I got a "loaded" bagel with cream cheese and lox-- my grandfather would have been so proud. I HATED lox as a kid, and remember my grandfather saying many times, "how do you call yourself a Jew??" as if I broke some promise that I would love lox. I smiled thinking of him as I ate breakfast today.
We walked across town enjoying the views and snapping pictures like crazy tourists, which we kind of are (though kind of aren't.) We came across a street fair, and Shona was jonesing for some grilled corn so we walked through to get some then made our way to the High Line, a public park that was built on an old elevated railway line on the west side. It was beautiful!! The architecture of it is really lovely with a lot of detail to the plants blossoming all along the way. There's a lot of stone, glass and metal, punctuated by some beautiful murals, sculptures and works of art with some tracks along the way to pay homage to its roots. It's a gorgeous oasis in the heart of the city.
http://www.thehighline.org/visit
The trees provide lots of shade and it's a really lovely meandering walk. It's crazy humid today and while I really hate the humidity (I do NOT have humidity hair!) I took this as a sign that I shouldn't bother doing my hair, and I'm glad I didn't! :)
We walked north and took the subway up to the upper west side where we wandered a bit, then grabbed our picnic at Pappardella and walked over to Central Park. We found a nice shady patch and settled down on the large tablecloth. The spread was huge and really good: antipasto, panini, pasta salad, two little cheesecakes, biscotti, bread and limonata. Yum! We couldn't eat it all but enjoyed it!
http://www.pappardella.com/
No sooner do we finish and we started feeling drops. I had asked mother nature to please not rain out our picnic and she honored the request, then have a little fun with us. Apparently tablecloths make great rain gear, as I left my protective rain deterrent (raincoat) back at the hotel as it was lovely blue skies this morning.
Shona kept saying, "I think it's getting lighter" and then it started pouring heavier and heavier. We laughed our butts off. It got gusty but then the weather cleared a bit and we kept walking.
We spent a while wandering through the park and through the Rambles. We saw a raccoon wandering around, and went to this beautiful area by the lake, climbed on some rocks and enjoyed the distant views of the city and row boaters enjoying the scenery. There were ducks, geese and turtles. When it started to pour, we stepped under a gorgeous little pavilion.
We wandered to Belvedere Castle, offering lovely views of the lake and the city. It's a cute little three-storied stone structure. http://www.centralpark.com/guide/attractions/belvedere-castle.html
then we started making our way across town back towards the hotel. We passed a parade and watched it for a bit, then started walking back through the park to cross town. It started drizzling intensely ten blocks from the hotel, but gave us a short break for a bit. Once we got inside the thunderstorms started. There was a huge clap of lightening and thunder just after we got in and the rain came down in sheets, so we were glad we made it! We had planned to go to see the Brooklyn Bridge tonight and take pictures of the moon, but it's supposed to thunderstorm all night so we may go with "Plan B" and hope tomorrow's weather improves. [it's supposed to rain all day though.]
Quote of the day, "That looks like a cloud parfait. Though it's the grey kind that looks like they aren't committed."
Bonus quote of the day (when getting ready to go out), "I think I'm gonna need shoes for this."
After a short nap we felt ready for round 2 in the city that never sleeps. We walked over towards the west, and passed St. Patrick's Church, Radio City Music Hall and Times Square. The rain began to patter in earnest, but we were armed appropriately. We went to Hell's Kitchen and found a cute little Thai place to eat. Yum!
I wanted something sweet so we stopped at Magnolia Bakery for a hummingbird cupcake, which was really good! We wandered a bit enjoying some of the views, architecture and lights reflecting in large puddles. It was a really great day!!
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