I just got back from New York City. I feel like such a jet setter.
Speaking of jets, I noticed three kinds of passengers on those Montreal New York flights: the business people, the Jewish couples going shopping for spouses for their offspring and then the socialites who go shopping period. You know the kind of tiny woman, nipped and tucked, loaded with jewelry, wearing the latest fashion, carrying signature bags…
I could not believe one of them at the airport, I watched her preen for hours. At one point I dozed off and she was still at it when I woke up. From what I saw on the fifth avenue, she is not the only one to indulge in such activities.
I had been to the big apple before but never on my own and always for very brief stays so I had no sense of the city, of its layout. This time, although again for a short stay, I got to walk and explore a lot more.
I was staying in a lovely area, close to Central park yet with a view of the Hudson River, called the upper west side. It is a quiet neighborhood, but is close to the Museum mile as well as lots of shops and restaurants. This is where John Lennon used to live and was assassinated (hard to believe still…)
As I was a bit intimidated by the subway at first, I decided to walk through Central Park to get to the Metropolitan Museum. On my way I stopped at the Museum of Natural History and the Planetarium. The place was packed with kids, as it was a school holiday. I must have been too tired or too cold to really enjoy it.
But I made up for it at the Met. I chose to visit the costume section and the impressionist section. A very “girly” choice, but that is the beauty of traveling alone, you can do anything you want without having to justify yourself! I loved the costumes display; they had beautiful old gowns as well as very avant-garde pieces. Too bad they did not have more… The European paintings halls have a nice collection of Monet, Manet, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, Renoir and Degas. It feels nice to recognize some pieces. I guess the various exhibits I have visited over the years have stayed with me, such as the Monet exhibit in Raleigh.
I had planned to visit the Moma (museum of modern art) but got my days mixed up and it was closed so I visited the museum shop and then continued walking until I reached Fifth Avenue. Once there, I decided to go in St Patrick’s. I had never been and was impressed. Its proportions are exquisite; the blues in the windows are almost as intense as Chartres. I even got to listen to organ music and some singing as a service was starting.
After a while of this I crossed over to Rockefeller center to have a look at the famous skating rink and its unexpected water fountain.
I was delighted to see that Saks Fifth avenue was right there calling me in…what a spectacular store! I rode the escalators to the top floor and then slowly back down. Everything was so colorful and gorgeous! I even had my make up done by a lovely girl who wrote down one of my recipes while she worked. I felt very elegant when I walked out.
So elegant, that I decided to strut my stuff for 40 blocks. All the way up to the Guggenheim museum!! The apartments along the park are so elegant, with doormen, just like in the movies. I even saw dog walkers with up to six pooches, each wearing a different designer outfit! (most of them do not pick up…so you have pretty messy sidewalks….)
I had memories of visiting this museum when I was fifteen on my first visit to New York. The circular staircase had made me dizzy back then. This time, unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to try it out as the museum was under construction; only two rooms were open. In a way it was just as well as you took your time to look at each picture. I must confess that I do not understand abstract art but can still appreciate it. There were several Picassos from different periods in the second room.
I had booked a walking food tour in the lower east side for the next day. Not quite China Town nor Little Italy, this area is part Jewish and part everything else. We started in Essex Market, where a meat stand owner, called Jefferey, entertained us. I found him to be quite obnoxious and when he handed us his business card at the end of his schpiel…this feeling was confirmed. The card reads:
“ Who fucked up the order
Emergency restaurant supply
We will save your ass”
(He only caters to restaurant in emergencies because only then are they willing to pay cash…)
Next we visited a cheese shop where the young salesman told us that he had been studying French literature in Paris when he got the “calling”. Was it a cheese calling or a more general food one?…the story does not say… but the samples he offered were very good.
Our next stop was a chocolate maker, her confections were not particularly nice looking but they were tasty!! She explained that she uses all kinds of liquor and spices in her truffles. One of the more unusual flavor comes from something called: “grains of paradise” (I goggled it and here is what I found:
“From West Africa. A New York Times article written by Amanda Hesser has popularized grains of paradise. She wrote, “I put a few between my teeth and crunched. They cracked like coriander releasing a billowing aroma, and then a slowly intensifying heat, like pepper at the back of my mouth. The taste changes in a second. The heat lingered. But the spice flavor was pleasantly tempered, ripe with flavors reminiscent of jasmine, hazelnut, butter and citrus, and with the kind of oiliness you get from nuts. They were entirely different from black peppercorns and in my mind, incomparably better.”)
After the market, we hit the streets and visited a donut factory, a bagel bakery, a pickle place, a coffee roaster and a gelato bar. It was a fun way to explore a new area but the guide was not that good. He had little to say and his voice did not carry…Next time I will try a different company and area…
My trip was drawing to an end…so I HAD to re-visit Times Square! It is still the busy, gaudy, noisy place that it always was…still full of energy… but I was happy to return to my quiet neighborhood afterwards.
This trip flew by and left me wanting more… I had great weather, it was cold but so dry that it was quite bearable and the sky was such a bright blue! It is strange to have cold without snow…but I can only imagine how pretty central park must be in spring…and summer…and fall….
