Please Ride Along with Us !

As you can see, we have now gotten back from five nights in New York and then a sudden trip to Washington, D.C. for a funeral.  We were gone for 8 days.  This might have been one of best trips we have taken!  Very few annoying or outright ugly things happened.  Although DC was a bit sad, the Irish have a way of sending off their passing souls with glory and good cheer. 

Day One:  We arrived with Jim & Linda Palmer on Monday afternoon at LaGuardia and took a Ford Hybrid Taxi which, 6 blocks from our hotel, decided to stop in the middle of traffic.  Just stopped.  The beginning of our fear of taxis started here.  More along those lines later!  We jumped into another cab.  There were plenty available.

Our hotel room was great!  WE traded in our Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare points for two rooms on 57^th Street between 6^th and 7^th Ave., right down the Street from the Russian Tea Room and Carnegie Hall.  Our room had a terrace view toward Central Park from the 21^st floor.   

Of importance to the guys was the fact that we were only two blocks from Central Park where they walked each morning to see the dogs!  No chained ones!

We enjoyed dinner at the famous Club 21 that evening.  We had some great food and enjoyed the ambiance immensely. Little boy toys hung from the ceiling (trucks, etc) t was a former speakeasy. After dinner we saw “The Newsical”, a parody of today's news and it was funny, not as good as the Capital Steps, but very funny, nevertheless.

Day 2 started with a “Big Onion” tour of Harlem where we were initially entertained with musical Broadway numbers by a street entertainer man who was wonderful!  Such a great voice!  Did you hear him?  His volume was amazing.  We spent two hours walking through central Harlem absorbing the history of this area.  I liked it a lot but most people were giving it a C since she did not discuss the Harlem Renaissance or the architecture in depth but there is only so much you can discuss in two hours.

We then journeyed to the City of New York Museum on East 103^rd Street where many exhibits were closed due to renovation but we saw a movie "History of the City" and saw some interior design work of Colonial Revival houses.  We had lunch in Harlem at Aunt Maude’s featuring fried chicken and spoon bread and corn bread.   It was beginning to rain this afternoon and Jim bought us some high quality $2.98 umbrellas! I shall not forget stepping out of the cab into a river of rainwater certainly ankle high.  I laughed until I thought I was going to die laughing.  The next cab incident had us petrified.  First of all he picked us up in Manhattan and Livery cabs are limited to Harlem but we were in Manhattan.  Next he only had heat available, no air conditioning.  We were stifling hot.  Then to top it all off he could not see out of the window due to the indoor fog!!  He was taking our lives in his hands as we zoomed down 5^th Ave.  We finally asked him to please pull over and we got out with our lives.

Perhaps the best evening we had was Day 2’s enjoyment of “Anything Goes,” with music by Cole Porter.  It was DE-delightful and DE-lovely and "the tops" in entertainment.  Dinner was post-theater and shown here was my treat of the day (mile high lemon meringue pie).

Day 3 started with a look at Broadway behind the scenes and helped us appreciate the true American contribution to art which includes Jazz and the American Musical. After seeing “Anything Goes,” we were alert to the history of this type of production. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable and an actor in his own right.He got an A from all of us. 

We then walked over to the Photography museum and loved seeing that.  From there we went to Rockefeller Plaza for our view from the Top of the Rock – tickets were purchased weeks ago. But just as we were entering the elevators, they evacuated everyone saying nothing as to what was going on.  We later learned a man was trying to jump!    This night we relaxed while the Palmers took in Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center.

Day 4.  Eataly oh Eataly, one of my new favorite spots in New York!   Rows upon rows of fresh vegetables, sit-down restaurants, gelato booths, fresh pasta stands, all wrapped up like dozens of farmer’s markets all under one roof!  Plus the best lasagna ever. Too bad we didn't bring a truck with us so we could have bought more!  The New Yorkers in Manhattan are so lucky to have this near them.

My next favorite spot was the Tenement museum (no photos allowed).  We had visited the museum before,  listening to the journey of an Irish family. This time we took the melting pot tour which featured true stories of two immigrant families in one tiny tenement apartment.  It was done so well. I got a couple of books and feel pulled to know more about the immigrant story each time I go.

We then met a personal guide who took us on the longest tour of Brooklyn ever invented, exploring streets from Prospect Park to the Promenade's fab views of Manhattan,to well, just about every inch.  We ate vegetarian food in Brooklyn which was nothing to write home about, but replenished us after nearly 8 miles of walking!  Brooklyn's history is so rich, from Truman Capote to Winston Churchill's mother who was American. 

 

Day 5 we bussed up to the Upper West Side to search for H&H Bagels which is no longer in the spot we thought. So we bought fresh and hot bagels, cream cheese and jam at Zabar’s and ate breakfast-lunch at Starbuck’s across the street!  Then we took another bus to the Upper East Side to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and were impressed even with their street art vendors.  After yesterday’s foot-tiring tour we decided to limit ourselves to 90 minutes here.  This night, our last in New York, we chose to eat at One If by Land and Two If By Sea, located near Washington Square in the Village.  Why?  Several years ago, when we first met the Palmers, we told them we had booked this restaurant for my birthday dinner in Manhattan.  Amazingly, they had just eaten there on their last trip to the city.  We just had to go together this time!  We did get lost but when I asked a man to help us he literally escorted us to the restaurant!  It was wonderful. 

 

 

Day 6/7/8 We came back from New York via the Charlotte airport on Saturday.  Then the next day we drove up to Washington and stayed at a Homestead Suite in Rockville which was ok but not great.  We continued eating (not good for the diet) as though we were on vacation so if you hear a scream in your house tomorrow it is me getting on the scale!  (update -- I am 7 pounds heavier but enjoyed every bite!) The next day we met my cousin John and his family at the church and the services were certainly moving.  John’s eulogy was superb and even humorous!  We chatted with my cousin, Michael, and others we had not seen in a long time including the new baby, Kaylynn, and Joe’s wife, Ashley.  Here we are at Limerick’s for a celebratory luncheon including Irish songs in memory of Mary Nelligan who lived to be 101 years old.   I am trying to wave, not block myself out. 

Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible including my wonderful husband Patrick and Jim who did all the planning.  I feel like I just had to show up.  And thanks to the ChainFree crew who were proactive and took care of things while I was gone.  And of course, thanks to Sandy who took care of the dogs.  We are home now.   Life is good, as they say on the bumper sticker.