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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Christmas in New York, chapter 3


Our NYC adventure continued as we visited Rockefeller Center to see the famous tree, check out a few stores, and warm up with hot chocolate at Bouchon Bakery.  BEST hot chocolate EVER! 





And then back to Brooklyn for a party and finally home again for a well earned rest.  

We spent lots of time zipping around town on subways, so I thought I should take a picture to commemorate that experience.  Here is a shot of a group of people waiting for a subway going the opposite direction from the subway we were waiting for.  This is an oddly un-diverse group for New York.  One of the many things to love about the city is that you are nearly always surrounded by people from all over the world, and if you eavesdrop just a little, you will hear languages you can't even identify being spoken all around you.  I know there are plenty of dangerous places in New York, just as there are elsewhere, but for the most part, you can relax and enjoy the diversity, because the thing that seems to make it work is that people are just people, no matter what their background.  How good it would be if the world could always work like that!



Christmas Day was spent mostly lounging around the house, but in the late afternoon we headed to Times Square.  If it is THIS crowded on Christmas, I can’t begin to imagine what New Year’s Eve must be like!  


We were able to stroll around a bit, and then we went to see Follies at the Marquis Theater.  Nice way to end our stay.  The next day we were on a plane loaded with families headed to FL to visit grandma and grandpa, bringing all their glorious assortment of germs along for the ride.  Yep, now that we’re back, I have come down with my usual post-plane epizootic.  Bah humbug!


Meanwhile, here I am all bundled up enjoying my hot chocolate.  Well, that's a Photoshopped version of me.  LOL.  

And now that the 2012 New Year has begun, here are my thoughts on what the world needs now--with some significant help from a couple of Canadians, Robert Genn and Jack Layton

During the past year, Canada's Leader of the Opposition, Jack Layton died of cancer at the age of 61. In his final message Jack said, “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."  Robert Genn
This came from Robert Genn’s biweekly newsletter, in which he applied it to art.  I would prefer to apply it to the world.  The Canadians seem to conduct their lives according to these ideas, and live in a very large, largely peaceful country as a result.  I know that life is not simple and that there are vast differences between the US and Canada in world perception and obligations, but still, I insist on believing--optimistically and hopefully, that every individual and every country, every politician and every world leader would do better to choose love over anger, hope over fear, and optimism over despair.  THAT would be change we all could believe in.  

Peace in your travels.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Christmas in New York, Chapter two


Christmas Eve day.  We left the house at 9AM and didn’t get home until 7 or 8 that night.  LOTS of adventures!  

We started our day at Grand Central Station where we caught a Metro North train to the Bronx and the train show at the NY Botanical Garden. http://www.nybg.org/exhibitions/holiday-train-show-2011/index.php Before we left the station, we visited the Apple store there--a very neat location and typical of Apple’s great customer service.  The store was on the balcony opposite this one.



The train was spiffy and took us directly to the garden.  

We wandered the grounds a little bit before it was time to visit the train show.  Despite cold temps and bare trees, it was easy to imagine what a beautiful oasis this place must be for much of the year.  Even in winter, it is impressive.  We stopped off to see the gingerbread house display in the Children's Garden.  Not as impressive as the one we saw last year in Asheville, NC, but it smelled just as good, thanks to demos showing the children how to grind spices for the dough.  Yum!

The train show is located in the huge conservatory building, seen here through the trees.  

The real conservatory

The model.  Wow.
It’s much more than a train show, actually.  The space is filled with detailed small scale reproductions of well-known NYC landmarks, all made of natural materials.  We were even able to see a new one under construction in the “artist’s studio” space.  

St. Patrick's
cathedral


Back left--the Chrysler Building

Look closely for the train on the bridge

The buildings are nestled among plants and flowers that only add to their charm, and yes, there ARE toy trains that run around the whole display, though most have only one car.  






John thought this was WAY too small to be a train!

Later, we visited the train display at the Transit Museum--a much more typical toy train setup.

He thought THIS was much more like it.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Christmas in NY, chapter one

What a fun place to spend the Christmas holiday!  We are lucky to have a daughter who lives in NYC, and this year we were able to spend the Christmas weekend with her.  SO much to see and do!   Her Christmas tree and Tom the cat were on hand to greet us as soon as we arrived.



We dropped our stuff off at her apartment and went off to find her ZIP car (a great idea for city people who don't want a car most of the time, but do want one occasionally.   The car was a Prius, which she had never driven.  I have a friend who has one and loves it, but they ARE a new driving experience.  DD caught on in a hurry, however, and off we went on the BQE to Dyker Heights in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn.  I would have had a nervous breakdown trying to make that drive, but  she is clearly her father's daughter, because she managed like a pro and got us to our destination with no trouble at all.  What a treat!  I’ve NEVER seen a neighborhood that goes quite this all out for Christmas lighting.  Wonderful way to start our NYC adventure!  Below are a few of my photos, but click on the link above to see many more.  You just can't imagine the scope of this place.








Back in Brooklyn Heights, we had a terrific dinner at a little neighborhood place called Siggy's that specializes in organic food.  Everything was delicious and fresh.  I love eating in NY.  You can always find excellent food at surprisingly reasonable prices.