August 7, 2015 – More Adventuring
It’s good to be home again, after another trip up to New
York. Actually, this was a very quick
trip, less than 48 hours on the ground, but I packed in visits with multiple
friends and family members. Of course, I
also squeezed in some good eating, starting with a cone of Shake Shack frozen
custard (blueberry sweet corn – the delicious flavor of the week) before I even
checked into the hotel. That’s right -
no camping out on Elisa and Christian’s sofa in Brooklyn this time! When I found out that my friend Gale was
flying up from Florida to see a couple of Broadway shows, I offered to share a
hotel room with her. Like a real
tourist, I stayed in the theater district, in the Row Hotel, which was a new experience
for me. We stayed in that neighborhood
for dinner, checking out the offerings during a stroll down Restaurant Row –
another first for me. Since it was one
of those rare summer evenings when the temperature and humidity were bearable,
we dined al fresco at a Brazilian
restaurant – sangria, salad, and shrimp and mushrooms in a light coconut milk
sauce served in coconut shells.
Touristy, perhaps, but fun nevertheless. We saved a little room for a slice of cheesecake from
Junior’s on our way back to the hotel. Really,
it was Gale’s idea. I only had a few
nibbles, to help her out.
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| With Gale on Restaurant Row (W. 46th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues) |
The good eating continued the next morning.
Continental breakfast was included in hotel rate. I don’t normally eat pastries, especially
early in the morning, but the selection, from some of the city’s top bakeries
(François Payard, Balthazar) was irresistible.
After careful consideration, I selected a brioche sprinkled with
slivered almonds. The first bite into
the rich dough subtly flavored with orange peel was pure ecstasy.
While the morning got off to a great start, not long after
breakfast, I got a rude shock. I was at
Penn Station, purchasing a rail ticket for a ride out to Long Island for a
mini-family reunion with my brother and sister-in-law (driving down from
Westchester County), my aunt (in from Florida) and my cousin (in from New Hampshire). When I inquired about the fare, the young
ticket seller’s query, “Senior?” caught me totally off guard. Was my advanced age that obvious? I'd taken care to draw on eyebrows and freshen
my lipstick, and I certainly wasn’t flashing my new Medicare card. Hmmm.
As for Long Island, I no longer have a sense of connection
with the place although I grew up there.
I stayed only long enough for lunch with the family at a Greek
diner. Then it was back on the Long
Island Railroad, this time traveling to Brooklyn for a visit with Elisa,
Christian and Sylvie. My new
granddaughter has grown quite a bit and she’s much more alert and aware of her
surroundings. In addition, Elisa is
feeling much better now and has more energy.
She and Christian are thrilled to be little Sylvie’s parents. And Miss Sylvie has it all figured out: Mommy supplies the yummy milk, available 24 hours a day, and Daddy provides the perfect perch
for snuggling and sleeping (see photo below).
That evening, we celebrated Sylvie’s 3-week birthday with a take-out
dinner from Karloff, a Russian restaurant on Court Street. Karloff is a food lover’s paradise. We feasted on potato varenikis (dumplings) in a creamy mushroom sauce, arugula salad
with Bosc pears and goat cheese, a salmon-herb burger on brioche bun with
rosemary fries, Scottish salmon with white bean/plum tomato/baby arugula
succotash, pan-seared trout with caramelized cauliflower and buckwheat kasha risotto,
and cheese blintzes with wild berry jam. I could barely stagger to the subway station
on the corner after the sumptuous meal.
The following morning, there wasn’t time for much more than
breakfast (yes, another brioche) and a quick walk down Broadway where Seward Johnson’s life-like sculptures fill the pedestrian plaza between 41st
Street and 36th Street.
Included in the temporary installation of 18 painted bronze sculptures
are some based on Impressionist paintings.
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| Can you tell which figures are the sculptures and which ones are real? |
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the High Line or the new Whitney
Museum on this abbreviated trip, but I’ve already put them on the agenda for my
next trip later in August.
I covered a lot of territory during my short stay in New
York. The only downside was that I ran
out of reading material. I had brought
along a library book, a murder mystery set in early 20th century Vienna,
that I started on the trip up. It was
over 450 pages and I was sure it would take me several days to get through
it. However, the novel was so riveting
that I couldn’t stop reading it. I
forced myself to save the last hundred pages or so for the bus ride home. As soon as I sat down in my seat, I resumed
reading and finished the book three hours before the bus reached Virginia. If you’re looking for a book that’s extremely
well-written and entertaining on several different levels, I highly recommend A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis.
And how about Elliott?
Well, Elliott is getting used to my vagabonding ways. Since he doesn’t want anyone staying in the
house while I’m away, he makes his own breakfast (without using the stove) and
goes out for lunch or dinner with one of the boys. He fills his waking hours with reading the
newspaper (minimum 1 hour), watching daytime television (local news, Let’s Make
a Deal, etc.) and taking a long afternoon nap.
Post-dinner, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy round out the evening. By 8 o’clock p.m., he’s getting ready for
bed. And to make sure he didn’t starve
while I was out of town, I presented him with a bag of giant marshmallows – one
of his favorite treats – prior to my departure.
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| Elliott eats a marshmallow. |
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