NYC – Page 2 – Travels with Melinda

$1 Pizza… top of the “to do” list…. bagels from a street cart…a must… live music at City Winery…VIP seats at $28 each…. oh what fun we will have-carbs and wine, oh my! Thom and I are off to NYC on a business trip for a few days and we will revel in being back where we belong. When we moved out of our Chelsea apartment after my assignment ended there in 2/2012, we weren’t quite as sad as when we left Shanghai because we knew we would be able to go back. China, probably not. Since that move out of Manhattan, we have been lucky enough to enjoy our favorite urban setting a few times, always taking advantage of the local delicacies. Nothing fancy for us–one dollar will buy you a huge slice of cheesy heaven or a chewy bagel buttered thick and eaten on the street while you’re walking around the city. I’m salivating as I type…YUM! Good thing that we walk miles when we are there or I would be in serious trouble. Have you ever had a true NYC Black and White cookie??? The sugar content just coats your tongue and overwhelms the senses in an amazing sugar coma way. They are THE bomb!

Shopping is a must so after I finish working and while Thom hangs at a Mets game with his buddies from kindergarten (no kidding-they are still besties!), I will be walking downtown to FishsEddy, the most fantastic quirky store that I love so much at 19th and Broadway. What do they have that’s so unique? Well, I have gotten NYC theme salt & pepper, soap dish, towels, etc. that sound cheesy but they do them in a really cool way and the classic Hillary Clinton mug that Hannah loves, the naughty nude lady mug that I just had to give as a Christmas present to my sis’s hubster, and the list goes on and on. Note to self: MUST bring empty bag to carry back all the stuff I just have to buy. We were thrilled to see that West Elm now carries a little boutique of FishsEddy stuff in Seattle (see, I told you they were cool) but I still want to shop at the original in NYC. I think my favorite item is their ceramic hand collection. I have a small one that holds my most precious rings on my very cluttered jewelry display.

Give FishsEddy a Hand! Best store in NYC.

First night in town, we already have tickets to a concert at City WInery to see Griffin House, an indie bluesy singer out of Nashville, I had never heard of him but love the venue so I downloaded some of his songs and he’s really good. So, tickets purchased, I look forward to sipping some wine in a lively intimate environment down in SoHo. On our way down to the concert, we just have to stop by our favorite Barnes & Noble in Union Square and go to a book signing for the authors of the Dr. Who books. Thom is a Dr. Who freak who even got a Tardis tattoo on his arm, so he will geek out seeing these guys. My husband is so weird and wonderful. Just saying…

Yes, I will be adding to my Broadway Booze sippy cup collection

A Broadway play is a given for another night with TKTS providing a great bargain for people like us who wait till the last minute and take whatever is left on a week night. Musical, drama, I don’t care as long as it’s Broadway, baby, it’s good! I remember the last time we were there we took one of my China peers to see Kinky Boots. As he was drooling over the babes kicking up their heels on stage, I leaned over and told him they were all dudes. The look on his face was priceless and he proclaimed that he would never see such a thing in China. He is probably still telling stories in Beijing about his Broadway experience.

The Met is on the list as the Temple of Dendur is my happy place. When Thom and I lived in NYC, we were members of the Met and went there almost every week to gaze upon the Monets and enjoy so many wondrous works of art. Love it!!! Of course, we will see friends and Thom will get to see his beloved Mets play on Sunday before we go home. We will walk through Central Park after the Met and visit Madison Square Park where Izaak spent his days frolicking with the pups when we lived here. Ahhhhh….the smell of urine-soaked gravel does bring back the memories. NYC… Here we come!

NY Post. Bagel Shops. $1 Pizza. Dog parks. Broadway. Interesting people-EVERYWHERE. Why do I love NYC so much? All that & more. You can never be bored here. I hate being bored. I want to be able to walk for miles and see something new and different, whether it be a store or people or a park, every day I am alive. I’m a walker and NYC is a walking paradise. Even in the downpour last night, we had fun dodging under scaffolding and running across broad avenues to reach the historic and wonderful theater where we saw Kinky Boots.

Broadway Baby-Kinky Boots Amazingly Fabulous!

Enriching my colleague’s life with a night on Broadway, he was even more amazed when I leaned over and told him that those gorgeous ladies doing the high kicks in the skimpy outfits and kinky boots were all men. Priceless. He was still talking about it the next day and really appreciated the story line and talent displayed on stage. But never, ever would you or could you experience something like that in China. I’m glad we could share that with him. And, yes, those were Kinky Cocktails in sippy cups. When I die and the grandkids are going through our crap, they’ll see my collection of sippy cups from all the Broadway plays we have gone to and think their Nai Nai was pretty cool and drank ALOT. Oh, the stories they will tell but hopefully we will inspire them to see our big, wonderful world.

Today, after work we walked around the UN area between 49th and 55th and 2nd Avenue, wandering aimlessly with no destination in mind as we do everywhere we go. Manhattan, we love you! When we stumbled upon the Peter Detmold dog park by the East River and 51st Street we just felt like it was home.

Puppies galore! I miss my Izaak so much!

There were even Vizla’s playing among the many dogs with their owners chatting and enjoying the warm sunny day. Ahhhhhhh….this is where we belong. While there were no coal barges running up and down the river like in Shanghai, an apartment here would be awesome. We favor a river view always, though whether we could afford one here is still to be determined.

Many of the buildings were very historic with beautiful stonework and rich details. Doormen in their uniforms guarding the residences doesn’t bode well for affordability but does speak to feeling secure and pampered. Many restaurants including Il Positino and other international restaurants due to the UN being so close made for a diverse atmosphere. How can we make this happen? Well, I have been known to be a planner and stubborn in my resolve to make things happen–it took me almost 4 years to get an international job, taking on the challenge of many different assignments to get to where we are now, so it’s in my wheelhouse to make this happen in the future for us as well.

We have no intention of cutting our current adventure short but we are restless vagabonds who long to have Manhattan as our base of operation some day, along with a nice abode in Boise, Idaho to visit often with the soon-to-be arriving Mia and her superb parents, Mike & Hannah, along with our son James who will probably stay in the damp, grey Seattle he favors. When he graduates next year, I just may go back and get my MBA in China which could serve me well as a consultant in my future years should I go in that direction. In the meantime, I will dream of living in the Big Apple with Thom and start saving to make the dream become a reality. EVERYONE NEEDS TO DREAM BIG!! That doesn’t mean, of course, that I’m giving up our VIP Membership at Dragonfly Massage in Shanghai. A girl has to have her weekly foot massages. I’m not a savage.

View from the dog park. How do you beat this?

Travels with Melinda

Tag: NYC

New York, Here We Come!

My Destiny-Manhattan & Me

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