May in NYC: In and around the Park

When we were last here in March, the trees were still bare.  But when we awoke and opened the drapes our first morning here this trip,  we were greeted by the lush, green canopy that is the spring/summer fashion in Central Park.

We were also greeted by the progress on the building across the way that towers over Central Park South. Well on its way toward its ultimate (and somewhat controversial) ninety stories of luxury residential space, One57  currently sticks out like a sore red thumb. Just in case you’re interested, word is that the One57 penthouse is available for a mere $110 million! (UPDATE: as this post went to press, the penthouse had apparently sold to a mystery buyer who paid somewhere between $90 -$100 million to live on the building’s 89th and 90th floor. I wonder if we could stop by to borrow a cup of sugar…)

One57 rises over leafy Central Park

We had some big fun in the Park on our first day in town when we walked over to watch grandson Thomas play baseball with his team, “The Slams”. Thomas is not quite seven, but it’s probably not too soon for the Yankees to start scouting him.

Take note, Mr. Girardi!

Look at that form!

Bumpkins that we are, we marveled at the luck of these kids who get to learn the game at the Central Park ball fields. No wonder Thomas says baseball is his favorite sport – if he keeps making those runs, maybe he can buy that penthouse at One57!

Jamesy in the ball field bleachers: already a ladies’ man at age four.

Celebrating the big win with a big bowl of vanilla ice cream.

A few days later, we celebrated Mothers Day with brunch at a restaurant overlooking the Park. It was a spectacularly beautiful day in NYC! We missed having Tina’s family and Taylor there to join us, but both sent gorgeous flowers – our apartment is like a garden this week!

Daniel and Mom

Brunch sculpture – not sure what they used for the fish – jicama maybe?

After brunch we took a walk in the Park – along with what appeared to be most everyone else in the city. New Yorkers know how to enjoy good weather!

Angie and her boys on Mothers Day

As always, loving our time in the city. Many thanks to Lori and family for holding down the fort back in CA!

We Stayed (just slightly) Too Long at the Fair.

It wasn’t all that long ago that I used to devise an alternate driving route so as to avoid going past the fairgrounds and keep those boys of mine from seeing the Ferris wheel  that signals the start of our annual local Fair.

Did you know that the Ferris wheel was invented as part of a competition for Chicago's 1893 World's Fair? (image from keyt.com)

They always somehow found out anyway, though,  and every year the CE or I found ourselves trudging the dusty midway, buying criminally over-priced corn dogs and cotton candy and getting sick just watching the kids go round and round on the Tilt-a-Whirl. The only day that the CE actually ever stayed home sick from work in 20+ years was when he relented and rode that Tilt-a-Whirl with Tina and Angie when they were young. He promptly went green around the gills, came home and went to bed for forty-eight hours.

The Tilt-a-Whirl: Step right up...and prepare to lose your lunch and the next twenty-four hours...
(image from thefloridaeveryoneforgot.blogspot.com)

There’s just something about the fair. Its bright lights hold a promise so deep and shallow at the same time – “Forget all your cares”, “Win a stuffed animal!” that we are somehow convinced to part with significant amounts of money and end up with empty pockets, residual nausea and a potent memory of the sharp-edged visages of the “Carnies” who beckon you closer from every booth.

By the way, if you've never watched HBO's oh-too-brief two seaons of "Carnivale", you need to do so right now! (image from grouchymuffin.com)

For all the times we’ve attended the fair, we somehow never made it past the rides and the funnel-cake booths to visit the paddocks where the livestock are kept. So as we drove by the other day (the CE unwisely not having devised that alternate route) I said “I want to go see the chickens!” As it turned out, so did he, so off we went to join the dusty throngs.

First stop, of course, was the poultry exhibit:

It wasn’t exactly a palace of poultry. There weren’t all that many birds on display, and of those that were, most would have had a hard time competing with our own little flock.

There was a fairly nice-looking Buff Orpington, but its feathers were a duller color than Hope's - maybe she gets a tan from all her free-ranging?

It was a lot of fun to see the roosters, whose plumage is always much showier than that of the hens:

I think this is a Black Copper Marans rooster, which would be the male counterpart to Tulip.

The body shape and pea comb suggest to me that this is an Aracauna rooster

I finally get to say it: Silly goose!

My favorite birds at the exhibit were these Porcelain d'Uccles; same breed as Pippa but different coloring.

Loved this handsome Porcelain d'Uccle rooster.

Gobble gobble: I don't think this little boy will ever feel quite the same about Thanksgiving.

Hygiene note: If you ever tour livestock pens at a fair you will notice that there are sinks set up outside the exit. These aren’t simply for the squeamish; if you have birds at home it is imperative that you thoroughly wash your hands after being around the poultry exhibit in order to make sure that you don’t carry any unwelcome microbes home with you. For the same reason it is also advisable to clean your shoes before re-entering your home coop area. There are certain communicable avian diseases that can wipe out an entire flock after even such a casual exposure. This is also why it’s important to quarantine any new flock additions.

After seeing the birds, we decided to poke around a few other exhibits:

Taylor, I tried to find llamas for you but these alpacas were the best I could do.

Three little pigs

The goats were very entertaining. These little guys were getting quite unruly:

See the head-butting on your left?

But someone tattled, and out came Mom to see what was going on:

"You kids are ba-a-a-a-d! Just wait until your father gets home!"

"Go to your room, now, all of you!"

Will someone please tell the CE that if he really loved me he would give me a pair of pygmy goats for my birthday?

It was a very fun visit to the fair, and we almost got away without committing any food crimes. But just as we were leaving, we walked by the Kettle Corn booth. Irresistible.

"Get your own. I'm not planning to share."

Every Dog Has Its Day.

And Saturday belonged to Soho.

I don’t even remember how the tradition got started, but somehow, Soho has managed to throw herself an every-other-year party and a few of her BFF’s braved the fog to help her celebrate her eighth birthday.  Here are some pix:

Diva pink accents were the order of the day.

Q: "Was our invitation lost in the mail?"
A. No, but a number of them actually were! I thought people weren't RSVPing but some of you never got your invites due to fussy USPO envelope regulations. So sorry!

PJG and her friend Marilee

Kirstie prettified Soho and Chloe for the big day and then arrived quite prettified herself.

Watermelon gazpacho! Our caterer, Tammy, outdid herself yet again.

Surf in the turf

Someone else's chickens gave to this cause: deviled egg bar

Katherine greets the birthday girl

Chloe welcomes Bonnie and Jeff

Victoria, Yoni and Missy the Tart

Soho called the doctor. She loves Kirk!

Pamela, Andy and Alexandra

Bonnie, Susie and the fog lurking in the background. Welcome to So Cal!

John, Marie-Christine, and our other birthday girl, Ashleigh

Soho and Julia

All-grown-up Chadd and Lori

Baby Mia! She's just two weeks old and ours was her very first party. Lucky us!

The MRC brain trust. These guys made it happen: Rich, John, Scot and the CE

Cast and characters: Roger, Lynn, Mary Lou and one-armed Marsha

Missy the Tart in her new birthday dress. She had a great day!

Happy to be in NYC

Two weeks in New York are like six months anyplace else. Things move fast here! Especially the temperature – one day it’s squalling wind and in the low 20′s and the next day it’s a balmy 60 degrees. Leave it to NYC to have its own form of March Madness.

Baby, it's cold outside! Brrrr!

As always, this visit has been a magical melding of family, friends, feasts and fun. We’re probably bruised from pinching ourselves so often – can we really be so lucky as to live here part time?

We leap-yeared right in this trip with tix to see Venus in Fur, with its breakthrough role that set dynamo actress Nina Arianda on a collision course with Broadway. The synopsis I read promised “an intellectual adventure and an often funny encounter between an actress and a playwright”.

(image from thetheatresource.com)

The synopsis conveniently forgot to mention that the leggy star spends most of her time on stage wearing a  garter belt and thigh high boots or that a passive-aggressive Hugh Dancy finds himself in emotional and physical bondage to this alpha Aphrodite.

Oops. No one told us!(image from meetsobsession.com)

It may not have been what we expected, but it was most definitely memorable, and playwright David Ives navigates the terrain of relational power shifts at a dizzying speed.

A few evenings later, we toned things down a bit and saw Death of a Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield.

Andrew Garfield and Philip Seymour Hoffman play Biff and Willy Loman (image from justjared.com)

Still in previews, this production is not quite yet on steady ground. Both actors seem perfect on paper for their roles yet, to me, seem strangely miscast on the stage. But guess who shines? Arthur Miller! The play may leave you in despair; there’s misery a-plenty for anyone who has been a parent or a child, so that covers pretty much everyone, but “attention must be paid” as this is a timeless work.

Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman and Brian Dennehy have also played Willy Loman on Broadway.

I hope the two current stars will find their footing and that the powers-that-be will tighten up Act II. Our review: it was “liked, but not well-liked”.

We were especially excited to see our favorite “off-Broadway” stars, namely friends and family. Angie and Bobby had us over for a scrumptious lunch of chicken and dumplings. It was a perfect meal to help us acclimate to wintry weather.

Angie was kind enough to share the recipe, so I have it if anyone wants it.

Thomas, Grandpa and James

And we’ve hit the jackpot with multiple Daniel sightings:

Daniel!

Daniel and friends Liza and Chris after brunch at Artisanal

We enjoyed a lunch with bibliophiles Sunday and Josh, and got to meet their adorable little Shih-Tzu, Marlowe. And I was thrilled to have dinner with friend and recent NYC transplant Teri – we were so busy catching up that I forgot to get a photo, but I can tell you that the city agrees with her. She looked absolutely stunning and she’s enjoying her new life and job here in the city.

The CE rode the Acela down to WDC to visit Taylor for a weekend to complete our East Coast family circle:

Tay Tay!

And that was just the first week!  More to come…

Grandpa and Nana go to Newport.

Nine days until Christmas and what are we doing?

Shopping? Wrapping? Addressing Christmas cards?

Nope. None of the above. We are slumming in Newport Beach, the devil-may-care alternative to contemplating the dread terror that awaits us when fifteen people show up for Christmas dinner next week.

We hadn’t yet visited Tina and John in their new home in Newport Beach, and Grandparents’ Day was scheduled at Evie’s school, so we drove down for a few lovely days in Orange County. Here are some pix:

Viv and Evie are always a bit shy when we first show up. This is their "Who are these people?" look.

Buster warms right up, though! He remembers that we reliably slip him treats under the table.

They are living on Lido Isle, which gave us a front-row seat to the festive holiday boat parade.

So many lights!

We had so much fun visiting Evie's classroom for Grandparents' Day.

Can you read the posters Evie made? When asked to describe Grandpa, she wrote "feeds chickens, silly, loves Buster". Spot on assessment, Evie!

We got to meet Evie's teacher.

And it was so fun to be at her school.

After the event at school we went to a local diner for lunch. Grandpa LOVES his chocolate malt!

Then we went to see the big tree at Fashion Island. Evie seeks help from above "please, no more pictures!"

We had dinner at their house last night while they packed to leave for their fun trip to Hawaii. Evie demonstrated a plie for us.

The girls love hanging with Dad!

They’re headed for Hawaii so it’s time for us to drive back up the coast and face the Christmas music – so many presents, so little time!

Viv is ready for fun in the sun! Aloha!

First Things Last. Happy Belated!

Very tardy to the party here but it’s never too late to wish the CE a Happy Semi-Major Birthday, is it?

(We won’t discuss numbers, but let’s just say there have been a flurry of calls to the Social Security Administration in the past few weeks.)

We celebrated with Dave and Karen, who surprised the birthday boy with an epicurean feast and tickets to see a group we’d never heard of but will now never forget!

A toast to the birthday boy!

Karen prepared dinner and ensconced herself right up there with some talented French chefs we know.

We are obsessed with this Swedish Apple Cake that is a tradition in Karen's family. I hope she'll share the recipe with us!

After dinner, we went to a sold-out performance for the Portland so-out-they’re-in group Pink Martini. Big band brass with a hipster twist. And the CE’s favorite twist of the evening was the indomitable, inimitable Ms. Storm Large. There is really no describing this tall drink of talent, although her name, which is her own and not a stage name, sums it up pretty well. She is, without a doubt, a force of nature! You’ve got to see her to believe her:

The CE could not be convinced to join the conga line but it was still a great evening and a memorable way to turn a year older. Happy bday, CE!

PG knows how old he is, but she's not saying.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’re here in NYC with a front-row seat to the parade. The CE was up bright and early to collect Thomas and James for their annual parade date.

7:30 am and counting!

8 am: wrestling in Grandpa and Nana's apartment

8:30 am: trying, unsuccessfully, to topple Uncle Taylor

9:15 am: looks like the parade will be here soon! (polloplayer image)

Here it comes! (polloplayer image)

It's officially Thanksgiving! (polloplayer image)

Jamesy has the best seat in the house

Cee Lo Green is a crowd favorite (polloplayer image)

Thomas is lucky Uncle Daniel is so strong!

The Aflac duck (polloplayer image)

We know we’re in good company because Mark Wahlberg is in our lobby this morning watching the parade with his family. But even he is not as famous as this guy:

Buzz! (polloplayer image)

Hope you’re having a great day!

Farewell to France: our last days on the Cote d’Azur

We have so many great memories from our trip to France, but one that continues to shimmer in my daydreams is a walk we took along the peninsula at St. Jean Cap Ferrat as our visit there came to a close.

We began at our hotel, the Grand Hotel du Cap, which is sited at the very tip of the peninsula.

The lighthouse icon at the tip of the peninsula is just below our hotel.

We rode the funicular down to the beach club and exited the gate to a chalky path that meanders below the cliffs at the edge of the sea. Our day was, of course, perfect. 80 degrees, full sun, gentle breeze off the Mediterranean.

There's the lighthouse in the distance

We chose the road more traveled – the path that leads into the village of St. Jean Cap Ferrat.

We had the path all to ourselves that morning.

One of the curiosities of our trip was the vast amount of graffiti we saw everyplace we visited. It is strewn throughout Paris, Provence and, as you see here, the Riviera, as well:

This abandoned structure along the sea has seen better days.

The village of St. Jean Cap Ferrat beckons in the distance.

Overlooking Cap Ferrat's storied Paloma Beach

In town, things were quiet. The restaurants and smaller hotels were shuttered, marking the end of the high season. We found a cafe next to the harbor where some locals were gathered and we stopped to share a cafe au lait.

The harbor looks remarkably similar to Santa Barbara's, doesn't it?

La Civette was the place to be that morning

We dragged our feet a bit on the walk back to our hotel, not wanting the day – or our time in France – to come to an end. The CE took a ceremonial toe-dip in the hotel’s plunge pool so he could say he’d been in the Mediterranean Sea.

That evening, we took a cab into the neighboring village of Villefranche and had dinner aside their harbor at the popular La Mere Germaine.

Our water’s edge table was ideal for watching the privileged folks ferrying back and forth from their yachts in dinghies.

It seemed like the right place to order seafood.

Crevettes!

The next day was our last and happened to be our 31st wedding anniversary, which we celebrated with dinner on the terrace of the Grand Hotel du Cap. It was an evening of gratitude for the wonderful two weeks we’d spent in France and for the 30+ years we’ve shared together.

Decades fly when you're having fun!

Au revoir to France – we hope to return soon!

Oh, oh Monaco!

The fabled principality of Monaco lies just twenty miles or so east of St. Jean Cap Ferrat. Carved into the rocky Mediterranean cliffs, it is a country just about the size of Central Park. Sounded like a must-see to me!

Aerial view of Monaco (image from Wikipedia)

Yves, our favorite concierge at the Grand Hotel du Cap, seemed determined that we Americaines should have an unforgettably wonderful experience on his watch, and when the CE approached him to discuss a day-trip to Monaco, Yves fairly shimmered with excitement. “Oui, yes, I have just the place for you to have lunch!” said Yves, with a verifiable twinkle in his eye. Well, we’d heard THAT one before, hadn’t we? Memories of our troll-like waiter in St. Tropez remained fresh in our minds, but Yves assured us that all would be well, so off we went to Monte Carlo.

Road-building in the rocky south coast of France must be a real headache!

The Grimaldis captured the “Rock of Monaco” in 1297 and, tough and tenacious as the crag that forms the Monegasque cliffs, hung on, weathered its loss during the French Revolution and regained their kingdom once and for all in 1861. Gambling, tourism and plenty of sub-rosa bank accounts generate sufficient cash to make income tax unnecessary for the nearly 36,000 residents of the Rock.

The road to Monaco

Since it was Sunday, things were sleepy in Monte Carlo. The stores were closed, so we window-shopped, and noticed that nearly every business loyally displays a framed photo of Prince Albert and his new (runaway?) bride Charlene Wittenstock.

Did she or didn't she? The press claims Ms. Wittenstock tried to bolt before her wedding, but so far the bride doesn't kiss and tell. (image from slinkingtowardretirement.com)

No royals were in sight; just us and a smattering of other day-trippers busily snapping photos in front of the Monte Carlo Casino.

We didn't go in the casino so we'll never know if the CE would have won a few euros there.

Besides the casino, the centerpiece of Monte Carlo is the Hotel de Paris. The hotel features two very special restaurants,  Alain DuCasse’s Le Louis XV on the first floor, and Le Grill, perched on the top floor of the building.

The sumptuous lobby of Monte Carlo's Hotel de Paris.

Yves had reserved us a window table at Le Grill, and it was as special as he promised. The waiters were professional and friendly, the menu prices surprisingly reasonable, and the view was spectacular.

If you go to Monaco, this is where you want to have lunch!

Upon being seated, the champagne cart is swiftly presented. It would be rude to decline, no?

The food, of course, was wonderful.

And a fun feature of the restaurant is the retractable roof – I’d like to go back for dinner some starry summer night!

A peek of blue sky through the retractable roof at Le Grill.

The weather was lovely, the food was excellent (the dessert souffles are divine!) and the view of Monaco’s harbor below was mesmerizing. Yes, I know it’s getting annoying, but I have to say it again: it was another perfect day!

A happy CE on the balcony of Le Grill

Alas, Our Last Friday in Paris

We awoke Friday morning with the realization of how many steak frites, Croque Monsieurs, eclairs, Ile Flottantes, espressos and macarons remained in Paris despite our best efforts over the past week. (We made absolutely no dent in city’s supply of escargot, cervelle de veau and tripe – it’s all still there waiting for the rest of you!)

Rest assured - plenty of Tete de Veau in supply for your visit to France! (image from caveau-prevote.com)

And sights remained to be seen – we sadly scratched Notre Dame from our list since we had been there on our last trip. Montmartre and the Latin Quarter will have to wait until we visit again. But we still had one glorious day left in Paris and we set out to enjoy:

First order of business: a 25-year-later photo of the CE at the Pompidou Center

From the Centre Pompidou, we wandered through the streets of Le Marais, which is now one of our favorite neighborhoods of Paris. Soon, of course, it was time to eat, and cafes and brasseries are plentiful in that neighborhood.

We must keep the CE well-nourished so he has energy for writing his travel tips!

After lunch, we walked to the Place de Vosges, billed (correctly) as one of the most beautiful squares in the city. As a bonus, we were able to tour the Maison de Victor Hugo there. I believe he wrote Les Miserables while living in this home.

Our favorite room in Victor Hugo's home at the Place de Vosges

Next stop was the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg:

The stately Luxembourg Palace

As we made our way back along Blvd. St-Germain-des-Pres, one of my “must-do’s” appeared right in front of us. Voila! We stopped for a cup of le chocolat chaud at Le Deux Magots cafe, made famous by its famous patrons, including Hemingway, Picasso, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

A perfect end to our last afternoon in Paris…

Heavenly!