visiting. Wishes for sunny days and cozy evenings!  

"Julie and Julia"

When I visited Washington in March I saw Julia Child's kitchen at the Museum of American History. I was so taken with it that I even blogged about it and posted one of the photos above. Tonight I went with my friend, Mary to see "Julie and Julia" which is both about how Julia Child came to write "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and how Julie Powell of Queens, NY (the neighborhood near my office) wrote a blog about cooking all the recipes in "Mastering the Art..." in a year.

I loved it! It's about food (and extraordinary food), Paris, blogging, New York and stars one of my favorite actresses, Meryl Streep, who is extraordinary as Julia Child. It's also about finding the thing in life you love to do and doing it with joy and passion. And dear readers, it was filmed at Silvercup Studio, which I wrote about earlier this week.

In the one degree of separation...Meryl Streep and I overlapped for one semester in college. I spent my junior year at one of the men's colleges that was thinking of going coeducational -- and did the next year -- and Meryl was there the year before I got there and my first semester. We didn't know each other, but there were only 70 there, so I pretty much knew who the women were and even then she was an outstanding actress and very beautiful. It came as no surprise when she was starring in movies a decade later.

And my only experience cooking from "Mastering the Art..." came one Thanksgiving. In a total break from tradition a friend suggested we cook goose stuffed with prunes and foie gras. It took hours and involved such actions as stuffing the prunes with foie gras, intricate and labor intensive. The result was delicious, but very rich. I have happily returned to turkey in the years since.

Wishing you all, dear gentle readers, joy in all that you do.

10 Favorite Places (3) Grand Central Station

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day. Not too hot, but lots of sun and not a rain cloud in sight. It was made all the nicer by a relatively quiet work day, lunch at Panera with two favorite colleagues and a birthday get together for the summer birthdays in my unit. The cake was trimmed in Yodels -- of all things! -- and we all liked it very much.

My little adventure of the day -- generally by Friday night I am tired and just want to go home -- was stopping at Grand Central Station on the way home. My optician is here and I left my eyeglasses to be fixed.

Grand Central is a major transportation hub, with almost all of the trains going north of New York City leaving from here. It was renovated about ten years ago and brought back to its original turn of the century spiffiness. There are also a number of stores (including my optician) and one of my favorite card stores. I noted a new store, "The Tea & Honey Store" and just had to take a picture to share.

Soon I'll be singing "Autumn in New York," and posting photos of red and yellow leaves in Central Park, but for now I'm happy it's summer.

Dancing in the Street

I'm not quite dancing in the street, but I am walking much more steadily. Tonight was my next to the last physical therapy session, and I found the exercises easier to do. Hurray! The first few weeks there seemed to be no improvement, but tonight seemed much better. My treat for doing well was a lovely container of sweet, juicy cut up pinepapple. I did a little comparative shopping and found the health food store on my corner was considerably less pricy than the six dollar cost I had in my mind.

Took a subway trip yesterday to the bank closest to my office. While waiting for the train I took this picture of the Manhattan skyline, as seen from Queens. The Empire State Building is to the left of the water tower, and the "S" in the right of the photo is the first letter of Silvercup, a film studio where a number of television shows are filmed.

The Soup Nazi is a real soup store, though it was closed for quite awhile and I'm not sure if it's reopened. It's on either West 54th or 55th St., off Eighth Avenue. This is just a few blocks from one of my previous -- and much lamented -- office locations. I bought soup there once and it was very good, but the thought of standing in line for at least a half an hour to buy a cup of soup made it a once in a lifetime experience. But I did have to try it!

Saturday in the Park...

...and at the Museum

Today has been a quiet day. Plans got cancelled and it rained until a little while ago. I caught up on the New York Times and did chores in the apartment and grocery shopping. I have all the ingredients prepped for a batch of gazpacho and will put them in the blender right after I do this post. I've got checks and thank you notes to write and look forward to a calm evening.

Yesterday was a real summer day and we had no rain! I had a little time in Central Park, sitting on a bench and reading and then a lovely evening at one of my all-time favorite places anywhere, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I met a friend for dinner and then we saw a wonderful show of treasures from Afghanistan. Most of the pieces dated back at least 2000 years, when Afghanistan was a major part of the Silk Road and trading with China, India and Egypt. These treasures had been hidden for several years and "rediscovered" only a few years ago. There were glass pieces, fabulous jewelry and sculpture.

Spent a little time wandering through the halls of the museum and what beauty at every step. A Rodin sculpture at one turn and a medieval Madonna at another. Definitely on my schedule for a return visit soon.

Wishing all of my dear and gentle readers moments of beauty this week and always!

Long before...

Long before anyone thought of saying the word sex on television, and let alone that there would be a hit show with sex in the title, the West Village -- where most of "Sex and the City" takes place -- was an Italian neighborhood. It was a neighborhood of families and bakeries and butchers, anchored by the Church of Our Lady of Pompeii. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to this world by my dear friends, Lydia and Dina, now both of blessed memory. They had grown up in the neighborhood and Dina remained here for all of her life, raising Debbie and Kevin here. I had the good fortune to work with Lydia and to get to know her family and be introduced to a world I never would have had the fortune to get to know.


The Church is still on the corner and the little park on Sixth Avenue is named for Father Demo, the long term pastor.

The neighborhood, like so many Manhattan neighborhoods is less ethnic, and now more "Sex and the City." It's got nice shops and cute sidewalk restaurants. It is also blessed with little parks on a number of blocks. The one below, named for Winston Churchill, is one of my favorites.


In a lucky fluke, as part of my job I needed to go to a photo shoot in the neighborhood. The shoot took no more than ten minutes and I got to meander slowly back to the subway, enjoying the good luck that put me in the West Village, one of my favorite areas in NYC, in the middle of a perfect summer afternoon. I only had to walk one block out of my way to be at my favorite gelato store, Grom. And so I found myself this afternoon sitting in my favorite gelato store, eating a cup of my favorite flavor of gelato, (tiramisu, if you're wondering) and listening to one of my favorite songs, "Landslide" sung by Stevie Nicks.

If I am in a turnipy mood in the days or weeks to come, feel free to remind me that there are moments of grace past and future and every day is a gift.

Sunday in the Park with Buttercup...

The flowers at Columbus Circle



Columbus Circle fountains

Central Park

...and Monday on Wall Street. I spent a lovely summer 24 hours in two of my favorite places. Also managed to grocery shop, browse at Borders, go to physical therapy and go to work and go to a meeting downtown.

Tonight on Wall Street, facing Brooklyn

Two thoughts on blog comments -- love those comments! Please keep them coming.

Yes, a trip to Montana -- especially with a few folks near and dear to me is a great idea. Next summer???

Happy to feature my dining room table in a post to come. It would be fun to set it with some of my "treasures." I'd like to see some table treasures of my blog friends. We could call it "Table Talk Tuesday."

Thankfully my aunt is doing a little better and hugs and birthday wishes to dear Amy.

My next post is #100. Hurray! Thinking of a little giveaway to say thanks to all who stop by and visit.

In Three Small Blocks...

I found some treasures!

I had another meeting in Lower Manhattan this morning and I was amazed at what blogworthy riches I discovered in just three blocks.

I routinely pass the NY Stock Exchange on my walk from the subway to my agency’s building. Frequently there are events outside the stock exchange when companies are making announcements. The event today was very different. At first I thought a “Ghost Busters” type movie was being filmed. There were two men in red jump suits holding two very odd instruments. Unusual sounds were emerging, which were odd even by NYC standards. After chatting with a third man from the group who was filming the experience I learned that this was part of the Floating Lab Collective, a group of performance artists. They had previously asked people to make a telephone call and “Scream at the Economy." The screams were then taped and turned into (atonal) music, which is what was being played, “as a performance in public space in front of financial institutions.” They may be coming soon to a financial institution in your town.

Down the block and around the corner I found more filming. No stars and no active filming, but all the signs and equipment for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” With a little bit of googling I found that Nicholas Cage is the star and it is based on the Disney "Sorcerer's Apprentice." It's scheduled for release next summer.

My third discovery came across the street from one of the areas marked for filming, “Ciao Bow Wow” Dog Day Care/Grooming Spa and Pet Boutique. I was especially taken with aromatherapy as part of the grooming. As I was eating lunch (in my favorite Cosi around the corner) I saw a Bernese Mountain dog walking down Broad Street, the same street as the stock exchange. I wonder if he was going for an aromatherapy session at Ciao Bow Wow.

Dear Gentle Readers, I have to thank you for your comments and interest in the sights and sounds of New York City. I’ve very much enjoyed keeping an eye out for blogworthy and interesting places and events. I’ve always enjoyed seeing the sights of New York City, but having all of you to share it with has made it even better.

(More) Sidewalks of New York

To New York City

I was in lower Manhattan for a meeting and remembered my camera. These photos are from a rainy morning a week ago.

Quiet and rainy weekend ahead. Today I am going upstate to attend a memorial mass for the mother of one of my colleagues. My only plan for Sunday is to get my hair colored. I'm going to be totally spontaneous on Sunday afternoon and find some little adventure. Any suggestions?

Rode past the movie site last night and all the bunting and decorations have been taken down and it was just a street in Greenpoint once again.

Wishes for a wonderful weekend!

My City of Neighborhoods

When I started the job I've had for the last 15+ years one of the goals was to "build an outreach program," for my small division of a very big government agency. I knew Manhattan pretty well, but didn't know my way at all around the other four boroughs -- the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. I'd been to all of them but to visit the Bronx Zoo, see friends in Brooklyn, relatives in Queens and very rarely to Staten Island. It's a big city, but we were the little unit that could. I still work with the staff member I began this assignment with and honestly, I'm not sure it could have been done without him. Russ is a great guy and over the years we've shared literally hundreds of programs at senior centers, churches, community groups, VA hosptals and public schools. We've been joined by a number of other folks over the years and there have been great days and less great days, when the audiences for our presentations have been less than friendly.

One of the best parts of being part of these programs all over New York City is the opportunity to get to really know all of the neighborhoods that make up New York. It is really a city of small towns, some gritty, some quaint, some beautiful and all interesting. One of my favorite discoveries is Greenpoint, in Brooklyn. We saw the movie filming there yesterday -- drove through today and they were filming the fourth of July parade with the float -- and I want to share some other photos of the neighborhood.

Greenpoint's development began in 1834. Across the East River from Manhattan it soon became a site of ship building and the Monitor was built there in 1862. The houses in the photo were built in the 1850s and 1860s. The bottom photo shows some of the industrial buildings that line the blocks along the river. These buildings are gradually being converted to stores and housing, but some still remain for industrial use.

So glad I can share one of my favorite neighborhoods in my city of neighborhoods!

I Love the Night Life (3)

One of the things I most looked forward to when I moved to New York in 1975 was going to the theater. I made the magnificent sum of $150.00/week and it wasn't all that magnificent. But somehow I squeezed visits to theater into my budget, even if it meant eating a big pretzel for lunch on occasion.

One of the mainstays of my theater going for the last dozen years has been the Pearl Theater Company. I attend with a friend I used to work with -- a nice way to keep in touch -- and we see five plays a season. The Pearl puts on "classic" plays, usually one Shakespeare play, maybe Ibsen or Chekhov or a Greek tragedy. We've seen Moliere, Strindberg, Shaw, and one of my all time favorites, "The Venetian Twins" by Goldoni. I'd never heard of Goldoni or the play and it was one of the funniest afternoons of my life.

The Pearl meets in a small, far off-Broadway (St. Mark's Place -- 8th Street -- and First Avenue) in the East Village. Though somewhat off my usual haunts it's been fun to be in a different neighborhood. It's much more of a student neighborhood with lots of NYU housing in the area. They're moving to W. 55th Street and tonight was my last visit to E. 8th Street. We saw "Vieux Carre," a moderately obscure play by Tennessee Williams. I was prepared to leave at intermission if it was slow, but I enjoyed it very much and even stayed for the Director's Talk that followed. The director was Austin Pendleton, who has been in many television shows, as well as being a theater director.

Here are a few other pictures of the evening. The first is a new building for the Cooper Union, the engineering school. Candidate Lincoln spoke at the school in February 1860.

The second photo is E. 8th Street before the play and bottom photo is lively 8th St. after the play. I was walking to catch the bus. It's 10:30 and there are lots of people around. It was a beautiful warm evening and people were out walking, eating at sidewalk cafes and just enjoying the evening.

I do love living in New York, though I did have a moment of doubt tonight. I was taking the subway to the theater and for some unknown reason the train skipped my stop. I changed trains, went back a stop and walked/ran the three blocks to the theater. I wasn't beaming, but did have the presence to take a few photos to share.

Thanks, gentle readers, for all your great comments. I love sharing New York!

I Love the Night Life (2)

And so does this cute guy!

I had so much fun last week walking in the Times Square area I decided to go back after work tonight. My path was from Times Square, Broadway and 42nd St. to 50th Street and Seventh Avenue, where I would take the subway home. A great walk and lots going on.

This is 42nd Street looking west from Times Square. Mme Tussaud's Wax Museum, theaters and restaurants.

This is the "news zipper" and the new Walgreens. On top of this building is where the ball drops every New Year's Eve.

Walking north up Broadway is a new traffic, or rather no-traffic experiment. The traffic is detoured off a small section of Broadway and there are lawn chairs. Not sure if it improves the traffic flow, but it sure is fun.

I passed the theater where I saw "9 to 5,"

And arrived at one of my favorite places in NYC, the M and Ms Store, where one of my favorites dances the day and night away.

I love the Pillsbury Doughboy, but I think Blue is even cuter.

Dear Gentle Readers, I hope Blue and I can tempt you to visit New York City. If you can't make it this summer, there's always autumn in New York!

I Love the Night Life

Back in the '70s I loved this song. Not that I was going to discos every night, but I was out and about a lot more in the evenings. Now I generally seem to be coming home from work, the grocery or a dash to Macys in the evening. That seems to be the bulk of my night life now. But this week I had bona fide night life with a visit to the theater on Thursday and a movie on Friday night.

Thanks to Kath and Jess I had the good fortune to see "9 to 5," and what fun it was. I liked the movie a lot and enjoyed the musical even more. The music by Dolly Parton was lively, good dancing and two especially memorable performances. One was Allison Janney in the role Lily Tomlin played in the movie and the other was Megan Hilty in the Dolly Parton role. Allison's strength isn't singing, but neither was Rex Harrison's and he will always be Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady." As a fan of "West Wing" I was delighted to see her in person. Megan has a terrific voice and lots of stage presence.

Friday night Mary and I went to see "Management," a new movie with Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn. It's quirky and sweet and worth seeing. We were in the Times Square area -- actually just a block from Times Square. As we waited for the bus four young men came up to us. One of them asked where Times Square was. Now lots of people ask me for directions, but this seemed odd as Times Square was just down the block and seemed so obvious. I assumed it was a pickup line -- cheeky! and even though Mary and I are old enough to be these young men's mothers we're still pretty cute -- and Mary thought they might be thinking of stealing our wallets. Neither was the case. We pointed out the right direction and then asked where they were from. Two of our visitors were from Prince Edward Island, one was from New Brunswick and one was from Scotland and really just wanted to know were Times Square was.

I love the nightlife, whether it's a play, a movie, giving directions or just a ride on the #104 bus.

10 Favorite Places (2) Lower Manhattan

I've been able to work in some fabulous places in New York City and I especially liked the years spent in Lower Manhattan. It feels odd writing this because some of the time was among the most traumatic of my life, but on the whole I loved being "downtown," and enjoy so much being back in the neighborhood. Sometimes it's for meetings during the week and sometimes it's for shopping or sight seeing during the weekend. The photos here were taken on the walk from the building I used to work in -- and many colleagues still do, so there are lots of meetings here -- to the subway about six blocks away.

This first photo is the Custom House, now the National Museum of the American Indian. It was built in 1907 and is officially the Alexander Hamilton Custom House. Customs duties were the most important revenue for America before the income tax and the Port of New York was very important in this effort. I passed it daily and it was also part of the view from my window for over five years and I never grew tired of it. The collection inside is fascinating and highly recommended, as well as the decorative pieces of the interior of the building. And for the shoppers among us, it has a great gift shop.


My walk continued up Broadway -- over the sidewalks we saw last week, and past Trinity Church which is shown in the background of this picture. I'm standing at Nassau Street and Wall Street and it's the usual rush hour crowd. We're right around the corner from the New York Stock Exchange. If you look very carefully you can see the cranes that are part of the construction equipment for the World Trade Center site.

Turning in the opposite direction and a block from my subway stop is Federal Hall, with its statue of George Washington on the front steps. This building was once too, a customs house, but more importantly it was on this site -- though in a building not preserved -- that Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States. There are interesting exhibitions here and currently there is one marking the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 1809.

I've really enjoyed sharing one of my favorite walks in one of my favorite places. Thanks so much for joining me.