Tag: New York City

New York City

Manhattan is always fascinating to visit, and this time was no exception. I came to attend the Mystery Writers of America national board meeting but arrived a day early to take in the sights. Since it was cold out and we were hungry, we began our sojourn at Hale & Hearty Soups.

P1040067  P1040068

Thursday afternoon, we roamed around Fifth Avenue, stopping in one of the clothing shops. It was impossible to try on anything while wearing four layers of clothes against the 20 degrees plus temperature outside. We wandered on to grab pizza for a quick dinner before seeing Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld theater. It was a fun, lively performance with a feel-good vibe.

P1040075 P1040079

P1040083IMG_1176

On Friday, we ate breakfast at a local deli, getting our fill of nova salmon and cream cheese on a bagel. Then we took a taxi to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here we started at the Egyptian exhibit, enthralled by the replicas of tombs where we felt like Indiana Jones.

P1040092  P1040093

P1040100P1040099

P1040110  P1040116

P1040112P1040118

Downstairs was a special costume exhibit called “Death Becomes Her” about ritual mourning outfits in earlier centuries. Somber music played throughout, enhancing the mood. Besides clothing, mourning jewelry like I mention in my book, Died Blonde, was displayed. People used to include hair from their departed loved ones in these brooches and such.

P1040120  P1040124

P1040122  P1040125

We ate lunch at one of the museum cafés overlooking Central Park. The trees were bare this time of year but the cold didn’t deter people from walking the paths there. After lunch, we headed to the Asian section after breezing through the Medieval wing. This area on the second floor wasn’t nearly as popular as others. We breezed through, already tired of looking at statuary.

IMG_1192  P1040136

Next we stopped by the European artists to see works by famous painters. We got too tired to continue and left the museum. However, we were unable to resist grabbing hot dogs at a Sabrett food stand outside. A lineup of food trucks provided many choices.

IMG_1198  IMG_1195

P1040095IMG_1200

For more photos, visit my Facebook Page to view the album.

 

New York City: The Food

New York City: The Food

You can’t go to New York City without experiencing some of life’s best dining. The first night, we ate at the Fig and Olive. For appetizers, we got a bowl of olives and a mushroom dish that was heavenly. Our main meal was salmon with side dishes that were fairly meager. Don’t expect big portions here. The restaurant was crowded so we were glad we’d made a reservation.

P1030286  P1030291

P1030292   P1030294

Friday morning, we ate breakfast at Carnegie Deli. My daughter had a smoked salmon platter with a bagel and I had a boloney and egg omelet.

P1030306 P1030303

After spending half the day at the museum, we ate lunch at one of the Le Pain restaurants where you get served. We got like an appetizer platter of cheeses and such and nibbled from it for our meal.

P1030342

Friday night was dinner with the mystery writers’ gang at Sammy’s Noodle Shop.

P1030353

Saturday, I dined alone with the MWA folks at Bobby Van’s Grill. The filet mignon and side dishes were excellent.

P1030368   P1030363

On Sunday, we grabbed a bite to eat on our stroll to Rockefeller Center, shared a hot dog from a food vendor on Broadway, stopped in to the Hershey store to buy chocolate to bring home, checked out the Cellar at Macy’s, and had lunch in Lord & Taylor.

IMG_0530   P1030316

Their tomato soup was delicious, and it paired very well with a grilled cheese sandwich. Again, we were too weary and burdened down by our heavy coats to want to shop. I hated that part when I lived up north: dressing for the cold weather and dying from the heat when you went inside. I love the South, where you can run outside in short-sleeves for most of the year.

We bought croissants and Danish at Grand Central Station and a piece of chocolate layer cake at the Strip House to bring home.

P1030298

Temptation abounds with the best looking pastries in New York wherever you go, cupcakes and crumb nuts (square donuts), fresh breads, and more. You could get fruits and vegetables at many of the markets, but I think we do better in Florida in this regard, at least in winter. I really liked the Hale & Hearty soup places in New York. That’s great for cold weather, not so much for their heat waves in the summer. So if you go to New York, leave room in your suitcase to bring home some treats.

P1030387  P1030386

Dinner on Sunday was New York pizza at John’s Pizzeria, just down the street from the Minskoff Theatre where we needed to go to see The Lion King. The medium size was more than adequate for both of us.

P1030409  P1030407

Finally, we left on Monday and ate breakfast at the airport. All that walking helped when I got on the scale at home. I’d only gained one pound. Now it’s back to a healthier diet.

View all the photos here: http://fw.to/00nuTlP

New York City: The Sights

New York City: The Sights

Recently I went to New York for orientation as incoming President of the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. This job also put me on the national Board of Directors. Friday night, I met the other chapter presidents and at-large directors as we mingled at the Mysterious Bookshop and enjoyed dinner together at Sammy’s Noodle Shop. The next day was filled with one long meeting where we learned about the organization and more about our roles. I found the sessions interesting and informative. A delicious dinner at Bobby Van’s Grill followed.

P1030348   P1030349

P1030363 P1030357

The rest of the time was spent sightseeing. On Friday, we ate breakfast at Carnegie Deli. It was snowing! Thank goodness for my inherited mink coat. I wouldn’t have been warm enough otherwise.

Then we took a cab over to the American Museum of Natural History. Standing across from Central Park, I admired the wintry view.

IMG_0498 P1030309

P1030311   IMG_0503

Jacket-length outerwear doesn’t work in this cold climate. You need a coat that covers your butt. I also wore a knit cap, gloves, and a cashmere scarf. Plus three layers underneath. The only problem was the heat that hit when you went inside a building. Four layers went on and off so often that I hurt my shoulder.

More on the museum exhibits later. My next free day was Sunday, so we strolled outside to see some of the main sights. It wasn’t our first visit to NY so we could skip all the places we’d already seen and just soak in the atmosphere. We sniffed roasted chestnuts and pretzels as we walked along.

We viewed the skaters at Rockefeller Center and nearby Radio City.

P1030369    P1030370

Then we walked over to Times Square.

P1030374   P1030378

We had to visit Macy’s with its nine floors but were too exhausted and hungry to go shopping. From here we walked to Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue and had lunch. The NY Public Library makes an impressive sight.

P1030388   P1030396

Then we dipped into Grand Central Station to watch the people scurrying to make their trains and to visit the food markets.

P1030401 P1030398

That night, we saw The Lion King. The costumes were spectacular. The way the actors depict the animals was fantastic. It’s a show worth seeing if you can meet the steep cost.

P1030382 P1030413

New York is always fascinating, from the architecture to the eateries, to the jumble of people, and even to the trash waiting for curbside pickup. Steam issues from vents, trucks rumble by, taxi drivers honk their horns. It’s a maelstrom of humanity, but one you can never get tired of joining.

Yet it sure was nice to return home to the quieter life with palm trees, green grass, and balmy breezes. However, I’d better not put away that fur coat. It’s supposed to go down into the forties here. The good thing about our cold spells is that they don’t last long.

View all my photos here: http://fw.to/00nuTlP