New York City in August

August 12, 2010  •  New York, North America, Travel

My youngest son (21 year old middle child) is moving to Manhattan. That’s his office, the brown building basking in the reflection of the iconic Chrysler building. Doesn’t that building just scream Gotham City to you?I flew with him to NY last weekend to get a feel for the neighborhoods. I’ve been to the city alot over the years, but never with the intention of moving there, so never considered where to live. We spent all of Saturday pounding the pavement – from Midtown, through Murray Hill and Kips Bay, into the East Village and the Lower East Side, up to the Upper East Side, across to the Midtown West/Hells Kitchen/Clinton neighborhoods, down to the Village and Chelsea. I can’t tell you how grateful I was that NY got a break from the heat on Saturday as we walked almost nonstop from 9am until 7pm.Although we were only going a short distance to dinner, we splurged on a cab and settled in at Osteria del Circo for some great Italian food.Beef carpaccio with the proper dressing (in my opinion) and just the right amoutn of arugula and Parmigiano cheese.Followed by a pasta dish of papardelle with rabbit and fava beans. The picture is ugly, the dish was divine.The next morning we walked the few blocks from our hotel to the Plaza Hotel that borders Central Park to board the hop on – hop off sightseeing bus. It’s not that we hadn’t seen the sights before, it’s that we couldn’t walk after our tour of the city the day before. So we settled in on top for a tour of the iconic sights of New York City (“just like I pictured it…”).Carnegie DeliA vendor roasting nuts on a push cartMadison Square GardenThe Empire State BuildingThe Flatiron BuildingThe hustle of BroadwayChinatown, where old meets new with a Starbucks under this classic Chinese buildingLarger than life billboardsThe original Woolworth bulidingConstruction at the ground zero siteThe bull on Wall StreetThe vibrant South Street SeaportFulton MarketThe Brooklyn BridgeCentral ParkOne of the great things about hop on – hop off buses in large cities is that you are easily transported between sights, but can jump off when you want to. We did for this several block long street market on Lexington Avenue.And also for Chinatown, where we saw great fish markets……and stalls of great ingredients like lychee and dragon fruit – things I never see in Denver.We wandered from Chinatown to Little Italy (which is really just the block of Mulberry Street anymore) for lunch.Warm ciabatta bread with great olive oil to dip it inFabulous pizzaThe other great thing about the bus is that you are elevated above the crowds on the sidewalks. They say that New Yorkers never take the time to look up – just push their way down the streets, and therefore miss much of the marvel overhead. So before my son becomes a native New Yorker, we figured we’d spend a little time looking up – at the towering buildings…At the architectureAt the funny billboards poking fun at localsAt glistening domesAt statues placed on roof tops specifically to try to make people look upThere are plenty of things I spotted that I know I need to check out later, and I’m thankful I’ll have a kid in NY as an excuse to visit often. Like the Magnolia Bakery where the line snaked out the door waiting to buy cupcakes.Perhaps a couple of cooking classesMaybe a trip to Brooklyn, something I’ve never doneEspecially if it includes dinner at the famous River CafeAnd certainly time to appreciate all the beauty that is New York – from this unusual peeling bark on trees in the park, to the buildings, to the people and more. It’s hard to have your child move so far away, but I’m grateful he’s moving to such a great spot and I fully intend to visit often – probably more than he’ll feel is necessary!

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  1. The Italian Dish says:

    Wow, heck of a post, Michele. What a trip!

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