Grand Central to the North Pole

We're leaving Grand Central Station via the 18th Annual Holiday Train Show.

Grand Central Station isn't just a train station, it's a whole world. My optician is there, one of my favorite eating spots is there and the New York Transit Museum's Grand Central Gallery is the home of the Annual Holiday Train Show. If you're a model train fan -- and I am -- or even if you're kind of a Scrooge about model trains, this exhibition may just win your heart. 

There are New York City landmarks, there are cozy corners of the city and there are places to visit that exist only in our dreams. This wonderful show has them all. 

 This is a (mythical) cozy corner of New York on what may be the East River. Love the detail.

I doubt this cabin exists anywhere in the five boroughs, but we 

can definitely travel there on the Polar Express. All aboard!

The holiday greenery at Grand Central Station.

The station looks deceptively calm in this picture. 

I'm enjoying a quiet afternoon at home. Blogging, sipping coffee with amaretto creamer and figuring out my calendar for the next week. What's your schedule?

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy!

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SantaCon Has Come (and Gone) from Town

Santas came to town for SantaCon

This evening we're going from the sublime of Iona to the ridiculous of SantaCon. We leave one of the most serene locations on this earth for a few moments in the heart of manic New York City, and the confluence of SantaCon and Grand Central Station. 

SantaCon, which took place yesterday, has become an annual tradition where people dress up in assorted Santa Claus outfits and go out drinking. I didn't see anyone in my neighborhood in Santa attire, but I met my dear friend Lonnie at Grand Central Station and the presence of Santa was all around us. 

The minimalist look for SantaCon, unlike the Santas in the first picture who are in full Santa attire. 

 A variation on Santa attire, holiday pajama onesies

It wasn't just Santas at Grand Central Station. 

I had a fun visit with Elmo at Kidding Around, one of my favorite stores. 

As I note every year at this point in December, Christmas is right around the corner. We've still got Macy's windows, Bergdorf Goodman's windows and the holiday train show at Grand Central to enjoy. We also have our own Buttercupland tradition, Monkee Monday, which will take place tomorrow. Pep is ready in his festive attire and Nessie joins us this year. I, however, am ready for very little. Despite my good intentions I am lagging in cards and wrapping and somewhere under the morass of cards, random envelopes and wrapping paper I have misplaced my 2020 calendar.   

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Wedding Wednesday Goes to Grand Central Station

It's time for Wedding Wednesday

 

After a long hiatus -- it looks like about a year -- it's time for the ever-popular Wedding Wednesday. My research of the evening shows the first Wedding Wednesday in 2014. I don't seek out weddings, but I always photograph weddings that I find. I found this beautiful bride and her stunning wedding party in Grand Central Station a few Sundays ago, and stopped to take pictures. These are my favorites.

 

  This is very similar to the photograph above, but I am enthralled with the lighting.

I like the setting in Grand Central and all of the activity around the bridal party. At the top of the stairs in the photograph is the Apple Store. 

 



The finale of the photo shoot.

 



One of my activities before my trip is deleting some of the infinite number of pictures on my phone. I know I'm going to add hundreds -- literally -- and it's time to delete the ones that don't give me joy, as Marie Kondo would describe it. I've discovered several that I haven't shared in Buttercupland and I'll be posting a few of them tomorrow. I hope you'll stop by.

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a terrific Thursday.

G Is for Grand Central

This is a slow day at a slow time at Grand Central.

 

Grand Central, on the east side of Manhattan, is one of my favorite stations. It has a rich history, beautiful architecture, one of my favorite places to get a snack and is home to my optician. I've never counted how many times I've been there, but in the 40+ years I've lived in New York, I've easily been there at least 100 times a year. I've seen it in its sadder and seedier days in the 1970s and 1980s and I continue to be delighted with the beautiful renovation that was completed in 1998.

 

  An exterior view of Grand Central. The "Pan Am" (now MetLife) building is in the background and the Chrysler Building is on the right.

 

In 1854 steam engines -- and their smoke and fumes -- were banned from Manhattan below 42nd St. The railroads of the time in the area cooperated to open a depot at East 42nd St. As train traffic grew the building was renovated (in 1901) and a new building opened in 1913. The building went from a depot in 1871 to a station in 1901 and finally Grand Central Terminal in 1913. During the 1960s designs were proposed to tear down Grand Central and replace it with an office building. After opposition to its destruction the Supreme Court upheld landmark status. The building was saved, but its condition after years of neglect was sad and shabby. 

 

 

Ultimately ownership passed to Metro-North -- the commuter railroad for Westchester County and Connecticut. Repair work began to stop the deterioration. In the 1990s an ambitious renovation project took place bringing back the beauty of Grand Central. 

 

I was at Grand Central today and was delighted to find this beautiful couple
 posing for wedding pictures.   

 

Snack time at Great Northern Food Hall

 

I've been somewhat remiss in food and coffee suggestions during this series, but I'm making sure to include Great Northern Food Hall at Grand Central. Yes, it's a food court, but with some of the very best choices. It offers food choices of the Nordic countries, with a focus on local ingredients. I'm a fan of the coffee at Brownsville Roasters, one of the vendors in the Hall, where this yummy picture was taken there. There are a variety of stands with flat breads, sandwiches, sweets and salads. 

I hope you've enjoyed our visit to Grand Central. I'm linking up with my friends at Pink Saturday, another one of my favorite places. My hint for H is a visit to one of the newest neighborhoods in Manhattan and one of the newest stations. Any guesses?

As ever, thanks for visiting. See you again soon!  

Z Is for Zaro's

Two weeks ago I took the train from Grand Central Station to New Haven Connecticut. I was meeting my friend Lonni. We were planning to spend the day in Saybrook, Connecticut, down the Connecticut coast from New Haven. In order to get to New Haven and have enough time for the things we wanted to do I took the 8:02 a.m. train. During the week the Station would be crowded with commuters arriving at 7:50 and the expanse of concourse would be filled. But it was Sunday and the lone pigeon could stroll in peace.

I had another coffee place in mind, but their doors were closed and the staff waved me away. The only place open that I could find before 8:00 on a Sunday was Zaro's. Though the coffee wasn't great -- maybe a B- --, Zaro's gets an A for availability. I was so grateful to have a cup of coffee to take on the train with me and watch the Bronx become Westchester, which then became Connecticut.  One item at Zaro's I highly recommend is the black and white cookie, center top. I am an enormous fan of them and Zaro's makes great "black and whites."

If I were doing A to Z for bread, I would put Zaro's on the list. I'm a fan of the raisin walnut.  

This was the scene in Saybrook waiting for Lonni and me. Definitely worth getting up early, taking a subway and a train and drinking less than perfect coffee. Definitely. Lonni's daughter will be getting married here in July and yes, the excitement is building. Please pray for a day as clear and beautiful as this one was.

As Shakespeare wrote, "Our revels now are ended..." But, even with the end of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, our coffee drinking throughout New York City isn't over. I've had the best time and I've had the good fortune to share my coffee revels -- great name for a blog! -- with friends new and long-standing. By popular demand and personal pleasure The Coffee Revels will continue. As long as there's a new place to try, an interesting bean to sample, the Coffee Reveler will return. It may only be once or twice a month, but I'll be reveling and writing about coffee. In the interim regularly scheduled programing will resume. There are books to chat about, events to write about and I need to get back to Coffee Light and Mysteries (Mostly) Noir, which has been very sadly neglected.

With a little over two hours until the Challenge is over, I pass the finish line. I appreciate everyone who joined me in this endeavor, either in person or with your thoughtful comments.

So much coffee to drink, so many mysteries to read and so little time! Thanks for revelling with me. 

 

Vienna in My Dreams

In what seems like a not quite parallel universe, in seventh grade my favorite subject was social studies. It was a little bit of elementary school and almost high school history. There was some history, some geography, and "current events." We weren't typing essays yet and I got to indulge one of my favorite parts of school, making a scrapbook of pictures. I had no idea that fifty years later we would do this with a computer and call it "blogging."

My big social studies project in 1962 was a study of Austria, with a focus on Vienna. My memory of these projects is somewhat hazy, but I was a great collector of travel brochures and I'm sure there were several visits to one of the big travel agencies in downtown Hartford for brochures. A flurry of construction paper and glue must have followed, as well as sitting at the kitchen table for hours composing the text that would go with the pictures. The project has long vanished and I don't remember the grade I received, but the memory of Vienna has stayed with me.

Vienna of my Dreams, (c) WienTourismus, Christian Stemper

When I looked at this beautiful picture I realized why the memory of Vienna and the desire to visit has stayed with me over fifty years. I haven't made the trip YET, but it's definitely on my "to-see" list. Though it won't take the place of actually seeing and being in Vienna I am delighted to join the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Ringstrasse taking place at Grand Central Station today and tomorrow. The Ringstrasse is the boulevard winding through Vienna lined with palaces, parks, stately buildings and gardens. I'm looking forward to more great photographs, a webcam with the fabulous Cafe Central in Vienna, some Viennese treats and the chance to win a trip to Vienna. I will be back with more pictures to share from my Grand Central Station fun. 

I'm also delighted to let Ida, at Wishes, Dreams and Other Things, know that she is the winner of "Lucky Harbor." Ida, I'll be in touch to get your address and send your book to you. 

I'm off in a little while for my Grand Central Station Vienna adventure and tonight there's a new member dinner at our synagogue. I may try and make it to the gym, too, but that may have to wait until tomorrow. I've got a list of errands before I leave for Providence on Friday morning and a few of them are calling. 

As always, thanks for visiting and enjoy this sweet autumn weather. 

The Road to Sochi Sunlit Sunday

In the tons of email I get from time to time there is a gem. Sometimes there are emails from friends and sometimes there are notices of blog comments, all of which make my day. But in the myriad sales announcements and newsletters there are occasionally other rays of sunlight. This week I received a newsletter from the events group at Grand Central Station about the Road to Sochi Tour. The tour began in New York City in October and after traveling around the United States ended in New York City today. There were lots of fun activities and information about the Olympics and the United States teams.

  The big truck on East 42nd Street showed me where to go.

Once inside the terminal there were fun things to see and to do. 

There was an ice hockey practice area. I passed on the chance to try this and didn't wait in line for my picture in a bobsled, either. But I had a lot of fun taking pictures. 

I am a fan of ice skating and it was fun to see one of Kristi Yamaguchi's costumes. Please excuse the partial costume. The quarters were tight and only one half photographed well. 

One of my frequent and favorite rays of sunlight is visiting Grand Central Station. The renovation of this landmark is beautiful and I enjoy seeing it. I have been there hundreds of times -- our agency headquarters were around the corner -- and I take pictures just about every time I'm there.  

Now it's time to finish this post and get settled for the last episode of "Downton Abbey" for this season. I'm pleased I've kept from researching what happens tonight, but I do hope there are no terrible shocks in this episode. I'll have to find a new Sunday night activity. I certainly have enjoyed this one. 

I hope your Sunday has had many rays of light. As always, thanks for visiting and take good care. 

G is for Gratitude, with a Capital G

I had a topic all set for "G." It's a classic New York landmark, and one so obvious that when I mentioned that the letter for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge was "G" a colleague said, "Are you doing Grand Central Station?" Yes, I have pictures and we will celebrate the 100th birthday of Grand Central Station at the end of this post. But first I want to recount some thoughts that came to me as I was walking on Broadway tonight. The first thought of this post is "G" for Gratitude, with a capital "G."

I'm so very grateful that I can write the words, "...walking on Broadway tonight." Some of you know the story of my illness last year and cheered me on through the surgery and my recovery. To all of you, my gratitude, too. But for those who are newer blog friends, at this time last year I began to lose the ability to walk. In May I was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor and underwent surgery in June. I am grateful for a quick diagnosis, my wonderful neurosurgeon and all the medical professionals and loved ones who aided my recovery. I'm not exactly where I was before, but just to walk home with minimal pain and no limp is a gift of great magnitude and for me, tonight, G is for Gratitude with a capital G.

Now on to the previously scheduled post, Happy Birthday, Grand Central Station!

Grand Central celebrated its 100th birthday this spring and I only hope I look so terrific at 100! The Terminal was completely renovated in 1998 and the look is fabulous. The link has a great history of the station and is definitely worth looking at. I am often one of the tens of thousands of people traveling through Grand Central as part of their day.

This photograph gives some of the beautiful ceiling detail. 

I love this picture. Obviously I wasn't the only person snapping pictures of the station. 

The featured blogger for today is Carol, at "My Name was Anna". Carol is a new blogger, with a wonderful writing voice. I have really enjoyed reading her blog and look forward to getting to know to know her. 

Please stop by tomorrow, chocolate fans. I've got a really sweet post for "H." 

Wishes for a Happy Tuesday!

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.