I visited my sister in NYC a few years ago ... with remnants of the stomach flu and two bad knees. Their co-op is very near Washington Square and there is so much to see and do ... as well as buy ... there. It was a very short visit and I didn't get to enjoy so much of it, so I vowed to see more if I ever returned.
For the first few days of the Wedding Week I mostly saw restaurants and the inside of Ubers and taxis. Sunday afternoon I moved into their teeny tiny one bedroom unit along with another friend, as my Brother-in-Law was departing that evening. We met up with the sister of the groom and her two East Coast buddies and her West Coast bestie and had a gourmet pizza luncheon. The girls left their luggage at the coop to go play about the City as their flights weren't until 10:30 pm.
The bride and groom came over about 5pm and we shared more Dom Perignon. How they manage to be awake and coherent is beyond me. Such a cute couple, I have to say. They have a new age marriage as he left Monday morning for grad school in Philadelphia and she remains in NYC. He is finished in May and they have had a commuter relationship for more than a year. It's about a 90 minute train ride. I think they both want to stay in NYC but it will depend on his job opportunities (he's a little genius and charming and good looking, so anyone will be glad to hire him).
Sunday night another friend of my Sis joined us and we went out for dinner again. Fortunately, I got a cheese burger that was down to earth delish. They shared a few desserts and my waitress sold me a HALF glass of wine for my dessert. Life is good.
Monday morning we went on a two hour pedicab ride through Central Park. WOW! Our guide was an amazing wealth of knowledge and knew his history as well. And he had a bit of gossip on who lives around there and how much the units rent or sell for.
840 acres in the middle of Manhattan. What used to be a scary place to visit with drugs and drinking and crime everywhere, is now an oasis of green joy. No trash, no homeless camps, no crime. Lots of picnics and children playing and folks enjoying their lunch. This park is now mostly maintained by a privately funded group Central Park Conservatory. The first tree was planted 160 years ago and now there are 20,000. It is just awesome.
The Central Park Conservancy is responsible for the management, restoration, and enhancement of Central Park and raises the Park’s nearly $80 million annual operating budget. Since its founding in 1980, the Central Park Conservancy has overseen the investment of more than $1 billion into Central Park.
Our guide pointed out where different movies had scenes filmed. He explained that originally the space was a marsh and it took FIVE YEARS to dry it out. Then five more years bringing in soil. A park. Who knew?
On the way home, we walked about the chi chi stores, the Lego store, Rockefeller Center and an I ❤️️ NY store to get baseball caps for the boys.
Yep. Got my 10,000 steps in that day!
All that eating and drinking you're going to need a diet when you get home...but it was SO worth it for such wonderful experiences.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how they transformed Central Park from a space for indigents and crime into a now peaceful, safe place?
ReplyDeleteI bet you did get your 10,000 steps in. I never walked so much as when my son and DIL lived up there. Central Park is an enchanting place, made more so because of all that city surrounding it. I'm so glad you had such a great time. The new couple sounds lovely.
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