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Tuesday, October 2, 2012 – Back to Blogging

I’m not quite sure what triggered my recent break from blogging.  It just didn’t seem like much was happening, except for the change in season.  In any event, I’m glad to be back at the keyboard.  A quick recap of the past week and a half follows. 

Celebrating Orly Day at Mon Ami Gabi (9/25/12)

On September 25, Elliott and I celebrated Orly Day, marking the start of our 30^th year together.  If you want the full story of how we met each other at Orly Airport in Paris, you’ll have to read the book.  (Portrait of Elliott, the story I wrote about Elliott’s life, remains unpublished, at Elliott’s request.  However, I’m planning to start writing another book, this one about our life in France from my perspective, and it will definitely include this romantic tale.)  Rather than flying off to Paris this year to celebrate, we went to lunch at a French restaurant in Reston, Mon Ami Gabi, where we feasted on classic French bistro fare:  steak frites and crème brulée.  The early fall weather was ideal, cool and sunny with a vivid blue sky, reminiscent of that fateful day in 1983 that changed the course of our lives.

Elliott has been getting stronger everyday, and he was certain that he was ready for a trek up to New York with me last Thursday.  We took the DC Tripper bus from Arlington, which gave us a tour through DC our way out of town, through the exclusive sections of Georgetown and then up Wisconsin Avenue, through Tenleytown, Friendship Heights and Bethesda.  This part of the journey stimulated some fanciful thinking about selling our house and moving into a condo where stores, metro and restaurants are within walking distance.  It’s certainly something to consider when we return.  But first, there was New York City to explore. 

We spent the first two days visiting Elisa and Christian on the Lower East Side. Actually, they were both working so we were left on our own during the day.  On Friday, while Elliott stayed on the Lower East Side, I joined my friend Gale for a rain-soaked morning walk through the Village.  Seeing Washington Square Park again brought back memories of my much younger days, i.e. the late 1960s, when I’d take the train into the city from Long Island and hang around the fountain, listening to guitar players, engulfed in a haze of marijuana smoke.  So much has changed since then.  

Our lunch destination was Taim, also one of Gale’s discoveries.  It’s a hole-in-the-wall falafel join on Waverly Place in the West Village.  We went specifically to try the Sabich (fried eggplant slices, various salads, hummus, and a hard-boiled egg, all stuffed into a pita).  They also have three different kinds of falafel.  Cash only, worth the trip.  With full bellies, we boarded the subway for a jaunt to the wilds of Brooklyn, new territory for both of us:  Dumbo (under the bridge), Brooklyn Heights, and Park Slope – all non-touristy areas, perfect for leisurely exploration.  

One of the biggest attractions of Lower East Side is the food.  I couldn’t leave without a stop at one my favorite snack places, Prosperity Dumpling on Clinton Street between Rivington and Stanton where $1.50 buys a quartet of veggie dumplings.  Thursday night’s dinner at Antibes Bistro, Friday night’s dinner at Souvlaki, and Saturday lunch at Remedy Diner on Houston – all within a few blocks of Elisa and Christian’s apartment – what a great neighborhood!  

A hour-long drive north brought us to a completely different world, Westchester County, where we spent two days with my brother and sister-in-law.  After a quiet Saturday evening, I spent a lovely Sunday morning lying in bed, looking up through the skylight as night slowly yielded to day.  Over the last few weeks, I’ve learned to treasure this early morning time when I awaken and allow myself the luxury of staying in bed these extra minutes, slipping in and out of sleep, harvesting dreams. 

Art was on the agenda for Sunday.  After a harrowing ride (thanks to my brother’s driving!) up the New York State Thruway and some winding mountain roads, we arrived at StormKing, a vast outdoor sculpture park.  I can’t adequately describe the effect of the massive modern sculpture so fully integrated into a beautiful natural landscape of over 500 acres.  It seemed like a playground for the gods.  It was impossible to take in all of the art, but I discovered exciting work by Henry Moore, David Smith, Mark de Suvero, Alex Liberman, Louise Nevelson, Maya Lin and many other artists.  On the day of our visit, puffy white clouds were creating changing forms in the intense blue sky and the maple trees were just starting to turn red.  I’d love to go back to Storm King, to experience it in every season. 

And then it was Monday, and time to return home.  Elliott amazed me by insisting that we walk from Grand Central Station to Penn Station (over a mile, with luggage), where we picked up our bus back to Virginia.  He certainly put to rest all of my doubts about his ability to travel.