* New York City … there is no other like it

New York

We lived in Manhattan for about 14 years, until 2005, and we try to return at least once a year. One of the highlights for Pat is the “Pizza Night” arranged by her Mercury Masters friends. (Mercury Masters is the running club of women over fifty who run marathons that was a major focus of Pat’s life in NY. BTW, she ran 10 marathons)

Usually I join the ladies for pizza; they are all my friends as well. This year, I had time to stop by to say hello before heading to Yankee Stadium, where I saw 3 games on 3 consecutive nights. ALL YANKEE WINS!

Pat and I believe that John’s Pizzeria on 44th St near 8th has the best pizza on the planet. Tonight this again proved true. Great ambiance in what used to be a church, and great pizza! When we lived in Manhattan, Friday night at John’s was a regular, and Bonnie was our regular bartender, with the draft beers on the bar even as we walked in the door. Bonnie became a character in my novel A GOOD CONVICTION, but she had moved on by the time the book was published and I never got to give her a copy. Tonight we met Jeffrey, who knows Bonnie and offered to make a connection for us.

A great new place to walk in Manhattan, with the Hudson River on one side and an ever-changing collage of city views on the other. Currently along 10th Ave from 30th to just past 14th, to be extended north. We were there on a Friday midday and it was full of people but not over-crowded. No bikes or dogs. We dropped down (stairs or elevator) at 16th to explore Chelsea Market and enjoy a crepe. That was about all we could eat after our unexpected adventure at the dentist in the morning.

The best part of New York is often just walking around. We especially like Central Park, where you never know who you’ll meet. Here’s Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) taking time off from portraying LBJ on Broadway to watch his show team play softball.

 

* a different kind of summer – first stop New York City

Since we sold our apartment in Collioure, this summer represents the first version of Plan C. Our intent is to go to fewer places and stay longer than we did when we were doing home exchanges from our Collioure base. However, the first month or so of Plan C (from late June to early August) turned out to be a series of short visits – to NYC, Camden & Portland ME, Martha’s Vineyard, Falmouth MA, Boston, Madrid and Villefranche.

New York City was our first stop. We flew from Key West to Miami to LaGuardia, and then to our favorite NYC hotel, the Milburn on W. 76th St near Broadway. There were three main activities: a Merms Pizza night, 3 New York Yankees games, and a visit from Pat’s kids Chris & Becky and Kevin, with her grandson Sean.

“Merms” is an abbreviation for Mercury Masters, the running club of women over 50 who run marathons that was a major part of Pat’s life during our 14 years in New York. Whenever Pat appears, a group of wonderful ladies in great shape gathers at Dean’s on the West Side for pizza and conversation. And they let me attend.

Not by coincidence, the Yankees played three times during our stay in NY. I went first with our friend Dan, the owner of Rosa Mexicana, then with a college friend from Princeton I’ve seen only once in the past 50+ years, then with my son Josh and grandson Blake.

We met Pat’s sons Chris & Kevin, with Becky & Sean, at Penn Station, and the day included Times Square, Grand Central Station, the Empire State Building, and lunch at NY’s new hot burger joint called Shakeshack.

New York is a photographer’s paradise. There’s something interesting and beautiful wherever you look. Here are three scenes that caught my eye … Central Park seen from Central Park South, a cityscape from inside the lobby of the Time Warner building, and a typical New York collection of water towers viewed from our hotel room.

***

Next … Maine and some aggravation getting there.