We went to visit Christina in the Big Apple this weekend, trading ADK mountains and trees for concrete, steel and glass pillars. I love both views. Greg came along, somewhat enthusiastically (or not). We drove down, parked and took the Hudson line to Grand Central. Greg has embraced the retired lifestyle, actually driving in the far right lane and within 10 miles of the speed limit. He says that’s all my car can handle but I think he was postponing arrival as NYC is not his favorite city. Seeing Christina is apparently worth any discomfort to this world traveler.
We had such a nice time. Friday was very hot, 94 degrees in mid-May. After checking in we sought shade and refreshment at Dos Caminos, which became dinner and drinks and catching up. Christina is in her second year of grad school in the Weill Cornell Pharmacology department. She ❤️’s NY “big-time”; the allure to a 24 year old is obvious. We had dessert, with drinks, at Lexington Brass, right next to our midtown hotel. The baked s’mores were amazing, far and away more delectable than the campfire version, and better with a Tempranillo. Saturday was cool and cloudy. We met Christina for breakfast at Corrado’s on the Upper East Side, near her room. On either side of us were two large cranes working construction in the narrow streets. Meanwhile, construction workers were getting parking tickets as their heads were pointed skyward, absorbed with work. After tea and croissants we visited the Frick, which I think is my new favorite art museum. The building itself is beautiful as it highlights the old masters within. We then meandered over to Central Park and watched the sailboats in the pond, after which we headed to the Guggenheim. Greg had never been there; we were married over 10 years before I found out he enjoyed art and museums; who knew? The art there is mostly post impressionist and abstract but there was at least one representative piece of each impressionist, Manet, Monet, Degas, Pizarro, etc. Picasso is highlighted. There was an exhibit of agar with bacterial swabs from Korea and Chinatown, as well as a giant ant colony circuit board. And of course, the 18 karat gold toilet, a “participatory” art installation. We stood in line to “participate” and art imitated life as expected. Following our “cultural infusion”, we went to lunch at The Smith. Boozy Brunch is a big thing in NY so we tried to fit in with the locals with admirable results. Afterwards Greg went to take a nap, Christina to her room to take a break from parental overload, and I went ‘walking’, aka ‘shopping’. We met up again at Union Fare near Union Square for drinks with Christina’s friend Rachel, then onto Park Ave Spring for a wine tasting dinner, again, delicious and enjoyable. I wore my new shoes which I scored at Macy’s in the zoo otherwise known as their shoe department.
Sunday morning we went to St Patrick’s Cathedral for Mass; the Cantor had an amazing voice and the organ music was majestic. We headed over to Chelsea for breakfast including beignets, followed by some golf practice at the driving range at Chelsea Piers. We meandered the paths along the Hudson on this sunny day and even napped a bit on the grass, the three of us spread out in picnic crime scene fashion. After sleeping off the rest of the previous night’s hangover, we headed up to the Ninth St food festival, opting for lunch in an open air restaurant, Arial, over the street food. I loved the tuna tartare, and Greg resolved to perfect his own carbonara recipe upon finishing his lunch. We headed back to the hotel, exhausted from all the walking and Christina went home to do some lab work (or, I suspect, she needed more parental break time). We met up at Sojourn in the Upper East Side for our final gourmet meal and just a little more wine. We saw Christina back to her building and we called it a night.
The parks and paths in NYC are amazing and there’s construction everywhere; the city is continually changing and growing and is vibrant with people and noise and life. We had a great time, even Greg says so. We’re heading back to the woods and mountains and lakes but we’ll be back, for sure, after we burn off the calories and refill our wallets.
My new reality 