Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Lazy Blogger Returns!

Oh, boy, have I been delinquent! But, the 21st was my birthday ... and I went with my friends to Rao's this past Monday evening ... and it felt like a reward and a relief from all this heat!

I gave a tour this past Saturday to two lovely young couples from Des Moines, Iowa (just in case you don't know where that lovely city is, my urban friends). My last two tours have been very fortunate with the weather, so we had an even more extensive walk this week.

Here are Jessica, Tom, Brent and Christa near Madison Square. Quite the cool crew!

This was summer, and a marvelously green day it was. We even saw some people exercising in the park - but in a way not common in Des Moines:

These people are doing Tai Chi - and that's an exercise that would be more expected in Chinatown - but this practice has a lot of avid practitioners all over.





We had met at their hotel, the Marriott Courtyard on W. 40th Street, between 6th Avenue and Broadway, and by this time had walked through Grand Central, and, having just missed a bus - clever, aren't I? - we walked down Lexington Avenue, and over to Madison Square.

I told my guests that occasionally there have been quite unusual exhibitions of artwork there in Madison Square. In fact, last November, the Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata erected tree huts in the park. What!? Tree "huts"?

Yes, indeed. Just like this:

And this shot makes the water tower in the distance look just like another tree hut - another work of art! And, it is, isn't it?

We walked down Broadway, and over to Gramercy Park. This photo is a little bit of a trick -
because I took through the bars. As many of you know, this is an unusual public park: it's gated and for the use only of those who live around the park and have keys to the gate. There you have it. The ultimate in exclusivity.


Lexington Avenue, which we had left to go to Madison Square, ends right at Gramercy Park, but seems to continue beyond, to the south, in Irving Place. We walked down that street, and visited Pete's Tavern for a short moment.



At the corner of E. 18th St. and Irving Place, Pete's touts itself both as the oldest continually operating bar in town, beginning in the 1860's (but McSorley's, beginning in 1854 is older, although the Bridge Cafe is truely the oldest "surviving tavern," as they say, having been established in 1794), and as the place where O'Henry wrote The Gift of the Magi in one of the booths. But, it's also possible that he wrote that story as he may have done many of his works in just about any bar! He was quite a convivial drinker!

But we were walking, thank you very much, and after our brief visit to the conveniences of Pete's we walked on over to the Union Square Farmer's Market.

And a beautiful sunny day provided ample opportunity for many farmers, from all over, to display their goods. People come from all over - and even Danny Myer of the Union Square Cafe and the Gramercy Tavern nearby gets his restaurants' vegetables from the market just as you would.

But what struck me as the funniest thing was the fact that in spite of the fact that this farmers' market is open four days a week, and has been for I think over twenty years, there is still a Whole Foods market on 14th Street right across from Union Square! You just never know ....

So, we all then finally got into the coolness of the number 4 train right below the market at Union Square and sped non stop to City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge and walked through St. Paul's - and finally to what's my favorite stop downtown in the fair weather warm months: Stone Street for lunch!


Tom knew immediately we were in the right place!






We had a wonderful respite from the heat, some of us had beer, others soda, as we discussed just what it is like to live in a "big city."

In fact, Tom, Jessica, and Brent had come from towns with less than 1000 people; Christa was the city girl, coming from a town of more than 3000. Brent grew up on a farm, even.

Maybe that explains why suddenly he just ups and walks ... away ... down past all the other tables ... exploring? looking for the fields? .....




But he finally comes back!












And so we're off, and we proceed up to Greenwich Village, and take a hike up the High Line -
and, wow! Has that become popular!

Jessica and Christa examine the choice picture they just took of .... who?

The day's tour is almost over - but the most amazing thing happened so surprisingly I was completely caught off guard and didn't think to take a picture.

While we were walking along the Hudson River Park, at about 25th Street, I hear someone say: "No way!" Way?

Yes, right there on the path, on bicycles even, were friends of my four Iowans from Iowa! Right there, by the river, in the Big City of New York!

Who would have thought!?

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