V and I headed into the city today to meet up with E, my best friend from Hunter, whose family hosted V's mom (J) when she came to NYC as a Swiss exchange student back in '82-'83.
We had a blast. The weather was picture perfect and the food was delicious. There was a lot of walking and talking while soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of life in the city.
After we parted, V and I met up with my sister for shopping, dinner and
Pinkberry.
A very special shout out to Cap who spent the day with the boys, giving up his basketball time.
E and V in Times Square. As E pointed out to me, "J" looks very young in this photo :-) We returned to Times Square later in the day and the colors were completely different as the sun began to set.
My one picture of the three of us.
Heading toward Bryant Park (a blip of excitement for Project Runway fans like V and me :-) and the main branch of the New York Public Library.
I highly recommend stepping into this building. It is stunningly gorgeous inside. They have exhibits, but we opted to just go upstairs and walk around.
E had some great tidbits of info about Grand Central Station from a tour she took of it a few years ago. There's a small spot on the restored ceiling that was left as it had been for decades and decades, the buildings around the station have escalators taking you to their second floors because the ground around the station is elevated itself and the elevator mechanisms cannot go underground...
E was in charge of finding us a place to eat. It's Restaurant Week and she treated us to lunch at Metrazur, where our 20th and 25th high school reunions were held. Lunch was delicious. V had the gnocchi starter, risotto main and chocolate chip banana financier dessert. I had the butternut squash soup starter (really good, the risotto (which came with a pretty perfect hunk of braised beef short rib in the middle of it), and key lime pie. I made the others bask in the aroma of my dessert plate. It came with its own fragrant and amazing atmosphere of tropical fruit.
We went to the Empire State building. The day after a blustery and stormy winter storm is apparently the time to go. There were no lines anywhere from when we stepped into the building to getting up to the 86th floor. Once we were on the observation deck, we were greeted with the clearest most fantastic views.
Two dudes from South Africa were here.
My fave shot of the day. I was down on the ground on my elbow and knees, hair cascading on concrete...
Dudes, that's ocean you see out yonder.
Evidence of how brains can be rewired. I kept seeing Lego structures everywhere I looked...
E took us to a hidden gem. There's a bar/lounge on the 8th floor of the Marriott in Times Square. There are a bunch of tables up against a big curved window...reminiscent of a bay window but on a much larger scale. The one drink minimum is worth the experience of sitting and relaxing in some climate control. Some peace and quiet while gazing out at the neon hustle and bustle. (And very nice restrooms, a cool elevator and interesting interior design/architecture :-)
Once shopping came onto the table, E beat a hasty retreat :-) V and I walked down to one of the three H&M's in the area (my sister consulted her shopper co-workers who recommended the one on 34th and 7th). My sister met us there and we continued on to Macy's where we encountered this old school escalator.
A lovely gibbous moon in a clear cold sky followed us as we walked to Korea Way for dinner.
We all enjoyed the kimchee and bibimbap. The simple and robust flavors, the heat of the spices, the warmth of the tea and rustic wood restaurant interior...all made for a lovely end to a quite perfect day.
On the train ride home J called us on my cell from Peru and we all chatted about our exciting and wonderful day in the city. Life in 2010.
