View From Lebreton

Our Month in New York

General

1.  New York is incredible.  Have already discussed if we will do the same next year!

2.  Many of our activities have been governed by the weather.  Was chilly the first 10 days, with some rain!

2.  The easy life with no rush because we are here for month, means we always get a late start, and do normally one major thing in a day, not 2.

3.  Every 2^nd restaurant in NYC is Italian with 50% of the remaining selling thin crust pizza.

4.  We could eat every night, for a year, in a different restaurant within a 15 minute walk of the apartment and still not do them all!

5.  No matter where you eat, the food is so good!!!!!

4.  In most reasonable cost restaurants the cost of 3 glasses of wine equals the cost of a bottle, coupled with we don’t have to drive, so guess what?????

3.  Every Sat/Sun is brunch between 12:00 and 4:00 with most including all the Bloody Marys and Mimosas you can drink!  We don’t have to drive so guess what!!

5.  It is true, the city never sleeps.

6.  Between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM if you are not careful on the streets you will be run over by a delivery guy on a bike.  All restaurants deliver, no one cooks!!!

9.  Averaging 5/6 miles a day walking!

10. Interesting enough we have become accustomed to, what we would never accept in Ottawa, arriving at a restaurant with a reservation and having to wait 15 min for our table;  being crammed into a small table with people 1/2 arms length away; and a very high noise level.

The Diary

Day 1 –Arrived at  LaGuardia Airport; car service to 167 Lexington Avenue, at 31^st Street, new address; explore new neighbourhood,  enjoyed Happy Hour drink at Lalisse (every restaurant/bar in NYC has a happy hour between 4 and 7); Dinner at Belvedere (what else, an Italian restaurant) great risotto!!!

Day 2 – Walk down to  Union Square, 14^th Street;  Brunch at Steak Frites, a bistro type; get Simm card with phone with includes unlimited call to Canada; Melissa arrival – Shopping at Food Emporium for groceries,  – Dinner at Vezzo, the very, very popular pizza restaurant across the street, there is ALWAYS  a line!

Day 3 – Most of the day on tour of Brooklyn; very late lunch at Junior’s in Brooklyn, supposedly best cheesecake in NYC.  It may just be!!!  Have become New Yorkers, dinner comes from the Deli, down the street.

Day 4 – Explore the Upper West Side -Fort Tryon- Cloisters Museum, around 190^th Street, then  120^th to 96^th  Columbia University, Church St-John Divine , lunch at the Restaurant (where Jerry, Elaine, George and Cramer went), a little of Central Park; dinner at Le Parisien, a French bistro, close to home.

Day 5 – Breakfast at the Murray Hill Diner, begin exploring Upper East Side, visit the Guggenheim (Japanese Gutai art), have first street hot dog; then the Frick Museum (incredible collection) – Drinks in Greenwich at University Pub with Melissa and  dinner at the Comedy Cellar.

Day 6 – Visit to Lower East Side; the Tenement Museum and the Eldridge Museum, explore Chinatown and dinner in Little Italy, Lunella (there are better places to have Italian food in NYC then Little Italy); walk through NoSo (north Of Soho)!

Day 7 – Breakfast at Le Chef, near to us;  compete Upper West Side between 57th and 89^th,  Columbus Avenue, Amsterdam Ave,  lunch at Parpadella (Italian, what else); Riverside Park;  finished with a night at Opera (Giulio Cesare) at Lincoln Center.

Day 8 – Visit Union Square Farmer’s Market;  brunch in Greenwich Village; Jack’s Bistro, explore Greenwich and West Villages;- dinner at Bhatti Indian Grill with Melissa, all three agree it is the best Indian food we have ever had!!!!!

Day 9 – Brunch at le Parisien, only time we have returned to same restaurant, and brunch is different than dinner, explore Murray Hill.  Have forgotten where we ate dinner.

Day 10 – Begin to explore Brooklyn, Brooklyn Park, the Promenade and lunch in Brooklyn Heights at Happy Days Diner.  Out for dinner, at Lincoln’s Centre jazz club, -Dizzy’s and saw Claire Martin.

Day 11 – Boat tour from midtown -Pier 78 on west side to midtown on east side and back.   – NYC skyline.  Explore Chelsea and lunch at the Frying Pan on Pier 66.  In the evening, the review, Old Jews Telling Jokes – dinner at Le Marseille, Hell’s Kitchen.

Day 12 – Breakfast at Penelopes, close to us (there is always a line and can understand why!) It’s raining so a day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Get about ½ way through.  We will have to find time to get back.  Dinner at Sapori – hum …. Let see another Italian !!!

Day 13 – Walked the High Line, (park built on abandoned elevated railway track).  Visit Chelsea Pier, saw a hockey game, and hit golf balls into Hudson River.   Lunch in Tribeca – Kava and explore the Meatpacking District and more of Chelsea, visit Chelsea Market, dinner at Trattoria de l’Art across from Carnegie Hall and then saw the pianist, Yuja Wang.  Great evening!

Day 14 – Explore the east Village and more of Lower East side. Tompkins Park, St -Marks Church, Orchard Street.   Have lunch at Katz’s, 100 year old Deli – Great corn beef.  Try to convince the Manager/Owner that the corn beef at Oscar’s in Winnipeg might be better.  As it turns out, he has been there, so half laughs at me.  Go to watch the Sens vs the Penguins at Third and Long Pub and then dinner at Cinema Café.

Day 15 –Yankee Stadium and watch the Yankees manhandle the Blue Jays.  Dinner at Dolcino on 2nd Avenue.

Day 16 – Raining… Brunch at Eats – Upper  East Side.  Pass on the Bloody Mary’s, it is going to be a long day. Visit the Whitney Museum of American Modern Art.   Then the Mozart – Chamber Music Concert at the Lincoln Centre.  So great!  Thai for dinner at NYThai!

Day 17 – Great weather, so time to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  – Lunch at the famous Grinaldi’s Pizzaria.  Early, so beat the line, agree with couple across from us that Pizza at 11:45 is better than standing in line.  Pizza is not that great.  It is better across the street from our apartment.  But it is Grinaldi’s and by the time we leave, there is a long line.  Explore the rest of Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).  Return to Manhattan on the East River Ferry which makes a stop at 34th street.  Dinner with friends, Mike and Cindy, who are visiting NYC, at the Atlantic Grill -Upper East Side.

Day 18 – Nice day!  It is time to do our tour of Central Park, by pedi bike, to see all the sites where movies were filmed.  Lunch is at the Plaza, and then visit the stores of 5^th Avenue including Saks where Monique has a credit.  Dinner is with Melissa and Derek, at the famous steak restaurant – Delmonico’s, in Financial District.

Day 19 – Third visit to Brooklyn.  First to explore Williamsburg North, up and coming trendy area, enjoy a breakfast bagel at BagelSmith and a coffee at Fabianes and then to Williamsburg South, home a large Hasidic community.  As time is ticking, we then return to the Financial District, to see Wall Street, the NY Stock Market, the Federal Reserve of NY.  Early dinner at Fraunces Tavern, one of the few so so meals we have had and then listen to hockey.  Poor Sens!

Day 20 – A day off, Monique takes train to New Rochelle to visit with old friend Doris Chang.  I work on this mini diary!  On way back from Grand central have breakfast at Blooms Café.  Incredible coffee.  At night, dinner theatre “How To Be a New Yorker”

Day 21 – Raining and Cold!!!!  Spend the day at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).  Very good!!!!! In the evening, we return to Bhatti Grill with Melissa and Derek.  Once again, the best Indian food in the world!  Coffee and carrot cake at Penelopes.  Missed the Sens game!!!  Maybe a good thing!  Penguins had too much fire power!  Still they had a great season!!!!

Day 22 – Gave up today!!!  Rainy and colder.  Went to Blooms Diner for breakfast as had promised Monique that it was the best coffee in NYC.  As it turned out, it not so hot on Sat.  Then went to the movies – the new Star Trek!  Forced ourselves to go out for dinner and good thing we did.  Lucien’s, a french bistro, in the East Village.  Decided we had to try something different!  Monique has the rabbit, me the scallops.  Incredible food.  So so good.  Too cold, so didn’t do the walk home, took a taxi!

Day 23 – Good weather has finally returned.  We were late geting going but then took off for Staten Island, by ferry, of course.  Explored the island at little and many things were closed.  Didn’t see much evidence of Sandi but apparently there is a lot!  Had lunch at, what else, an Italian restaurant Pier 76 and then returned by ferry.  A little shopping at Macys and then dinner with Melissa at Jimmys BBQ, in the neigbourhood.

Day 24 – Perfect sunny weather.  Memorial Day!!!  What else but Coney Island!!!!!  Plan was to go early and come back early to beat the crowd which worked a little.  Explored a little, had some fried clams and then walked the Boardwalk to Brighton Beach.  BB was interesting, went into a few stores, and heard no english, only Russian.  Returned to Coney I, the masses had arrived.  I cant believe we stood in line, for 1/2 hour to buy a hot dog!  But its “Nathans” which has been there for 96 years.  Last year they sold 435 million hot dogs, but they originated at CI.  Unlike Grinaldi’s pizza, which was mediocre, Nathans does make a good hot dog, so maybe it was worth it!  By the time we left, around 3:00, the crowds were still arriving.  Incredible amount of people!!!!  Had supper with Syd and Shirley Siegel, at Riverpark on the East River.  Shirley is a friend and ex-colleague of Monique who had been working for the UN. By coincidence, they had also been at CI that day.

Day 25 –  Another rainy and cold day!!!!!  So a very late breakfast/early lunch at Eataly a huge Italian bottega that sells among other things, about 200 types of olive oil.  Spent the rest of day exploring the rest of the MET and then supper at a Turkish restaurant – Sahara, with Melissa.  First time I have been able to get Turkish coffee since Jordan.

Day 26 – It has finally turned to summer, a beautiful day.  Spent the day at the Bronx Zoo.  A great zoo, a beautiful walk, almost all along treed paths.  Would have been better of course, if we had not seen many of the animals, up close, in Africa.  Dinner at Vezzo, across the street, once again, a sure sign that we are running out of steam.  Still, the best pizza we have had here in NYC.  Evening on Broadway, our first and only, Pippen sort of a Broadway musical meets Cirque du Soleil.  Really good!  Finished the evening in traditional NYC fashion, cheesecake (and lava cake) at Sardis!!!

Day 27 –  Ending the month with a heat wave!  33C feels like 35C!!!! Did something I have wanted to do since we arrived.  Ordered in breakfast!!  Took 20 minutes, arrived hot, and, except for Mo’s eggs that were a little to done, was great.  Last exploring day!  Did the rest of the West Village and then Soho.  Very rich!!!  Lunched at Ancienne Garage in Soho.  Debated whether to buy a $2000 designer purse for $100 and watched a fashion photoshoot!!!   Had dinner with Melissa, her last night, Cobble Hill, in Brooklyn.  Another French bistr0 – Bar Tabac.

Day 28 – Another scortcher!!!!  Our last day, what do we do?  Start very, very late and decide to visit the Rockefeller Center.  Have a look at “our city” from the 70th floor.  Lunch at Cafe Boucher on Columbus Circle and then some shopping.  Then off to Grand Central and the Oyster Bar.  After a dozen and 1/2  of oysters, decide to finish supper there.  After walking in the +90 weather, very tired and head for home.

Day 29 – Lat day!!  Finish packing and cleaning.  Head out to take pictures of a few places we missed and then back to Steak  an Frites for our final Brunch and the Bloody Marys.  Back to the apartment to get the luggage, the car arrives on time, quick trip to LaGuardia and the flight home.  Now if only we win the lottery and can move to NYC permanently!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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