NYC - May 17, 2010

"NY is Zabar's...Zabar's is NY"

Central Park - NYC

Pas de Rouge Sandals

Another beautiful day in the Big Apple. I spent the weekend wandering through Central Park. The vastness and open, airy feeling is in such contrast to the concrete jungle that is Manhattan. I love meandering through the different paths and I often end up in new places. The sight of children and families strolling, runners and exercisers, elderly people and tourists just enjoying the day can lift the spirits. Truly Central Park is one of the gems of the city. I ended up exiting the park in the Upper West Side in a neighborhood filled with flower shops, delis, movie theaters and shops. One of my favorite shoe stores in this neighborhood is Harry's Shoes www.harrys-shoes.com. It's a store filled with comfort shoes including brands like Mephisto, Ecco, Cordani, and Merrell. I came across some beautiful shoes that reminded me of Thierry Raboutin shoes -- well made, soft leather and very stylish. The brand name is Pas de Rouge. I tried on a few pairs and I was instantly sold. Another shoe purchase in NYC -- I will certainly have alot of packages upon my arrival back to LA! Just a few blocks south of Harry's is the famous Zabar's -- an institution in the Upper West Side www.zabars.com. It is a "gourmet epicurian institution" and it certainly makes for a fun and tasty way to spend some time. The aisles of delicious baked goods including rugelach, babkas, beautiful lox and herring displays and shelves of gourmet foods make Zabar's second to none. I decided to have the Bagel and Nova Lox special of the day....tasty and well-priced. NYC is definitely a food-lovers city!

NYC - May 16, 2010

my pedometer reading

music and dance on Madison Ave.

The Pump - quick, healthy food

The J.P. Morgan Library

Awoke to another beautiful sunny day in NYC. After having coffee in my room and reading the headlines of the NYTimes, I ventured out to start my day. Someone had told me about their recent visit to the JP Morgan Library and Museum (www.themorgan.org) so I decided to head down to Madison Avenue and 36th Street to visit the museum. Even though the weather was beautiful I decided to take the bus down Madison Avenue. It wasn't a bad decision, because I reached my destination in no time at all. A visit to the Morgan Library is indeed an unforgettable experience. The museum has wonderful drawings by Rembrandt and Rubens, unmatched medieval and Renaissance texts, Gutenberg Bibles and Near Eastern carvings more than two thousand years old. Two current exhibitions were spectacular. "Written In Stone" is the title of an exhibit portraying rare inscribed tablets from the Middle Assyrian period of Mesopotamia. The second exhibit entitled "Palladio and His Legacy" features thirty-one original Palladio drawings from the Royal Institute of British Architects. These drawings were on view to the public for the first time in over thirty years. The show also traces the story of Palladio's influence on numerous architectural models including the Pantheon, villa Rotonda, and Jefferson's unrealized design for the White House.

During the exhibit, we were able to enjoy a concert in Gilder Lehrman Hall of the museum. The concert showcased young musicians from the Juilliard School's Pre-College Division. Several amazingly talented young students played various pieces of music composed by musicians whose scores are in the Morgan's collection of musical manuscripts.

After the exhibit, I was quite hungry for a late lunch. I walked up Madison Ave. to 40th Street and decided to check out The Pump. This is definitely a unique spot for lunch. All foods are made from scratch, every day. It serves healthy, unprocessed foods, and the menu is basically built around either a plate, a salad, or a low-carb whole wheat "twist" or wrap. You can select your lean protein from a number of selections including lean beef, turkey, grass-fed bison, chicken breast or organic tofu. You can check out their menu at www.pumpenergyfood.com/order.

I continued my walk up Madison Avenue and around 49th Street I noticed a small crowd gathering around a street scene. I heard the loud music of a boombox and watched the crowd view several young men and a few children performing dance routines on the sidewalk. The loud music and the applause from the viewers drew even more people to the scene. You just never know what you'll run into when you're taking a walk in the city.

By the time I returned to the Affinia, I checked my pedometer for the day. I knew that I had walked alot, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a number over 17,000!! This is a number that I certainly never reach while walking in Los Angeles. And my legs and feet were ready for a long, warm bath.

NYC - May 15, 2010

Hampton Jitney

Apple Store - Upper West Side NYC

Signs at Gray's Papaya Broadway & 72nd Street

Gray's Papaya

Aroma Espresso Bar NYC

There's nothing like spring in NYC and that's where I decided to spend some time now that May is in full swing. After a short 4 hour and 45 minute flight from LA, I arrived in the Big Apple. I am staying in a spacious one-bedroom suite in the Affinia Gardens http://www.affinia.com/. It's in a fabulous location -- on 64th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue on the Upper East Side. I love walking and exploring this ever-changing city. My suite is simply furnished, with a large living area, bedroom, bath and a small kitchen. After a good night's sleep, I awoke to a beautiful spring day with the temperature in the low 70's. I walked over to 2nd Avenue to the Health Nut -- what an amazing selection of all things healthy. In my basket were my staples -- Fage Yogurt 0% fat, two boxes of Z bars, cereal, milk and seven grain bread. Also, they have the most amazing home made salt-free soup prepared daily. After stocking my fridge, I walked up to 72nd Avenue, caught the cross-town bus and was on my way to one of my favorite shoe stores-

Tip Top shoes http://www.tiptopshoes.com/. It's a haven for comfortable yet stylish shoes and sandals, just the type that you can wear for hours in the city. Ended up getting a pair of Original Kork-Ease sandals and a pair of stylish yet super comfy Finn Comfort sneakers. Little did I realize that one of my favorite Israeli coffee bars was located just a few doors down -- Aroma Coffee Bar http://www.aroma.us/. I stopped in for a delicious iced decaf coffee and a pastry. It really brought back memories of Israel... the place was full of families, children, tourists and locals. They also have two other locations -- in Midtown on 42nd Street between 2nd and 3d and in Soho on Greene Street at Houston. I didn't have lunch but their menu included fresh sandwiches, salads, soups and breakfast. I'll have to plan to eat there at least once during my stay in NYC.

Continuing on my walk, I walked past a long line of customers across the street at a famous NY institution -- Gray's Papaya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray's_Papaya located at Broadway & 72nd. This quick stop hot-dog chain has been featured on Anthyony Bourdain's No Reservations as well as in numerous films. They are famous for their "Recession Special" : 2 hot dogs with everything and papaya juice for $4.75. Now that's a deal for a NYC meal. Their hot dogs were ranked #1 in the city in the June, 2006 issue of Time Out Magazine. The line went quickly and within a few moments I was biting into a delicious hot dog with golden brown mustard and onions. Delicious!!!

After filling up on lunch, a long walk was necessary. Within a few blocks I stumbled upon the new Apple store on NYC's Upper Westside http://www.apple.com/retail/upperwestside/. The store was full of customers, many of whom were trying out the new IPad. I realized the store had a downstairs as well where Apple holds classes. Another huge success for Apple!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent taking the cross town bus back to the east side since my feet deserved a rest at this point. I passed a large bus parked on 69th Street with the words "Hampton Jitney" http://www.hamptonjitney.com/cgi-bin/nav.cgi?page=home.html on it. This luxurious bus line transports New Yorkers to the summer resorts on Long Island. This is something I'll definitely have to check out soon!!

The amazing thing about NYC is that you never know what you'll learn about just around the next corner.