We arrived Thursday night by way of Newark Airport. We took a train into New York to Penn Station. Normally, I wouldn't bother blogging about how we got into the city, but on this train trip we had the pleasure to share the car with a crack addict who kept singing lullabies to a baby that wasn't hers. I think everyone was afraid of her so no one said anything. When we got to Penn Station and were heading to the elevator, Drew suggested we take an escalator instead because the elevator would be crowded. I said, "I only see five people, Drew." So we got on and guess who got on behind us? The poor woman from the train. "Sorry, Drew," I said.
We made it safely into the city and walked around to find a place to eat dinner. We ended up eating outside at a restaurant in Bryant Park. The park is situated next to the New York public library and neither of us had even heard of it, even though we had each been to New York numerous times. Turns out, it's where a lot of the events of fashion week take place. We had a lovely dinner outside in perfect weather under Sycamore trees admiring the skyline of Midtown Manhattan.
Friday, I awoke to find myself quoted in the Wall Street Journal. Actually, I knew I was going to be in it because I had been interviewed the day before, but it was fun to read it in New York with my breakfast and see my name in print. The article was in reference to the Affordable Care Act and the online Insurance Marketplace which opens October 1. You can read the article HERE. My quote is about two thirds of the way down. Later that morning I had an interview with a reporter from CBS Radio News about the article, but I never heard the story.
Friday was a low key day. After the media left me alone, Drew met a friend for lunch and I went on a long walk in Central Park. The highlight of my walk was stopping for a Hot Dog and reading my Kindle in Strawberry Fields, the part of the park that Yoko Ono financed as a tribute to John Lennon who was assassinated nearby in front of his home at the Dakota on December 8, 1980. The weather was perfect, a beautiful fall day with blue sky and a cool breeze.
Drew and I met up later for drink before we went to dinner and the concert. Our hotel was in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood just west of Times Square. This neighborhood used to be very rough--hence the name--but is now a trendy place to live. We had dinner at a place called HK and then walked over to Town Hall for Patricia Kaas. The concert was everything I wanted it to be and more. Ever since I was introduced to the music of Edith Piaf years ago, I always wished I could see her in concert. But of course that's impossible since she died before I was born. I have seen dozens of video clips though. She didn't just sing her songs, but expressed them from her heart as well. You can see a classic Piaf performance HERE. Kaas gave it all she had as well and I felt like I was finally seeing that concert in France that I've always dreamed of but couldn't see. Not just her voice, but also the emotion and feeling she put into the songs. Not a big fan, even Drew was impressed. I think we were the youngest people there and two of the only Americans in the audience. You can see Kaas singing a classic Piaf song HERE. I don't think you need to understand French to hear the emotion both women express in their singing.
Saturday morning we ran with Front Runners New York. Front Runners was started as a gay and lesbian running club named after a book by Patricia Nell Warren about a gay Olympic runner. Most large American cities have a Front Runners club and Drew and I are active with the group in Atlanta. While we normally have around 20 or 25 people at our Saturday runs, the New York club has several 100. We jogged with them around the jogging path in Central Park for a six mile run. Afterward, everyone walked over to nearby Rutgers Presbyterian Church for Bagels and Coffee in the church basement. I would definitely run with them again. It was nice to get a different perspective of the park and to meet people who actually live and work in New York.
Later that day, I met my friend Russell Gibson for lunch in Chelsea. Russell was in medical school at the University of Florida while I was in law school. We were good friends but had lost touch and I hadn't seen him in about 15 years. We had a nice lunch catching up and it was as if we had never been separated. After lunch we walked down to the West Village, lined up, and bought cupcakes at the Magnolia Bakery and ate them in a little park nearby. A lovely afternoon, catching up with an old friend.
Later, Drew and I walked on the Highline from 34th street on the west side to the Meat Packing District where we had dinner. The Highline is an old elevated freight railroad line that has been converted into a walking trail. It is fairly new and has become a bit of a novelty so, of course, it was full of tourists. It is landscaped with lawns, benches, flowers, and trees and it was perfect weather for a little walk before dinner. Drew treated me to an early birthday dinner at Pastis, a French restaurant in the Meatpacking district. The area that was once famous for transexual prostitutes is now another gentrified New York neighborhood. The weather was nice enough that we could eat outside, which was just as well, because inside was a bit crowded with a large table for the diplomatic delegation from Ecuador. Later I learned that the UN General Assembly was about to start meeting. In fact, several Ecuadoran secret service agents patrolled inside and outside of the restaurant the whole time we were there. For dinner, I had the veal scallops. I know, I know, it's veal, but wow, was it good. So tender. And with it was a vegetable that I had never had before. I thought it was Spinach but the waiter told me it was broccoli rabe. I don't like regular broccoli, but I'm now hooked on the rabe variety. During our entire dinner, there was a constant parade of young women, dressed in miniskirts and sky high heels making their way to a nearby popular bar over cobble stones! Their outfits were scandalous and I hope my goddaughter Baikal (age 7) never dresses like that. I know here Dad would never stand for it.
Later, Drew and I walked on the Highline from 34th street on the west side to the Meat Packing District where we had dinner. The Highline is an old elevated freight railroad line that has been converted into a walking trail. It is fairly new and has become a bit of a novelty so, of course, it was full of tourists. It is landscaped with lawns, benches, flowers, and trees and it was perfect weather for a little walk before dinner. Drew treated me to an early birthday dinner at Pastis, a French restaurant in the Meatpacking district. The area that was once famous for transexual prostitutes is now another gentrified New York neighborhood. The weather was nice enough that we could eat outside, which was just as well, because inside was a bit crowded with a large table for the diplomatic delegation from Ecuador. Later I learned that the UN General Assembly was about to start meeting. In fact, several Ecuadoran secret service agents patrolled inside and outside of the restaurant the whole time we were there. For dinner, I had the veal scallops. I know, I know, it's veal, but wow, was it good. So tender. And with it was a vegetable that I had never had before. I thought it was Spinach but the waiter told me it was broccoli rabe. I don't like regular broccoli, but I'm now hooked on the rabe variety. During our entire dinner, there was a constant parade of young women, dressed in miniskirts and sky high heels making their way to a nearby popular bar over cobble stones! Their outfits were scandalous and I hope my goddaughter Baikal (age 7) never dresses like that. I know here Dad would never stand for it.
After that amazing meal, Drew and I went to see the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, written by Harvey Fierstein and Cindy Lauper. The musical won several Tony awards this past year and did not disappoint. It tells the story of the son of a shoe factory owner who starts making shoes for drag queens in order to save his late father's factory. As it just opened in April, we got to see the original cast, including Billy Porter who won the Tony for best actor in a musical. I highly recommend it. After the show, we had to run back to the hotel in the rain, the only time it rained while we were there.
Sunday morning, we took the subway down to Ground Zero to go to the 9/11 memorial. We were a little early so we walked down to Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan for great views of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty. We lined up for the memorial in front of the building at Greenwich and Albany where my good friend Davis Candler used to live. Davis has since passed away and seeing his building choked me up and brought back a lot of great memories of visiting him when he was there. The 9/11 Memorial is in the middle of a giant construction site. After going through a metal detector, we walked under numerous construction boardwalks before we got to the main memorial. Where the two towers used to be are now two square shaped fountains in their foot prints with the names of victims around the fountains. We noticed white roses by some people's names and later learned this was done on their birthdays. We walked quietly around both memorials and I tried to read as many names as possible. At one point, a gust of wind blew some of the water at us and I like to think it was the departed thanking us for visiting them. Rising above the memorial is the new One World Trade Center also known as the Freedom Tower, now the tallest building in the United States. Other buildings are also going up around the memorial.
We had a great little trip and vowed to go back soon and more often. Since we had both been several times before, we didn't really have an agenda and enjoyed taking it easy, hanging out, and doing just a handful of sites. I have posted an album of pictures on Facebook of the trip. You can view them HERE if you like and you don't need a Facebook account to do so.
