Goin’ Solo
Not actually- but without the folks that live here- or the dog
Tuesday - Day 4 - Alec and Lily worked from home today- so we left Charlie with them. I think he needed the rest, and we took advantage of his absence to go to some places where he would not be welcome. We took the subway uptown to check out Zabar’s Deli and Cafe. This has been on my list for a couple of years, but we are not often up in the upper west. It has a very fun market, but I did not want to schlepp (lol) whitefish salad around all day. We did go into the cafe.
Todd got a cuban and I got a spinach knish. I ordered it without even thinking about what it was- I probably won’t get it again.
We then walked over to the American Museum of Natural History. Fun fact,—my dad was a collector. After he passed, I went through his numerous cardboard boxes in my mother’s basement. I found many boxes of rocks, fossils, and misc dried items from the sea. Mom told me that as a boy, my dad once wrote a letter to the museum, (maybe c/o fossil man). He asked if they could please send him any extra fossils they might have lying around. All the stuff in these boxes came from them. Just random stuff sent to a kid in New Jersey. I wonder how that request would go over today. Anywho - I haven’t been to this museum since I was a kid. We took advantage of Alec’s “NY residents pay as much as you wish” trick and got in for $1. The experience was well worth it :), except for the annoying field trip kids. So many super loud kids.
My favorite room was the Pacific NW stuff.
After the museum we headed further uptown to see the Nicholas Roerich Museum. I just learned of this artist and his collection a few months ago - it is a lovely small collection in an old house on 107th- lovely lovely lovely, and free! I plan on reading more about his guy soon.
We headed over to Central Park,
so that we could see the newly COMPLETED renovated conservatory gardens. Last year we saw two of them, but the middle one- the Italianate one, was still being worked on. Now they are all done :).
Todd was hungry - this has happened before in practically the same part of the park. There really is nothing close. We walked over to Lexington, past a bunch of less desirable addresses and ate at a place called Effie’s Kitchen. IMO - very bla, contrary to the google ratings. Next we found the train and headed to Bryant Park.
I really love the trees there - the intrawebs say that they are London Plane trees.
I waited in line for my favorite park bathroom - iykyk. and then down to the garment district to shop for trims and buttons at M&J which supposedly is going out of business and Lou Lou Buttons. I bought a lot. But they’re small. The man from Lou Lou told me that the colorful ones are hand dyed mother of pearl from Japan. I think he said that the dyes were not legal here (?) or he would dye them himself. He had about a million colors and they are lovely.
Then we negotiated our way through the Times Square adjacent traffic, to get back to Silver Towers and the crew. Alec and Lily cooked us a good dinner which also included some of Mrs. Wu's dumplings, and then I fell asleep on the coach. Another long walking day, 22,800 steps and 9.52 miles.