noplasticshowers

 

We arrived in NY after a long tarmac delay caused by high winds at Newark.  Newark was, because of the stoppage, packed to the gills with people, and the wait times for the (awful) restaurants in Terminal C were over an hour.  So we did what any sensible traveller would do and took a seriously skanky NJ cab into town for Tapas at Mompou.  The tapas was great, and the vibe was pure NJ.

A quick Uber into the city landed us at our home for a week, Bill and Lisa’s apartment situated on 20th Street between 7th and 8th.  You gotta love friends who invite you up when they score a place for a month in the city!  Lucky dogs all around.

The city at night is a welcome view.  This is the first NPS visit in too many years.

Our first jaunt led us down the High Line to the Whitney.

See All’s Well at the Whitney Biennial for more.

The Little Island has been added to Manhattan as of late.  It’s a quirky little part worth a quick visit.  More about our quick visit here.

Spring was everywhere on a blustery gray day.

Wait for it!

The High Line has been completed through Hudson Yards these days.  This bridge over 12th (?) avenue yields an interesting and somewhat cinematic view.

Our plan was to check out the Japanese Food Festival situation on closed off 6th avenue, but the hoards of people…and we mean hoards…obviated our plan.  So we stopped for ramen and sake in collectible glasses at Oramen Chelsea.

Later we took the subway down for a visit to PDT.  On the way we stopped in for a fried ice cream and a cocktail.  It’s not clear whether we were lured in to Little Rebel by the fried ice cream or the Bowie mug shot.

What is a CR#2?  Glad you asked.  Click here.

 

Yes, Bowie was arrested in Rochester in 1976.

It rained.

Next up, a slice at East Village Pizza.

And then some “hot dogs” at Crif.

PDT is still rocking it.  We had some special fun with the paper plane.

 

Finally, a late night visit to the very local Twist was in order.  Fernet time!

So that was a day!

Our next adventure started at the MoMA, where in addition to lots of famous art to be shared simultaneously with hundreds of others, lunch was really good.

See more MoMA Where Did All These People Come From?

Some of us had waffles on the street.

 

 

I suppose we are obligated to talk about the showers in the apartment since this is NPS.  The shower was very nice indeed.  Plenty of hot water and lots of shower nozzles, many way high up there in the stratosphere.

Sunday evening we went to see Sleep No More, which was quirky, fun, and well worth doing.  NPS missed the provocative parts.  Alas.  Experiencing theater by being IN the set is a thing.

Then it was Monday.  Breakfast at Banter south of Washington Square was great — best in the city.  Then it was time to do a little shopping.  Did you know that the Varvatos outlet in NY occupies the old CBGB space?  Wild.

There was pastry to be had at Patisserie Claude on the way to the special Chelsea apartment.

An ill fated “cash only” taxi ride deposited us into midtown to buy some boots and be accosted by a crazy lady.  Our walk home happened under a taxi blackout zone.

And then it was off to Chama Mama with Chalmers in tow.  Turns out that Georgian food is quite delightful.

The last day in the city was beautiful and sunny.  A perfect day to be sedate and walk the High Line again.

The walk was gorgeous.

So was the lounging.

There was patio time in the sun.

Our intended entertainment target of choice (and the planned high point of the NY run) was to see SJP and Matthew Broderick (I mean Farris Bueller) in Plaza Suite.  Covid prevented that from happening when both stars were infected.  We’re still planning a reprise.  In the meantime we went to see The Hangman while it was still in previews.  Though the acting was a bit uneven, the play was good with only a few kinks to work out.  As always, Broadway staging is the bomb.

Before the show we stopped in for a cocktail and some caviar at Bar Centrale.  Old school, sophisticated and a great place to unwind before a show.  Or is that wind up?  Martinis and negronis pair well with caviar.

The lights on Broadway were doing their thing.

And thus the first visit to NY in three years ended.  A whirlwind and a delight.  Hopefully travel has returned for good.