The Street Fair: All 321 of Them!

When summertime rolls around, and you are wandering the streets, you will inevitably come upon the New York street fair.  Blocks and blocks of grilled corn, gyros, crepes and lemonade.  Traffic will be blocked off with pedestrians wandering in the streets.  


And the stalls will repeat themselves so if you pass on the mozz-arepa on one block, you can get it again.  Yes, that's a mozz-arepa and they aren't really that tasty.  I think it could do with a tastier cheese.


My favorite part is the grilled corn.  For the price of one ear, I could buy more than a dozen.  But where can I grill it, or have them put the spicy seasoning on it with a little bit of butter?  It's hard to pass up!  And they are so yummy.



There are over 300 street fairs in the city.  There is a movement to limit the number, or make them a little more individual.  I have to admit, they are all very very similar.  In addition to the corn, you can get sheets and socks.  It's one of those New York things that just makes me smile when I see it.


This one is from the Upper West Side.  I even got the corn guy to pose once he realized I was taking pictures.

The Fourth and Fifth

I do enjoy a good 3 day weekend and with the Fourth falling on a Sunday, find myself with another day to relax before heading back to work.


For the 2nd year in a row, we were lucky enough to get tickets to watch the fireworks from the Chelsea Piers Sports Center sun deck.  I suppose I could use the sun deck anytime, but it always just seems so hot and sunny out there.  But it's perfect for viewing fireworks in the Hudson in the evening.  I was afraid we wouldn't be two of the 150 members to win, but we both did (phew because I would have had to leave someone behind!).


The afternoon started out with a little ice cream to cool down.  Cookshop has a little stand outside the restaurant with homemade ice cream.  I don't even like strawberry, but had to go for the Red, White and Blueberry flavor.  Yum.

And then a little later we set up camp at CP.  Honestly, if I don't get these tickets I'm not likely to brave the crowds.  It was warm and sunny all day, which in my mind is not good waiting weather.  The sun is finally going down and there are a ton of boats out in the Hudson.

The beauty of this viewing spot is the chance to see all 6 barges in the river light the sky with the fireworks.  I learned a little shooting fireworks.  You need to leave the shutter open for a longer period of time and also need to keep the camera very steady. Or just use the fireworks setting on the camera.

And one more for good measure:

And the Holiday Weekend is Upon Us

It's the start of a 3-day holiday weekend (and it hasn't come soon enough after last week).  To get the festivities started, a little NY style patriotism for the 4th of July:

This is a good opportunity to share my favorite fireman story.  We were walking south through the meatpacking this spring on our way to dinner at Paris Commune (a restaurant we went to when we first moved here and then have never really managed to walk by ever again, that happens in NY.  No matter how many times you walk through a neighborhood).  We were jut a little past the cobblestone area near Pastis and this firetruck is blaring and coming in very fast.  I hear a thump and the scratch of metal.  The truck hits a street sign but makes it to the front of the restaurant and a fireman jumps off the truck to propose to his girlfriend who was sitting outside eating (I'm assuming they knew each other!).  Meanwhile, the mowed down sign has punctured some sort of hole under the truck so it's leaking.  Funny and sweet.  Might be hard to explain that one back at the station.


More photos to come!  I'm planning to test out the fireworks setting tomorrow night when we hit the Hudson River area.  Stay cool out there!

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing my Dad a Happy Father's Day!  He'll always be Daddy to my sister and I, no matter how old we are!

Pier 62: All New!

It's the new Pier 62, just north of Chelsea Piers on the Hudson River. It's been under construction for awhile now, but is open. Flowers, grassy areas, tree lined paths...and a new carousel. It really completes the revitalization all the way up the Hudson to 125th Street. There is a great bike path, lots of walking areas and access to the piers all along the river.


The flowers were gorgeous, especially the purple ones.

The choice of animals seemed a little odd at first, but then I discovered that the wood carvings represent 33 animals of the Hudson River Valley.  And the roof is even green!  Rides are $2 in case you are wondering.


The fish and the turkey...

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!

It's a busy year for weddings.  So far, we've been to Naples, FL and Ridgefield, CT...And M is taking us to Ann Arbor, MI and Berkley, CA later this year.  We ventured back to our old stomping ground in Connecticut for a dear GE friend's wedding.  We instantly connected over our dear old UVA (wahoo wah!) and kept in touch through our departure from GE. 


So much happiness, it was a great day all around.  So, as I'm still working on my photography skills, had to snap a few shots of course!  Sacred Heart Church in Connecticut: 

 K & M did lots of traveling post corporate life so had quite a few pictures.

Some may recognize this particular shot, my opportunity to play with the aperture setting...

And it's back to work...but the cool air has blown in and made for a lovely evening.  Already looking forward to next weekend!

Happy Memorial Day

Thinking of our troops and those who have fought for us today. And to celebrate the day, here are some pics from our visit to the Iowa Jima during Fleet Week. Great views of the city from the ship, lots of visitors, and a great chance to talk to some of our military men and woman.  Got to see the Ospry and the Huey and pick up an M-4 (or so I'm told).  

The weather was fabulous here, which led to lunch and more walking.  What a great end to a 3 day weekend.  When is the next one?

A Taste of Summer

It's been a beautiful weekend here in New York, so I've been able to spend plenty of time exploring the streets and relaxing in the park. I couldn't think of a better picture to describe the coming of summer.

Yes, that is a Strawberry Shortcake Good Humor bar from a Central Park vendor. And it was just like I remembered it.  What amazes us is how frozen they maintain the ice cream all day.  It's not a bit melty at purchase.

A Church, A Club, A Delightful Market!

I didn't know Limelight back in the day, when it was one of the hottest spots in NYC. I'd like to think I was just too young, it was big in the 80s after all after opening in 1983. Phrases to describe it include "notorious" and "drug soaked disco hall". And then it closed in 2007 after much complaint from the neighbors, I'm guessing. For the past few years, it's been a spot for sample sales and pop up stores.

Well, it's now a wonderful market. A little bit like Chelsea Market, high end shops, great marketing and product placement, and a cool space. Having recently opened, I decided we needed to take the short walk over and check it out. Let's face it, I'm more likely to make it to a well done marketplace than a club these days.

The space is really nice inside, preserving the stained glass and alcove feel of an old church. The windows are from the original church, the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion and date to 1844.

But then it's just retail, retail and more retail. I saw quite a few cute things that would make great gifts, favors, and yummy treats. There is an area for little shops including Mariebelle Chocolates, the candy store IT'SUGAR, a perfumery and more. And then there is the eating area with gelato, cupcakes, brownies, cookies and a place for sandwiches. The shopping area is supposedly modeled after the idea of London's Covent Garden.

Jezalin's for sandwiches and cheese:

Cupcake Stop which opened it's first brick and mortar store after their successful cupcake truck:

The miniature wedding cake candies at Little Candy Cake Co.:

Butterfly Bakeshop

In the summer there will be a farmer's market, Peak Season Green Market, outside to pick up produce. All in all, a big win for the area and somewhere I'll definitely be venturing back to.

And Grimaldi's is coming! It's not here yet, but they'll be selling slices 24/7 from what I hear. Since I haven't made it to the original in Brooklyn yet, might just get it here first.

This is really just a preview since I'm 100% certain we'll be back to try out the goodies.

Location:
6th Avenue & 20th Street

Weekends Away Can Be Wonderful

Wow, it's been way too long!  After a wedding in Florida and a very busy week at work, I've sort of just been playing catch up.  But that's no excuse not to post.  So here are some pictures of the wedding in Naples.  The reception was at the Beach House at the Ritz Carlton (where they aim to anticipate my every need).  I had a moment where I realized what it would be like to not do anything - no schlepping groceries/bags/luggage, my car just appearing when I want it, a chair and side table suddenly set up for me on the beach...

And the flowers at the reception were gorgeous.  I was thinking about it later, and realized that what made them so nice to enjoy as a guest, is that they were high enough with a see-through vase that I could see across the table.

Back in New York now and I had the first taste of what the hot muggy summers can be like here.  But it's the weekend and no complaints here!