Christmas 2012

         "I am seeking.  I am striving.  I am in it with all my heart."  Vincent van Gogh

Sitting in my dining room in Milton watching the snow fall, it is beautiful.  Home this New Year’s weekend as Kristi is giving my Cousin’s Daughter a belated 16^th Birthday gift, a weekend in the Big Apple, just the two of them!  And after a grueling 9 hour drive home Wednesday (more on that later) after Christmas in NYC for 5 days, it’s good to be here catching up a bit.

Last Friday, I drove down to NYC as I had gifts, food, etc for the long Holiday weekend.  Also a tough drive as it was a pelting rain all through Connecticut (which is the majority of the drive to NYC).  Still making good time as there was almost no traffic, my parking gene was in order, and I parked exactly where I wanted to so as to just walk away from the car til I was ready to come back to Boston again.  Don’t you love when that happens?!

After unpacking the car, Kris and I walked around the corner and bought a small Christmas tree for our Hx3.  We decorated our tiny space and headed out to get a bite to eat before she had to go off to work.  We found a great place less than 2 blocks away, Jaiya an Asian restaurant on 2^nd Ave between 80 and 81^st Streets, and had a wonderful 2 course lunch for under $10 each!  Wonderful. 

"Duplicate of a pic taken 20 years ago!

I napped off and on and then headed over to meet Kris at work at Valahalla after midnight.  We got another quick bite eat an Irish Pub where Kris often goes after work.  Then we meandered 5^th Avenue.  What a treat to be alone on that beautifully decorated street at Christmas (although to do that it must be in the middle of the night!).  Did learn an interesting tidbit..the lights on the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller are not on all night..they must be on a timer just like ours used to be in Milton!

Bryant Park



Dessert @ Bocca Di Bacco

Saturday got a very late start (I definitely don’t stay up til 4am anymore, for Kris it’s a normal routine).  We again decided to share a bite to eat before she went to work.  Surprisingly we had difficulty finding a place in our neighborhood, not serving yet or too crowded.  So, we headed over to midtown on 9^th  so she’d be close to work and just “found” another great place, Bocca Di Bacco between 54^th and 55^th Streets, an awesome brunch for under $12.  Brunch is an institution in NYC and many places offer “unlimited” cocktails, usually bloody Marys, mimosas, etc., for a set price for a couple of hours. Then I simply took a walk meandering through Bryant Park and its Holiday Market, over to Grand Central to check on my friends at Tuff Kookooshka, and again went home to simply relax.  Wonderful.

Sunday, Kris once again went off to work the day shift.  I picked up the Hx3 and waited for Katie to arrive from Boston.  We then headed out to have a long leisurely walk to meet Kris, stopping at the small neighborhood place I’ve been wanting to try (and the day before discovered they only serve coffee and pastries til 3pm, then late lunch and dinner), Eric Kayser Artisan Boulanger on 3^rd Ave at 74^th Street.  It is amazing, though I’ve not been to Paris yet, I feel as though it’s pretty close to a true Parisian Bistro (unfortunately they don’t have liquor yet but the French onion soup and simple salad we had was awesome!). 

From there we walked to Alvin Ailey on the West side at 9^th and 55th to discover that the actual show was down the street at CitiCenter, a beautifully restored theatre on 55^th  between 7^th and 6^th Aves.  The Dance was gorgeous.  Needing sustenance, again, walked up to the Time Warner Center and had a wonderful dinner at Landmarc.(known for its steak and great wine prices!).

Monday, Christmas Eve, we headed down to Chinatown where we indulged in amazing massages at Relax Spa (which we discovered 2 years ago for its Foot Reflexology) on Hester and Centre Street.  $50 for an hour!  Then we walked across the street to the Red Egg, for my first experience with dim sum.  Great fun! 

Christmas Eve dinner was shared with the Family who lived next door to us when I was alone raising the Girls.  All 3 of the “Kids next door” live in NYC and are in the Arts, the “Boys” as Dancer/actor/teaching artists, the “Lady” works at Signature Theatre.  Must have been something in the water in that neighborhood!  It’s been twenty years since we all lived next door and we all connected like it was yesterday.  Who says you can’t “go home” again?!

 Christmas Day we wonderfully never got dressed. And, Mom, me, cooked a very nice Christmas Dinner, if I do say so myself in our tiny kitchen.  That evening we threw on comfort clothes and went to the opening of “Les Miserables”, the movie.  The show that started Kristi’s love affair with theatre, it’s been one of our favorites for over almost 25 years!  Quite an experience going to a movie opening in New York City; I highly recommend it!

Wednesday we slowly got ourselves in gear to head home, first having a comfort lunch at Big Daddy’s Diner, again around the corner on 2^nd Avenue.  It was an epic drive home, 9 hours in blizzard like conditions at some pints, spinning out and hitting the guard rail not once, but twice, but able to drive home! (God love my 17 year old Toyota Rav 4 w over 215K miles!).  I did find out that there is some damage, to be dealt with…

(So, once again, a lesson my Mom taught me that is never to be ignored…go with your Gut in all decisions..I thought that perhaps I should stay on Route 95, since it’s the coastal road…but instead I went Route 91 to the Mass Pike, as we had checked online and it reported clear and steady…forget the internet..Go with your GUT!!)