Friends come to play in New York..

                 "Good freinds help you find important things when you have lost them...Your smile, your hope, and your courage."  Doe Zantamata

Another grueling week, professionally and personally.  Thank God, I can sleep on buses.  I am usually dozing at least before we even eave South Station in Boston.  I arrived in New York a bit refreshed and found a treat at the Hx3, Kristi.  We popped across the street to our neighborhood fav Sojourn for a bite to eat with (lamb meatballs and chicken satay with lovely Boujelais) to chat and catch up.

Saturday, very good Friends form home took advantage of New York’s 2^nd annual Hotel Week (actually most of the month of January).  I met them at their Hotel just south of Time Square and we had the first of a full day of long leisurely walks.  Our first destination was a Gallery Tour of Chelsea with New York Gallery Tours.(www.nygallerytours.com)  Rafael Rosenberg is becoming one of my favorite people to spend a Saturday afternoon with!  This is the third time I have taken his tour, and again bumped into Robin, the photographer who introduced me to him!  I highly recommend it!

From the Jack Shaianman Gallery website

My favorite of the day was 68 year old African artist, El Aratsui.  In just 5 or 6 years, he has taken the art world by storm, literally, going from obscurity to one of Africa’s wealthiest artists in history.  Using trash, liquor bottle caps and the metal wrapping around the  necks of the bottles, he creates truly magnificent sculptures, while also employing young people to help in his creations!

My least favorite of the day was Carroll Dunham’s paintings, the Father of Lena Dunham the creator of the highly acclaimed new TV show “Girls”,. Although the New York Times gave his show a glowing review, his art simply wasn’t my taste, although his brilliant colors did remind me a bit of Gauguin.



Chelsea Market

From there, we meandered along the Highline Park over to the Chelsea Market and poked around, stopping to share an amazing baguette from Amy’s Bread!  From it’s website: Amy’s Bread is a NYC bakery that features hand-made breads, morning pastries, decadent cookies, old-fashioned layer cakes, unique sandwiches, healthy salads, and more. :: Our hearth-baked breads are crusty, chewy, with a moist crumb and lots of flavor. We use traditional European methods, and shape every loaf by hand. :: Visit any of our three cozy bakery/cafés in NYC, and linger for breakfast, lunch or dessert! :: Amy’s Bread supplies bread wholesale to many notable New York restaurants and specialty food stores.

The Campbell Apartment

Les Sans Culote

Then we walked up to Grand Central station by way of Bryant Park to have a drink at one of my favs, The Campbell Apartment.   Continuing along Park Avenue I took my Friends to one of my new fav places, Les Sans Coulottes.  They love all things French, and after reading my blog from last weekend, they knew where they wanted to eat!  Another amazing, and unbelievably priced, especially for New York.  After a great day, I meandered yet again,to Hx3, and collapsed!

Fulton

   Sunday was spent being wonderfully lazy with Kris, til she went down to Tribeca to watch the Patriots with Friends from High School (large contingent of those here in NYC). I did head out for a bite to at late in the afternoon.  The place I headed to was a zoo, not  in the mood.  Meandering towards home, I noticed a nice looking place just off 3^rd Avenue on 75^th Street, Fulton.  Stopped in and had a delicious bowl of. butternut squash soup drizzled with crème frachais and dotted with toasted pumpkin seeds, followed by crab cakes with a small bit of greens and apple slaw, washed down with a “pearinni”.  Delicious!

 

First weekend of a new year

                   "Some pursue happiness-others create it."    Ralph Waldo Emerson

               Feeling like it had been awhile, I headed down to New York after work on Friday.  Why do the shorter Holiday work weeks sometimes feel like they’re twice as long as a regular work week?  Thank God I can sleep on the bus.  Arrived at the Hx3 just in time to wish Kris a fun night going to a swing dance party at which she had a great time.  Makes me want to check it out!            

Appetizers!

               Saturday we lazed around and headed out to lunch.   I had read about a small French place in the Sutton Place neighborhood (my “old neighborhood from my Winter in Manhattan Odyssey two years a ago).  Larry Olmstead from USA Today gave a great review of Les San Culottes (“without fancy pants”..an ode to the Revolutions’s Blue collar guard) on 2^nd Avenue @ 57^th Street.  My Bosses went earlier this fall and were impressed, if not awed by the amount of food!  We loved it.  It has some amazing deals, and the food is simple authentic French.  I didn’t expect so many great small French places in New York.

                Home to nap, I love naps.  I later headed out with Kris when she left for work.  I continued to  Times Square, which even in January is a zoo.  But I now know how to navigate it.  It is a bit Disneyesque, as there are “characters” everywhere for tourist families to take pictures of…everything from Mickie and Minnie Mouses, to Sponge Bob, Batman, Pacman, and so many more.  I headed right to the TKTS booth and it was actually quiet. 

From the Official website of "The Heiress"

                I picked up a 50% off ticket for “The Heiress” with Jessica Chastain, Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey fame), David Strathairn, and Judith Ivey, among others. It was excellent. After the show I did something I’ve never done before, waited around the Stage Door with the crowd waiting for the Stars to come out. I was impressed. Jessica Chastain and Dan Stevens were very friendly and gracious for quite awhile. The young actress who played the maid Maria, Virginia Kull, had snuck out unobtrusively ahead of them, but I told her she had done a great job. She smiled, said thank you, and just walked down the street. I pray someday my Daughter can walk down the street contentedly after performing on Broadway!

Before the play I had time to meander over to Rockefeller Center to catch a close up of the “Tree” that I really hadn’t done during the Holiday rush.  It is always a wonderful treat that I never tire of.  I also got to see Saks  5^th Avenue’s clever light show.                    

          After the show I visited Kristi at work at Valhala for a bit and giddily showed her my tourist pictures of the “Stars”!

             Sunday we had another lazy start.  Then we treated ourselves to one of New York’s biggest bargains, a mani-pedi in a neighborhood salon.  We shared a wonderful left-over dinner of trout almondine from Les San Culottes and Kristi headed off to a jam session with some Original Bindings friends.  I relaxed and wrote til it was time to catch my bus back to reality.

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!!)

 

 

Christmas Season 2012, Continues..

"You must not lose faith in humanity.  Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."  Mohandas K. Ghandi

                Christmas time.  Oh boy, all the carols and songs playing 24/7 everywhere tell us it’s “the most wonderful time of the year.”  Perhaps.  For some.  But when life is in turmoil, it can be a very tough time of the year.  And, having promised myself I really don’t want, or need, to get political publicly, I am finding myself more and more frustrated by our great county’s 2^nd amendment.  The right to bear arms, as our Forefathers voted, I don’t think meant for mentally challenged or disturbed individuals to have access to semi-automatic weapons to kill innocent Angels and their Caretakers.  For so very many lives in Connecticut shattered, I don’t know if Christmas time will ever be “the most wonderful time of the year” again.

Valahala

            On that note, I arrived late in Manhattan after a very long week.  Needing to see one of my own “Angels,” I went up to Valhala (54^th & 9^th) to see, and hug, Kristi.  I had a quick bit to eat there, and headed home to the Hx3.


by Marcu Santos for The New York Daily News

            Saturday I worked again at the Grand Central Holiday Market.  I never get tired of that beautiful building.  All day we were entertained not just by the beautiful musicians, by the hundreds, probably thousands of Santas, Elves, and various other incarnations of the North Pole who roamed Manhattan.  Santa con.  What started a few years ago by a roaming few doing a pub crawl, has turned into thousands of young Adults on a drinking spree throughout the city.  Cute, and fun at first sighting, not so much a few hours into the day.  (Not sure how all the visiting Kiddos felt about seeing so many Santas. Etc, not acting very good, but quite naughty..).  Kristi has a class on 9^th Avenue that has a great view and she said it was kind of awesome looking out onto a sea of “Where’s Waldo” Santas..(didn’t take a picture, unfortunately).



Campbell Apartment decorated for Christmas

            Finally, Lisa and I were able to have a nice drink at one of my favorite places, The Campbell Apartment, in Grand Central Station.  So during her adventure helping Anastassia with Tuff Kookooshka, I have been able to share my three favorite places for a cocktail with her!

        We then went down to the Lower East Side, to meet her Niece and Husband for dinner at a new restaurant on Orchard Street, Todd’s Mill.  It was excellent.  We shared a number of small plates and wonderful wine.  Delighted to meet both Eric, a voice coach and pianist; and Maura, a true foodie entrepreneur who has a walking food tour company, Rum and Blackbird.(www.rumandblackbird.com).

            Sunday I met my Landlady, Diane, her partner Chris, and good New York Friend Judy for an early lunch at a small neighborhood Chinese restaurant, Sunny’s on 3^rd Avenue between 80^th and 81^st.  Really good, and cheap!  And, I came away with the potential of a new friend who is willing and able to introduce me to the Jazz scene of New York, her passion.  One thing I have not explored yet, and have been wanting to!

            Rounding out the weekend before I headed home, I got to a Christmas Choral Concert in Chelsea.  I met Muriel at the Signature Theatre when I went to see Eve Ensler’s “Emotional Creatures.”  She is a member of a chorus, the New York City Community Chorus at Holy Apostles. (www.nycccha.org)  Perfect way to end my weekend in Manhattan at Christmas time!

(Check out my website: www.wildberrytraveling.com.  There is a Holiday Gift you are welcome to download on the site!)

First Two Weeks of the Chrstmas Season

        "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."  Charles Dickens

                 The year of firsts...I knew the Holidays were going to be tough but didn’t appreciate how much they’d potentially set me back.  Still fighting the good one, though, and marching forward!  I purposely made myself very busy, and it backfired a bit, but one of the empowering things of this experience is learning, and accepting my limits, and knowing when to bow out, gracefully, of commitments. 

The Ladies @ Tuff Kookooshka's Stall

The last two weekends, I have been able to soak up a bit of the beauty of New York City at Christmas time.  I’m actually immersed in it by working for Anastassia at her Tuff Kookooshka booth at Grand Central’s Holiday Market.  It has also reassured me that retail is not for me anymore.  I did overdue it a bit, worked too much, but learning my limits.  After the Market closed on Saturday night, Anastassia and I treated ourselves to a delicious dinner at one of my favorites, L’Ecole @ the French Culinary Institute on Broadway in Soho..

                This past weekend was begun again at Grand Central, but at the Apple Store learning a bit about my new phone.  Doing some crazy things this year, this week’s episode was trying to launder my phone.  Scary feeling. not being able to call people, as I cancelled the landline earlier in the year.  Still on the fence as to whether I’ll keep the IPhone 5 I rashly? bought in the crisis.  As it was luchtime I went to the Grand Central Food Court, tons of choices, and enjoyed a delicious salad at Cafe Peppe Rossi.

 

                I then finally treated myself to the Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I actually joined for the year as they have a special membership for People who live more than 300 miles away.  (even if it is five blocks from the Hx3!).  I thoroughly enjoyed the Matisse and Andy Warhol exhibits.  And, of course, the magnificent Christmas Tree.  That was enough for one day, the Met is best enjoyed in small doses, I believe.

                On my way to work Saturday  I went first to Bloomies (Bloomingdales) to see their window display, this year it’s based on Cirque du Soleil.  I had to give to the Salvation Army as one of their Soldiers was quite a treat with his routine!   I then made my way along Fifth Avenue.  If that doesn’t put you in the mood for Christmas nothing will.   Gorgeous.  Will do it again at night when the lights will be magical. 

                It is interesting being at Grand Central as you meet people from all over the world, and, get to appreciate how cultures are truly different from each other!   I also got to meet a Lady who lives on my street in Milton!

            After work, Anastassia and I went back to She and Lisa’s awesome home for two months in Soho, where we had a lovely home cooked meal with lots of wonderful chat.  Thanks, Ladies!  Sunday was another grey day.  So, Kristi and I treated ourselves to a lazy one, ordering in food, having our first fire, catching up on some tv, and simply being.!             

Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

            "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." 
                                                            Henry David Thoreau 

           Another major milestone passed, Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for so much.  I planned on flying to New York Friday.  Running away, maybe, but I’m just more at peace in New York right now.  Oh, what drama I created getting here!  Kristi was staying home for a couple of extra days for her 10^th high school reunion. (How is that even possible?)  She kindly got out of bed early to drive me to Logan.  As I walked up to the Lady @ the JetBlue counter to get a pass to get through security..no phone that has my license with it.  I do not lose things like this..OMG, it is truly the small things that will break me.  After craziness, drama, tears, a ride back to Milton, only to find out some kind soul had found my phone and given it to a JetBlue representative, back to the airport, and a very kind Matthew from JetBlue gave me my phone and walked me through security.  I made my original flight after running through the airport OJ Simpson style to get on the plane at the last minute.  I am grateful.

            Years ago, someone had lent me the book “Passion on the Vine” by Sergio Esposito.  "Passion on the Vine is a spellbinding memoir; a vivid, funny, and yes, passionate tale of family, food and wine."- Jay Mc Inerney.  Sergio Esposito has a wine store near Union Square in New York City, Italian Wine Merchants, 108 East 16^th Street.  I have been on his email list for awhile.  Going to his store for an event, or to buy wine has been on my list for awhile.  But, nothing he does is inexpensive.  Earlier this week I got an invitation from the store to come in on Black Friday for a free tasting!  So I did.  It was a very enjoyable hour tasting wine, having some wonderful cheese, and chatting with typical New Yorkers (even if two were actually French).

            From there I actually entered the Black Friday madness to poke around Nordstrom Rack, and came away with a Christmas gift.  Then I meandered around the Christmas Market in Union Square not finding anything I couldn’t live without.  I decided I owed it to myself to have a nice dinner.  I took myself to Danny Meyer’s Union Square Café.  It was amazing the one time I went years ago  It still is.  As always, had a nice chat with my bar-mate while thoroughly enjoying a glass of sparkling wine from Schomberg Vineyard in Napa; to my broccoli soup with goat cheese crostini; then to continue the Thanksgiving theme, butternut tortelli with cranberries along with a glass of Chablis.  Wonderful.

          Saturday I meandered to the Grand Central Station’s Holiday Market.  I am going to help Anastasia and Lisa on Saturday afternoons at the Tuff Kookooshka stall!  If you have young children in your life, check them out. www.tuffcookie.com.  Or, if in you’re in New York City, stop by.  All products are USA, actually Massachusetts made!  The fleece is Polartec from Malden Mills, and produced by seamstresses in Fall River.



Campbell Apartment decorated for Christmas 

           While waiting for Lisa and to finish up for the evening I finally got into another of my favorite places, The Campbell Apartment @ Grand Central.  Enjoyed some peace and glass of Proscecco.  I had a Blackboard Eats code (like Groupon, but free!) for Inside Park @ St Barts’s, 325 Park Avenue, which gave us a free bottle of wine and charcuterie plate!   We had a thoroughly delicious dinner.  One last stop, I shared another of my favorite places for an after dinner cocktail, the King Cole Bar at the St Regis Hotel, as it was close by.  Being artists, I knew the Ladies would enjoy it.           

                Sunday, and I am wiped out.  Giving myself the day to relax at the Hx3 with Kristi.

(If you know of anyone needing guidance on travel to New York City, please refer them to:
www.wildberrytraveling.com.   Thanks!)

Gratitude..

                                          Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
                                     It turns what we have into enough, and more.
                 It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
            It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,and creates a vision for tomorrow.
                                                                - Melody Beatti

            As I sat on the bus after work on Friday, I started into a mini-panic attack.  What am I doing? Why am I running to NYC every weekend? Am I crazy?  I listened to my Nephew's sermon, and dozed, and got to NYC an hour late due to ugly traffic around a gruesome traffic accident. On the taxi drive “home”, I started breathing easier passing familiar, now beloved, landmarks.

Getting to the apartment, I found nothing interesting to eat, so I decided to pop out into the neighborhood.  I went over to Luke’s Grill on 3^rd Avenue, between 78^th and 79^th Streets, typical, small, hometown type pub, offering comfort food.  Perfect.  Until a very drunk Lady arrived and screamed her profanity laden thoughts on everything from politics to NYC.  Guess who she sat next to?  I calmly entertained her, for which the bartender poured me a glass of wine.



        Saturday I got up and headed up to Harlem to the George Bruce Branch of the New York Public Library for a free two hour Microsoft Excel class.  I earned from a lovely Lady exactly what I wanted to, how to set up a simple budget worksheet for myself.  From there I headed to the Bushwick area of Brooklyn for an art installation.

Morgan Street Subway stop in Bushwick from Ilona Gutcher

          Making Nothing Happen: The Strange Poetics of Barry Duncan, Master Palindromist (and his friends).  From the flyer: “The very first gallery exhibition of Barry Duncan, the world’s greatest palindromist will be producing in real time a master work of artistic/poetic reversibility in situ…Using the adage of W.H. Auden that “poetry makes nothing happen”, we will treat the gallery space as a beehive  of poetic activity..the gallery will try and make visible the act of poetic process through art.  Emmy award winning Michael Rossi will be documenting this event on film for his forthcoming film on Duncan, The Master Paindromist, (see the trailer for this at www.rossifilms.com). “

       Very interesting afternoon, and I got to explore a bit of New York City that I had never been to.  Bushwick may be one of the final frontiers of gentrification in New York.  One word comes to my mind, gritty.  If you’re a fan of street art, graffiti, I’d recommended getting there to see it, as it is interesting, and everywhere.

       On the way home, I popped into Grand Central Station’s Holiday Market as a dear friend is working there for the season.  She’s helping her Friend with Tuff Kookooshka, a children’s clothing line totally made in the USA, Massachusetts actually, including Polartec fleece from Malden Mills in Lawrence! (www.tuffcookie.com).

    On the way home I popped into my neighborhood favorite, Agate and Valencia, and picked up dinner.  A nice surprise awaited at home, Kristi, so we shared my bounty before she headed off to work.  Stayed in and happily created my first excel spreadsheet, and relaxed.

      Sunday, I was up and out early, and finally had a nice long walk along the East River.  I had volunteered through Volunteer Match (a great site I found while web-surfing, and they do not require any orientation).  I went to the Linda and Jerome Spitzer Home on 61st Street to help prepare a Thanksgiving Feast for Seniors.  I confused the Doorman and myself upon arrival when asking for the apartment of Mr and Mrs Spitzer.  They do not live there, it’s the building name!  It’s an apartment complex for low-income Seniors.  I always wondered how Seniors could afford Manhattan.  Now I know, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (www.metcouncil.org) is one organization that tries to keep them from being displaced.  They have a few buildings around Manhattan, and its Burroughs.

       I spent a lovely morning preparing vegetables with a varied, and great group of Ladies.  Stefanie, a young woman who graduated from UMass Amherst with my Daughter (and remembers Kristi’s roommate from a class taken together as she loved Tamar’s name!), is the Volunteer Department Manager of the Met Council.  Monita, was our chef du jour who just left Martha Stewart’s Magazine as the recipe tester, to be on her own as a Culinary Freelancer!  Monita’s Sister, Niece, and French-born Friend rounded out our group of workers.  I would love, and hope, to meet and work with these Ladies again someday.

       On the bus ride home, I noticed my Friend, Lisa, had texted.  She had the day off from the Holiday Market.  So, She, Kristi, and I explored yet another neighborhood restaurant, Quatorze, on 79^th Street between 1^st and 2^nd Avenues, very quant, and nice,  if a bit on the pricier side.

       Again, Kristi headed off to work.  Lisa and I decided to have a drink at of my favorite “new” places, Bemelman’s Bar at the Carlysle Hotel.  Being an artist, I knew Lisa would love the murals from the Madeline series.  A truly lovely couple of hours before heading home on the late bus.

        I am reassured as to why I’m heading to NYC most weekends.  As Barry, the Palindromist, asked me at his show, does coming down exhaust, or energize me?  Definitely, energize, and heal.  Thank God!

(As always, if you or anyone you know needs guidance or infromation while traveling to Manhattan, please go to my website: www.wildberrytraveling.com  Thanks!)