East Side, West Side: The Thompsons in New York

June 24, 2014 – East Side, West Side: The Thompsons in New York

Elliott and Marshall on Delancey Street on the Lower East Side

Elisa and Christian’s delayed honeymoon gave Elliott and me an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.  We offered to “apartment-sit” for them, and thus became temporary New Yorkers, along with Marshall, who joined us for the trip.  Ensconced in a cozy Lower East Side flat for three nights, I lived out one of my fantasies, i.e. having a pied-a-terre in the city.  Shopping for over-priced groceries at Union Market at the corner of Houston and Avenue A, standing on the roof to watch the setting sun paint the clouds hovering over the skyscrapers, jostling my way through the Saturday afternoon crowds on the sidewalks of Soho – I loved all of it! 

The view from the roof on Ridge Street at sunset

 After making frequent visits to this LES neighborhood over the past couple of years, I’m beginning to feel like I have a second home.  In fact, I’ve developed certain rituals, such as take-out breakfast from Heaven’s Bagels on Houston and after-dinner waffles from Wafels and Dinges in the East Village, both of which I was delighted to share with Elliott.  But this trip brought many first-time experiences, as well.  One day, we explored the Upper West Side area near Columbia University, which was not at all what I expected.  A death-defying cab ride from the Lower East Side up the West Side Highway brought us to a quiet, leafy (thanks to Riverside Park) neighborhood full of residential buildings, shops and restaurants.  The biggest surprise was The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, an Episcopal Cathedral on Amsterdam Avenue (near W. 112^th Street) that is the largest cathedral in the world.  The building is still incomplete, more than 120 years after construction began.  The interior of the cathedral is breathtakingly beautiful, with a variety of stained glass windows and sculpture.  Two enormous dragons, a temporary installation by Chinese artist Xu Bing, added an additional note of vibrant color to the interior.  

One of Xu Bing's dragons in The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

From the Upper West Side, we made our way south (by cab, once again) to 9^th Avenue and 15^th Street.  This was my first visit to Chelsea Market and I can’t imagine why I had never ventured to this foodie-mecca before.  A friend had admonished us not to miss the lobster while we were there, so we headed straight to The Lobster Place.  I was expecting a little lunch counter, but it turned out to be so much more – a combination fish market, oyster bar, sushi bar, lobster shack, smoked salmon bazaar.  Elliott ordered a lobster roll, and since I couldn’t settle on just one thing to try, I was happy to get a slider sampler.  Although the crab cake, tarragon shrimp salad, and lobster – all on fresh mini brioche rolls – left me stuffed, I managed to slurp up a Maine oyster before we left.  

Enjoying a lobster roll at The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market

You would think that food would be the last thing on our minds after that seafood feast, but on the cab ride back to the apartment, I was already plotting a dinner strategy.  While Elliott napped, I strolled over to The Meatball Shop (on Stanton, near Allen) to pick up a take-out meal.  The Meatball Shop isn’t just for meat-lovers.  Veggie balls and chicken balls are available, too.  The restaurant’s concept allows you to customize your meal.  You order the type of balls (6 choices), the sauce you prefer (6 choices), what you’d like to put it over or next to (spaghetti, mashed potatoes, white beans, risotto, etc.), sides (6 different vegetables), and salads (6 different choices).  The only bad part is that you have to make a lot of decisions.  And for dessert, they offer 6 different kinds of cookies and 6 different kinds of ice cream, which they will make into ice cream sandwiches if you wish.  We had espresso ice cream on chocolate chip cookies.  It was a perfect dinner after a busy day – and all in the comfort of our own home-away-from-home.

The following day was devoted to the East Side of the city.  We started with a visit to the Norwegian Seamen’s Church, on East 52^nd Street between First and Second Avenues.  Elliott put this stop on our itinerary because his parents got married in the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in 1911.  However, at the time, it was located in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn where there was a large Norwegian community.  Today the church serves as a cultural center for Norwegian expats in New York, and offers concerts, language classes and other activities.  We spent over an hour there, sipping coffee, devouring heart-shaped Norwegian waffles, and chatting with a delightful young Norwegian woman who works at the center.  It was quite a coincidence that she comes from Frederikstad, the same town where Elliott’s mother’s family still lives.  

In the Norwegian Seamen's Church

 Afterwards, we sampled delicious New York pizza at a nearby restaurant (Angelo’s, on Second Avenue) before we scooted back down to the Lower East Side.  And in case you’re wondering, we took a cab again.  I generally use public transportation, but with Elliott’s walker, subways were out of the question and buses would have required too much walking.  While he took a post-lunch siesta back at the apartment, I took a long walk deep into Soho and did some shopping.  After a simple dinner back at “home,” we were all ready to stroll a few blocks over to Wafels and Dinges for dessert.  Their crispy, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth Liege-style waffles are irresistible.  I should have shared one with Elliott, but I got my own – with vanilla ice cream and Nutella.   

Getting ready for Belgian waffles at Wafels and Dinges

Like real New Yorkers, Elliott and I went out for Sunday brunch (while Marshall slept late).  I took him to Heaven’s Bagels, where instead of getting a bagel, he requested an apple turnover.  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.  This is a man who recently asked me to put mayonnaise on his corned beef sandwich.  In any case, we both really enjoyed our New York trip.  And on the way back home (on the Tripper bus), we were already discussing where to go for our next summer adventure. 

Confessions of a First Grade Ballet Dropout

June 17, 2014 – Confessions of a First Grade Ballet Dropout

I’ll freely admit it – I’ve always harbored a secret desire to be a dancer.  This is despite a less than stellar introduction to dance performance.  Let’s start with kindergarten.  Like many little girls in the 1950s, I took ballet lessons.  Old black and white photos of myself in my recital costume make me cringe.  It’s obvious that I didn’t have the physique or the talent.  Thankfully, I dropped out at the end of first grade.  (I can’t find the photos right now, and even if I could, I’d spare you the sight of them.  In fact, next time I come across them, I think I’ll burn them.) 

Thus began a phase of my life that lasted for several decades, during which time I never considered that I might have the ability to learn any form of dance.  The years from sixth grade through junior and senior high school were especially difficult.  In the early 1960s, I tried gyrating to the twist but never overcame my self-consciousness.  A streak of masochism led me to attend school dances where I was destined to be a perpetual wallflower.  (Of course, my lack of social skills didn’t help matters.)  My luck wasn’t any better at the socials held weekly at the summer camp I attended during my teens.  A new opportunity presented itself when I went away to college.  There, the omnipresent marijuana haze camouflaged whatever passed for “dancing.”  

In my late 20s, my latent desire to be a dancer began to emerge.  Given my track record with social dancing, I wasn’t about to embark on any type of dancing that required partners.  Instead, I chose two less familiar forms of dance:  classical Indian dance and belly dancing.  Needless to say, while I enjoyed the experience, I never attained performance level – not that I intended to be a performer. 

My next step into the world of dancing was a huge leap.  When I was working at “real” job in Boston in the early 1980s, I signed up for disco lessons with a friend (male).  To my surprise, I wasn’t half bad.  But I never used my skills in public since none of the men I subsequently dated had the slightest interest in disco dancing.  Not long after my foray into the world of disco, I got married, moved to France and had babies.  The only dancing I did for a while was to nursery rhymes. 

Hoping Elisa hadn’t inherited my dance gene, I enrolled her in a ballet class in Fayence soon after she learned to walk.  It turned out that she loved ballet and showed a real talent for it.  Ten years later, she decided to hang up her toe shoes, but her success inspired me to give dance another try.  This time, it was ballroom dancing.  Elliott and I signed up for a series of group lessons through the Fairfax County recreation department.  For six weeks, we stumbled through the waltz, foxtrot, and a few other forms of torture. Elliott claims that he was a good dancer in his younger days.  Perhaps he was.  All I remember is that there was a lot of snarling and swearing involved. 

After that experience, I gave up on dance again until I started paying attention to the way my Latin American students were dancing in the classroom.  When I heard the salsa music, I couldn’t keep still and they were more than happy to show me how to do the steps.  Thus began my love affair with salsa dancing.  Although I couldn’t convince Elliott to join me, I started going to a club in Arlington that gave salsa lessons.  Half a dozen lessons gave me the confidence to dance around the house, but I still haven’t put my skills to use in public. 

My focus now is less on learning to dance and more on becoming knowledgeable about dance.  This past year, I attended several dance performances (ballet and modern) at the Kennedy Center, George Mason University, and Wolftrap.  In addition, this summer, I’m taking a university class in dance appreciation.  In just a short time, my professor has helped me expand my understanding not only of the mechanics of dance but the varying roles of dance its cultural context.  We’ve read about and viewed dance that is an integral part of non-Western religions (the Yoruba, Hindus, and Sufis).  We’ve also learned about another type of dance, the “court” dances of Louis XIV, Ashanti chiefs, the Japanese imperial court, and Java, which are used to express and maintain the political structure.  It’s all fascinating, and there’s much more we’ll cover in the next few weeks. 

Who knows?  When the class ends, I might even sign up for ballet again! 

On the Road with ET

June 8, 2014 – On the Road with ET

Elliott and I just completed the first road trip of the “250 Miles or Less from Home” summer series.  Last Tuesday through Friday, along with Marshall and Debbie (who flew in from Texas), we explored a charming bit of territory that stretches from New Castle, Delaware, up through Wilmington, and into the Brandywine Valley in southern Pennsylvania.  While this area is not far from home, it was completely unfamiliar to me.  The highlight of our trip was our visit to Longwood Gardens.  Seemingly endless outdoor displays of flowers, trees and fountains, along with an extensive conservatory, kept us entranced for an entire day.  And since we were able to rent a motorized scooter for Elliott, he was able to enjoy the full Longwood experience.  

Elliott with Debbie and Marshall

The fountain show at Longwood Gardens

Unbelievably beautiful orchids in the conservatory

Topiary, too!

In addition, we visited the Brandywine River Museum in nearby Chadds Ford where we saw portraits, landscapes, still lifes and genre scenes (scenes of everyday life) by several Brandywine artists from the 18^th through 20^th centuries, including William Trost Richards, Daniel Garber, and Edward Redfield, Horace Pippin, Howard Pyle (many extremely detailed historical paintings), and Rose O'Neill.  Not surprisingly, however, the museum focuses on the work of three generations of the Wyeth family.  I found it very interesting to see N.C. Wyeth’s evocative illustrations for Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, since I recently read Nancy Horan’s novel, Under a Wide and Starry Sky, based on the author’s life.  (By the way, it’s an excellent book, and it examines closely the relationship between Lewis and his wife, Fanny Osbourne.)   

An N.C. Wyeth illustration for Treasure Island

 Of course, many of Andrew Wyeth’s well-known paintings were on display – his technical skills using egg tempera were quite impressive.  But I’m also glad I had a chance to see some of his watercolors where the subjects were woods and ponds.  These works, done from the 1950s through the 1990s, had a much freer feel.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photo of Andrew Wyeth's work. Jamie Wyeth, the youngest family member, was represented as well.  His paintings and drawings of the late ballet superstar Rudolf Nureyev were full of color and passion.   

Rudolf Nureyev by Jamie Wyeth

 A temporary exhibit at the museum showed examples of folk art by Wilhelm Schimmel, a somewhat eccentric individual who is best known for his sculptures of angry birds (see below).

The original "angry birds" by Wilhelm Schimmel

 In Wilmington, we toured the Hagley Museum, located on the land where French immigrant E.I. du Pont established his original gunpowder factory in the early 1800s.  Although he was the main supplier of gunpowder during the War of 1812, the company he founded was in debt for much of the 19^th century.  We were able to tour the old stone buildings, mills, barns, and the family’s mansion on the property.  It was fascinating to learn about the history of the du Pont family and about the developments in industrial technology during the 19^th century. 

In New Castle, we walked the cobblestone streets of the colonial-era old town and saw a plaque near the waterfront identifying the spot where William Penn first landed.  (I think Philadelphia would probably dispute this claim.)  We learned another interesting bit of American history in New Castle, thanks to posters advertising festivities for the upcoming Separation Day celebration.  This is a holiday of double independence.  In addition to declaring their independence from Britain in June of 1776, three counties in southern Pennsylvania declared that they were forming the separate state of Delaware.  

On the streets of Old New Castle, Delaware

As soon as we got home from our trip, the final piece of granite countertop was installed in the kitchen.  I’ve already given the kitchen a pretty good workout and I’m very pleased with the look and the functionality of the new space.  Great job, Elliott!