STOP PRESS! ICI Restaurant finally has been granted a liquor license... we got the email yesterday to confirm. The hearing findings make interesting reading for those of us who lived through it all. It took many months to finalise so now the restaurant will be open in a month or so once some final changes and finishing touches are made. Life is going to change!
I wrote up my blog yesterday but afterwards visited Chelsea Markets. Every business here seems to think that no one will enter unless they have grotesque Halloween trickery in their windows. These photos from the markets, cleverly developed from an old biscuit factory recently. Some of the Halloween stuff too gross... but the man taking off his head and these amazing carved pumkins are fun.
Michael Jackson gets a go on this one... not bad I thought!
How do you write a blog about two weeks in New York City... if you've been here you know all the sights... if you haven't you probably know them too as they are all so famous. Of course there is plenty to capture in images that is quirky and interesting but that takes luck and time... and certainly you don't have much time here because there is just soooo much to do, see, experience and savour. No wonder so many people have written songs about this place! I've just been woken in the early hours by a man singing New York New York very loudly down the street below... a happy tourist I guess.
This picture of me is actually as we were going into Madison Square Gardens to hear/see Leonard Cohen, but it pretty much sums up my feeling at being here... it needs no explanation!
So while I mention that memorable, wonderful evening of poetry and song by the Canadian master, here's a photo stolen from the screen during the performance. Madison Square Garden, by the way, is pretty much like any older stadium, though imbued with lots of feeling because of its history and reputation. It bills itself as the 'world's most famous arena' and I guess that's true. 
Of course, people are the most important part of any journey to me, so here is a photo of Peter's brother, David, who lives here and has gone way out of his way to look after us with suggestions, concerts (David's a musician) and places to eat. The first day he took us to lunch in Harlem. It was a Sunday, small place called Mobays filled with hatted clientele who'd clearly just been to a church nearby. After lunch we were treated to some cool music from the woman pictured below. Music definitely the dominant theme of our time here.
It was cold when we arrived so the warm orange interiors shown in these pictures were really welcoming. While we were in Harlem we also went to the Studio Harlem Museum which gave us some interesting perspectives on art and craft that has been collected here over decades that otherwise might not have been because black artists were not accorded due status or rights to exhibit. I was interested to see a black cameo brooch for the first time.
Bettina, an ex colleague from LGAQ (another New York lover) is also here with her daughter Lucy. Bettina makes a pilgrimage to NYC every second year or so, this time for four weeks. Great to have a friend here and someone who knows her nyc stuff! Bettina and I in East Village cafe.
And while we're on people, here's the memorial to John Lennon in Strawberry Fields, Central Park. Yoko managed to get this part of the park dedicated to John against the initial intentions, apparently, of the then city leaders. Interestingly, on the other side of the park is Jackie Onassis Reservoir, a large body of water. You feel the influence of these strong women here, as well as John of course! Plenty of people still making money out of his music and his image...
So while on Central Park (I think my brother's favourite place in the world, that right Rick?) I can understand why you would think that. Great big beautiful lungs in the heart of the city to remind people what is important in the nicest possible way!! How could you not love Central Park???
Here a few images from some fun times we've had here. Most memorable was a picnic with David that will be remembered as a sliding picnic. David brought plastic for us to sit on and we chose a spot with a beautiful outlook... but on a slope! Spent the whole time trying to stay with the picnic!!! Then we went rowing and laughing on one of the lakes ... a perfect warm sunny afternoon, the trees changing colour, turtles sunning themselves, ducks getting about their business.
Here you can see I was having a hard time! David rowing at this point.
Some more images of the beautiful park on my flickr upload here... but here's a couple to tempt you!
The other thing in Central Park is music and entertainment... some of it really good. These rappers always get a good crowd of tourists, even when they're not so good!
Another absolute highlight of our fortnight was going to a Barge Music Concert... as it says, on a barge. It is on the East River at Brooklyn, not for from where the bridge connects. David told us about this one and it really was exquisitely beautiful music from Copeland, Beethoven and Dvorjak played by piano, violin and 'cello. Venue is much nicer than it sounds too, though I did have a bit of sea sickness there for a while!
Afterwards we walked the famous Brooklyn Bridge, something Laine had dreamed of for many years. It didn't disappoint... we chose a spectacular sunset evening after a quick but fruitful visit to the Brookly Flea Market. Here some views. From the bridge you can see the Statue of Liberty but she is a tiny speck if you look hard. You don't have to look hard to see how much fun Laine was having.
After the bridge we ate in China Town and had dessert in Little Italy. You can move so quickly from one district and flavour to another here... and enjoy what each has to offer. So while on stunning views... you can't go past at least one picture of the Statue of Liberty when doing a blog on NYC.... we had a cold but interesting day visiting her. No time to go to Ellis Island this time which I loved last time... it gives you such a sense of the impact of immigration to the US and it's importance in many families and communities.
I had not known, or had forgotten, that the Stature of Liberty would not have been structurally possible if not for the engineering brilliance of Monsieur Eiffel... so there's a kind of Eiffel Tower structure inside her holding her up. In the 1980s they had to take out all 17000 of the original rods inside (three or four at a time) to replace them with stainless steal as the originals were corroding!!! You can go into the crown now but only 250 people a day are allowed. You have to book months ahead in case anyone is wanting to do it!
We also had visited Ground Zero which is really a huge construction site still. The nearby St Paul's Chapel that was an important place that provided support and care to the many workers during the 9/11 crisis remains a poignant memorial of the people who lost their lives but also of all the workers and volunteers. We were touched by the mention that over 500 musicians donated their time to play while the hard work of patching together cuts and broken hearts was going on in the church. It seems to me to be the way a church should be.
Other than this there's been shopping, markets, delis (one rude deli man reminiscent of the Soup Nazi in Seinfelt) kept calling NIXT... we didn't realise he was talking to us... so when we realised and couldn't see him over the counter Laine moved a paper bag a little to see. The man barked, Don't touch that bag! Apart from that as I remember from last time, people have been friendly and often going out of their way to be helpful.
Lainey found some perfume, not availabe in Australia, at a lÓccitane shop here. She bought the last three bottles of their stock as it is discontinued. The girl in the shop ran half a block to give her the tester too, as they wouldn't be needing it anymore. She got a hug for her troubles!
There's also been museums, (though not as many as we thought we'd get to) to the Met or Metropolitan Museum of Art which is worth many visits, and a trip to Broadway to see Jersey Boys on Broadway. It was great to see it close to the home of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in nearby New Jersey. Here I am eating key lime pie at the Met cafeteria!! Lainey at the Green Markets at Union Square. I had never seen brussel sprouts on their storks before (here in front of this picture)!
And another enduring symbol reaching into the clouds. I joined the women's fitness gym, Curves, before I left Toronto so that Lainey and I could use it travelling (they have 10,000 gyms around the world now apparently). So we googled curves in NYC and found it just a few blocks from our little apartment... in Times Square... in the same block as the Empire State Building. Guess we could have just run up the floors to the top for exercise!
Well on that note, because I have gone one too long, I'll stop! We leave here tomorrow, Saturday 31st October, returning to Toronto by the Maple Leaf train via Niagara Falls. Hope Canada lets me back in! Oh and we find a place to live!LoveLindy
The really comfortable chalets we stayed in...
Liz and I (luckily Liz knows what she's doing and was a very patient and kind teacher)
Squirrels are everywhere, both grey and black, but usually they skitter too fast for me to catch a photograph. This one walked right up to me. Very very cute.
