New York City #4

And now for the last post about my New York City trip.....

Monday dawned bright and much warmer than the week before! Christy and I headed right down to the Financial District where historic buildings from two hundred plus years ago reside among brand new buildings.

We were headed toward Stone Street -- the oldest cobblestone street in NYC.

You could definitely imagine yourself in Europe on this street with the cobbles underfoot and the closeness of the buildings on either side.

Our destination was a Scandinavian restaurant called Smorgas.

Oh the food was good! Look at these vegetarian meatballs and red cabbage. So very delicious!!!

And I loved the stainless steel teacups! Think how practical they would be for a picnic! Or the back patio!

My cousin, Anna, joined us for lunch!

Here are the three of us. Christy and Anna don't know each other but the three of us have been together once before!

Here we are sixteen years ago -- we all looked a bit younger then :)

Christy's dessert made such a pretty picture!!!

After lunch we left Christy at King's College for an afternoon of teaching and Anna and I hopped the subway to go to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A little more people watching....

First Anna took me to her loft apartment so I could see where she lives. Note that all important kettle on the stove. Good sign!

Then we strolled down to the waterfront -- it was such a gorgeous day!

We popped inside a chocolate shop that starts from scratch - with the real beans! Imagine the smell in there!

Williamsburg is a fun place to roam around -- the shops are unique and well-stocked. It's definitely a place I would head for gift shopping.

Our time was limited but before we parted ways Anna and I wanted to visit her favorite tea shop -- Bakeri. Don't you want to try a "rose water sour cherry scone"?!!

There was plenty to choose from:

I had a sour cherry financier made with almond flour that was incredible! Anna chose the coffee cake.  And I indulged in white peony tea.

We sat out back on the little patio and soaked in the sunshine. I love this picture of Anna!!!!

Anna had to run off to work so I headed back to Manhattan and got off at Chinatown so I could hunt down some t-shirts for the kids.

I should have stopped at the Excellent Dumpling House for some Chinese cuisine (if I had room to hold it!):

Chinatown is full of shops selling all kinds of trinkets and the shopkeepers bargain!

Now that my bags were filled to overflowing I headed south to King's College to collect my suitcase from Christy. I passed this beautiful, old firehouse:

More city scenery:

This building was gorgeous!

Finally a bit of color to brighten up the long winter:

Eventually I reached King's College where Christy teaches.

After saying goodbye and collecting my things it was time to find the subway. This led me past the NY Stock Exchange:

And down past Federal Hall:

And I made it on the subway then onto the train to Newark, the airport tram, and the airplane back to Indy.

It was a most relaxing and enjoyable trip and this time I came home to a clean house (everyone is so much older) and a happy family and I could jump right back into our family's full schedule. I am very thankful and I'm sure these memories will bring me much joy and happiness for years to come.

Mondays are for Grace

"Happiness is like a cat.

If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come.

But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business,

you'll find it rubbing against your legs

and jumping into your lap."

-- William Bennett

New York City #3

With no children visibly on the scene, we all slept in Saturday and allowed ourselves to have a leisurely morning before hopping on the subway to explore some more of the city. Check out this yummy breakfast: carrot juice from the vitamix, a gluten-free waffle with almond butter, and some of my new tea.

Some of you have been wondering where Peter has been in all my pictures -- well, he was at work! But when the weekend came he was free to join us on our adventures.

It's fun to be like a mole, traveling beneath the city and then popping up now and then to find yourself with completely different scenery! Saturday we popped up right down at Ground Zero.

I loved the rainbow in the falling water -- it seemed symbolic.

The new tower is so tall!

I loved the landscape of the buildings nearby:

After Ground Zero we headed to Le District -- a new French market along the lines of Eataly, but smaller.

When in France, do as the French -- Christy adds a little romance!

We all loved looking around at the various departments.

Cookie department:

More cookies -- they looked quite dry, but that is how I imagine French cookies. Probably good for dipping in tea or coffee!

Couldn't resist the lollipops and had to bring some home for the kids:

Of course there was a fish department, complete with snails:

And I found Indianapolis' own Smoking Goose in the line-up! Really, I felt I was at a version of Wildwood Market!

Wouldn't it be fun to try all these honeys!

Or how about all these mustards!

The charcuterie looked amazing!

As did the cheese counter:

And I was fascinated by these yogurt flavors: carrot, butternut squash, and beet!

Too bad I'm gluten free -- I would have bought a Pain Au Chocolat.

And the sandwiches looked so good -- just not quite as good as Wildwood (yes, I'm biased, but still probably correct).

One station made and sold special waffles:

And there was a creperie, where Peter stood in line for his lunch. Christy chose a sandwich, and I chose a salad.

Afterward we walked toward the subway through this pretty little park where spring was beginning to be in evidence.

I love the architecture against a beautiful sky!

Back on the subway there were more fascinating characters to observe. I loved this man's crocheted cowl, leather bag, hat, and French reading material.

This time we popped up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Wow. It was a whole different place than anywhere else I have been in New York.

Yikes! Graffiti was everywhere! But, my cousin assures me, this only adds to the artistic feel of the place.

I never tire of admiring the buildings and streets:

And, Brooklyn has some fantastic shops! This gift shop kept us amused for quite some time.

Vintage is Brooklyn and this shop was fun to peruse.

Christy takes a break from all the walking:

While Peter enjoys the used bookstore:

With dinnertime around the corner we hopped back on the subway to head home.

And found ourselves being entertained by someone doing a flip routine:

All the while this warning was posted loud and clear above our heads!

Dinner was Indian food, delivered to the door! Delicious!

Sunday we headed for the subway to make our way to church. Another people-spotting opportunity:

Christy and Peter's church shares the same name as our congregation and also rents a Seventh Day Adventist building as we do! I have to admit that their building is a whole lot more historic inside than ours is!

It is always a delight to worship in "foreign" places with believers of like mind and heart. I think this takes one's visit to a whole different level. I suppose it is a true taste of heaven where we will meet believers from every tribe and nation.

This Sunday their congregation was having a potluck dinner afterward (boy did it sound good to my New England ears to hear that word again!).

While Christy stayed on at church for a meeting I got to meet up with my dear cousin Anna!!!!

We spent the afternoon walking the nearby streets and catching up!

A few evidences of spring were sprinkled here and there:

Loved the wrought iron work:

We made it over to the Hudson river waterfront:

Later on, before we headed in for the evening, we stopped at the heather gardens which are near to Christy & Peter's apartment building.

Who would expect to find such large quantities of beautiful heather in New York City! In fact, we had just missed the annual "Shearing of the Heather" by sleeping in on Saturday morning! The other thing I can't figure out is why the heather blooms so beautifully in the spring here when it is a late summer blooming flower in the UK.

Daffodils were in bloom as well.

Here we are in the heather garden, which we have visited on all three of my trips.

And, this park happens to be where Christy and Peter got engaged!

To the north you can see the Cloisters, a lovely place that we visited on an earlier trip.

The sunset behind the bridge was beautiful!

And of course we ended the evening with more tea and treats.

And that leaves one more day of NYC adventures to write about next time.

For those of you who are taking notes for your own trips, you may want to re-visit these posts from my previous trips for more ideas.

New York City Day 1
New York City Day 2
New York City Day 3
New York City Day 4
Back to New York City


Also note that the MET's entrance fee is a suggested donation of $25. The truth is you can enter for any size donation so if you only have an hour, you can make an appropriate size donation and enter for that price.