Me leading the Culinary Retail tour with a group shot in front of Lady Liberty in Le Jardin de Luxembourg Park on May 24th, 2023
Well today I lead my tour on the ‘Gourmet Retail Shops and Stores’ in the Saint Germain section of Paris on the Left Bank of the city. This is one of the best and unique shopping areas in Paris with all sorts of quaint and quirky independently owned and operated shops with some of the most innovative concepts that I have seen in a while. I really had to do my homework and learn this neighborhood online as best as I could considering that I had never been to Paris before. It took a lot of time to research these stores and see when they were open. I prayed to God every night that we would have perfect weather for the walking tour and my prayers were answered. It was a gorgeous clear and sunny day and the temperature hovered around 67 degrees. What a day to walk!
We started our day at the Cafe Cercle Luxembourg at 1 Rue Gay Lussac right on the northern section of the Le Jardin de Luxembourg and it had a beautiful view on the park. I had planned something else but was pleasantly surprised by the food and the service. When I asked my professor later on why he chose this place was because “the door was open and we walked inside.” It’s an interesting way to choose a restaurant.
The waiter was not prepared for twelve people to enter the dining room at once considering there was only three small tables in the restaurant but like all the French waiters I met on this trip handled it like a pro. They had an “English Formula” breakfast that consisted of Orange Juice, a Croissant, a Hot Beverage (I chose Hot Chocolate) and two fried eggs with ham. Even though the croissant were slightly better the day before, the breakfast was wonderful and it was a great way to start the tour. The waiter started to kid around with some of the women at the table and it was said by more than one person commented that they liked them speaking English with a French accent.
The inside of Cafe Cercle Luxembourg that morning
the entrance of Cafe Cercle Luxembourg
The start to the perfect “English Breakfast”
The Ham and Eggs were so good that morning
There is nothing like a great breakfast to start the day
After breakfast was over, we walked a few blocks and visited the Pantheon which was right around the corner from the restaurant. This was perfect because most of the stores did not open until 10:30am and it would give us a chance to see more of the city. The Pantheon is located in the center of the “Latin Quarter” of Paris atop the Montagne Sainte-Genevieve in the center of the Place du Pantheon (Wiki/Tour guide).
The Pantheon has originally had been built as a church between 1758 and 1790 and was designed by architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot for King Louis XV of France. The king has hoped to dedicate the church to Saint Genevieve. With the outbreak of the French Revolution, the king did not live long enough to see its completion and over the years it had many uses. It is now used as a mausoleum and religious services. It is also a major tourist attraction (Wiki).
Entering the Pantheon
I was impressed by the architecture and by the statuary all over the building. This was a church that was meant to last the centuries which it has. I wonder if Louis XV ever realized what it’s future would be almost three hundred years in the future. In each of the corners, there are amazing details to the building. Since we had plenty of time, I just walked the entire building and enjoyed it.
The inside of the Pantheon
After we left the building, our professor explained the significance of the building in film as the steps were used in the film “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen when Owen Wilson kept being picked up by the carriage. I had not even thought of that.
The ‘Midnight in Paris’ steps at the Pantheon
Then around the corner was the small park and restaurant used in the TV show “Emily in Paris”. I would not have known that since I have never seen the show. What I love about Paris so much is the small parks tucked into neighborhoods and the tiny restaurants and shops that dot them.
You see this only in certain sections of New York City and like Paris, mostly the older sections. It was such a beautiful little park. Right across from the park where the restaurant is located where her chef boyfriend worked. It really is a great little neighborhood.
“Emily in Paris” Park: Place de L’Estrapade
“Emily in Paris” Restaurant: Ristorante Terra Nera
The “Emily in Paris” trailer-you will see these sites
It was then off to La Jardin du Luxembourg to start my “Culinary Gourmet Stops and Store” with my class. I was really nervous. I knew what I wanted to do and the stores and restaurants that I wanted to visit but my professor wanted me to change the tour and flip it so that we started the tour at the gardens and ended at Bon Marche Department Store instead of starting with Breakfast at Bon Marché’s Gourmet Department. I was scared because I had planned and rehearsed the locations that other day (we would get lost twice).
The entrance to the fountains at Le Jardin du Luxembourg
We started the walk in Le Jardin du Luxembourg, which to has to be the most beautiful park in Paris. It is a place that I would want to meet Audrey Hepburn for a stroll. It had been a former estate and palace that was now one of the most beautiful parks in central Paris.
Situated on the border between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter, the Luxembourg Gardens, inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence, were created upon the initiative of Queen Marie de Medici in 1612. The gardens, which cover 25 hectares of land, are split into French gardens and English gardens. Between the two, lies a geometric forest and a large pond (Paris Tourism Office).
I can not tell you how in awe at the beauty I was of this park. It was more gorgeous than the pictures I had seen online. The fountains and the statuary and then of course the beautiful palace that was in the middle of the park. This blew Central Park away in a heartbeat and I still consider it one of the most wonderful parks in the world.
The beauty of the park was seen that morning by the palace in the park
The park had such amazing places to take pictures
The park is where I had originally wanted to end the tour with a picnic lunch from two of the cafes I had researched online. This was now the starting point after the wonderful breakfast and the tour of the Pantheon and the “Emily in Paris” sites. It is great when things work out in the end because it left us plenty of time to relax in the park and take our time taking pictures. Everyone in my class was floored by the beauty of the park as well as I was that morning. The pictures online do not do the park justice.
Our starting point in the park that morning was the Statue of Liberty located at the west side of the park. This statue I found out later on in my research is a copy of the original that has since been moved to a museum because of its age and maintenance but the statue has stood in the park since the original was created back in the late 1800’s.
The copy of the original “Liberty Enlightening the World”
This version of the statue was created for the Exposition Universelle of 1900 by sculptor Frederic Bartholdi of the original “Liberty Enlightening the World”-The Statue of Liberty. It was cast in 1889 and he then donated it to the Musee du Luxembourg. In 1906, the statue was placed outside the museum in the La Jardin du Luxembourg where it stood until 2011. In 2012, it was moved to the entrance hall of the Musee d’Orsay after it’s conservation and the statue we saw is a replica (Wiki).
This is where I wanted our group shot to be but we ended up having it at the beginning of the tour. With everyone in awe of the park and the beautiful weather on my side, I knew it would be a successful tour. I only got us lost twice (my Google Maps went down when my Internet service gave) but isn’t that the fun of a city like Paris? To get lost and see other wonderful things? It worked to my advantage as we were able to spend a bit more time at some stores and pass by others that had not been on the list. I learned a lot from the experience.
Our group shot at the Statue of Liberty in La Jardin du Luxembourg
After we left the park and all our picture taking, we started the door. The first time I took the wrong direction is when we left the park. They were landscaping the exit that I had planned right next to the statue and we had to go out of the southern entrance of the park. This is when we got lost for the first time. Google Maps was working fine and I got us on track immediately. We started the tour on the Rue de Fleurus with stops at Cafe Fleurus and Bread & Roses, two wonderful bakery/cafes right next to the park and two wonderful places to go to lunch.
Because it was so early, Cafe Fleurus was just opening up for a late breakfast/early lunch and we were able to take a peek inside this wonderful little cafe. This was one of the two places that I had suggested for lunch that afternoon for a picnic in the park. The food was highly rated on both TripAdvisor and Google and their pictures online were just amazing. The food looked so good and it was a small but very nice looking restaurant.
The Cafe was just getting really busy with people coming in for a late breakfast when we passed by so it was tough to get inside
The second bakery/cafe we stopped by that morning and my second suggestion for lunch for the original tour was Bread & Roses Cafe, another wonderful cafe just down the block from Cafe Fleurus. This delightful cafe was small also and is more for take out. This was another wonderful choice that had been recommended for planning a picnic in the park. I could see why with all the wonderful choices and the mouth watering pastries on display. There was a lot to choose from.
Bread & Roses Cafe at 7 Rue de Fleurus was also opening up for the day but their bakery section is opened early for takeout. Don’t miss their delicious pastries.
I led a quick tour inside the bakery section of the restaurant where the pastries were on full display. I was going to have the group stop but the bakery was getting really busy and I did not want to bug the staff with the lines that were there. Still it is place that I want to revisit again on my next trip to Paris.
The selection at Bread & Roses Cafe and the lines of people buying their delicious food
The selection at Bread & Roses. I was able to sneak a picture in of their savories in between the crowds.
The delicious bakery products were flying out of the store that morning they were so busy.
Even though we had just eaten breakfast and was still stuffed, I wanted to buy a few things here but I figured I would get back at another time. I will have to wait until that next trip to Paris to sample the delicious treats here. The sandwiches looked wonderful and their selection of beverages would have made the perfect lunch in the park.
We went on to our next and most popular location, Bakery Thévenin Saint Placide at 5 Rue Notre Dame des Champs, a excellent bakery at the corner of an intersection of Rue de Rennes and the Rue Notre Dame des Champs right off the Rue de Fleurs. It was a major intersection of many roads and the subway stop and came highly recommended on Google, TripAdvisor and the “Les Frenchies” videos as the “Best in Paris” for their croissants. I swear, no one was lying about that.
Bakery Thévenin Saint Placide at 5 Rue Notre Dame des Champs
When I talked about Bakery Thevenin Saint Placide (there was another branch closer to campus that I ate at the last day in Paris), I explained to everyone that these were voted the best croissant in Paris and that we had to try them. No one seemed to believe me so I said “If anyone wants to try them they are on me.” That got everyone into the store.
The inside of the Bakery Thevenin
I explained to the sales people at the bakery who we were and that we were NYU students on a Culinary Tour. I explained to the three women that I had read that they were the best croissant in Paris. She replied in perfect American English, “They are the best in the whole city. You have to try them.” I proceeded to buy seven of them for everyone who wanted to try them and then all three women started to talk to me in English about the bakery. The croissant (in both locations) were the best that I had when I was in Paris.
The wonderful selection of baked goods at Bakery Thevenin
Everything else in the case looked amazing as well including all the pastries and the sandwiches. One of the women in my group commented she wished we could have had breakfast there. I agreed and said we probably would have loved it. The staff was so excited that we came to visit.
To any doubters, they were the best croissant I ate in Paris!
From here I got us lost for the second time by walking up the Rue de Rennes instead of the Rue Saint Placide and then we had to double back. It is hard to control a crowd of eleven people some of whom are walking so fast ahead that they are missing most of the talk. Even Blaine did not have these problems even with the changes to his program but he did not have as many stops as I did.
We finally turned around and we walked up the Rue Saint Placide to make our next stop, the wonderful little pastry shop L’Etoile du Berger at 56 Rue Saint Placide. Since I had just filled everyone up with croissant at Bakery Thevenin, I just showed everyone the colorful pastries and the merchandising concepts of the pâtissiers’ of Paris. Each one of these unique shops beautifully displayed their products so nicely.
The beautifully displayed desserts at L’Etoile du Berger looked mouthwatering
Our next stop was supposed to be Le Cafe Pierre Herme but we had already had been to the other store the previous day and they were so rude to us, I just skipped it. We had already seen their concept anyway and tried the pastries in the other branch. There was nothing wrong with the pastries but the service. Oh God!
Cafe Pierre Herme Paris at 43 Rue Saint Placide we by passed
I made another wrong turn and we missed La Maison du Mochi, a Asian rice inspired dessert concept but we were beginning to run a bit late and we did not want to double back to the store. Maybe the next time I am in Paris.
La Maison de Mochi at 39 Rue du Cherchi-Midi we missed because we were now on a time budget but their reputation was excellent online.
We continued up the road and stopped next at La Meringaie Cherche-Midi at 41 Rue de Cherchi-Midi and I stopped in to talk to the woman working at the counter. I again spoke in French to her asking her if we could come in and look around.
La Meringaie Cherchi-Midi at 41 Rue de Cherchi-Midi
She only spoke French and let us come in. A couple of people came in to look around and I bought a bag of merianges to take out of the store so that we could sample them. I knew it would be tough on her to help us. She looked like she appreciated the sale.
The meringues were packaged so beautifully and there was a variety to choose from. I got a bag with raspberry crystals on them and passed them out to everyone. The group seemed to enjoy them. We would finish munching on them on the boat ride later that afternoon.
The beautifully arranged candies and treats on the shelves of La Meringaie Cherchi-Midi
Our next stop at the end of the block was Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse, a high end chocolate shop created by famous French chef Alain Ducasse 47 Rue du Cherchi-Midi. This is an extremely tiny store and we were only able to go in a few at a time but the store could not have been nicer and more generous to us.
Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse at 47 Rue du Cherchi-Midi
I explained to the woman who was working the counter that we were a group of students from NYU and I had not even finished the sentence when she said in perfect English, “Please have everyone come in and try a sample of the chocolates.” What a nice invitation from her and everyone in the group stopped inside and she gave each person a sample cube of the chocolate, which was very generous of the store since one piece is so expensive. They have me as a customer now.
The beautiful display of product at Alain Ducasse
The mild chocolate sample that I tasted was smooth tasting and was delicious. Since everyone got a taste and more people walked in the door after us, she got busy with them and I decided to head to the next store. Still I was able to look over their displays and they treat their product like a jewel in a jewelry shop. With such care and refinement.
The wonderful products at the chocolate shop
After everyone left the store very content after the light snack, we walked to the next store Mille & Un to look at their beautiful displays.
My classmate, Blaine in front of Millet & Un at 32 Rue Saint Placide
The wonderful sandwiches and quiches at Mille & Un
The bakery products like the other stores in the area were very impressive and I could see by this point in the morning, my classmates were getting hungry for more than samples and stopped in to get some baked goods. When I walked in, I was really impressed by the selection of baked goods and the way the products were displayed. I had to hurry everyone along as we had to head to the next store. Everyone was walking out with bags of pastries when we visited the next spot.
The delicious baked goods at Mille & Un
Our next store just down the block was Fruttini by MO and had another wonderful visit. This one was rather strange and proved to me that the Parisians like to test you. I stopped in and the talked to the woman behind the counter. I explained to her in my broken French that I was leading a group of students from NYU on a Culinary Walking Tour and could we come into her shop for a visit. She explained that she did not speak much English and I in return explained the same thing but with French and continued to talk in French.
The fun little dessert shop Fruttini by MO at 24 Rue de Saint Placide
I asked people if they wanted to try a dessert on me and that I wanted to treat who ever wanted to try something for a snack. That in turn had the whole conversation in English from then on. She really tested me but she and her partner were the highlight of the visit. One of the owners who pretended to give me a hard time Marie-Laure Pollet and her partner in the business, Olivia Berdah could not have been nicer to everyone and joined us for dessert and pictures.
Owner Marie-Laure Pollet talking to our class and taking our orders for dessert
The beautiful display of fruit and ices at Fruttini by MO
We sampled the Passion Fruit ice, the Banana ice and the Strawberry Fruit ice and they were very cleverly scooped out of the fruit, mixed with the ingredients and then put back very carefully in the fruit shell and frozen and then put on display. It was very different from desserts that I had seen before. The quality and the amount of time these ladies put into their product is just amazing. The displays were so unique.
Where the magic happens at Fruttini by MO
Two of my classmates with co-owner Olivia Berdah after having the Banana Ice dessert
My professor and classmate Blaine sampling the delicious desserts
The co-owners Marie-Laure Pollet and Olivia Berdah could not have been nicer to us and more generous with their time. They were both the highlight of the tour and I could not have been more appreciate of their kindness.
We had such a great visit with the owners of the store!
The “Les Frenchies” video that the ladies were talking about when I visited on their store
After the great visit and enjoying our wonderful desserts with the owners of the store, it was time to go to the last two stores. Our next stop up the block was Maison Paries at 9 Rue Saint Placide and I knew at this point, I was starting to lose the class as they were tiring of seeing so many bakery and pastry shops and wanted to head off to their lunches and take a break.
So we made a quick visit of it and looked at the displays of the store. No one was in the front of the store to talk to so we just popped our heads in the store and went to the last store before we got to The Bon Marche.
The selection of candies at the store
The selection of baked goods at Maison Paries
The wonderful chocolates at Maison Paries
We were beginning to run low on time before we got to The Bon Marche for our tour of the Gourmet Department so we had to bypass our last stop, a wonderful little chocolate shop Les Chocolats Yves Thuriès at 3 Rue Saint Placide.
Our last stop on the walking tour and one of my favorites that I had wanted to see for a long time was The Bon Marche, one of France’s leading department stores and home to one of the best gourmet grocery departments in the industry. La Grande Épicerie de Paris is the food hall at Bon Marche and was specially built to house the all the delicious foods and drinks in the department and on the upper floors all the houseware and decorative items of the store to complete your gourmet kitchen.
This is where I ended the tour for the afternoon. The store was crazy with customers as lunch hour in Paris was in full swing and everyone was coming into the store to buy their lunch for takeout.
I just concentrated on the very front of the store and told my group of the history of the store and how the department store built this particular section of the store because the department had outgrown its original department in the main store. We just walked around the entrance and the bakery and part of the grocery department because I had seen that everyone had had enough of the bakeries, dessert places and chocolate shops and wanted to get on with their lunch as well. I told everyone that this was a wonderful place to eat and they were now on their own for an hour before our boat ride. Everyone scattered to do what they wanted. I went into the store to explore the department more and have my lunch. What an amazing store!
The Bon Marche is nothing like its American counterparts, who got rid of the gourmet departments back in the early 1990’s during the recession. Macy’s and Bloomingdales led the way with their departments starting in the early 1970’s when both stores were renovated and Dayton-Hudson and Marshall Fields also once upon a time had wonderful departments as well. All of this ended in the 1990-1995 recession which between the buyout of American Department Stores by Campeau and the money crunch, the stores closed down departments with marginal profits.
At European stores like Bon Marche, it is part of the culture. This is part of the city grocery shopping experience. This department is not all gourmet foods but fancy grocery items that can be used in everyday cooking. It is a place you can shop for the weeks groceries but you would have to spend a bit more plus it is great for the tourist. Once department was more picturesque than the other.
The Bon Marche Petit Cafe where we ended the tour is perfect for coffee
The Bon Marche Prepared Foods Department where I started to look around for lunch options
The Bon Marche Fruit and Vegetable Department is colorful and well-organized
The Bon Marche Meat Department has its own butchers working cutting the meat in front of you
The Bon Marche Grocery Department
The Pasta Department at Bon Marche is extensive
The Deli Department at Bon Marche where you can get sandwiches
The Bakery Department where I eyed lunch
The Bon Marche Bread Department
The other Prepared Foods Department
The Bon Marche Cheese Department
Buying my lunch at La Cuisine was a tough choice
I had seen Anton Dupont eating the Croque Monsieur in the “Les Frenchies” video and I had to have that for lunch. They also warmed it up for me as well.
“Les Frenchies” Best Sandwiches in the winter-My inspiration for the stop
I went to the Bon Marche Bakery Department for dessert
I wanted the St. Honoré dessert but the woman took so long to come over and help that I ran out of time. She insisted that I order it at the Cafe next door and I did not have time for it. Well for the next trip.
The “Les Frenchies” video that I saw when I returned from my Paris trip
After lunch was over, I met the others for the boat ride on the Seine River. I finally decompressed after lunch was over as my tour was finished. I thought that everyone had a nice time and we had a good experience. We walked a lot of neighborhoods and visited a lot of stores and met many great people. We also sampled a lot of good food. I was just surprised that more people did not eat at Bon Marche. Their loss!
We walked around the Saint Germaine section of the city to meet up with everyone else who were eating a small bistro a few blocks away. I could not understand why they would spend that much money on lunch.
We met everyone else at Les Deux Magots who were finishing lunch
After we met everyone else, we walked to the boat ride on the Seine River. I like everyone else was exhausted at this point with getting up every morning and running around. I was coming down from a big high and I was just wiped out.
The Seine River sightseeing cruise down and around the city. We all were ready to fall asleep
Literally we were all blacking out on the cruise. I could see everyone nodding off. I knew I almost fell asleep a few times. If we were all not so nervous about pickpockets, we would have fallen asleep. Either that or had there been chairs, the whole group would have dozed off and missed all the sites we had seen on land. Still, it is an experience to see all of this from the river.
The Seine River is really beautiful
After we got off the cruise, it was time to start the other group’s tour of the Cafes. I have to admit it was not much of a tour. It consisted of them getting a reservation at a restaurant and confirming it. We walked around the Seine River again and passed the Eiffel Tower where we took more pictures.
Me after my tour, lunch and the river cruise. I was less stressed and could enjoy the rest of my trip.
We toured around the Right Bank for the rest of the afternoon and then prepared for dinner which I was not that hungry. We just kept eating. Dinner that night was at a classic French Bistro, Bofinger which was at 7 Rue de la Bastille and had been around since the late 1800’s.
There seemed to be a bit of confusion on the reservation and we ended up having a large table upstairs. Our captain was terrific and spoke great English.
The restaurant starts the meal not with bread but with pretzels that shows it German roots
They had a wonderful Prix Fixe menu and I decided to have the Fish & Chips, which seems to be a big bistro item and I started my meal with Escargots, which I had not had in years and they were excellent. They were loaded with garlic and pesto inside and as the sauce.
The Escargot at Bofinger was excellent
Thank God there was plenty of bread to soak that up. The fish and chips were perfectly cooked and came with a large side of French Fries. For dessert, I had the Floating Islands, which are Meringues in a Vanilla sauce. Some of my counterparts did not get them and didn’t want to eat them. I thought they were good.
The whole meal was wonderful and we had such a good time. The Captain and the back waiters did a good job at our table and the restaurant was not kidding when they said it would fill up. The place was packed by 8:30pm. The Parisians really do eat late in the evening. The restaurant was still going strong when we left at 9:00pm.
I collapsed when we got back to the dorms. It was a long day but a productive one. I could not believe the weather had cooperated so well and we had such a good tour. I was proud of the fact that I led a tour of a city I did not know where I did not know where I was going and it worked out so well. Later when we had the class wrap up at the end of the week, everyone in my class told me how much they enjoyed it and with all the sampling of the items we tried. People were still talking about the desserts at Frutti by MO and the croissants at Bakery Thevenin. I thought they were amazing too.
I still did not get over the jet lag from the first day in Paris but I was feeling a bit better. The good night’s sleep was really helpful. We got off to an early start this morning as we would be traveling all over Paris for one of the student’s walking tour. He really had us in many different sections of the city.
We started the morning in the Maubert Mutualite of the Quarter Latin on the left bank. When we got off the Metro station, we were faced with the ruins of Notre Dame Church, which is still under reconstruction from the fire several years ago. Construction workers were all around the church that morning but we were still able to get a good view of the church.
Notre Dame Church on 6 Parvi Notre Dame Place in Paris
The church stood quiet while it was being repaired but there was still lot activity around the church as the day started and people arrived for work. It was a rather gloomy Tuesday morning and since it was still around 8:30am, no one was really out and about in the neighborhood but us.
We crossed over the bridge to Square Renée Viviani and took pictures in the quiet but beautiful little park. There were a lot of these tiny pocket parks all over Paris and it is fun to just sit and relax when you are tired of walking. These tiny parks have all the classic makings of a French park, tiny benches, colorful plantings and statues.
The Square Rene Viviani near Shakespeare & Company Cafe and Bookstore
We walked through the park to Shakespeare & Company bookstore where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out when he was in Paris. This was not the original spot but one of their store’s in Paris. This is a very well known tourist attraction.
The second Shakespeare & Company bookstore at 37 Rue de la Bucherie
We took another group shot in front of Shakespeare & Company
We made our way to the end of the block and had breakfast at Cafe Panis Paris, which was a cute little cafe/bistro just off the square and looked like the classic French restaurant that you see in the movies with the banquettes, the wooden brass fixtures and our waiter, who could not have been nicer and spoke English in that beautiful English French accent that Americans find so charming and welcoming. He could not have been nicer and more accommodating to us since we showed up thirty minutes early. He had it all under control and knew how to read the table.
The baked goods that came to the table were excellent! The buttery croissant and the crusty and crunchy baguettes with jam and butter were delicious and we devoured two baskets of these delicious treats. The hot chocolate was amazing in that the cups were filled with melted chocolate and then served with hot frothy milk and a cookie.
The wonderful croissant basket
They melted the chocolate for the Hot Chocolate
With a pitcher of hot frothy milk created heaven in a bowl
It was when the waiter offered to get us omelets that things turned in the food. The omelets were cleverly folded in such a way that you could not see that they were chard on the inside. On the outside they were a little too caramelized but on the inside four of the omelets were burned. I could not believe a chef would serve these to a customer (we did not complain so it was our fault. It tasted good but with a burnt flavor). I was disappointed when we left. I will remember this meal (See review on TripAdvisor).
My breakfast at Cafe Panis Paris
Take a closer look at the burnt edges and the over-caramelized top. Not a good attempt on an omelet.
Our next stop was on the tour was to Cafe Pierre Herme on the Rue de Saint Germain. What a beautiful store. The pastries are treated like jewels. I wish I could say the same about the customers. Our group ordered our pastries and were sitting down while the others finished their orders. This jerk of a salesperson (or he could have been a manager, we did not know) ordered me to stop taking pictures in the store. He then proceeded to tell us to stop sitting down because we did not but our pastries to stay. We just left and this left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. We talked about that for the rest of the trip.
The Raspberry Brioche was delicious (second to the left)
If you see this jerk in the Cafe, go to someone else. You don’t need his attitude problem.
When we left the store, we had about an hour on our own time and I was finally allowed some time to explore the neighborhood. I wanted some me time to visit the stores, explore the streets and visit the open air market that I had passed down the road. That was a lot of fun. The market sold all sorts of items like gourmet foods, clothing, hand carved products and gifts. I ended up buying my mother some jelly spreads from a vendor whose product was just excellent. I ended up buying a few of the smaller jars and had to hike them home through five countries.
The open market on the Rue du Saint Germain on a Tuesday
The open air markets are all over Paris on certain days and I was able to visit two of them on the hour and a half break that we had to walk around the neighborhood. I had been watching so many of those “Les Frenchie’s” videos that I knew where they all were and what time they ran. There really was all sorts of things that you could buy at them. One lady I watched open up asked me to sample these delicious honey/jelly spreads and I have to admit they were delicious. I ended up buying some small jars for my mother as a late Mother’s Day gift.
There was all sorts of delicious things to buy as well such as hot waffles, crepes, ice cream and pastries. I was really beginning to love Paris. Being in a place that took pastry and sweets so seriously was my type of place. I love how food was treated so differently than in the United States.
The market was starting to get busy when we arrived. With the Sorbonne close by I saw a lot of students.
The Candy Stall
Fresh Waffles and Crepes
After I walked around the markets and viewed all the vendors and had my purchase, I started to walk around the side streets looking at all the little stores and restaurants. These little streets had an array of hotels, cafes and shops one nicer than the other in all these older buildings. I wish I had more time to spend here.
Walking around the Latin Quarter
There were lots of little cafes all over the neighborhood
The wonderful little streets to walk around on
One of the tiny hotels in the Latin Quarter Hotel Mont-Blanc
Another market by the Fountain Saint Michel at Place de Saint Michel
The Fountain Saint Michel in Place Saint Michel is a beautiful statue
The tiny shops and restaurants around the square in the Latin Quarter
I would have loved to explore the Latin Quarter more and walk its tiny streets to discover its secrets but it was time to leave for lunch. I swear that I had no appetite after the burned omelet. It did not give me much faith. We had to take the bus to the other side of the city because we were going to eat at an extremely famous restaurant, La Grande Cascade that was located in Bois de Boulogne, right near the real cascade waterfall.
Le Grande Cascade in the film “Belle de Jour”
It was an experience because we were running and there was an accident that blocked the route that the bus needed to take to get to the restaurant and Blaine, who was running the tour that day, started to panic and called the restaurant to tell them we would be late. I was not too sure what to expect at that point. We finally arrived at the restaurant and the whole patio area was closed at the time. We walked into this really elegant dining room where everyone was in suits and so beautifully dressed. I felt like one of my students when they would not follow dress code and failed the group project. This was a first class Michelin restaurant and it was the first time in a long time that I felt out of place.
As we walked through the door, I felt like a fish out of water in my polo and khakis. At least I had not worn shorts. Even the staff was completely dressed up in suits. I had not seen a dining room like this since I took my father to “21” for Father’s Day in New York City. Still it would be an experience to eat here. I had not realised what a famous restaurant this was in Paris.
The gardens in front of The Grand Cascade Restaurant
Entering the dining room at The Grande Cascade Restaurant feeling really under-dressed
It was quite the exchange between our professor and the captain of the restaurant and we never really knew what they said to one another until further in the week. I found out later on he thought we were coming in to try the $200 Euro Tasting Menu (that is everyone one of us). That would have blown the whole budget and somehow they settled in the $70 Euro Tasting menu. I did not ask many questions and just looked at the menu.
Honestly I had no appetite for lunch after the burned omelet but figured that I could handle a little something for lunch and ordered the macaroni. I was not sure what to expect with this meal but it was one of the best we had in Paris. We had one delicious course after another. I had not enjoyed a meal like this in a long time. What I liked was it was served “French” style where all the plates were placed down at once by the servers and they worked as a Team to get the job done. The food was just amazing and our group was extremely impressed by the cuisine, dishes and the service. The staff really came through for us and as a group of students on a Culinary Tour were floored by the experience.
Our first course: The Amuse-Bouche “The Gift from the Chef” concasse in a shell and a tiny Croque Monsieur
The Breads:
The freshly baked Brioche
The freshly baked Baguette
The Entree:
Macaroni with black truffle, foie gras, celery, and a parmesan gratin
This was a special dessert of a Twill Cookie filled with sauteed Pineapple and served with fresh Pineapple/Coconut Ice Cream with a Coconut Sauce
The tiny cream puffs were served to each table as a gift from the Manager of Le Grande Cascade. I thought this was a nice touch.
When we were done, we gave a very welcoming goodbye to the staff there. We really appreciated the hospitality of the restaurant and how they came through for us. I never really knew what the student who arranged this lunch promised but we had one excellent experience in the end. I won’t forget their generosity and gave them an excellent review on TripAdvisor.
Our Class at le Grande Cascade in Paris
After lunch was over, we took a tour of the Right Bank where I swear we must have covered five miles. I had no problem with the trip but I was still fighting jet lag so it was a little tough at times.
Our first part of the tour was walking through the Bois du Boulogne, the former hunting grounds that is now a park. I swear I thought we were getting lost in the woods. For a park that was going wild, it was really beautiful. Even the weeds in the park looked really nice. I was amazed at the colors. Even the French do this correctly.
This picture does not do the weeds justice as they were tiny blue, purple and white flowers on a bed of green.
Our next stop was the Musee Marmottan Monet at 2 Rue du louis Boilly just outside the park. This tiny museum had once been a private home and now housed a collection of Monet paintings that were donationed by the artist’s son upon his death.
While we got to tour the whole house which was decorated in early Victorian decor and early 1800’s furniture, the star of the this museum was the collection of floral and water lily paintings that Daniel Monet donated. I had not seen some of these paintings since the big “Monet” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The elegant furnishings of the Musee Marmottan Monet at 2 Rue Louis Boilly
Most of us toured the whole house and then spent more time in the Monet section of the museum. As usual, they had to drag me out last because I was enjoying seeing the paintings so much. The paintings were so beautiful and talk about vibrant colors. I could not believe that Monet had problems selling these wonderful pieces of art.
The Water Lily painting that I saw at the MoMA
The Monet floral paintings
The Monet Floral Paintings
After we left the museum, we proceeded to walk through the 16th District of the city down the Boulevard Beausejour. Here we explored the neighborhood, walking down small side streets, visiting grocery stores for water and snacks, peeking in shops and looking at the amazing architecture of buildings, windows and doorways.
A grocery store on the Right Bank everything was displayed so beautifully
There is much to see when you stop for a moment and look at it. I see this all the time when I walk in Manhattan.
I thought this was the most perfect door
Walking through the neighborhood past the Jardin du Ranelagh and watched little French children running around playing tag and what looked like ‘Stop Light’ while the parents talked amongst themselves.
A beautiful townhouse on the Right Bank
They did not hover over their children like American parents do today. It reminded me of when I was growing up where parents did their thing while we did ours.
The little French cat we saw in the restaurant window
We walked down the Boulevard Delessert and explored some of the side streets as we passed by on our walk to the Eiffel Tower. I loved all these little side streets with their tiny food stores with their equally tiny baskets of strawberries and tomatoes, restaurants with residents sipping coffee and eating crepes and homes with small gardens and arches with faces. It was my kind of neighborhood.
I snapped this as we were walking through the Right Bank
We walked to the foot of the Jardins de Trocadero and saw the Eiffel Tower in full view. That was truly amazing. I had only seen pictures of it but to see it up close. The books and the Internet do not do it justice.
The area was loaded with tourists and picture takers and you had to kind of maneuver your way around the site. Still it was a pretty amazing site to see. It is like when I pass the Statue of Liberty on a boat ride. You know it’s there and very touristy but you are still in awe of it. The lines to get in were not as bad as everyone said they would be and we could have gone up to the top. It was not high on priority list but it would have been fun.
I got my ‘tourist’ shot in before we left to take the rest of the tour
I had to get my picture in with the Eiffel Tower so I did my own share of snapping pictures. It still is an impressive monument and it is surprising how jaded Parisians were when it was constructed how much many thought it was a joke. It has become a symbol of the city and of the country. Its funny how the attitude to things change and morph over the years.
After this, everyone had time for themselves before dinner that evening. Blaine and a few of the others ran off to do their thing and I went with the professor and a couple of my classmates to the Four Seasons George V for a tour of the hotel. I have never been floored by a hotel before and I have stayed in five star hotels all over the world. This was another version of true luxury.
On our way to the George V, we walked up the Avenue de New York and I thought this was pretty clever. A little piece of home away from home.
The sign for Avenue de New York
I saw this beautiful doorway just at the beginning of our tour on the Avenue de New York
A little symbol of home by the Avenue de New York by the Seine River
We got to the Four Seasons George V and again I felt a little out of my element being so under-dressed. I thought khakis and topsiders would be a nice outfit as I was not sure what we would be seeing that afternoon but everything we did, visited and ate at were all first class and I looked a college senior out on a tour. If I had known the significance of the places we went to that afternoon, I would have dressed up a bit more.
The Four Seasons George V I had only seen in the movies and heard about from my older brother who had stayed there many times when visiting Paris. Talk about a palace of luxury. The hotel exceeded every expectation that I thought it would be. Talk about security all over the place. There were guys in ear pieces that looked like retired police officers at each entrance and of course the hotel picked the best looking ones.
Everyone working at the hotel was so well groomed and well dressed and many so young. The only people I saw closer to my age were a few of the security guards and waiters and there were not even many of them as well. I got the impression that the entire staff was hired by their look and their age. I felt like the hotel was ‘window dressing’ their staff. This was nothing like the staffs I worked with at Holiday Inn, Prince Hotels or the Hyatt Regency over the years.
Our tour guide in Guest Relations was this beautiful, young Italian woman who did her Internship at the hotel and had moved up the ladder in about three years. I was amazed on how quick they got promoted at the hotels in Paris but then I remembered the stress I dealt with at Hyatt and people moved around a lot in management. She took us on a tour of the lobby, where the hotel must have spent a small fortune on flowers alone to decorate the place.
The lobby of the Four Seasons George V that afternoon
The three restaurants in off the lobby were all Michelin rated with one to three stars. The commitment that the hotel takes to quality and service are what makes it such a special place to stay and dine at for the afternoon and evening. Although we only saw the first floor on this impromptu visit, that was more than enough to satisfy me. I could never take my eyes off her.
Taking a group shot at the Four Seasons George V at 31 Avenue George V
Our last part of the tour of that day before we left for dinner was walking up the Avenue George V to the Avenue des Champs-Elysees to the L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile at the circle of the Boulevard at Place de Charles LaGualle. Now this was an impressive visit. I remember my father talking about this when he came to Paris several times on business.
He would talk about Christmas in Paris with all the white lights looking down the Champs-Elysees and the pictures of the Nazi tanks rolling down it but to see it up close, was a site to see. It is about ten times bigger than the Arch at Washington Square Park which one of my classmates commented on. Talk about in awe.
L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile at the circle of the Boulevard at Place de Charles LaGualle
The details on the Arc are just beautiful. You really have to walk around and underneath it to appreciate it.
We had just enough time to walk around and underneath the monument. You can see the detail work best this way and I would not wait in line for tickets when you can see it from any angle on your own. I looked down the Champs-Elysees and really thought about those tanks going down it during WWII. Parisians must have been scared out of their minds.
Me in front of the L’Arc de Triomphe before we left for dinner that evening
I was in awe of the surroundings and kept wanting to pinch myself as I could not believe I was actually here. It still never registered with me on my second night in Paris.
Dinner that evening was at Le Fouquet’s, a film industry hangout at 91 Avenue des Champs Elysees. This is the industry equivalent of “21”, “Sardi’s and “The Russian Tea Room” in New York. This was part of the film tour because Blaine wanted to show us what film industry places were like and why they were so important. I think he secretly wanted to go there because he thought there would be someone important he could talk to or meet. I was just impressed that we got the front table by the door as ordinarily this is the table you want to be in so that people could see you when they walked in.
At this point of the day, I was not hungry at all. We had a big breakfast, a big lunch and now a big dinner. Since it was after 7:00pm, ordering a simple sandwich was not possible and I do not like onion soup. So I decided on a Cheeseburger and Frites. Now I have to admit that I do not come to places like this for dinner for a burger but I was at dinner and had to eat something.
God, it was one of the best Cheeseburgers I had eaten in a long time. The meat was so flavorful and juicy and the French Fries were cooked perfectly. Now I know why people order the burger at “21” all the time. It was wonderful and the service that night was flawless. I guess they get a lot of tourists ordering these cheeseburgers.
The Cheeseburger with Frites at La Fouquet’s is worth the money
After dinner our group just walked around a bit before heading back to the NYU dorms while a small group stayed behind to wait for the rest of their meals. I was not too sure what to expect from Blaine’s tour for “Food in Film” since so many changes had to be made but in the end I think he did a good job. We ate at some high quality restaurants, got to see a wonderful museum and did a lot of people watching while toured some of the most luxurious locations in Paris.
I am not going to lie to you. Jeg lag is a serious thing when you arrive in a location.
I was taking a course in “Culinary Tourism-How the Culinary Arts play a role in Tourism” for a week in Paris and it was like planning on going to the moon! I have never planned for a trip or watched to many videos to prepare for a trip. I watched every “Les Frenchie’s” YouTube video at least four times before I left and became an expert on getting back and forth from the airport. That and how to maneuver around the subway system.
We all had to arrive on our own time, so we were coming from each direction and arrived at different times of the day. I got in early in the morning on May 21st and then got to Charles LeGault Airport and then had to clear customs when I was half dead from no sleep on a six-hour flight. Actually, I felt pretty good until I stood in line for forty-five minutes and that’s when it hit me. I got a personality minus cab driver at the airport who did not say a word to me and just dropped me off at the University of Paris and then left (mine with me).
When I arrived, I thought we had to stop by security and these three French security guards at the college looked at me like I had just arrived from a foreign planet. One of them actually followed me to my dorm to be ‘sure I got there’. I must have looked strange with all my luggage, totally Jeg lagged and tired lugging those bags. At least check in to my dorm was seamless and I was able to get to my room and relax for a bit.
After I settled in and took a nap and a shower (the two things my father always said to do when you arrive at a destination to acclimate yourself to the time zone), we met for what was supposed to be a short walking tour of campus. It ended up my professor decided that we would take a tour of the Montmartre and we toured the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre and the Square Louise Michel. For dinner, he had tried this restaurant in a very touristy area around the church named Au Clarion des Chasseurs for a light dinner. He had been there many times and wanted us to try it. Thank God I took that nap!
We stopped at the Anvers subway stop and walked up to the square to visit the church. I thought I had arrived at a French version of 42nd Street with all the tee shirt shops and tiny little tourist restaurants. These streets were totally geared to foreign tourists with the “I love Paris” tee shirts, the vendors selling small souvenirs and water and the bracelet vendors who chased after you to put those stupid bracelets on you. I had seen enough videos online where I was watching for them and the scammer cabbies.
We started our walk up the hill at the Square Louise Michel, which was in full bloom in the late Spring. The park was packed with tourists and locals taking pictures, riding the merry go round and buying food. That late in the afternoon people were out and about enjoying the warm day.
The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur du Montmartre and the Sqaure Louis Michel in the front
While the rest of my class took the tram up, I climbed the stairs passing dozens of tourists snapping shots of the church and the vendors who would not stop bugging me to buy things. It was interesting to see the French police walking around with machine guns and these guys running away quickly. I do not see this in Manhattan.
Walking up the Rue du Steinkerque past the touristy spots
One of the tiny restaurants on the Rue du Steinkerque that I admired.
The flowers and the lawn of the Square Louise Michel was so beautiful. All the flowers were in bloom at the same time (Paris seems to be a bit behind New York with the season) and people were out picnicking and talking on the lawn while enjoying the beautiful sunny day.
Each set of stairs led to another level of the gardens and with each I got to set beautiful beds of flowers showing off their blossoms and the beautifully landscaped tiers of the gardens.
The gardens and lawns of the Square Louise Michel
The view from the top of the stairs by the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur was spectacular. You could see an amazing view of the city from this spot and really soak in how big Paris and its surrounding suburbs are in the borders of the city.
The views from the top of the stairs at Square Louise Michel are spectacular.
The fountains below the Basilique were beautiful and reminded me of some of the fountains in New York City that were created by Italian stone crafters during the late 1880’s. The stonework and the carvings were beautiful, and I took the time to admire them as I continued to walk up the steps.
The fountain at the Square Louise Michel
We walked through the Basilique du Sacre-Couer with its quiet elegance and many different dedications to the saints around the exterior of the pews. The church was a nice place to relax and contemplate a thought. People were inside praying, relaxing and taking tons of pictures which, we were asked not to take but everyone does it anyway. The is the power of cellphones today.
The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montremarte at the top of the stairs
The detail work at the top of the church from below
I took my time and walked around the church, admiring the displays to the saints and relaxing myself in the pews. I was exhausted from the trip and could not believe that I was taking this tour when I was still jet lagged. Still, I carried on and figured that we would only be in Paris for five days and I wanted to see as much of the city as I could for this trip.
We walked around the church complex on the Rue du Mont Cenis and then down the Rue Norvins to a little restaurant cafe that my professor had been to many times. I thought it looked a little touristy, but the food and the service were wonderful, and we sat outside on this warm sunny night and the three of us with our professor enjoyed dinner and people watching.
Rue Novins with La Boheme Montremarte in the background in the Place du Tertre across from our restaurant
Another view of the Place du Tertre with the musicians in the background and the La Boheme Cafe to the right.
Since we were on a Culinary Tourism tour of the city for class, I kept snapping pictures of all the food, the service, the people and restaurant. I have really turned into one of those pictures obsessed tourists with a cell phone. I just could not believe how beautiful Paris is and how I underrated it in comparison to New York City. It is just as spectacular but in a different way. It is just older city but with just as many wonderful things to see and do.
We relaxed at the Au Clarion des Chasseurs Cafe and sat outside. It was fun to watch all the people walking by who seemed just as excited to be in Paris as we were that evening. It was a warm sunny evening and the perfect time to eat outside. I like the cafe culture of Paris where people take time to relax and enjoy their food and not seem rushed or have to be somewhere. I needed to sit because I could really feel the traveling catching up to me.
Our waitress spoke perfect English with a French accent and I could tell she was used to American tourists. We kept dinner light. My professor ordered for us, and we decided on a Meat & Cheese tray and a Salmon Pizza. I thought the food would be just okay in a spot like this, but the meal was wonderful, and it was just enough where I did not have a big meal in me before going to bed.
My professor with my classmates at dinner at Au Clarion des Chasseurs on the Rue Novins
The Place du Tertre was said to be a big artist hangout, but I mostly saw tourists walking by with cameras, people eating ice cream and crepes and typical French music being played by accordions as if on cue from a movie. I loved every minute of it. I am not as jaded as I thought I was and soaked it all in. It was just a place for people to gather and have a wonderful time and that’s what dinner was, just getting to know one another and the reasons why we took this class. Also to enjoy a good meal with people sharing an experience.
Our ‘light’ dinner of a Meat & Cheese tray stacked with different meats, cheese and pates and a Salmon Pizza with poached Salmon on top and the wonderful French bread.
The pizza that evening
The Salmon Pizza
Our Meat & Cheese tray which was more than enough food.
The wonderful French baguettes that our table seemed to inhale at dinner.
My meal I really enjoyed.
Part of my dinner: the wonderful Salmon Pizza and the Pate on the Baguette
After a wonderful relaxing dinner, we made our way back to the college for an early evening. I could feel the trip across the Atlantic Ocean catching up to me. After dodging an evening of pickpockets, wristband workers and vendors selling everything under the sun, it was time to go back to the room and just relax. Trying to go to bed was tough.
Just like at home, my window was right next to a highway so I get to hear traffic, ambulances and police cars and people walking around campus all night. Who says that home does not follow you around the world. It really dawned on me as I was walking down the steps at the Square Louise Michel.
The City has been coming back to life in the last year and a half. With the exception of some empty storefronts (not as bad as a few months ago), the Theater District has come back to life. Broadway shows are filling up again and restaurants in the area on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday through Saturday night are busy. It is nice to see life being brought back to this once desolate area of Manhattan. It is hard to believe that this area was written off as ‘dead’ two years ago. Rightfully so with almost all theaters dark, restaurants closed, everything boarded up and a large homeless population moving in.
My other walks in the Theater District:
Walking the Borders of the Theater District/Times Square: Day Two Hundred and Sixty:
Now the crowds are back especially on the weekends and the sidewalks are spilling over with people as the shows let out on Wednesday afternoons and the weekends. I have noticed that during the week the office crowds still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and that has hurt the area shops and restaurants especially the ones just off the Theater District on Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Avenues. It will be awhile until we see these weekday crowds return.
I always start my tours in Bryant Park just off West 42nd Street
I returned to Central Park South, Midtown East and Hell’s Kitchen to see how they have bounced back since the City reopened two years ago. They are busy but there is a slightly different vibe in the area. Since the local hotels are housing recent immigrants to the City and the City homeless, there has been a different crowd walking the streets during the day. As tourism picks up, I am not too sure how long a lot of these Midtown hotels will be able to keep doing this.
I started my walk on Thursday morning wanting to know how the business crowd was doing. The core of the neighborhood keeps changing in that during the pandemic construction continued in this area and much of the older buildings in the district have been knocked down and glittering towers are replacing them. Along the side streets you can still see the remnants of the old neighborhood but little by little they are being replaced.
The Theater District is one of those landmarked neighborhoods where the theaters play catalyst to all the restaurants and shops around them. On the fringes of the neighborhood, on all sides, from Eighth Avenue to Fifth Avenue are being knocked down and replaced. I have never seen so much building going on. There are even some old stand out buildings that will eventually come down to make way for newer things.
The core of the neighborhood is Times Square which stretches from West 42nd Street to about West 46th Street along Broadway and Seventh Avenues. When people think of New York City especially Manhattan, this is what they think New York is all about. It is one of the busiest areas of Manhattan and the most crowded. When you walk in this area it is wall to wall people. The area has now been turned into a pedestrian plaza and it makes it easier to maneuver around the streets and avenues.
I had to cover Sixth and Seventh Avenues and Broadway from West 42nd to West 54th Street (sharing the border with Central Park South at West 54th Street) and I have found this one of the most active neighborhoods that I have walked in a long time. It is funny because I had to bypass this area when I resumed my walk in June 2020 because everything was shut down. The only people in this district were the police, who were guarding everything and the homeless.
This area of the city was barren. Everything from the theaters to the hotels to the restaurants, anything having anything to do with Broadway was shut tight and boarded up. It was really creepy. No one walked in this area. It was so empty of people if I had started the walk here the police would have really looked at me. Plus, I could not give a fair analysis of the area because everything was closed.
I started the walk at the border of Bryant Park, which was packed with people eating their lunches, reading, playing on the lawn or just relaxing under the trees. I swear this park has changed and keeps changing. It is always so busy and the one thing I have to say is the partnership that runs the park keeps everything in good shape and runs the public bathrooms beautifully. I wish all bathrooms in the public parks ran like this and were that well maintained.
Bryant Park in the summer months
Sixth Avenue, also called “the Avenues of the Americas (No one calls it that from New York City) is a very corporate environment lined with glass box towers, some have been here since the 1960’s and is an open-air museum of corporate art that lines the outside of these buildings. It is also home to Radio City Music Hall and can get very busy on show nights and during the Christmas holidays.
The corner of the neighborhood starts with the Bank of America building that stands guard at Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street. It is a beautiful building day or night but especially at night when the skyline is lit.
The Bank of America building on West 42nd Street
Bryant Park and the Bank of America Building at night
The Bank of America building replaced what was left of a very shady corner of the old Times Square and was the last part of the reconstruction of Times Square. It is now complete from Bryant Park to the Port Authority and it looks so much nicer. The area around Bryant Park has changed over the last twenty years for the better. Things were a bit more vibrant before 2020 but the outdoor movies and activities have returned to the park along with all the Christmas activities making the vibrant park it was pre-Pandemic.
Even though many of the buildings along the Sixth Avenue corridor lack personality, save Radio City Music Hall which is part of the Rockefeller Complex, the outdoor corporate art is very interesting and original. Most of the buildings on this part of Sixth Avenue have that sleek glass box corporate look to them.
The ‘Corporate Canyon’ of Sixth Avenue at West 44th Street
The one building that does stand out in the neighborhood is Radio City Music Hall.
Radio City Music Hall was completed in 1932 as part of the larger development of Rockefeller Center. It was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style, with Samuel Lionel Rothafel, or “Roxy,” a leading expert on movie palaces, as a primary advisor.2 The public areas of the music hall feature murals, sculpture, and other work by prominent artists of the time (NY Preservation Archive Project).
Radio City Music Hall later that evening
These interiors are considered some of the most impressive in the history of modern theater design, with no equal in America in terms of scale or variety of architectural, artistic, and decorative elements. As one of the principal achievements of the Art Deco style and as one of the finest theater designs in the country, the interior of Radio City Music Hall is of unique importance to the history of American architecture (NY Preservation Archive Project).
The Hall opened on December 27, 1932, with a lavish variety show and continued to feature films and stage productions until 1979. At this point plans were made to convert the theater into office space, but a combination of preservation and commercial interests resulted in the protection of Radio City Music Hall and in 1980, after a renovation, it reopened to the public (NY Preservation Archive Project).
Radio City Music Hall exterior
Rockettes Sculpture
The Christmas Spectacular for the 75th Anniversary of the Music Hall featuring the Rockettes
I stopped on the corner of West 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue for lunch at Halal Guys Cart. This is where the empire started. There are now franchise stores of Halal Guys at started in 2015 all from this little cart right across the street from the MoMA. I have been coming here for over twenty years and the food has always been excellent.
The Halal Guys cart under the scaffolding on West 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue
As you can see, I love the food here. It is my ‘go-to’ place on a cool night for a hot meal.
The menu at Halal Guys Cart
The Mixed Combo sandwich with Gyro and Chicken lunch (Yum)
Across the street from the Halal Guys at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street is a very unusual blue stature that caught my attention. This is one of the corporate art works at that line Sixth Avenue and makes quite the statement. This piece is called “Jean Marc” and was created by artist Xavier Veilham.
Jean Marc statue at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street
Sign for artist Xavier Veilhan
Artist Xavier Veilhan was born in France and was educated at the Ecole nationale superieure des arts in Paris and at the Institut des hautes etudes en arts plastiques. He works in photography, sculpture, film, painting and installation art.
On the corner of 65 West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue is the famous Warwick Hotel (which just reopened after Covid months ago). The hotel is one of the oldest in New York City and one of hte many older hotels that dot this neighborhood.
The 36 story hotel was built by William Randolph Hearst in 1926 with the help of architect Emery Roth with the firm of George B. Post & Sons. The outside of the hotel is done with brick, granite and limestone giving it it’s unusual color scheme. Take time to look at the hotel’s detail work and old world charm in the lobby (Wiki).
Across from that is the most unusual sculpture of Seed 54 that is always hid behind a food cart.
Seed 54 by artist Haresh Lalvani
Seed 54 sign of artist Haresh Lalvani
On the corner is the an unusual sculpture that I first noticed when walking past a hot dog vendor on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street in front of 1330 Sixth Avenue building. This strange looking piece of artwork resembles an open air egg is by artist Haresh Lalvani. This unusual sculpture can be interpreted many different ways. The only problem is that the hot dog vendor on the corner distracts from even looking at it and I have passed it without even noticing it over the times I have been in the neighborhood.
Mr. Lalvani is a professional artist and Professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. His emphasis in the work is his study of morphology into nature and its affects on art. ‘Seed54′ is part of his HyperSurface’ series. Mr. Lalvani is a graduate of the Pratt Institute of Architecture (Pratt Institute).
Artist Haresh Lalvani in front of one of his “HyperSurface” works
Across the street in front of a rather non-descript building is this silver mesh globe in the heart of their courtyard.
The globe at 1345 Sixth Avenue
The globe sculpture hidden in the courtyard of 1345 Sixth Avenue is an interesting piece of art and unfortunately in all the trips to the neighborhood, I have not been able to find out who the artist is on this impressive work.
On the edge of the neighborhood between the Theater District and Central Park West is the famous New York Hilton.
The New York Hilton Hotel at 1335 Sixth Avenue at West 54th Street
The New York Hilton Hotel is one of the Tallest hotels in the world and the largest hotel in New York City. The hotel was developed by architect William B. Tabler, who built it in sections. The hotel opened to much acclaim in 1963 (Wiki).
The “Hope” sculpture sits on the corner of West 53th and Sixth Avenue
The “Hope” sculpture was placed here in 2014 on ‘International Hope Day’ which also happened to be the artist’s 86th birthday, Robert Indiana. He created the sculpture in 2008 and offers encouragement in the future.
Robert Indiana is an American born artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting in Maine, and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. He was known for his large pop art sculptures.
Heading down Sixth Avenue in front of 1301 Sixth Avenue are two large sculptures of the Venus de Milo in shallow pools in front of the building that make quite the statement. These were created in 1990 by American artist Jim Dine. The statues stand out and make quite the statement.
The Venus de Milo statues at 1301 Sixth Avenue and West 53rd Street
Jim Dine is a contemporary American visual artist who graduated from Ohio University with a BFA. These are three of Jim Dine’s sculptures collectively entitled “Looking Toward The Avenue” installed in 1989 in the small plaza on the east side of Sixth Avenue at west 53rd and 54th Streets in Manhattan. The verdigris bronze statues emerge from a water pool. These sculptures are based on Venus de Milo, a masterpiece from the 2nd century BC (Big Apple Secrets).
The details on the Radio City Music Hall building
Rockefeller Center Building details
Across the street from the Rockefeller Center complex was this unusual apple sculpture that just appeared one day. I though this would make an excellent addition to the artworks that line the avenue but it will only be here for a short period of time.
La Gran Manzana “The Big Apple” is a great project created in homage to the city by international artist Enrique Cabrera in collaboration whit Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., one of the most important real estate developers in the country and the major in Japan one of the core companies Mitsui Group (Artsty.com).
Red Apple Sculpture “La Gran Manzana” by artist Enrique Cabrera
Artist Enrique Cabrera is a Mexican born artist who specializes in sculpture, photography, music and is an art restorer. The work La Gran Manzana is a temporary work through 2023 (Wiki).
Further down Sixth Avenue in front of 1211 Sixth Avenue was another contemporary sculpture that I must have passed several dozen time and never noticed. This sculpture “Annular Eclipse” was created by artist George Rickey.
1211 Sixth Avenue-The sculpture “Annular Eclipse, Sixteen Feet Variation I
Artist George Rickey is an American born artist who graduated with a degree in History from Balliol College at the University Oxford. His love of drawing had him continue his studies at various colleges in Paris. With his love of engineering and mechanics and metal work he started to create his kinetic sculptures (Wiki).
As you walk around Sixth Avenue, take time to admire the views of the buildings and the corporate setting. This is what people from outside the City think all of Manhattan is like. This is what you see in the movies when you think about Midtown Manhattan.
Sixth Avenue at West 47th Street
I revisited Sixth Avenue again in early December before I went to the Amy Grant concert at Carnegie Hall and it had been fully decorated for the Christmas holidays. If you want to see ‘Corporate Christmas’ at its best, it is Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. They may be the same decorations every year but it is so impressive.
Radio City Music Hall at Christmas 2023
Sixth Avenue and West 50th Street
The UBS Building at Christmas time on Sixth Avenue.
1345 Sixth Avenue in all its Christmas glory
1345 Sixth Avenue at Christmas time.
The decorations by 1531 Sixth Avenue surrounding the statues of Venus.
The decorations by 1531 Sixth Avenue.
The New York Hilton had this interesting cab display.
The Christmas ornaments at 1251 Sixth Avenue.
The Christmas display at 1221 Sixth Avenue in all its glory.
The Christmas tree display outside of 1211 Sixth Avenue was so colorful that night.
I even had time to sneak over to Rockefeller Center to see ‘The Tree” and watch the skaters before I ate dinner before the show. I never get tired of going to Rockefeller Center at Christmas and I always know the best times to go where there is smaller crowd.
The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is so iconic at the holidays. There is nothing like it anywhere.
Skaters at Rockefeller Center that night.
The Christmas tree is the highlight of this neighborhood during the holidays.
Bryant Park Christmas tree and the Village that surrounds it.
The skaters at Bryant Park at Christmas time.
The skating rink at Bryant Park.
The beauty of Bryant Park at night during Christmas.
Bryant Park at Christmas time is so spectacular. The Chrysler Building is aglow in the background.
The core of the neighborhood like the rest of New York City is very special at the holidays and you need to make a special trip just to go see the decorations here at Christmas.
I got back to Bryant Park in the afternoon and there was a concert going on in the park that was attracting the tourists. I think they were too busy taking pictures and filming the concert to ever really enjoy it.
Getting back to Bryant Park at Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street
Walking up Broadway from West 42nd Street is what the world thinks New York is all about (not just the City but the entire State of New York). The streets within Times Square are closed off now and it is a pedestrian plaza until West 47th Street and filled with the most unusual characters. People are always hustling here so you have to watch yourself. I am so used to all this.
You have people in costumes trying to take pictures with you dressed as Minnie Mouse and Superhero’s. Run in the other direction if you see them as they will insist on money if you take a picture with them. It can be annoying but still a walk through these two blocks is a real experience. You will see rappers performing, dancers bopping around and actors trying to peddle Broadway shows and Comedy Clubs all over the area. It is really crowded in the summer months and walk fast to get past everyone. Watch your wallets and purses.
Broadway and West 44th Street-Times Square
Walking up Broadway between West 45th and West 46th Street one of the most impressive buildings you will see and one of the key buildings in the gentrification of Times Square if the Marriott Marquis, The Portman Hotel at 1535 Broadway. This impressive hotel was very innovative when it opened in the 1980’s with it’s central elevator and roof top bar. It has some of the most impressive views and its Eighth floor bars have the best views of the Times Square. I stayed here once with a friend of mine on my birthday and the rooms with a view are amazing.
The one thing that is important to know is that the bathrooms at the Marriott Marquis at 1535 Broadway are free and it is a good pit stop before heading further downtown. They are located on the Eighth floor and are clean and very nice. They also have some good restaurants in the hotel like the Broadway Bar (See review on TripAdvisor) to eat at but wait until you head further downtown (I did not visit the bathrooms on the 2020 walk so I am not sure if they are open now).
The hotel was designed by architect John C. Portman and was built originally as a Westin Hotel. The hotel was originally conceived and designed in the 1970’s but the financial crisis of the 1970’s put a stop to it. It was finished in 1985. It is still considered a very innovative design (Wiki).
During the Christmas holiday season, my brother and sister-in-law took me here for dinner after a long day of touring in the City. We ate at the signature Broadway Lounge on the Eight Floor with the most spectacular views of Times Square and I highly recommend eating here when you are in New York City. The food and the service are excellent.
The view from our seats by the windows.
Inside the bar that night for dinner. The place was really busy with post Christmas visitors.
The amazing three cheese Grilled Cheese with fries that I had for dinner.
I also recently got to try the Roast Turkey sandwich
The sandwich was excellent
The delicious and colorful Vanilla Cake for dessert.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Times Square was still pretty busy with out of towners and mostly locals and businesspeople as the City has opened back up again. Costume characters were fighting for customers all over the square and even the “Naked Cowboy” a staple in Times Square was out again. He was still there singing and dancing in 2022.
While in Times Square there are a few more sculptures that I missed on previous walks. The statue of Father Duffy sits erect on “Duffy Square” the northernmost part of the Times Square triangle. This is dedicated to “Father Francis P. Duffy”, a Canadian American priest in the New York Archdiocese and on the faculty of the St. Joseph’s Seminary. He gained fame in World War I as an army chaplain and was noted for his bravery and leadership during the war with the 69th New York.
The Father Duffy Statue in Times Square’s “Father Duffy Square”
The statue was created by artist Charles Keck and was dedicated in 1937. Charles Keck is an American artist who studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York.
Another statue that most people miss is the statue of composer, actor, and theater performer George M. Cohan, one of our great American artists. The artist wrote some of the most famous songs of that era including “Over There”, You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Give my regards to Broadway”.
The George M. Cohan statue in Times Square
The statue in Times Square of the composer was designed by artist Georg John Lober and was dedicated in 1959 in Father Duffy Square. Artist Georg John Lober was an American sculptor who studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the National Academy of Design and was part of the New York Municipal Arts Commission from 1943-1960.
I will be really honest in that the only one who seems to notice these statues are myself and the pigeons. Everyone else in Times Square are too distracted with taking pictures and listening to music to notice them. Still they stand proudly in the heart of Times Square.
As I headed up Broadway, I had to stop in the new Krispie Kreme flagship store at 1601 Broadway. The sites and smells of the fresh doughnuts are amazing. You walk in to the store and get to see the doughnuts being made and then iced and filled. Then you get to buy them and taste them. It always has lines that wrap around especially at lunch time.
The Krispie Kreme Doughnut Flagship store at 1601 Broadway
Inside of Krispie Kreme flagship store making the fresh doughnuts. You get tempted with all the icing being doused on the doughnuts.
The freshly made doughnuts at Krispy Kreme are for sale and are delicious.
On the corner of Broadway and West 49th street is The Harrison Restaurant, once home to the ‘Java Shop’ restaurant where I worked for a little under a year. It is funny to look at this corner and still remember working here and all the things that I learned about the restaurant business. That is ancient history in a career that has taken many twists and turns in the last twenty years but I still do have some good memories of this spot.
The Harrison Brasserie at 1605 Broadway is the location of the old “Java Shop” where I worked from 1999 to early 2000
One building that needs to be noted on the way down to Times Square is the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway. Built in 1931 by builder Abraham E. Lefcourt the building was originally known as the Alan E. Lefcourt Building and got its current name from a haberdasher store front in the building. The building was known to play a major role in the music industry housing music studios and music company offices. Performers such as Carole King and Burt Bacharach had their offices here (Wiki).
The Brille Building at 1619 Broadway has a musical past
Details on the Brille Building are really unique.
Further up the road was another building dedicated to music and entertainment, the Ed Sullivan Theater where the “Tonight Show” is filmed.
The Ed Sullivan Theater is located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, New York. The theater is a 13-story brick building that was designed by architect Herbert Krapp and built by Arthur Hammerstein. Arthur Hammerstein named the theater in honor of his father, Oscar Hammerstein I. Hammerstein’s Theater opened its doors on November 30, 1927 with a three-hour musical play called “The Golden Dawn.” (EdSullivan.com).
In 1931, Arthur Hammerstein, who was facing financial troubles, lost ownership of the building. Over the next five years the theater underwent numerous name changes until in 1935, when CBS secured a long-term contract on the building and began using the theater for radio broadcasts. In 1950, with the growing popularity of a new medium, CBS converted the theater into a television studio named CBS-TV Studio 50 (EdSullivan.com).
Ed Sullivan, who had been hosting his variety show “Toast of the Town” out of CBS’s Maxine Elliott Theater, moved into Studio 50 in 1953. The studio went on to become the home of The Ed Sullivan Show for the rest of the variety show’s 23-year run. On December 10, 1967, to mark The Ed Sullivan Show’s 20th year, the studio was named The Ed Sullivan Theater in honor of the great host. Like its namesake, The Ed Sullivan Theater has withstood the test of time and to this day remains the studio’s name (EdSullivan.com).
As I rounded Broadway back to Times Square, I quickly turned around in the crowds and headed up Seventh Avenue which followed the same path as Broadway and passed the busy Hard Rock Café, which was the old Paramount Theater at one time.
The old Paramount Theater is now the Hard Rock Cafe
The Paramount Theatre and adjoining Paramount Building on Times Square were conceived by Adolph Zukor, President of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, to be a fitting flagship theatre and home of his company, the Publix Theatres Corporation. Located on the site of the old Putnam and Westover Court buildings, the Paramount Building was on the west side of Broadway from 43rd and 44th Streets, behind which was the Paramount Theatre (NYC-Ago).
Designed by the Chicago firm of Rapp & Rapp, the Paramount Building was twenty-nine stories tall and had eight setbacks to comply with zoning regulations. Surmounting its pyramidal top were a large clock and stylized globe that were illuminated at night. The time was indicated with flashes by white lights on the hour and red lights on the quarter hours (NYC-Ago).
The M & M store at 1600 Broadway but it stretches to Seventh Avenue
Positioned in the heart of Broadway, M&M’S Times Square is officially the hottest performance in town! Nothing brings more flavor to Manhattan than our two-story color wall packed with THOUSANDS of your favorite Milk, Peanut and Specialty M&M’S Candies. Melting inside? Our interactive InnerM analyzer will prove that you’re not the only one feeling the excitement (M & M.com).
In 2012, M&M’S New York launched the personalized printer, which will allow guests to create customized M&M’S right in the store. Store visitors can select from a variety of images, as well as create customized messages that will be printed on M&M’S candies in about two minutes. Guests can choose from 15 different colors and one mix blend, as well as select two images and create two customized messages to feature on their personalized M&M’S blend (M & M.com).
Seventh Avenue at West 52nd Street
My best friend works at the New York Sheraton Hotel at 811 Seventh Avenue and the hotel had been serving as a place where all the emergency workers doctors and nurses during the COVID crisis assisting people in the city at that time. It seems like a million years ago.
The famous New York Sheraton at 811 Seventh Avenue is where the chain started.
The hotel was design by architect Morris Lapidus who designed the hotel for the Tisch family and the Lowes Corporation. The hotel opened in 1962 at the Americana of New York. The hotel was sold to Sheraton in 1979 and was fully run Sheraton by 1990. In 2013, the hotel changed its name to the present one of the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel (Wiki).
On the corner of West 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue is this very unusual sculpture by artist Jim Rennert “WTF” that gives a perfect example of what happens to people who are not used to the Manhattan grind. I thought it was pretty clever. His sculptures dot Manhattan with conversation over the common man.
Jim Rennet statue “WTF” outside the Shake Shack at West 53rd and Broadway
Jim Rennert is an American born artist known for his large bronze sculptures depicting the everyday man. Mostly self-taught, his works are seen all over the country and really do make a statement.
Seventh Avenue at 43rd Street
I finished the walk of the Avenue of the Theater District at Seventh Avenue and West 42nd Street and looked back to see this view at Seventh Avenue around West 43rd Street. The sites and sounds and the excitement of Times Square and of the Theater District is what makes Manhattan Manhattan. This is what the City is all about.
Bryant Park in the Winter of 2023. Who says Times Square is boring?
I do not know where time went. One day I am cutting the lawn in 70-degree weather and the next day it is 32 degrees, and everyone is freezing. The weather has been going up and down like a yoyo and everyone is getting sick right before the holidays. Every other day the weather was changing, and this is the way the temperature would be every day for the month of December. One day it is Spring or Fall and the next everyone is bundling up.
Don’t be fooled by all the pictures and activities. There were a lot of late nights, a lot of driving and a lot of arranging to pull the holidays off this year. Teaching three classes and taking four classes in Grad school on top of volunteer work that I was committed to and getting ready for the holidays and all its expectations I had a lot of nights where I did not go to bed until two in the morning. I would study on busses and in hotel rooms and I never worked like this before in my life. Still it was a Merry Christmas and I consider myself a lucky person to see all these wonderful things.
All I did was run in and out of New York City every week for classes and work. There were so many historical sites that I wanted to visit over the holidays to update previously blogs that every moment of my day was taken up with touring. Still, I enjoyed taking my time to walk to school through Greenwich Village. The residents and merchants here know how to celebrate the holidays.
Christmas in Greenwich Village. I saw this home after class and I knew Santa was on his way
Walking past the train station on the way back to Port Authority was even festive.
With Grad School taking up so much of my time and I just finished all my presentations at Bergen Community College where I work (please see all three Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. projects), it’s now the final project for Grad School and getting ready for the holidays that are taking up my time. It is only two more weeks.
Thanksgiving with my cousins and aunt at the Lambertville Inn
Christmas started for me right after Thanksgiving with my family when the next day we had Christmas Tree delivery for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. We had 390 Christmas Trees delivery and we emptied the truck in one hour. By 10:30am, we sold our first Christmas tree and by the end of the first weekend, we sold 134 trees and 8 stands. We just missed last year’s numbers. It had rained most of Sunday so we missed that afternoon and evening of that day.
Christmas Tree drop off is right after Thanksgiving at 8:00am the next morning
The guys on the Men’s Association after we finished tagging and unloading the trees
Friday was a busy day selling. It often amazes me how many trees sell that first weekend. Last year we sold out in 11 days and people were disappointed that they had to wait. Many said that this year, they arrived early to get the tree they wanted. Even with the rain on Sunday, we did very well and were anticipating another get year (we sold out by December 9th on the morning shift).
My blog on Christmas tree drop off for the Men’s Association:
I knew it was Christmas when my neighbors set out all their decorations
The next evening after Thanksgiving was the Annual Parade and Tree Lighting ceremony in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights. Since we were opening the tree stand and I was on leave from the fire department this year, I did not go. Instead I stayed at the tree stand that evening and sold trees on my first split shift. We sold 44 trees on the first day of sales.
The Christmas Tree at the Circle in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
The Gazebo at the Firemen’s Circle Memorial in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
I have to admit, Thanksgiving weekend and the subsequent week were all about grad school. We would be wrapping up classes in two weeks (classes ended on December 14th) and I had three major papers due, one for each class. With the exception of my Data Analytics class, I had one partner on each paper I really did not know if I could count on so there would be a lot of extra work to do.
Heights Bar & Grill at 163 Boulevard became a place to relax and unwind with a pizza and a drink
Heights Bar & Grill was very festive during the holidays
My post birthday dinner became my pre Christmas/post class dinner
The next weekend was Sinterklaas weekend, and I knew I had to be in Rhinebeck and then Boonton, NJ for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party that I committed to last month. When you’re on all the Executive Boards of these organizations, you have to be there.
Still on the way back and forth to classes starting from mid-November until classes ended, I enjoyed my walks from the Port Authority to the NYU campus in the Village to admire all the decorations, display windows and Christmas tree setups all over the Village. Even before Christmas started, this section of the City is very traditional ‘Old New York’ and when it is all ready for the holidays it puts you in the Christmas spirit.
Christmas in Greenwich Village really kept my spirits up between classes
Selling Christmas trees in New York City was not difference from us but in prices.
The window displays in the Greenwich Village stores and boutiques were really creative. I loved walking all the side streets to discover what shop owner did that was so different from the others and these are some of my favorites. They really cheered me up as the pressure of the assignments built up.
Window display in the Village after they changed from Halloween to Christmas
Window display in the Village
Window display in the Village
Christmas display inside and outside at Greenwich Village store
More Christmas trees for sale on lower Seventh Avenue
The Washington Square Park Christmas tree was so beautiful both during the day and night. It was so nice to pass every evening I was coming back from class. It really put me in the holiday spirit especially when I was stressed out on my last three research papers of the semester. I took the time to just walk around the park and enjoy the cool air.
The Washington Square Park Christmas tree by day
The Washington Square Park Christmas tree at night
In between classes and work, I had to decorate and get my own house ready for the holidays. I have never worked so hard trying to pull off the holidays with so much going on in my life. Still I thought the house looked very nice. I decorated both the living room and dining room and it looked really festive. It was too bad there was no time for entertaining. That and the fact that everyone else was so busy, it made it impossible to do anything.
I keep it simple but elegant in my house
For years, I used to have a Christmas dinner but with everyone’s schedules and COVID still around, I am finding more and more people don’t want to get together. Again my schedule was no better this December. Still I worked my own “Santa” magic with other things I did for friends, neighbors and family.
From December 1st to the 31st, my feet never touched the ground. From unloading trees for the Men’s Association to watching the ball drop to completing three major projects for my job at Bergen Community College to the three major papers at school, my laptop followed me everywhere and was prominent in each of my hotel rooms as a worked on every business trip for my work with this blog. Who says that life is boring? The fun began as it does every year with Sinterklaas weekend in Rhinebeck.
My blog on Sinterklaas/ The Snowflake Festival weekend in Rhinebeck Day Two Hundred and Fifty-Six:
I had to plan Sinterklaas weekend like D-Day. I had a major presentation on the Metaverse when I returned back on the next Monday night so I had to finish the framework for the paper the Friday night before the parade. I was visiting the Culinary Institute of American to interview one of my old chefs at the college but I was not able to get in touch with him.
Still I was able to leave a message for an appointment and then tour the campus. I forgot how beautiful the campus is and I never saw it during Christmas time. I had been on my Externship my first year at the CIA so I never experienced the holidays at the CIA.
Roth Hall decorated for Christmas
The Christmas tree in the outside courtyard
I did not have any plans that Friday evening and I looked at the papers and saw that there was a Snowflake Festival in Downtown Kingston, NY. So that evening after a nice nap at the hotel, I headed there for the evening. It was just what the doctor ordered. It was a cool but not cold evening full of activities and lots of Christmas decorations and a festive environment.
Downtown Kingston, NY the night of the Snowflake Festival
It was a nice evening of Christmas activities, horse drawn carriage rides, visiting the firehouse, beautifully decorated windows of the local merchants and people just having a good time amidst COVID problems and a bad economy. People ‘needed a little Christmas now’ (Please read the blog below on the Snowflake Festival and the Sinterklaas Parade).
The line to see Santa was impossibly long. I think everyone needed him this year.
The Christmas tree in Downtown Kingston, NY
My homebase for the weekend was the Quality Inn Hotel in Hyde Park, which is becoming a tradition with me. I love the location and the comfortable beds. If you get a room facing the field to the right, you can see the stonewall that lines the property. Plus, they have the best fresh waffle station every morning.
The Quality Inn Hyde Park at 4142 Albany Post Road
Sinterklaas morning was a really gloomy day. Even if the weather outside that morning was gloomy, the spirit of Sinterklaas was in full swing inside the Beekman Arms Hotel for the Opening Ceremony.
The Opening Ceremony at Sinterklaas with Founder Jeanne Fleming and the Pocket Lady
The animal being celebrated this year was the porcupine and this was his home in the courtyard in Downtown Rhinebeck. This wise woman told us his tale.
The “Into the Light” show at the local church
The parade is the highlight of the evening and we lucked out that night as the weather broke by the afternoon. The sun started to come out and it was a much nicer evening with a cool but not cold feel and you could see the stars out on this clear evening. The parade is always exciting especially as we walk down the hill into Downtown Rhinebeck.
The parade begins at the Starr Library
The serpents are always a big hit at the parade
The stars always lead the parade down the hill
I marched at the end of the parade so all I saw was everyone’s backs. The crowds were not the same because of the weather that morning but they were still pretty large once we got into the core of downtown. Because of the weather earlier in the day, I could tell we had a more local crowd which was nice because Downtown Rhinebeck can only handle so many people.
All the characters come together at the closing ceremony
I swear that this parade like selling Christmas trees goes by faster and faster every year. I come to Rhinebeck in the Spring and the Summer and it just seems like I am counting the weeks until it starts all over again. After the parade was over, I stopped at Village Pizza for a few slices with the last of the parade stragglers. There were maybe three families eating a late dinner. By the time I warmed up and finished my pizza I walked around the downtown one more time. It was so quiet and peaceful with the exception of the saxaphone player who plays downtown at night. You would have never known there was a parade that night.
My review on TripAdvisor on Village Pizza in Rhinebeck, NY:
After a very sound sleep, I ate breakfast and enjoyed the waffle bar. Then I headed down to Boonton, NJ for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party that we were hosting at the home. Again, the year seems to go by fast.
The Executive Board the day of the party (I’m third to the right)
Because of COVID, the party is more subdued and families are still not allowed back with any great crowds. Still we had a DJ and Jerry Naylis’s daughter and granddaughters entertained the residents of the home. We really had a nice afternoon.
The Naylis family entertaining the residents
After the party was over, a few of us went the Columbia Inn for dinner. There was only a small group of us this year because again many of the guys were worried about COVID and large crowds. Still we toasted in the holiday season and after dinner, it was right back home to do my homework for school and classwork for my students. It would be never ending for the next three weeks.
The week between Sinterklaas and the next weekend of the Mills Mansion Party and exploring the decorated mansions to update my blogs for work, classes in both schools took a frenzy of activity on. I had to finish papers on the Metaverse and complete my White Paper on the Travel Industry and we started our paper on Mapping the Rockaways. I don’t think I ever went to bed before 2:00am every night for the next three weeks.
The “Dining on the Metaverse” paper required me to run around and interview chefs on the what their thoughts were on the Metaverse. I first went to the Ivy Inn in Hasbrouck Heights and talked with the Chef/Owner Jack. His thoughts on the Metaverse in dining were pretty strong and I needed a second interview so back to the Culinary Institute of America I went to talk to my former Chef at the college. He just happened to reach out to me that week so I stopped in to see him late on Friday.
The Ivy Inn at 268 Terrace Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ decorated for the holidays
I had an offer to revisit the Brinckerhoff Homestead the next afternoon before they ran a Afternoon Tea fundraiser to take pictures of the home decorated for Christmas for work and was able to get a last minute invitation acceptance for the Mills Mansion fundraiser, I decided to spend the night again at the Marriott in Fishkill, NY. It would be another long weekend of running around. So I booked a room at the Marriott Courtyard Fishkill, where I had stayed twice before and it would be close to all the sites and headed Upstate.
The Marriott Courtyard Fishkill at 17 Westage Drive & Route 9
I got up to the CIA before 4:30pm and walked around campus and enjoyed the Christmas lights again. The campus was starting to wind down for the holidays as the students would be leaving for break in a week and a half but the restaurants were busy with weekend reservations and by 4:30pm, I stated my interview on “Dining on the Metaverse” with the last chef I had before I graduated in 1998. I had not seen the guy in almost 25 years. Still he was just as nice as he was when I had him as an instructor and we had a good interview for almost two hours.
The campus was at twilight and it showed its true beauty next to the Hudson River.
The Culinary Institute of America at sunset
The Christmas tree lit at the Culinary Institute of America
We had our interview and it was nice talking with a Instructor that I had a lot of respect for years ago. It was nice of him to meet me after almost 25 years.
My TripAdvisor review on my lunch at the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe:
We bullshitted for the first hour and knowing that I had to be at the Mills Mansion by 6:30pm (the party was only going to 8:30pm), we had to get down to business. We spent the next hour talking about the effects of dining on the Metaverse and what it could do to the business in the future. His thoughts were pretty much the same as the Ivy Inn but it was an engaging conversation and I was able to take notes and write that section of the paper before I left for the weekend. Then it was off to the Mills Mansion for the Masquerade Cocktail Party fundraiser. That got my mind off a lot.
I had not been to a fundraiser here for the holidays since 2018 (COVID and work stopped me from going in the past) and it was a last minute thing I was able to attend. The President of the Friends of the Mills Mansion graciously let me come since it was sold out. I did not get there until almost 7:15pm by the time I left the CIA and got to Staatsburg and then had to park all the way down the hill.
The entrance to Staatsburgh, The Mills Mansion at 75 Mills Mansion Drive the night of the party
I was not too keen on wearing a mask since I had to wear glasses but I still had a nice time. The band was excellent and the singer wore an outfit that looked like it was from the early 1920’s. The food was wonderful and they had nice passed appetizers and wine and champagne to drink. The mansion’s Dining Room was decked out with masks and everyone was dressed to the nines. I had not seen people so dressed up in years. It was so impressive to see how elegant the evening was like something out of the mid-1980’s. No one had dressed up this much in years and it made the whole event feel so festive and special.
The band with the singer with the 1920’s outfit
I was able to catch up to people I had not seen in two years (since the last Afternoon Tea lecture in February of 2020 right before the shutdown) and we had a nice time talking about what had been happening over the last two years. It was a nice evening to get my mind off school and work. I slept so soundly that night when I got back to the hotel.
It was a very elegant party that night
The Mill’s would have been proud of this party
The day after the interview and the party, off I went early in the morning to visit the decorated mansions and take the tours. The Brinckerhoff House was my first stop and I would not be there long because they had a fundraiser at 1:00pm and I promised to be there, take the pictures and leave because they would be busy for the rest of the afternoon. The house looked just as pleasant as it did when I visited it over the summer but the nice part was the fireplaces were going giving that house that winter smell of firewood and pine.
The Brinckerhoff House at 68 North Kensington Drive at Christmas
The house was set up and decorated for an Afternoon Tea fundraiser
The Christmas tree at the Brinckerhoff house
I only stayed for about an half hour as volunteers were showing up to assist with the event and then I was off to my next house which was the Vanderbilt Mansion. This was a big weekend for the decorated homes and I figured I should visit them since I would not have time in the future.
The Vanderbilt tour was booked solid as people had the same idea that I had. I got on the 1:00pm tour and off we went to tour the mansion. I had been there many times before but never to see the Christmas decorations. When I had visited back in 2019, they were taking the decorations down when I got there. By the time we left, most everything on one side of the house was gone. Today though, the mansion was in its full glory.
The Vanderbilt Mansion at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park
The house was tastefully but not over-decorated as Fredrick Vanderbilt and his wife never used the home for Christmas. They were in Manhattan for the Christmas and the beginning of the social season that would last from Christmas to about Easter when everyone would head to their Spring homes in the country or in Florida.
The entrance hall to the Vanderbilt Mansion
The Dining Room set for a formal Christmas dinner
The Living Room with the family Christmas tree
The full tour of the mansion was very interesting and you got to hear the stories of Fredrick and the last years of his life. He simplified matters, sold all his other homes and moved here until he passed away. He wife had died and he stopped the social swirl and concentrated on his job with the railroad.
After the tour was over, the tour guide told me that FDR Estate was having a big Open House that day and that I should head over before they closed at 5:00pm. Myself and pretty much everyone on my tour headed over to Springwood, the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Springwood Mansion at 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, NY
The first floor was decorated as it would have been for FDR and his family’s last Christmas when he was alive. The decorations were taken from old pictures of the house the year that he passed.
The entrance hall of Springwood decorated for Christmas
The library decorated for FDR’s last Christmas
The Dining Room was set for Christmas supper
The mansion again like the Vanderbilt Mansion was tastefully decorated but not overdone. The library had a tree with decorations and the many presents that the large extended family would have opened that day. The Dining Room was set for the family dinner with a children’s table in the back. It would have been a nice family affair.
We got to tour the rest of the house and head back to the Visitors Center for Hot Chocolate and cookies that they set up in the snack shop. That evening around 6:00pm, the Bard College music department was putting on a recital but I had to leave right after the tour as I had a tone of assignments and homework that I had to do for both colleges. At least I was finally able to see both mansions in their full glory at Christmas.
As I left the Vanderbilt and Roosevelt mansions, I passed Downtown Hyde Park, NY which has a small downtown with about two blocks of historical buildings and admired the lights and how the businesses decorated the lights and buildings. I stopped to take a picture of their Christmas tree which was ablaze with lights on this snowy night. It really did look like Christmas.
Downtown Hyde Park, NY
The Hyde Park, NY Christmas tree a block from downtown
I got home early that night to finish my papers on the Metaverse and my White Page on the visitors we had to our Travel Trends class. It was an uphill battle that night and on Monday for both presentations. We got a “B+” on the Metaverse paper and an “A” on the White Page and in both classes I got an “A”. The Mapping project would go on until December 22nd. It would take five revisions and a lot of late nights. We were able to pull out a “B+” on the Mapping paper of the Rockaways right as my own classes were ending.
That last week of school Monday classes ended and after the Tuesday class my classmates wanted to go for an evening of Karaoke. I had papers to grade when I got home so I declined and took a walk up to see the tree and clear my head before heading home.
Christmas in New York City is always a pleasure and with the City opened back up to tourism, it made it exciting again. The anticipation of Christmas in Manhattan is something to experience if you have never done it before. It all started for me when I declined a karaoke night with my classmates and went to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. I just needed a walk after my Data Analytics class. It had been a rough semester. Just seeing the tree put me in the Christmas spirit.
The Tree as we call it in Rockefeller Center December 2022
I walked around Midtown along Fifth Avenue, looking at Saks Fifth Avenue’s windows, admiring the lights and looking at the skyline. I forgot how beautiful this area of the City is at night. It was a mild Tuesday night when I was walking around and there were not too many people around. the tourists had not arrived in full swing yet. Being a Tuesday night, it was relaxing being able to walk around the Rockefeller Center area without the crowds.
The side streets were particularly elegant
West 58th Street in its glory
The Plaza Hotel in all its glory that night
I saw this playful sculpture along with others on Fifth Avenue but it was near my old haunt FAO Schwarz
This was the best display window at Bergdorf-Goodman on Fifth Avenue
Still what stood out to me on that glorious evening was the beauty of Midtown Manhattan at night. Even though it was still early in the evening, it might have well been 11:00pm because the streets were so quiet that evening. This is why I love Manhattan.
The beauty of Midtown Manhattan at night
The Plaza Hotel and Bergdorf-Goodman shined that evening
This little trip to Midtown after class really cheered me up. It had been a long semester and I needed this little Christmas break from school. It really put me into the holiday spirit. On my way back to Port Authority to head home, I passed the New York Public Library on my way through Bryant Park to see the Christmas Village
Outside the New York Public Library where the lions were decorated for the holidays.
As the school year ended at Bergen Community College and classes were wrapping up, I was getting tired of giving the traditional quizzes so for Quiz Four I gave all three classes from Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. The students were asked by Corporate to arrange the company Christmas Party. They were asked to create the Invitation, the menu with an appetizer, main dish, dessert and a signature drink.
Then were asked to create a Christmas Corporate message and two classes were asked to create an original Christmas song. It is amazing what a group of students can accomplish in an hour. Everyone in all three classes got an “A” and I did not have to drag home quizzes to grade. I will remember this quiz in the future.
The Paramus Business 101 Team’s idea for the Corporate Christmas Event
The Marketing 201 Team’s Ideas for the Corporate Christmas Event
The original Christmas song from the Marketing 201 Team for the Corporate Christmas Party
The ideas that the students came up with in ONE HOUR were just fantastic. This is why I love being a College Professor when you can get this type of creativity out of your students.
This Christmas message won the competition from my Business 101 Lyndhurst Team
As we put the revisions to the Mapping paper for my Data Analytics class and I prepared the final exams for my students and graded my other classes work, I planned another trip to the Hudson River Valley to visit the rest of the decorated mansions on my list and update all my blogs for work. This was a long and very productive weekend. It would be capped off with a last minute Historical Christmas concert at the Bergen County Historical Society. I had not been to one of these in three years.
The Marriott Courtyard Fishkill is where the adventure began. I revisited Staatsburgh (The Mills Mansion) and Wilderstein and then on Saturday I went to the Meiser Homestead in Wappinger Falls for their Holiday Open House. I had to time everything perfectly because I had to be in Manhattan for a Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall at 8:00pm. I timed everything perfectly.
The Marriott Courtyard Fishkill was decorated nicely for Christmas
The Marriott did a nice job decorating the hotel for the holidays
I started my trip on a snowy Friday afternoon (it was funny that the weather was just cloudy down by us) and I made it for my 11:00am appointment to see Staatsburgh. I had been to the Mills Mansion fundraiser the week before but the whole house was not open that evening and I had only been there for an hour. Now I was able to tour the house at my leisure. I was even interviewed for the local papers by a woman who was doing an article on the decorated mansions of the area.
I returned to Staatsburgh on snowy cold afternoon so the mansion was pretty quiet for touring. There were only two people on the walking tour of the mansion that afternoon. The roads up to Hyde Park were not the best.
Staatsburgh-The Mills Mansion at 75 Mills Mansion Drive on that snowy afternoon
It was nice to tour the house in peace and quiet. The party the week before had been a lot of fun but you could not see the rest of the house. All the rooms were so beautifully decorated, and the Dining Room was decorated to the hilt with masks, the theme of the party the week before. Since there was only two of us touring around, I got interviewed by the local paper by a reporter doing the same thing I was doing, visiting these beautiful homes. Visit my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com to see all my stories on my visits to these beautiful mansions.
My last stop that evening was to Woodstock, NY. I had planned to come this year for the parade but with my brother coming in for Christmas that changed my plans. I figured this was the last time I was going to be able to come up before the holidays. So I braved the slush and snow and drove the long roads up to Woodstock. It never disappoints me.
The Village Square at Woodstock, NY during the holidays
The Woodstock, NY Christmas tree is always interesting
After dinner, I slept so soundly at the hotel again. The Marriott Courtyard in Fishkill, NY is in the perfect location with Route 84 and the mountains right behind it. Easy to get to the highway home but still the best views when you wake up.
The amazing view from my hotel room at the back of the hotel facing the mountains
I had to rush to go on the 10:30am tour of Locust Grove, the former home of Samuel Morse, that I wanted to photograph before I left for the Meiser Homestead. There was not time to eat this morning. Thank God I had some baked goods in the hotel room.
The Christmas tree in the formal Living Room in the Tower section of the home
The Dining Room at Locust Grove at Christmas
The Billiards Room at Locust Grove at Christmas
I toured the whole house in our private tour at 10:30am. There were so many people on the tour, they called a special docent in to run the tour and we had the house to ourselves. Ehtel lead the tour and we took time to enjoy each room. Then it was off the Meiser Homestead for their Open House.
The Mesier Homestead at 2 Spring Street in Wappingers Falls, NY
The Foyer at the Meiser Homestead decked out for the holidays
The Living Room with the Christmas tree
The Dining Room set for Christmas lunch
Downtown Wappingers Falls during Christmas
The Wappingers Falls Christmas tree in the downtown
After I returned home from the Meiser Homestead Open House, it was change clothes again and into the City I went. I did not have much time to do anything in the evenings when classes were going on at NYU so after the semester was over and my third class was finished for the semester at Bergen Community College, I got a last minute ticket to see NY Pops at Carnegie Hall with singer Ingrid Michaelson. What a concert!
I had not been to Carnegie Hall since 2019 in pre-COVID and this always is a tough concert to buy tickets for but I snagged a Saturday night ticket in Row H on the aisle (I have long legs) and it was fate.
The entrance to Carnegie Hall at 57th and Seventh Avenue on the night of the concert. Our concert is to the left.
The inside of Carnegie Hall decorated for the holidays. The crowds were getting settled into the theater.
The stage at Carnegie Hall decorated for Christmas
The excitement built when I entered the hall and it was all decked out for Christmas. It was a site to see. The surprising part was how casual everyone was dressed for the evening. I was really thrown by this especially at the holidays. My seatmate was also dressed to the nines and she made the same comment. She introduced herself and I thought it was funny that a recently married woman would come to the show by herself but there we were acting like two single people.
The beauty of the stage that night just as the NY Pops members started to come on to the stage
Ingrid Michaelson and her fellow singers on stage
The whole concert was amazing and Ingrid Michaelson was fantastic that evening. What I thought was funny was the end of these concerts end with a sing along with Santa on stage and that did not happen this time. She ended the show with one of her signature songs. Maybe her Friday night concert had that. Even though, the concert was excellent and I shared the two songs below that were my favorite from the show.
This was my favorite song from the concert “Christmas Valentine” a new classic. This was written by both Ingrid Michaelson and Jason Mraz who performed it that night on stage.
The other great song from the concert was “Christmas Time is Here”:
“Christmas Time is Here” by Ingrid Michaelson
Even though it was a almost a two hour concert, it just seemed to end very quickly. After the concert was over, I just exploring the area around Lincoln Center. What a beautiful evening it was right before Christmas. People were talking in the local parks, admiring the Christmas lights in trees all over the neighborhood. Christmas tree stands were running in full force as people were decorating their homes on top of the their busy schedules.
Christmas tree sales by Carnegie Hall
For both lunch and dinner I returned to Amore Pizza cafe at 370 West 59th Street, which is down the road from Carnegie Hall. I swear that their food is the best.
I stopped in for a slice of Meat Lovers Pizza which was more than enough before the show and after the show I was still hungry. I went back and had a Chicken Parmesan Hero, which was good but it had been made from chopped fried chicken breasts instead of a freshly fried breast. It was good but not as good as the pizza was that night. After dinner, I just walked around Midtown and down Fifth Avenue admiring the windows.
The Meat Lovers Pizza at Amore Pizza Cafe is excellent
The weekend was not finished yet as I had an early morning walking tour of the Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow and then I had a Christmas concert at the Bergen County Historical Society in River Edge. Since I had to extend my leave with the fire department, I missed the first “Santa Around Town” in eighteen years. This on top of the fact that I was supposed to run it. With my work and college schedule, I had to ‘cry uncle’ and give it up which really disappointed me. I had some really good plans for it. In the end only thirteen guys showed up out of fifty and they had a fire call before the event ended. Thank God it was just a block chimney.
I left for the last day walking tour of the Philipsburg Manor before the house closed for the season. I was on the last walking tour of the house. Since the house was not insulated and the weather gets bad for the winter, the house will not open again until April. So I was hoping to get some picture taking in and see the decorations. The house was not decorated for the holidays but still the tour was interesting.
The Philipsburg Manor house 381 North Broadway in Sleepy Hollow, NY
The tour was about an hour and we had indoor and outdoor activities that we got involved with cooking hardtack, touring the house and grounds and helping in the barn beating out the wheat seed. When the actors who worked at the site (who must have been freezing their butts off because it was cold that morning) told us and demonstrated the work that had been done on the estate, this was hard work! This was a working farm and business transport spot, not where a family lived and entertained. When Mr. Philips was on property, he was here for business and nothing else. The staff ran this farm.
Us making Hardtack at the outdoor oven
Our visit to the barn where were loosening the wheat seeds. This poor woman was out there all morning in the cold!
The tour was about an hour and I thought that the house would have had some Dutch Christmas decorations but again the tour guides and historians said that the house for business and visiting not for the day in day out lives of the family. Still it was interesting. After our tour finished, I toured the gift shop and then headed home to get ready for the concert.
The Bergen County Historical Society at New Bridge Landing brought back their indoor concerts for Christmas including opening the Blackhorse Pub (The Campbell-Christie House) for dinner before and after the concerts. It was so nice to come to this again. The crowds were a little light at the second concert at 7:45pm on a Sunday night but it made it more fun that we could still socially distance from each other and there was plenty of space to spread out.
I started the evening early at the pub eating my dinner before the concert. The pub had a limited but very nice menu based on what foods that may have been served at the time period (with a modern twist of course). There was Shepard’s Pie, a Ploughman’s Plate, Onion Pie, Trifle and Dutch Cookies and desserts on the menu..
The Campbell-Christie House at 1209 Main Street in River Edge, NJ at the Bergen County Historical Society
The Campbell-Christie House was used as the “Blackhorse Tavern” for the evening where pub food could be ordered for dinner. It was really beautiful that night with all the tables a glow from the candles and the room decorated with holly, garland and wreaths for the holidays.
The Blackhorse Tavern for dinner
After dinner was over, I had plenty of time to explore the gift shop and wonder around the property to see the other decorations. The other buildings on the property were closed that evening but still decorated so I followed the lantern filled pathway and looked at the decorations.
Before the second concert that evening that I would be attending at 7:45pm I wondered around the museum part of the Steuben House where the concerts were taking place. The exhibits were set up with a holiday/Christmas theme in mind. One display was on a candy maker who once had a store in Downtown Hackensack.
Bogert’s Candy Shop in Downtown Hackensack closed in 1934
Decorating the house both during the Revolutionary War and during the Victorian Age was a very extensive affair of preparing the house for entertainment. Garland, holly and pine would have been important to decorate with but it was the Christmas ornaments of the Victorian age and trimming trees with ornaments that would have made the tree very festive.
There were also displays on entertaining during that time period and soldiers lives while the war was going on and what would be needed. It could be lonely at the holidays.
We started to settle in as the second concert was about to start. The room was decorated for the holidays with a combination of Victorian and Revolutionary decorations.
The ballroom at the Steuben House
We were then treated to a concert by the great Linda Russell whose interpretations of Revolutionary Christmas songs is well known. We had a hour long concert of favorite songs, talks about the times and a history of the music itself. She shared with us her insights towards the holidays of New Jersey versus New England and their Puritan ways. Thank God we knew how to party then too.
Linda Russell (to the far left) and her group entertained us for the evening with songs, talks, a few jokes and a wonderful night of excellent music.
“I saw Three Ships Sail In” my favorite song from Linda Russell
We were entertained for about an hour and got time during the intermission to talk with the musicians who shared their experiences with us and about the musical equipment that they were using that evening. It was an interesting talk and a wonderful concert. I highly recommend visiting the Bergen County Historical Society during this time of the year. They do a nice job with this concert and the site is so beautifully decorated for the Christmas holiday season.
Before my the last day of classes at Bergen Community College on December 22nd, I made one last trip into the City before I left for my mother’s. The house had to get cleaned and the laundry had to get done and I got all my errands done before I left. I just wanted to walk around and get my mind off both colleges. It had been a long semester and I was burnt out. The City could not have been more beautiful.
Christmas on Park Avenue
Park Avenue was lined with Christmas trees lighting up before it got dark
Homes on the Upper East Side were beautifully decorated for the holidays
Homes on the Upper East Side were decorated so nicely and some blocks there seemed to be a competition for whose house was nicer.
I went to Rockefeller Center one more time to see the tree and it was like a madhouse so I just looked at it from across the street and continued walking around the Upper East Side down to the Cornell Club where I relaxed for a bit before I went home. People would start taking their decorations down after the holidays and I wanted to take one more glimpse of the neighborhoods before that happened.
The Empire State Building from the Flatiron District
Christmas Eve morning, I visit the cemeteries and pay my respects to my family before I leave for my mother’s. I think it’s important to pay your respects. After fighting the crowds at Mills Bakery on Christmas Eve morning to get a Seven Layer Cake and breakfast cakes and doughnuts for the next day, I left for Rehoboth Beach. I swear the roads were really quiet and it was the first time that I got down to my mom’s in three and a half hours.
Mills Bakery at 275 Valley Boulevard in Wood Ridge, NJ had the most festive cakes, pies and cookies for the holidays
I had just seen my mother in September after the Firemen’s Convention but this was the first time since 2019 that we had spent Christmas together. COVID has really wreaked havoc on the holidays.
Christmas Eve and Day were spent at my mom’s which we have not done since the pandemic. It kept us away and it was strange not having a family get together for three years. It was nice to get together as a family again. On Christmas Eve, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and the place was a madhouse.
Confucius Chinese Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE
My review on TripAdvisor of Confucius Chinese Restaurant:
Even with all the crowds, it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the meal and not have to do anything. I slept so soundly that night knowing that I did not have to be anywhere for a month.
My mother really decorated the house beautifully.
The House at Christmas.
Jane set the table so elegantly.
Cooking this year like in 2019 is now a family affair. My Mom relinquish some control of the kitchen over the last couple of years as dinner was getting to be too much for her to do alone so we all help now. My brother and I coordinate the schedules and plan the menu with my mom and we each did part of the meal and cooked it. This is what the Team work produced:
The Appetizers and Desserts being prepped for dinner:
Mom should be hired by Nancy Meyers to do visuals for her films.
The Potato Croquettes that I prepared for dinner, the Broccoli Casserole and the homemade Apple Pie my mother prepared for dinner (my mom makes the best pies).
We were all getting ready to cook our portion of Christmas Dinner.
My mother preparing the Sauteed String Beans
Me preparing the Potato Croquettes (which by the way were a big hit I think I look like a French Chef).
My brother getting the Roast carved before the start of dinner.
My Mother with the final Christmas dinner that was the Team effort
Christmas Dinner 2022 and everyone loved it! The dinner was Roast Fresh Park, Potato Croquettes, Apple Sauce, Broccoli Souffle and Sauteed String Beans.
The Desserts were Homemade Apple Pie and a Seven Layer Cake that I brought from Mills Bakery. My brother also made all the Christmas cookies.
My family on Christmas Day after dinner (minus my younger brother and his kids).
We had such a nice time with my mother and her friends at dinner and it was a nice quiet and mellow Christmas. It was what I needed after a long school year.
The day after Christmas while my brother headed to New York City, I took the ferry from Lewes to Cape May to spend the night and admire all the decorations all over town. I only spent one night in Cape May but with how relaxing, beautiful and quiet it was that evening I felt like I had been there for a week. I always say in my blogs that the only town to rival Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas is Cape May, NJ.
I took the ferry the next day from Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ and thank God the weather was nice. We had really light waves and the trip went by really quick. We got into Cape May in a little over an hour and a half. Since I did not have to check into my hotel and it was getting late, I decided to head over to Sunset Beach and watch the sun set. That really relaxed me. In any weather, I swear the beach is always full of people doing the same thing. It was relatively warm that day and when I got to the park, people were playing miniature golf at the little range they have there. I thought that was amusing.
The sunset was fantastic! The weather had really cleared that evening and the colors were so entrancing.
The sun preparing to set that night
The hues at Sunset Beach make this place very special
I just stayed until it got a bit dark and then I headed to the hotel. I stay at the Chalfonte in the winter time in their Souther Quarters (the regular hotel is not insulted and closed until May) and I always enjoy the rooms with their cheery shabbiness and the way the place is always decorated for the holidays. You have to like these old hotels.
The Southern Quarters at the Chalfonte Hotel at 301 Howard Street
I have been coming to the hotel for Christmas for the last several years and last year when COVID again shut things down for Christmas, I stayed here while visiting my younger brother in Rehoboth Beach when he came for a visit. I love Cape May at Christmastime.
The hotel has that festive home away from home feeling with poinsettias around the hotel, Christmas candies and chocolates at the front door and Christmas lights around the building.
I like the shabby chic of the place
My room was really nice and the bed was so comfortable
The room has just been renovated but still had a water spot on the ceiling. That is the charm of the Chalfonte. It reminds you that it is an old hotel. I ventured out to the downtown and the Washington Mall that evening to see the true magic of what makes Cape May a Christmas town. All the lights, trees and decorations make sure that Santa does not miss this town.
The town square with it’s Christmas tree in the bandstand and white lights all over the little part are whimsical and magically as you walk through them. It always reminds me of “Whoville” in the “Grinch that stole Christmas”.
Cape May Town Square at Christmas
The bandstand and Christmas tree are amazing at night
The Cape May Christmas tree
I spent a good part of the my evening admiring the lights of downtown and of Washington Mall which is the downtown section of Cape May. The whole neighborhood was ablaze with lights, decorations and beautiful Christmas displays in the windows. Cape May knows how to decorate for the holidays.
The Washington Mall at night
The Washington Mall in Cape May decorated for the holidays
Our Lady of the Star Sea Church at 525 Washington Street in Downtown Cape May
After a long walk picture taking everything in the downtown from every angle (I have pictures that I ended up using for other sites), I went back to the room to relax. I just sunk into the pillows and went out like a light. I woke up two hours later and got to bed. I slept so soundly again.
The next morning was rested and ready to go. I had my usual post-Christmas game plan. I started with breakfast at the Mad Batter, a local well known restaurant in Cape May and the food is always excellent. I have eaten here several times and I highly recommend it.
The food and the service are always very good. That morning there seemed to be only one waitress on the floor and I swear that this woman handled the dining room like a pro. The service was flawless and she never panicked.
The Bacon and Cheese Omelet with home fries was outstanding
After breakfast was over, I gathered my things at the hotel and dropped off my keys and then spent the afternoon visiting historical sites. Most everything I was surprised were closed so I took exterior shots to update my blogs.
While walking downtown, I saw that Our Lady of the Star Sea, the Catholic Church in the Washington Mall was having service at 11:00am. Since I did not go to church services on Christmas Eve or Day, I went in for the post-Christmas services. I was surprised how crowded they were that morning. I found out that a young new priest has just come from the seminary and started that day. I found him very inspirational and very enthusiastic.
The church was so beautifully decorated for the holidays
Our Lady Star of the Sea for the Christmas holiday season
After church services were over, I toured around Cape May. I had a noon time appointment at the Physick Mansion to see their Christmas decorations so I stopped at a few of the museum around the downtown area but again all closed.
The Physick Mansion tour at the holidays I have taken many times and it is one of the nicest homes decorated for the holidays. Many people would not have decorated every nook and cranny of the house the way this is but like Locust Grove, it gives you an idea of how the Victorians celebrated the holidays.
The decorations were amazing and the house was decked to the hilt for the Christmas holidays. We got to tour the entire house and every room has such festive garland and Christmas trees. The family seemed to know how to celebrate the holidays.
The Living Room at the Physick Estate
The Dining Room
The Parlor with the ‘Tabletop’ Tree in the corner
We went room by room with the tour guide explaining how the family would prepare for Christmas and the preparations that would have to be done by the staff for guests and for the family dinner. There would be many trips to Philadelphia department stores for gifts for the family. You felt on the tour that the family had just left for the day.
After the tour, I headed over to West Cape May to see the Cape May Lighthouse and was surprised that it was open that day. With everything else being closed, it was a treat to be able to climb it again. The drive in was nice as people decorated their homes nicely and being a warm day around 50 degrees (Christmas just seems to be getting warmer), I drove around for a bit to admire them.
The entrance to the Borough of Cape May Point decked for the holidays
The outdoor Christmas display in West Cape May
The Cape May Lighthouse and grounds were really busy with visitors and being such a warm day many were walking on the beach or admiring the park. Several passed me as I climbed the lighthouse which I had not done in a few years. The view on this clear sunny day was great.
The views from the top were so clear and beautiful and being so clear you could see the entire surrounding community.
The view from the top of the Cape May Lighthouse
After climbing up and back down, I passed more people who I could not believe were complaining on how hard it was to walk it. I got up in about ten minutes with a couple of stops and then was back down again once reaching the top. It is not that hard and is well worth the trip up.
Watching the time, I wanted to visit the farms in the area but Rea Farm was closed for the season so I headed to Beach Plum Farm, which has become quite the tourist stop since my first trip to Cape May. It is such a picturesque farm but it looks very planned. When I first started coming here is was a more local farm. Now it looks like a gourmet shop and it has gotten more expensive.
The entrance to Beach Plum Farm at 140 Stevens Street
I toured around the gift shop and admired the beautiful displays of gourmet foods. The place was almost empty as I could see that they must have had a very good Christmas. There was some serious restocking that needed to be done.
The wonderful gourmet items at Beach Plum Farm
I ended my afternoon feeding the chickens before I left the farm. God they were so excited to see me. I just had a little feed and they ran all around me like groupies. I guess this is how the farm feeds them. It was the best quarter I spent on the trip.
The chickens were a very excited bunch that afternoon
Before I left Cape May that day for home, I visited Sunset Beach one more time to enjoy the weather. The beach was pretty crowded again as everyone waited to see the sun set again on Cape May. Like I said before, you can see this a hundred times but it is never boring.
Sunset Beach on a warmish sunny day attracts a lot of visitors
From Sunset Beach, I headed home. I stopped for a quick slice of pizza on the way and then I had to leave Cape May (until the next time). There was a lot to do and I had places that I wanted to visit before the holidays were over. I could not believe how much work I got done on this two day trip to Cape May. I got to see a lot.
In the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I made another trip around the City. Since I did not have to return to classes until the end of January, I was able to take my time and explore around campus and the Village. Christmas was still in full swing.
Christmas in Greenwich Village
Decorations in one of the pocket parks on Greenwich Street
Homes decked out for the holidays
Townhouses decked out for the holidays
I also made a special trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Christmas tree and decorations before the museum took them down after the Epiphany. I love seeing them every year. It still is a big attraction at the museum and you have to visit it before that first weekend in January is over.
The Metropolitan Museum of at at 1000 Fifth Avenue:
My last holiday event before school started again was Epiphany services at the Reformed Church of Paramus and visiting my father for his birthday. It can be sobering but I try to still celebrate his life and going to this church puts me into the Christmas spirit.
The Paramus Reformed Church in Ridgewood, NJ
Christmas services at the Paramus Reformed Church
The Paramus Reformed Church’s decorations by Route 17 are always tasteful
After services were over, I stayed and joined the other parishioners for Tea and snacks after the service and talked with other parishioners. It was nice to sit back after a long holiday season and just relax. After services were over, I went to pay respects to my father for his birthday (which is the reason why I come here for church as its on the way home). The cemetery was filled to the brim with wreaths and grave blankets so even though it was a cemetery, there was still a festive feel to the fact that so many people paid their respects to their families.
My aunt took me out on the last day of the Epiphany weekend for my combination birthday/Christmas present dinner to the Ivy Inn. What a nice evening we had and it was the perfect way to end the holiday season. The Chef/ Owner was not there that day but we were able to discuss with the staff the paper I wrote on the Metaverse. They seemed amused by it all (see my review on dinner on my TripAdvisor review above by the Metaverse paper story).
The Ivy Inn decorated for Christmas
The beauty of the dining room decorated for the holidays
The delicious salad I started with
The delicious Penne with Sundried Tomatoes and Sweet Sausage that I had that evening
My aunt and I shared this wonderful Zeppoles with Chocolate and Raspberry sauces
It was a magical evening with good food and company in a festive environment. I really needed this with all the running around with school, work, blogging and research that I had done from Thanksgiving to the Epiphany. It was a lot for one person to pull off and somehow I managed it all. I am lucky that I have supportive friends and family.
I had the entire month of January to relax before the whole thing began again for Spring Semester and that is all I wanted to do. It didn’t quite happen that way but I finally got time to myself which I needed.
My work for my blogs took me all over New York and New Jersey, visiting small towns, admiring Christmas decorations and supporting many community events. Please visit my other blogs DiningonaShoeStringin NYC@Wordpress.com, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com and VisitingaMuseum.com to see all the updates, more detailed stories on the mansions and events and all my updated pictures.
I got my final grades by the end of the semester and it was straight “A”‘s. This was the first time in my life I ever did that! Don’t even ask me how I pulled this all off!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The Empire State Building from the NoMAD section of Manhattan just off Broadway
I do not think my feet touched the ground the entire month of October. Halloween night was spent in classes doing presentations and starting a new class on the Metaverse at NYU. It was not too awful as it rained during the parade for about an hour and was not the usual clear sunny (and usually warm) day that it had been in the past. Even though my partner at the parade, Mark Schuyler, said it was fun, the rain would be a bit of a deterrent.
The Village Merchant windows
The end of September lead to the crazy days of October as I settled into my classes at NYU and continued to get more assignments than I could keep up with. Between the three classes that I was taking at NYU and the three classes at Bergen Community College that I was teaching, my hands were so full that I never stopped running around. Everyone just kept adding more and more and I just had to keep up.
The Village Merchant windows at Halloween
The weather was surprising warm through early November this year which made the walk from Port Authority to campus a real pleasure. This is how I knew that Halloween was on its way. Here and there amongst the great little stores in the neighborhood, the window displays were full of pumpkins, witches, ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night.
The Salvation Army windows around the corner from NYU
Many of the merchants in the neighborhood really decorated their windows and it made it fun to exploring the side streets.
The Theater around the corner from NYU
As I walked through Washington Square Park, I thought back to the Haunted New York Ghost Tour that I took with the Cornell Club the year before and passed some of the sites in the neighborhood that we visited on the tour especially the “Hanging Tree” at the edge of the park.
The “Hanging Tree” in Washington Square Park where they used to hang prisoners until Society moved to the neighborhood and asked them to stop.
I passed through Gramercy Park to see what was going on in the park and people really decorated around the neighborhood.
I also remembered that Washington Square Park was a giant cemetery with a park on top of it. I am not too sure if people in the neighborhood or my fellow NYU classmates know all of this. Every once in a while when they have to fix the pipes near the edge of the park, they hit the tombs where bodies now rest. It is kind of eerie to know that people are buried under where people now play music, dance and protest. Just hope we don’t wake them up (Hee Hee).
Downtown Hasbrouck Heights decorated for Halloween in 2022
In early October, people really get into Halloween in a major way in Hasbrouck Heights and I start noticing that people are decorating their houses more for the holiday. By the end of the month, the Men’s Association starts to run around town judging houses for our annual contest. Some people started decorating early.
The beginnings of Halloween in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
The beginnings of Fall in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Looks like the competition will be fierce this year
My neighbors even put their evil scarecrow “Giggles” outside to scare the passersby on Route 46 East. I swear this thing has a mind of its own.
“Giggles the Scarecrow” at Route 46 East in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
The story of “Giggles the Scarecrow” on MywalkinManhattan.com Day One Hundred and Eighty-One:
As the temperature stayed warm and the trees stayed green, I could see the windows in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights start to change as the Annual Halloween Children’s Painting Contest for the elementary schools began. This goes on for about a week and sometimes the paintings stay up until Christmas time as people don’t realize that they are still on the windows. Some of these kids are really creative and do a nice job.
The Hasbrouck Heights Halloween WIndow Painting Contest
The merchants in our downtown like in the Village start to get creative with the window displays and this is why on the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association we added a Merchant winner this year to our Halloween House Decorating Contest. So many of the merchants do such a terrific job of getting into the spirit of the holiday. Halloween is a big business now.
Heights Flower Shoppe was our winner this year and this picture does not give the display justice
Spindler’s Bake Shop decorated inside and out to be the Runner Up
Residents of Hasbrouck Heights for Halloween last year went all out decorating their houses for the holidays. This year it seemed a bit more subdued as the economy, the elections and just the general environment seemed a bit testy, people held back a bit but some residents went all out and by the end of the month we started the Second Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association House Decorating Contest with a new Merchant Category. Halloween then really kicked off.
I knew that Halloween was coming when I saw the kids on the Boulevard painting away at the Merchants windows in Downtown Hasbrouck Heights the first week of October. The funny part is that I sometimes see these paintings through Christmas.
The kids do such a great job though and they are so creative. Here is a sampling up and down the Boulevard that I saw when I was judging businesses for Halloween. This is just a sampling of some of the paintings that the children of Hasbrouck Heights in 2022:
Ist Place
Some of the paintings on the Boulevard with the winner
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
Paintings on the Boulevard
The contest is really popular every year and there are winners at every level
With classes in full swing and projects that I had to work on it made it tough to have free time to visit a lot of places that I had done in the past, so I concentrated on new experiences and trying to revisit the places I had when I had a free moment. It took a lot of planning, but I was able to get to upstate New York and down to Southern New Jersey again. In simple terms, between classes and work, I never stopped running around for the entire month of October. I did a lot of driving this month.
First I had to spend my birthday in class making a major presentation in my ‘Business Models’ class and my ‘Travel Trends’ class. That was nerve wracking enough but I got an “A” on both so I was really happy. I did the project on Wheelchair tourism in NYC and the challenges that a person could face when visiting Manhattan in a wheelchair.
The in the evening, I was in my Business Models class explaining the use of the “Garbage Box”, a mythical product that I created to contain all the street garbage from leaking on the sidewalk and making the sidewalk a bit more attractive by packaging the garbage. That earned me another “A”.
The “Garbage Box” prototype that when after class I really used it and packed garbage inside and left it at the curb. See how much nicer the garbage looks now?
Between those two classes and work on my two classes getting papers graded and getting quizzes done, I was burnt out. When I got home from my Thursday night class in Lyndhurst, I went to Heights Bar & Grill in Hasbrouck Heights for a drink and a snack. Happy Birthday finally to me!
My birthday dinner (two weeks late) at Heights Bar & Grill. The Cosmos and Pizza were amazing
When I finally got those projects over and done with for school, I went Upstate to the Hudson River Valley for the Sheep & Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds on October 16th to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather and to walk around the fairgrounds.
I don’t think the festival anticipated that many people that day
It ended up being almost 75 degrees that day but felt warmer. The fairgrounds were packed the entire afternoon. Not quite during the Dutchess County Fair but the food vendors were out in full force and that made me happy. There were not as many as during the fair and that led to a lot of long lines. This is the reason why I decided to walk around for a bit.
The large crowds at the food concessions at the Sheep & Wool Festival
Please enjoy my blog on the visiting the Sheep & Wool Festival Day One Hundred & Forty Nine:
I made my way to the animal pens and the Arts & Crafts sellers. You could see that everyone was getting ready for the Christmas holiday season. There were all sorts of items for stocking stuffers and people had all sorts of beautiful handcrafted ornaments and Santas. I love visiting my favorite woodcarving artists where I get my mother’s Santas every year.
Because of the warm weather, I don’t think the festival figured on the number of people
The guys were all there and all three of them showed me what they had to offer this Christmas. Since I never carry cash around (a mugger would hate me) and they never take credit cards, its makes it easy to make a selection. I have to buy the cheapest most creative one each year.
The wood carvers are so talented. I buy my Santas from these three men every year
I could not decide so I told the guys I would do what I usually did, see what was left over when I got back and make a decision then. I think they get a kick out of that philosophy of mine. I walked around the rest of the building to see what was there but I have a tough time spending $10.00 on a bar of soap or $20.00 on a bottle of honey. I do have limits on what I will spend money on.
The crowds on a warm October afternoon at the Sheep & Wool Festival
I walked around the rest of the buildings looking at the arts & crafts, a lot of yarn and crocheted articles at the booths and the homemade food stuffs. There was a lot to choose from. As I left the buildings with all the homemade articles, I passed displays for Halloween and could not even think about Christmas at this point (it’s always there at Halloween anyway) and remembered which holiday was coming up.
I loved this ‘Disco’ Ghost display in the main buildings
When I got to the animal pens that are usually filled with animals at the top of the hill were filled with more vendors. There were all different types of things to buy from ceramics to homemade flowers to honey and other wonderful gourmet foods to handmade cosmetic products. There really was something for everyone here.
I saw one of my favorite Children’s Arts & Crafts artist’s at the fair, Susannah White and I see her work every year. She creates the most wonderful dolls, fairy houses and masks. Everything is done by hand and her prices are very fair for the craftsmanship and attention to detail that each piece has to it.
I love the creativity and attention to detail this merchant has in her work
These are some of her finger puppets and masks that she create for ‘children’ but I see plenty of adults buying them too. I have to think about getting one of these in the future. They are ‘art’.
Another one of my favorite ‘children’s artists’ was there also displaying her puppets and sculpture as well. Artist Bonnie Hall creates these fantastic 3-D beasts of the imagination. They are so unusual and cute.
I walked the rest of the booths but nothing stood out as these few did. I always look forward to seeing these vendors and what they have come up with in terms of new merchandise.
I then visited the animal pens and made it in time to see the sheep being sheared and groomed. There are some people from the City that looked amused by all of this with a look in their eyes like, “it’s this quaint” when the very clothes they are wearing were created with a process that begins like this.
Some of the groomers explained how they do this and the process behind the step by step process it takes to shear an animal. Also, the difference in the wool from one part of the body to another and the difference in feel of it. I as a retailer thought this was fascinating. It is almost the same as when you skin an animal for its pelt. What is the difference between long hair fur and short hair fur.
The sheep looked they did not mind all the attention either making it a show of itself. They were probably used to all the attention at these shows after all these years.
I loved walking along the pens and looking at all the sheep and lambs staring back at me as well. I think they are amused by all of this as much as we are. These animals must be so used to human contact that they are jaded by it. Still it makes for an interesting interaction.
I walked around the fairgrounds to the rest of the pens and there was a combination of sheep and lambs. There were displays of the animals and the groomers were showing everyone how to care for them.
After I toured all the pens and barns with arts and crafts, I toured the small museums on the fairgrounds. I toured the Century Museum Village, which is a permanent museum on the property which shows life in rural New York State between 1880-1930. There was also the Schoolhouse Museum and Train Station Museum right up the hill from it. These give a look into Dutchess Counties past and compares how much has changed to today.
The Century Museum Village on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
The inside of the museum and the counties rural past
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com on the Century Museum Village:
By the end of the afternoon, the lines had gone down for food but not by much. I still had to wait in line at Janek’s for a Cheeseburger for a half hour. The lines only went down about an hour before the Sheep & Wool Festival closed for the day.
Janek’s makes the BEST burgers ever!
My favorite lunch at the fair is Janek’s ‘Piggyback Burger’, which is a freshly made burger topped with Cheddar Cheese, pulled pork, cured ham and topped with barbecue sauce and homemade pickles. Biting into it is like biting into a piece of heaven. The burger does not need any salt or pepper and make sure to get it with the side of their homemade pierogis with sour cream. I only eat this twice a year, once at the Dutchess County Fair and once at the Sheep & Wool Festival and I am satisfied for the rest of the year.
“The Piggyback Burger” with the side of homemade pierogis
As I relaxed and enjoyed my lunch, I could see that the sun was starting to move around, and the day was starting to get darker out. I had not realized that I spent the entire day at the fair. Time really went by fast especially as I had never seen crowds like this at the fair before. Having such warm weather made a big difference in the crowds. I think the food vendors will rethink this last year since there were a lot less then for the Dutchess County Fair.
As I left the fair that afternoon, I passed the St. James Episcopal Church in Hyde Park who were holding the Historic Graveyard Tours that evening. I did not have a reservation but stopped in to see if I could tour the graveyard that evening. I had planned on coming up the next week but since I was here, I figured why not try now (Thank God I did because it rained the next weekend). I stopped at the church first in the afternoon just in case I could not make the tour. No one was around but I took a quick tour of the cemetery before I left for the Sheep & Wool Festival.
The sign outside the church
The St. James Episcopal Church of Hyde Park at 4526 Albany Post Road
I walked down the path marked for that evening’s Cemetery Walk and got to see the graves and crypts before it got dark. In the start of the fall, the cemetery was very picturesque on a sunny afternoon. There was almost an elegance to the cemetery with its detailed tombstones and colorful foliage. It looked like a quiet and elegant resting place for these residents of Hyde Park. There are a lot of famous names buried here.
St. James Church before you enter the cemetery
The start of the Cemetery Walk during the day
Walking through the cemetery during the day is interesting
A walk through the cemetery at St. James
Following the path of the Cemetery Walk during the day
The Livingston Mausoleum at the St. James Cemetery
Sara Delano Roosevelt (the President’s Mother) gravesite at St. James Cemetery
Walking through the tombstones at St. James along the Cemetery Walk path
The graves at the St. James Cemetery
It is an interesting tour. Before I got to the fair, I had stopped by the church to talk to someone about the tour, but no one was around so I just walked the path on my own and took pictures during the day so it least if I could not go on the tour, I had seen the cemetery. It was really interesting. The tour guide took us on a lantern tour on a marked path of the 200-year-old graveyard and we got to meet characters who were buried there portrayed by local actors (who I never know how they do it. They have to sit in a dark cemetery until the next tour comes through).
inside the St. James Episcopal Church before the Cemetery Walk
We met in the church first and did a quick orientation on what to expect and then the tour guide took us on the tour. It was very interesting, and the actors did a good job with each character. We met the following characters:
Captain Isaac Russell, a Revolutionary War Soldier who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill and was present at the surrender of General Burgoyne on October 17th, 1777.
Anna Roosevelt Halstead, the daughter of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. She had served in President Kennedy’s Citizens Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and she also served as the Vice-Chairman of the President’s Commission for the Observance of Human Rights.
Susan Cowman Carter, an early St. James Choir Director and organist.
Christopher Hughes III, a 19th century Hyde Park farmer
Adelaide Roddy, a pioneering early 20th century female Theologian who died on her honeymoon of spinal meningitis.
Arthur (Rube) DeGroff, Hyde Park’s very own Professional Baseball Player who had played with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1905. He played one game in 1906 and then was sent back to the minors.
The tour was very interesting, and each actor did a good job telling their story. The tour guide was right though, you had to stay on the path, or you would trip over a tombstone (as I almost did). I have to say one thing in that I was glad there were so many people on the tour and that the next tour after ours was full as well. Once you passed the lit areas, this cemetery was really gloomy and dark. Even the church looked a little creepy from a distance. Maybe that was the effect that they were going for on the tour. After the tour was over, I headed home.
School got even busier, so I had to pace myself with the activities and I managed to finish all my homework as well as get the students quizzes graded and the papers finished before I left for South Jersey the next weekend. The weather was going to be nice, and I decided to head back down to Salem, NJ again to finish touring some of the historical sites for my blogs and to go on the Salem Haunted Tour of the Downtown business district.
The Salem NJ Walking Ghost Tour in 2023
Before the walking tour there would be a concert “Tunes from the Crypt” at St. John’s Episcopal Church with musician Erik Meyer.
I had seen this tour advertised for many years, but it was tough to go on it from such a distance away. Since the weekend would be open, I hopped in the car on a Friday night and made another reservation at the Inn at Salem Country Club for the night. I was glad that Yvonne, the owner had the room open.
I got down early enough on Friday afternoon to take pictures at the Salem Oak Cemetery, the Salem Historical Society and at various points of interest in Salem’s Historical Downtown.
The historic Salem Oak Cemetery where many of the founders of Salem are buried and was home to the oldest Oak Tree in the State until it fell in 2019.
Downtown Salem has the most beautiful and historical residential district
I snapped pictures all the over the downtown area and managed to get all the pictures that I missed over the summer when I came down to do my blog on the Historic sites of Southern New Jersey (see blog below):
My blog on the Historical Sites of Southern New Jersey: Day Two Hundred and Forty:
Before I took the tour and after I settled into the hotel, I had a quick dinner at Bravo Pizza at 179 West Broadway in Downtown Salem.
The inside of the dining room of Bravo Pizza
I must have been attracting attention with all my picture taking in Downtown Salem. Since Salem is not the safest town, some gangbanger looking guys came in while I was eating my meatball hero to check me out. I just stared back, and they disappeared out the back door. I swear everyone thinks I am a Fed.
Bravo Pizza & Pasta at 179 West Broadway is really good and the prices are fair
I was able to get settled into the Inn before the tour and took a lot of pictures of the church’s cemetery before the Haunted Walk and then got to the church in time for the organist started a special Halloween concert. This was taking place before the walking tour. The weather surprisingly cooperated, and it was a warm October weekend.
The Inn at Salem Country Club at 91 Country Club Road (Now called the Salem River Inn)
Once I had eaten and was settled in, it was time to visit the downtown before the concert. Halloween weekend in recent years has gotten much warmer. The night of the concert and the walking tour was not different. It must have been in the mid 60’s the night of the tour.
I was one of the first ones at St. John’s Episcopal Church that evening so I got a prime parking spot right in front of the church and since there were no signs that I could not park there, it was nice that I did not have to move far.
The inside of the church was beautiful with all the historic stained glass windows and wooden pews. I was walking around admiring the church before the concert. What I love about these hundred year old churches is that they have a classic look to them. There is such a history to them. I admired the stained glass windows which were beautiful.
The inside of St. John’s Church
The stained glass windows at the church
The stained glass windows at the church
The church was very impressive. Most of these were Tiffany windows
Still these churches are so old that they have an intriguing look to them with an air of mystery. The interiors look like they belong in a independent horror film.
Even the church had a mysterious look to it at night
Musician Erik Meyer performed a series of classical horror film melodies on the church organ. What I thought was funny was the priest for St. John’s Church did the introduction and made a comment to a packed church full of people of all ages in the pews this was the most amount of people he had seen in the church in a long time.
Musician Erik Meyer dressed as Count Dracula next to the organ
After the concert was over, I talked with Erik Meyer about the irony of performing Halloween music in a church. He said many churches while their thoughts on Halloween are mixed have embraced this type of fundraiser to bring people back to the churches and raise money for them at the same time. He also told me that he had been performing these concerts at churches all over the state for the same reason. They have become very popular.
Royal Port Antiques at 13 Market Street was our starting and stopping point for the tour
After the concert was over, the whole group of us at the church headed over to the antique store where we would be starting the Haunted Historical Walking Tour of Downtown Salem. The tour took us from the store to the Salem Historical Society and back. I guess the rest of the Downtown at night was not the safest (I experienced that).
The start of the Ghost Tour
I have to admit the Historic Market Street neighborhood while very pretty and elegant with all the Federalist homes during the day is very pretty, at night it does look pretty spooky.
Downtown Salem Market Street Historic District at night
People did decorate in Downtown Salem, NJ
This townhouse really got into the spirit of Halloween
More detail on the house
Our first stop on the tour was visiting a small Dutch house that was a recreation of old homes that used to be part of the community. The home had been rebuilt in honor of visiting dignitaries visiting from Europe. The house was now a popular tourist site. While we were inside we got to peek inside and see the furnishings and a live fire in the fireplace.
The small Dutch House on the walking tour
I went back the next day and it did not seem that creepy
A Salem resident shares a ghostly tale of his home since moving here
Creepy tales at the Salem Historical Society courtyard
The Society courtyard is less creepy and very beautiful during the day with the fall foliage
Tales at the St. John’s cemetery
The St. John’s Cemetery is a very interesting place to visit during the day. The foliage in Salem, NJ was at its peak right before Halloween and the end of the October and I got to tour the graves of the people that the narrator was talking about during the day. It was an interesting story of how this resident treated his first wife in death and treatment of the second wife when she died. People are still people.
The entrance to St. John’s Cemetery
During the day, walking around this historic cemetery is very interesting. Many of the founding members of the Salem community are buried here and you can find the family cemetery plots among the paths. I would take the time to visit and walk around this interesting piece of the past.
The the tale of the Second wife that you see above during the day. The husband and second wife are in the elevated crypts and the first wife has a slab on top of here. As the narrator said this is what he thought of her in the end.
Colonial Robert Johnson and his second wife, Julia in the elevated crypts
The St. John’s Cemetery during the day
The St. John’s Cemetery
The St. John’s Cemetery family plots
The famous people buried in the cemetery-The Sinnickson Family plot-One of the founding families of Salem, NJ
After we left the church, we joined this friendly witch who told us the story about a spirit that haunts houses. To confuse them, you have to leave a bowl of rice at the doorway so that you confuse the spirit as it tries to count the grains of rice and then gets frustrated and leaves. I had never heard this story before but I did get a small bag of rice as a gift that I keep in my travel bag now.
Tales of spirits and the use of rice to keep them away
A Ghoul with a New York accent tells the tales
We ended the tour at the Salem Creek with tales of ghostly fisherman but you could not see anything at night so I took this the next morning. I almost tripped on the hill leaving this little park.
After the tour was over, we went back to the antique store to have hot cider and homemade cookies. I thought this was a very nice touch to a wonderful evening. There were a few more tours going on after I was finished so I got to walk around the antique store and then around the downtown and look at all the buildings at night. On a warm October evening, I found this tour to not just be relaxing but fascinating as well to learn the history of the town. When I got back to the Inn, I slept so soundly that night.
When I woke up on Saturday morning, it was a beautiful sunny day, and I watched the phases of the sun come up over the field from my bedroom window. I swear the location of this Inn is amazing and has the most spectacular views.
The Inn at Salem Country Club sunrise:
Sunrise from my room
Sunrise from my room
Sunrise from my room
Sunrise from my room
Sunrise from my room
The sunrise from my room in its final phase and it was an amazing warm day.
What I like about the Inn at Salem Country Club is its location on Delaware Bay. In the warmer months, people use the beaches outside the Inn for swimming and recreation. Its location on the Delaware Bay is pretty spectacular and I never really noticed when I visited in the summer. I was so busy running around Southern New Jersey and I had gotten there late and left early the last time. On this trip, I had more time in the morning to walk around the grounds before I went to visit the remaining museums on my list (most of them were closed anyway as they were only open on certain weekends).
The grounds of the Salem Country Club Inn in late October
The grounds of the Inn were very beautiful on this warm Saturday morning in late October. The leaves were still changing colors and the weather was warm. I had my breakfast on the enclosed terrace (it was too cool to eat outside in the morning) and just watched the boats and birds pass by. It was such a wonderful morning to just relax and watch time go by.
The beach at the Inn at Salem Country Club
The lawn of the Inn of Salem Country Club
The beach at the Inn at Salem Country Club
After a relaxing night’s sleep, Yvonne ordered breakfast for me again from the Salem Diamond Diner just past the downtown. Over French Toast and sausage and fresh fruit, I watch the beauty of the Delaware Bay from the open room on the first floor. It was too cool to eat on the deck but another five degrees and I would have been out there. The views are just amazing when it is sunny.
My reviews of breakfast sent to me at the Inn from the Diamond Grill in Salem:
The rest of the day after I checked out I spent revisiting or trying to visit historical sites that I have missed on my Father’s Day weekend trip here. Most were so small that they were not even on the listing that I had from the summer. Almost all of them were either closed for the season at that point or would be open sometime in November and I was not racing down to South Jersey for a two hour visit to a historical site. This just makes another trip to the area justified in the Spring.
I had already visited the Salem Historical Society, the Salem Oak Cemetery and tried to visit the Salem Fire Museum so I ventured back to some of the places I seen over the summer. I also wanted to visit some of the smaller Historical societies I had a list of from the last trip. Most of them were closed for the season.
Some of the places that I visited were:
The Hancock House at 3 Front Street in Hancock’s Bridge:
I had to cross the county after visiting a these obscure sites to get to the Church Landing Farm at Pennsville Historical Society at 86 Church Landing Road. Thank God it was still open at 3:00pm. It was a real treat:
I was able to tour the Hancock House again while they were having a little Halloween festival and take pictures of the house. I also got to tour the Church Landing Farmhouse and visit all the little out buildings with all the displays. It was fun to finally see with more time to spend. Though it was just an overnight trip, I felt like I was gone for a week. I was so refreshed from the trip. It was time to go home and get some work done.
The Halloween Festival at the Hancock House on Halloween weekend
The days before Halloween, we were in the final judging of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest so when I got home from Salem, NJ, I had to present the awards to the winners and their families. Later the next week, I presented the awards to the merchants in town who were not opened on Sunday. It was a long but very productive morning and afternoon as the winners and runners-up were thrilled by their awards.
My blog on the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest Day Two Hundred and Fifty on MywalkinManhattan.com:
It was a series of long drives around town, late nights looking at spooky lights, figures of fright and things that go bump in the night but the members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween Decorating Contest made a decision who had the best decorated house and downtown business in Hasbrouck Heights.
Decorations at 85 Woodside Avenue
Like last year the decision was tough but we chose 85 Woodside Avenue, the home of Matt and Lisa Fiduccia, last year’s runners up. The house was decorated to the hilt with ghosts, ghouls and figures that frightened the passersby. “We learned more from last year,” Matt Fiduccia said when they found out they won this year’s contest. “We added more to it.”
85 Woodside Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights Halloween 2022-Winner
The zombies and ghouls of 85 Woodside Avenue
The committee liked the theme of the property, the organization of the props and decorations of the doorway and the lighting of the house the night before Halloween which really showcased their creativity. The family was really excited about winning this year and the whole Fiduccia family joined Chairman Justin Watrel and Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association President Steve Palladino for the presentation of the plaque and official sign from the organization declaring them winner. It was an award well deserved.
Chairman Justin Watrel with the Fiduccia family at 85 Woodside Avenue
Winners Matt and Lisa Fiduccia with their children and the official sign from the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association
It was a tough decision to make this year as last year’s winner, Scott Vicario and runners up last year Frank and Mary Rose Blunda also created wonderful displays that would dazzle and delight trick or treaters the next night for Halloween.
253 Henry Street-The Runner-up this year
This is the second year Scott Vicario created a moving cemetery and ghoul fest all over his front lawn starting with a possessed woman climbing a tree outside the property and a variety of ghouls and zombies climbing popping and walking around the yard. “I keep finding new things to add to the display,” Scott told the committee when he was presented his award. “I look for professionally made displays.” Mr. Vicario who lives at 253 Henry Street said he “has more planned for next year” to win the award back.
Last year’s winner, Scott Vicario, was runner up this year
Some of the decorations were truly frightening
Ghosts and ghouls at 253 Henry Street
Scott Varicario in front of 253 Henry Street
253 Henry Street was full of zombies and ghosts
The other runners up last year, Frank and Mary Rose Blunda, keep creating frightening but friendly displays that dazzle their Halloween visitors. Trick or Treaters keep coming back for the displays of vampires and pumpkin headed beasts.
510 Henry Street
“We really love Halloween and we do this for the kids,” Frank Blunda said. “The families get such a kick out of visiting our house every year.” The Blunda’s love that families take a special trip to see their home.
The Ghosts, Ghouls and Pumpkin Heads of 510 Henry Street
Mary Rose and Frank Blunda of 510 Henry Street were runners-up again this year
Chairman Justin Watrel with Mary Rose and Frank Blunda at 510 Henry Street
The House Decorating Committee added a Merchant Division this year and we were dazzled by Heights Flower Shoppe, who always displays their holiday merchandise so nicely. Ray Vorisek, the owner of Heights Flower Shoppe was very thankful to the committee for the award. “We always like decorating the store to the hilt for the holidays.
Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
People come from all over to visit us.” Both inside and outside, the store was full of all sorts of merchandise to decorate the house and for creative Halloween parties. Ghosts and witches flowed all over the store.
The decorations of the windows at Heights Flower Shoppe
“We have a creative team that works together here,” Mrs. Spindler said as she accepted her framed award. “It is a team effort that got the store ready for the holiday.” Spindler’s Bakery not only decorated the windows with pumpkins and bears ready for Trick or Treating but the store had all sorts of delicious looking decorated pastries and cookies, perfect for any Halloween Party.
The inside of Spindler’s Bake Shop with decorations and Halloween treats
Chairman Justin Watrel with runner-up winner, Ginny Spindler and her co-worker
We also wanted to mention the Honorary mentions, whose decorated home made the first and second round cut of the contest and we wish you luck next year. These are 110 Central Avenue, 458 Jefferson Avenue, 415 Madison Avenue, 115 Ottawa Avenue and 310 Bell Avenue. Good luck and have a wonderful and safe holiday season from the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
Honorary Mention on Ottawa Avenue
Another Honorary Mention on Ottawa Avenue
Halloween Night was a bust for me. I had to start my first night of my Tourism Innovation Class, which concentrated on the Metaverse that evening and for the first time in six years I did not work on the Halloween Parade. It was a real bummer and I know Mark was really disappointed that I could not make it that evening. It rained during part of the parade so that at least made me feel a bit better.
When I left class that evening, it was also about 9:30pm and since we were meeting in the Uptown campus on West 42nd Street, I did not notice any part of the parade except for a few people heading back to New Jersey through the Port Authority. It was a cold and rather gloomy night because of the quick shower we had earlier. Not much of a holiday but at least I was able to celebrate in different ways in different parts of the month.
‘Aristocrats’ Justin Watrel (Beekman family) and Marc Schuyler (Schuyler family) at the Halloween Parade gate 2019.
Before Halloween was over I managed to sneak up to Croton on the Hudson to the Van Cortlandt Manor to see the Annual “Pumpkin Blaze” (see the blog attached):
Visiting the Pumpkin Blaze Day Two Hundred and Six:
The weather was really mild that night and I got tickets for the 8:00pm walk. Being later in the season, it was not as busy as it would be before Halloween. Still I could walk the show at my own pace and enjoy the displays. If you have never been there, I highly suggest it.
The entrance to the “Pumpkin Blaze”
The displays keep changing every year and it is fun to see all the new creative ideas that they come up with for the evening. It was the perfect way to finish the Halloween festivities. Now here comes Christmas!
On a recent trip to Dollar Tree, I came across these delicious Donuts both in the Powered flavor and in the Cinnamon flavor and both were delicious. Sweet, soft and pillowy, these donuts have you eating almost the whole bag in one sitting.
These bite sized wonders are half the price of Tasty Cake and Hostess brands and the quality is excellent. They are loaded with sugar coating on each donut and the flavor of the dough is rich and sweet with a vanilla cake flavor. These are a perfect snack in the morning or an after meal treat for dessert.
I have now been looking around for their other products as they are known for their honey buns and their fruit pies. Let the search begin.
Don’t miss this wonderful little shop in the heart of Greenwich Village.
Don’t miss visiting Rosecrans in Greenwich Village on a warm day for a drink and pastry and people watching.
Inside and out you can admire beautiful flowers
Don’t miss a relaxing breakfast at Rosecrans of Scrambled eggs with Chives and Cheddar on sourdough bread and a sweet Teddy Madeline on the side with freshly squeezed Orange juice. The breakfast I had recently was delicious.
For lunch, do not miss their Three Cheese Grilled Cheese with a Fresh Ice Tea. It is the perfect meal.
The outside of Rosecran’s Florist Shop and Cafe in late October 2022
Ever since I started Graduate School at New York University, I walk to school every day from Port Authority to the Greenwich Village to get exercise and clear my head before classes start. This gives me a chance to walk around the Village and explore the shops and all the wonderful concepts that people are developing in their stores with creative merchandising and wonderful window displays. What lured me into Rosecran’s was all the beautiful floral displays in the window and the beautiful little cafe that was outside that seemed to be popular with the locals in the neighborhood.
The entire outside of the store was surrounded by flowers and plants and on a warm September or…
Haunted Hasbrouck Heights returns with the Second Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween Decorated House Contest 2022
It was a series of long drives around town, late nights looking at spooky lights, figures of fright and things that go bump in the night but the members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween Decorating Contest made a decision who had the best decorated house and downtown business in Hasbrouck Heights.
Decorations at 85 Woodside Avenue
Like last year the decision was tough but we chose 85 Woodside Avenue, the home of Matt and Lisa Fiduccia, last year’s runners up. The house was decorated to the hilt with ghosts, ghouls and figures that frightened the passersby. “We learned more from last year,” Matt Fiduccia said when they found out they won this year’s contest. “We added more to it.”
85 Woodside Avenue in Hasbrouck Heights Halloween 2022-Winner
The zombies and ghouls of 85 Woodside Avenue
The committee liked the theme of the property, the organization of the props and decorations of the doorway and the lighting of the house the night before Halloween which really showcased their creativity. The family was really excited about winning this year and the whole Fiduccia family joined Chairman Justin Watrel and Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association President Steve Palladino for the presentation of the plaque and official sign from the organization declaring them winner. It was an award well deserved.
Chairman Justin Watrel with the Fiduccia family at 85 Woodside Avenue
Winners Matt and Lisa Fiduccia with their children and the official sign from the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association
It was a tough decision to make this year as last year’s winner, Scott Vicario and runners up last year Frank and Mary Rose Blunda also created wonderful displays that would dazzle and delight trick or treaters the next night for Halloween.
253 Henry Street-The Runner-up this year
This is the second year Scott Vicario created a moving cemetery and ghoul fest all over his front lawn starting with a possessed woman climbing a tree outside the property and a variety of ghouls and zombies climbing popping and walking around the yard. “I keep finding new things to add to the display,” Scott told the committee when he was presented his award. “I look for professionally made displays.” Mr. Vicario who lives at 253 Henry Street said he “has more planned for next year” to win the award back.
Last year’s winner, Scott Vicario, was runner up this year
Some of the decorations were truly frightening
Ghosts and ghouls at 253 Henry Street
Scott Varicario in front of 253 Henry Street
253 Henry Street was full of zombies and ghosts
The other runners up last year, Frank and Mary Rose Blunda, keep creating frightening but friendly displays that dazzle their Halloween visitors. Trick or Treaters keep coming back for the displays of vampires and pumpkin headed beasts.
510 Henry Street
“We really love Halloween and we do this for the kids,” Frank Blunda said. “The families get such a kick out of visiting our house every year.” The Blunda’s love that families take a special trip to see their home.
The Ghosts, Ghouls and Pumpkin Heads of 510 Henry Street
Mary Rose and Frank Blunda of 510 Henry Street were runners-up again this year
Chairman Justin Watrel with Mary Rose and Frank Blunda at 510 Henry Street
The House Decorating Committee added a Merchant Division this year and we were dazzled by Heights Flower Shoppe, who always displays their holiday merchandise so nicely. Ray Vorisek, the owner of Heights Flower Shoppe was very thankful to the committee for the award. “We always like decorating the store to the hilt for the holidays.
Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
People come from all over to visit us.” Both inside and outside, the store was full of all sorts of merchandise to decorate the house and for creative Halloween parties. Ghosts and witches flowed all over the store.
The decorations of the windows at Heights Flower Shoppe
With winner and owner, Ray Vorisek
Chairman Justin Watrel with owner Ray Vorisek outside the store with the official Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association sign
The Runner-up was Spindler’s Bakery, owned by Bob and Ginny Spindler, whose family business has been in Hasbrouck Heights for over fifty years.
Spindler’s Bake Shop at 247 Boulevard was this year’s runner up
“We have a creative team that works together here,” Mrs. Spindler said as she accepted her framed award. “It is a team effort that got the store ready for the holiday.” Spindler’s Bakery not only decorated the windows with pumpkins and bears ready for Trick or Treating but the store had all sorts of delicious looking decorated pastries and cookies, perfect for any Halloween Party.
The inside of Spindler’s Bake Shop with decorations and Halloween treats
Chairman Justin Watrel with runner-up winner, Ginny Spindler and her co-worker
We also wanted to mention the Honorary mentions, whose decorated home made the first and second round cut of the contest and we wish you luck next year. These are 110 Central Avenue, 458 Jefferson Avenue, 415 Madison Avenue, 115 Ottawa Avenue and 310 Bell Avenue. Good luck and have a wonderful and safe holiday season from the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
Honorary Mentions:
110 Central Avenue
110 Central Avenue
458 Jefferson Avenue
458 Jefferson Avenue
115 Ottawa Avenue
115 Ottawa Avenue
310 Bell Avenue
310 Bell Avenue
415 Madison Avenue
415 Madison Avenue
Bell Avenue
Bell Avenue
Central Avenue
Central Avenue
Ottawa Avenue
Ottawa Avenue
We will see everyone when Santa arrives when we start Christmas Tree sales the day after Thanksgiving. We sell out fast!
I found this wonderful combination bakery and gourmet shop when walking home from school one afternoon and exploring Greenwich Village. All the delicious pizzas and pastries in the window lured me in.
I had just eaten my lunch, so I was not that hungry and just wanted a snack. I saw the small doughnuts in the windows called Bombolones, which are yeast doughnuts filled with chocolate or vanilla cream fillings and then rolled in granulated sugar. The small one is $2.15 and the large one was $5.00. Don’t let the price deter you as it is a sweet and filling little dessert. The fresh vanilla cream played beautifully off the sweet dough and sugary topping. Each bite was wonderful, and it was…
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