A New York State of Mind

Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighborhood…

And that’s exactly what we did this past weekend.

Four fun-filled days in New York City were just what my husband and I needed! Here are some random photos from our trip, along with a video of one of my favorite songs below.

Central Park

One of my favorite moments was jogging through Central Park early on Saturday morning.

So colorful.

Lovely textures.

And FDNY has some hot firefighters. Just sayin’.

Speaking of firefighters, I met quite a few. There was some kind of “incident” at the hotel on Friday afternoon. I heard sirens. Saw flashing lights reflected in the windows of the building in front of us. Someone came over the PA telling us to “stay calm” and that evacuating wasn’t necessary. There was smoke reported on the floor below us. The elevators weren’t working. I opened the door and smelled smoke in the hallway…

Curious me decided to walk down the 20-something flights of stairs to see what was going on. I encountered firefighters on almost every floor on the way down. And maybe 15 emergency vehicles out front. All this for a little smoke? The Sheraton provided refreshments for the crowd waiting patiently in the lobby…

But I quickly grew tired of the pandemonium, and wanted to go back upstairs. Only problem? The elevators were still out. So I waited. And waited.
And then I walked up the 20-something floors back up to my room. Out of breath… is an understatement.

Nightlife

Times Square was just a couple of blocks away.

Friday night we went to Iridium Jazz Club to see Freda Payne.
Best know for her 70’s hit “Band of Gold” she did a beautiful tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

Saturday night we saw a Broadway show. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The jury’s still out on whether I liked it or not.
Would I see it again? No. Will I remember it in a month or two? Probably not. Let’s just say it was entertaining. I would have been happier if we hadn’t paid full price for the tickets. The recently renovated at the Belasco Theatre is gorgeous!

We walked around the city quite a bit. My pedometer counted around 17K steps on Saturday. I saw the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, waiting to be trimmed. It would have been nice to get tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman. But they never called me back! I even studied up (you have to answer a trivia question).

Walk or take a cab?
If it were up to my husband, he would’ve hailed a taxi at every opportunity.
I happen to think that for 3 blocks, walking is much faster.

So much great stuff for sale on the streets of the New York.

I picked up yummy cupcakes from Crumbs Bakery on Broadway.
A black-bottom cheesecake cupcake for me. Huge! So good.

And a tasting pack for the girls. And me. Who am I kidding?
(P.S. – Crumbs just opened in DC this past weekend!)

We visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). My first time.
My advice? Start from the top floor and go down from there.

Friday nights, admission is free between 4 and 8pm.

Frida Kahlo is my absolute favorite!

As is Diego Rivera, her husband.

Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Pollock, Monet, Picasso… amazing.

Loved the Pop Art and sculptures, too!

To be with Art is all we ask…

The restaurant next door to the MoMA, The Modern, was spectacular.
We also enjoyed amazing meals at Alto, Dovetail, Le Bernardin, and Toloache.

Ahh… I’m still in a New York state of mind…