I love the Lunar New Year with all its pageantry, parades, fireworks and crackers and especially the food. I spend most of my time running around Chinatown in Manhattan before the holidays began, where most of the main celebrations take place but now travel to museums to enjoy the festivities they sponsor for the holidays.
I start the holidays at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or as I say my second home in New York City) for their celebration for the ‘Year of the Horse’
Touring the Asian Galleries on the second floor for the ‘Year of the Horse’ celebration
The Met had created a display of all sorts of objects in the Asian Wing of the museum for the holidays. So there many horse themed pieces on display in the cases includes a series of zodiac figurines.
Some of the ancient horse artwork in the Asian Wing
Some of the artwork is so beautiful
The Scroll Room with the paper artworks. The collection is very extensive
The Chinese Shine tucked back in one of the galleries with its unusual stonework
Some of the statuary and stoneworks in the entrance gallery of the Asian Wing
The ancient stonework in the main gallery
The last event of the day in the American Wing was the Peter Lin Ensemble, who had played at the museum last year. The band was wonderful and played all sorts of jazz hits from all over the world.
The Peter Lin Jazz Ensemble
Video of Jazz tunes:
Video of Jazz tunes:
Mr. Lin then talked about the history of his group and introduced them to the audience.
After the break, the group performed more songs
Video of popular Asian jazz tune:
At the end of the afternoon, I stopped in the lobby at the gift shop. The Grand Hall was beautifully decorated with cherry blossoms.
The cherry blossoms in the Grand Hall on the first floor
The cherry blossoms decorated the urns around the Grand Hall
The weather that night was an unbearable 10 degrees and after all that touring in the Asian galleries, I needed some dumplings. So I took the Q subway and back downtown to North Dumpling at 21 Division Street in Chinatown.
The food had been so good the week before, I had to go back and try the fried dumplings. Even in the cold, it was well worth the trip to Chinatown. The food here is delicious and so reasonable. I can see why it is winning instant popularity.
The Spring Rolls are the perfect way to end the meal
After dinner, even though it was freezing cold, I had to try a soft serve cone at Mixue, a Chinese dessert chain that just opened on Canal Street. At $1.99 for a cone you can’t get a better deal than that. The Vanilla ice cream is really good even on that freezing night.
I had to head home as the temperature dropped to 12 degrees. It had not been this cold in many years during the New Year celebrations.
The next day I visited the Newark Museum in Downtown Newark for the start of their activities with a performance of Korean dance. It was already over by the time I got there but they had a sampling of popular Korean foods and the door was excellent.
I went into the main hall as the entertainment was ending and everyone was taking pictures. I loved the outfits everyone was wearing.
The main hall of the museum just after the festivities
A sampling of Korean dishes including Korean Fried Chicken, Noodles, Dumplings and Shushi
I had to go back for seconds the food was so good
I toured around the museum but most of the galleries closed early that afternoon. It was a nice afternoon of just walking around the open galleries on the first floor.
The exhibition of art by local Korean artists in the hallway off the museum’s main hall court
I unfortunately could not go in for the parade this year plus the weather was not the best to stand around and watch other parade goers freeze. The year before it down poured making two years of not the best conditions to attend the parade. On TV I did notice a nice sized crowd.
I managed to get to Chinatown after the parade and have dinner. Chinatown is becoming unrecognizable as many of the grocery stores and restaurants have closed to the change in rents and many of the old tenement buildings are being knocked down for luxury condos. I have never seen so many changes.
Chinatown in the afternoon
While Mott Street, like Mulberry Street, keeps up appearances for the tourists, the rest of the neighborhood is under gentrification. I have watched one business after another close including groceries and take out spots. I can see a lot of changes coming over the next five years.
As the snow storms peaked and did it snow this year with 18 inches coming after the holiday, the weather gave way to two 75 degree days during my Spring Break and hopefully warmer weather in the coming months. Spring is on its way.
Who says there’s nothing to do in the cold months? It all depends on how much you want to bundle up and enjoy the outdoors.
The last weekend of the ‘Monet & Venice’ showing at the Brooklyn Museum brought me out to Brooklyn on a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon recently. I knew there would be crowds at the Brooklyn Museum as everyone was probably thinking of doing the same (at the end of the visit I found this to be true) so I got to the museum by noon and got tickets to the first slot open at 2:30pm.
Since I had a couple of hours until my tour of the exhibit, I decided to tour the Brooklyn Botanic Garden next door. There were no walking tours that day and the gardens were under a foot of snow from the recent storm. There was a quiet beauty of all the snow and the way it fell and shined in the sun all over the gardens. There were no lines or crowds (like the recent lightshow a few weeks earlier), so I had the gardens pretty much to myself.
The first stop on my walk was the Japanese Gardens, which has I had visited recently for the lightshow and experienced the fantastic musical display. The pond now sat under snow and ice and still it was impressive looking.
Walking through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden next to the Japanese Gardens
The Japanese Gardens in the early afternoon
The inside of the Japanese Gardens in the middle of winter. It was such a spectacular view of the pond.
The beauty of the snow covered pool
Another view of the Garden
I never realized how beautiful the Japanese Gardens were in the winter. The sun shines so nicely on the snow covered trees. It was just as beautiful snow covered as it is in the Spring and Summer when the garden is in full bloom.
The fountain in the Shakespeare Garden
I then walked through the entire gardens stopping in various gardens to see what they looked like topped with snow. My first stop was the Shakespeare Gardens and I marveled at the elegance of the snow covered fountain I like so much in the Spring. The variety of the colors of this garden are waiting just under the snow for the warmer months.
The view of the snow covered gardens
I then walked around the paths to the back of the gardens along the watershed lawns that were under a foot of snow and still impressive.
Daffodil Hill in the winter. In two months this will be covered by hundreds of brightly colored daffodils
The Magnolia tree court and sun dial
In the Spring, this is my favorite part of the garden with the hues of pinks and whites of the Magnolia trees and the yellows of the daffodils.
My favorite fountain just off the Magnolia Court on the stairs leading to the Lotus polls
The snow covered fountains by the Lotus pools
The snow covered Lotus pools shined in the sun
I then got out of the cold weather and entered into the warmth of the Tropical Garden Collection. This series of gallery of plants is a series of greenhouses at various degrees of temperatures that display a series of themed gardens. They don’t just display plants but also keep you warm in a cold day.
The indoor tropical gardens
The Tropical Garden collection
The first room I visited wasabi the Bonsai Museum room. The temperature controlled room was perfect for a stroll.
The Bonsai museum
These beautiful tiny well pruned trees lined the tables with their elegance and been so well maintained.
The Bonsai trees lining the tables in the galleries
The beautiful bonsai
The flowering bonsai
The beautifully shaped bonsai
The Cherry blossom bonsai in the middle of the winter
The other trees in the gallery
The video tour of one side of the Bonsai Gallery:
The video tour of one side the Bonsai Gallery:
My video of the gallery tour
The Tropical Room
The tropical room
I then toured the Tropical Garden collection with its series of flowering plants and palms. It was so nice and warm inside and a break from the cool temperatures outside.
A video tour of the Tropical Gallery:
The walk is amazing
The Tropical Room
Colorful tropical flowers line the walkway in the dead of winter
The blooming Lotus
The real White Lotus
I then walked through the second tropical room in the rain forest and there were more beautiful plants to see and experience. There was a wedding garden shoot going on so I was not able to tour the complex.
The flowering tiers of plants in the Tropical room
The flowering plants in the Tropical gallery
The beautiful violets
I then began the tour of the Desert Gallery and the beauty and warmth of the room made me very happy.
The Birds of Paradise in bloom
Along the walls of the gallery, more flowering plants were placed.
Flowers in bloom in the winter
The climate controlled Desert collection was filled with cactus and other plantings the defied the weather. They have a pretty extensive collection of desert flowers and cactus in the room.
The Desert Collection gallery
The flowering cactus family
Walking back through the rainforest
Walking back through the Desert Gallery before exiting to tour the snow covered gardens
Video tour of the Desert Gallery:
There was still a foot of snow on the ground when I visited the gardens that day, which did not make it popular with people wanting to visit the gardens but I found a quiet elegance in just walking the paths and admiring the snow covered plantings. It was like they were waiting to awake again in the near future.
I walked through the gardens which while under a blanket of snow still offered the most beautiful views. I was one of the few people walking through the gardens that afternoon so it was quiet and you could just enjoy watching nature.
Walking past the Children’s Garden in the Winter
Walking over the bridge in the Watershed lawn
I saw this little squirrel holding on to the tree looking cold
The geese feeding on the Watershed lawn
The Cherry Blossom lawn in the winter
The Rose Garden Fountain in the winter
Walking through the Cherry Blossom lawn
Walking back through the Magnolia garden
Taking one last walk around the Lotus Pools
Before I left the gardens that afternoon, I stopped in the Gift Shop for some warmth and see the items they were carrying. They have such beautiful selection of flowers and gifts and the perfect place to warm up on a cold day. Everything is so colorfully displayed.
The Gift Shop at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Everything was in full bloom and really colorful
Everything was so beautifully displayed here
Before I left for the Brooklyn Museum to start my 2:30 pm tour, I stopped at one of my favorite sandwich shops down the road from the museum, Bahn Mai Place at 824b Washington Avenue for lunch. I love their sandwiches and drinks.
I ordinarily try a restaurant a few times before I recommend it for my dining website, DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com, but I had the most amazing sandwich for dinner a few years ago and I had to share this place with the world.
There are also all sorts of rice dishes on the menu, Pho (soups) and salads on the menu as well most priced around $10.00. On the Beverage menu, there is a selection of Hot, Iced and Milk drinks to choose from as well as a selection of Bubble teas and smoothies.
One sandwich I can recommend on a cold day is the Grilled Chicken Banh Mai. I had the sandwich with a mild hot sauce on a cold wintery day. The warm bun and crunchy fresh vegetables with the spicy sauce really warmed me up on a cold afternoon in Brooklyn.
The Grilled Chicken Bahn Mi with a mild spicy sauce
The grilled chicken with fresh veggies
The mild spicy sauce really brings out the flavor of the grilled meat. With a little plumb and chili sauces, it really brings out the flavor of the sandwich.
The chicken was spicy and moist
It was the perfect lunch
The service was very quick and very friendly. The woman who made my sandwich pushed my order ahead of someone else’s who ordered the same thing as me so I could be on my way which I thought was very nice of her.
After lunch, it was off to the Brooklyn Museum and the tour of the ‘Monet & Venice’ exhibition. I was so lucky that I got to the museum early and got the tickets. The show was completely sold out by the time I left.
The museum was seriously packed that afternoon, not just for the show but all over the museum. I have been coming here for over twenty years and I had never seen it so packed. Every floor was filled with people.
Claude Monet once claimed that Venice was “too beautiful to be painted,” a challenge he embraced by creating an extraordinary sequence of works depicting the Italian city. Monet and Venice is the first exhibition to focus on Monet’s luminous Venetian paintings—a radiant yet underexplored chapter in the artist’s late career—since their debut in 1912 (Brooklyn Museum website).
New York’s largest museum show dedicated to Monet in over 25 years, the exhibition features more than 100 artworks, books, and ephemera. Two masterpieces, the Brooklyn Museum’s own Palazzo Ducale and The Grand Canal, Venice from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, are presented alongside selections from throughout Monet’s career—including 19 of his Venetian paintings (Brooklyn Museum website).
The artist’s singular vision of Venice is also set in dialogue with portrayals of the city by renowned artists such as Canaletto, Paul Signac, John Singer Sargent, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Where others focused on Venice’s busy streets and canals, Monet’s interpretation is hauntingly devoid of human presence. Instead, he captures the interplay of architecture with color and light, enveloping viewers in the city’s distinctive atmosphere. Sonic installations by Niles Luther, the Museum’s composer in residence, and other immersive elements will further transport you to this fabled place (Brooklyn Museum website).
Walking through the galleries admiring the art
These were some of my favorite pieces from the show. These also were a favorite of Monet himself to the City of Venice.
The paintings of the Grand Canal
The views along the coastline of Italy
One of Monet’s famous ‘Water Lilly’ collection
Views from the Grand Canal
Walking around the gallery
Another view of the Grand Canal
I could not believe how packed the exhibition got behind me as I double backed through the gallery on the way out. Not only did the crowds grow in the exhibition but the line outside the exhibition was over a hundred deep and wrapped around three galleries on the Fifth Floor. It was so busy on the floor, I decided to walk around other exhibitions.
My favorite painting in the American Wing of the Mountain House Hotel in the Catskills
Then I walked down to the Middle Eastern Wing with the Assyrian and Egyptian Art, one of personal favorites in the museum. Unlike the Met, the Egyptian Wing of the museum is not overwhelming and is easier to view as the exhibits are not as packed with artifacts.
I started first admiring the Assyrian panels of the genies gracing the walls of the famous palace. It blows my mind that these are almost over a thousand years old.
The panels of genies along the walls of the old palace
The panels of genies along the walls
The different versions of genies along the walks
I have been visiting the Egyptian Wing of the museum since I attended the opening of the renovation with my father over a decade ago. It has an iconic entrance to the wing of the museum.
The entrance to the Egyptian Wing of the Brooklyn Museum
Walking through the Egyptian Galleries
Admiring the art on the wall
Walking through the Mummy display
The details on the Mummy coffin
Finishing the tour of the Egyptian galleries
I had a nice time at both the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and at the Brooklyn Museum. There is more than enough to see and do at both cultural locations in the heart of Brooklyn.
It was a wonderful walk around neighborhood and even with all the snow on the ground, it was easy to maneuver around the sidewalks and streets. The snow may have covered the ground but was a backdrop for the beauty that it displayed. The recent storm did not keep us inside but brought us outside to see how it looked and enjoy its beauty.
I love the holidays in New York City. There are so many Christmas themed events to go to and decorated homes to visit. One of my favorite tours is at the Met Cloisters for their Christmas themed walking tours that take place from December through early January.
The Cloisters Museum & Gardens: A Branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
To finish my weekend of holiday festivities before the Epiphany, I took the annual Christmas walking tour of the Met Cloisters. The museum hosts an interesting walking tour of the history of the holidays during the Medieval era. Each tour has a different theme to it. There is the history of Christmas in that era, the use of plants and flowers in the decorating of the religious sites and the historic significance of the visit of the Three Kings.
Each tour guide incorporates the artwork, architecture and plants into the discussion. On average you will have about forty people on the tour.
The entrance of the Cloisters decorated for the holidays
The entrance of the gift shop decorated for the holidays
The archways were decorated with seasonal plants and fruits. I read online that the volunteers went into Fort Tyron Park and collected ivy from the wild to decorate the museum. Every day the museum is open during the holidays these are replaced on a daily basis.
The entrance to the galleries decorated for the holidays
We started the tour with a discussion of plants that once decorated churches and ministries
With the change in attitude towards the Christmas holidays during the Middle Ages and its incorporation into church traditions, decorating for the holidays came back into style. The use of holly, evergreen and mistletoe became part of the Christmas tradition and to justify the decorating, they were related to Christian symbols.
The beauty of the life plants in winter
Each of the Cloisters were lined with fresh greens and potted plants giving each of the Cloisters its own special mood.
One of the Cloisters bright with plants
The stairs leading into the chapel decorated for the holidays
The chapel on the main floor decorated for the holidays
The colorful floral displays lining the window sills of the chapel
This led to a discussion about what each plant, flower and fruit meant in the Christian tradition, a clever way to justify decorating and celebrating during the holidays. Ivies, pine, winter flowers and even late season apples not only lined places of worship but gave a festive look and district smell to these buildings. A symbol of life in the cold winter months while they waited for the arrival of Spring.
The plant types that decorated the houses of worship
The flowers and plants lining the chapel
The decorative candle stands lining the walls of the chapel
We then toured the main Cloister, closed for the Winter but was lined with plants, flowers and greens brighting every corner of the building. These were examples of plants and flowers that would have decorated these halls at the holidays.
Walking the halls of the Cloisters
Touring the halls of the Cloisters with flowers and plants to celebrate the season
Walking the halls of the Cloisters
The flowering plants of the Cloisters
The flowering plants and vines that would have decorated churches in Medieval times
We then toured the Tapestry Room and discussed the use of plants in art form and the use of the detail as symbolism in art. These tapestries were meant to cover the drafty walls of palaces and bring in color and decoration to the stone walls.
The famous ‘Hunt of the Unicorn’ tapestry
We then took a detour to the outside gardens that are enjoying their winter slumber. These gardens were used by the cloisters for food, medicines and decorative use. They will start coming to life in a few months.
The Cloisters Gardens
The garden terrace over looking the Hudson River
The terrace gardens in the winter waiting to come to life
Then we went back inside for a discussion of the Three Kings and the Epiphany and its symbolism in art at the Cloisters. These are some of the works featured on the ‘Christmas Tide’ tour to symbolize that visit.
Some of the woodwork from that era
The Visitation of the Three Kings
The Visitation of the Three Kings depicted in stained glass
The Visitation of the Three Kings depicted in statuary
We visited the last of the Cloisters and discussed some of the plants in the collection
We were admiring the plants and flowers
A candelabra in the hallway of the Cloisters
As I exited the building that afternoon, there were potted plants at the entrance of the Cloisters. It was a real treat to walk around the building at the holidays.
The potted plants outside the entrance of the museum
On my way down the stairs and out the door to Fort Tryon Park, I took another walk down the stone steps and walked through Ann Loftus Park. This popular playground was quiet this time of year, awaiting the Spring and the wonderful warm afternoons ahead.
I love coming for breakfast at G’s Coffee Shop after a tour of The Cloisters. The food and service of this small ‘hole in the wall’ diner is wonderful. The meals are so reasonable and when you dine at the counter, you can watch the food cooked right in front of you. I had a wonderful Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich with a side of golden pancakes. What a great meal on a cold winter morning.
The Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich
The breakfast sandwiches here are so good
The pancakes were wonderful. The perfect comfort food on a winter day.
It was a really great tour, and it was fun to walk around the neighborhood through the parks and seeing all the post-Christmas decorations. Inwood is a really beautiful section of Manhattan with lots to do and see. It is the perfect place to spend the Christmas break.
As the warmer days of the Fall are coming to a close, the Christmas decorations are starting to come out and I can see that the City is really gearing up for the holidays. The office buildings and stores decorated far earlier than they normally do. It is like Thanksgiving is just a way station for Christmas once Halloween was over. Halloween was a bigger deal this year but the activities had to be done on a smaller scale with less people. That still did not prevent groups of people from running around that night and the COVID situation has gotten worse. Even New York and New Jersey are bracing to see what the results of Thanksgiving and Christmas will be in the upcoming weeks.
I noticed this as I continued to walk Kips Bay on this sunny Thursday afternoon. The City seemed much more quiet as the cooler weather was upon us. I was surprised that the City was so empty since the beginning of December. When it had been warmer in November there were more people around. I also noticed how clean the streets were that day. I mean really clean. I had never seen them like this.
I had started my day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is the one museum that I have been visiting a lot since the museums opened back up since June. I went into the museum to see the “About Time: Fashion and Duration” which was extremely popular and had long lines when it first opened and I revisited the “Making of the Met-150 year Anniversary”. I had gone on a quiet day during the mid-week so there were no lines to get in.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue
This was the third time I had seen the “Making of the Met” exhibition and everytime I see it, I either learn something new or see something in a different light. This shows you the complexity and the size of these exhibitions in that you continue to notice new aspects of the exhibition.
“Making of the Met” exhibition
The “About Time” exhibition compared fashions through the ages with contemporary fashion of recent years and the exhibit showed me how much fashion does not change or comes back into style over time. Most of the displays showed “black on black” fashions where all the clothes comparisons were in black. A lot of morning clothes. It was an interesting way to look at fashion.
“About Time” exhibition
It boggled my mind how quiet the museum was that afternoon so close to Christmas. The Christmas tree was up in but it had been moved from the Medieval Galleries to Petrie Court section of the museum where there would be more ‘social distancing”. It was a better move safety/health wise but did not have the same effect. I thought we were lucky that the Met is still open as museums around the country are closing fast.
The Christmas Tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its usual home in the Medieval Galleries
After I visited the museum, I walked around the Upper East Side neighborhood for a bit and realized how much was changing here too. Some old time buildings have come down to be replaced by more luxury condos/co-ops. Many small businesses were gone and there was a lot of empty retail space even before the pandemic. I will have to revisit these neighborhoods in the future to see the changes. For now, there was a lot of decorating going on for the holidays and that put me in the Christmas spirit.
I took the Number 6 subway back downtown to Park Avenue and East 34th Street and started my walk again of the Streets of Kips Bay. I was lucky that the weather broke and it was a crisp but sunny day and a real pleasure to walk around the neighborhood. It is amazing the transformation that the neighborhood is still making before my eyes. So many buildings are coming down or being renovated. Closer to the First Avenue my thoughts were that this was accommodating the expansion of the hospital complex and the colleges.
I started my journey on East 33rd Street walking from Lexington Avenue to as far on FDR Drive as I could go. By First Avenue, either the NYU Langone or Bellevue Hospital complexes will stop you from walking any further to FDR Drive and the East River. That complex of hospitals pretty much stretches the neighborhood from East 34th to East 23rd Streets. If you want to tour the river, you would have to walk along the ‘East River Greenway’ walkway.
East 33rd Street has a lot of charms and transitions to it. As I had discussed in many of my blogs on my walks on the East Side of Manhattan Island, most of these neighborhoods are being knocked down and rebuilt with office buildings sharing the borders with Midtown and between Third Avenue and First Avenue you will see the traces of “Old New York” with the brownstones and low rise commercial buildings on the side streets.
Even in Kips Bay like the lower parts of Murray Hill, First and Second Avenues are making way for bigger buildings and the character of these neighborhoods are changing. Here and there are those ‘little gems” tucked on side streets and in between buildings that you will have to walk past to really appreciate what Kips Bay has to offer.
I started my walk on Seventh Avenue and West 34th Street at the giant Macy’s Herald Square store. After five years at working at this store in the early 90’s, it is still home to me. I wanted to see the Christmas decorations at the store. First I started with another old Macy’s tradition, having breakfast at Al’s Deli at 458 Seventh Avenue. I had not eaten here in almost twenty-five years. I needed a breakfast sandwich to start the day of walking.
I had one of Al’s Sausage and Egg sandwich’s on a roll. There was nothing like it on a cool morning. Two soft scrambled eggs with a spicy sausage patty on a fresh hard roll. Each bite was like heaven with the complexity of flavors warming me up inside. Nothing had changed in twenty-five years. Even the price at $3.00 had not changed much.
This is the way to start the day with a Sausage, Egg and Cheese sandwich
I then cut through Macy’s Herald Square to look over the Christmas decorations and admire the displays. Things had been toned down in the store for various reasons but it was still elegantly decorated for the holidays and people were shopping in the store. That’s the one thing about Macy’s. People do still shop there and bags do leave the store.
“Santaland” on the Eighth floor was closed because of COVID but the giant Christmas department on the Ninth Floor was decorated to the hilt. After I toured the store and admired the decorations and display windows, I walked down West 34th Street to Lexington Avenue and started my walk along the streets of Kips Bay at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 33rd Street. It really is an interesting neighborhood.
Macy’s Broadway entrance decorated for Christmas
The Streets of Kips Bay like Murray Hill is a combination of residential and commercial buildings with the more historical buildings being closer to the Midtown border and whats left of the tenement housing closer to First Avenue near the hospital complex.
On the corner of East 33rd Street and Third Avenue there is an interesting mural by street artist Smufo of the customers at the Stickey’s Chicken Joint that faces Third Avenue.
The mural must have been commissioned by the restaurant and I thought was very clever.
Smurfo is an American born, native New Yorker from Brooklyn who works out of his hometown borough and specializes in ‘street art’. His vibrant colorful art is not just featured on the streets of New York but in independent galleries as well.
While walking around this part of Kips Bay, I was noticing what I had discovered when I was walking the Avenues and Border of the neighborhood, that the urban renewal project of the late 50’s and early 60’s really did change the complexity of this neighborhood. The side streets between parts of Third Avenue and the blocks between Second and First still have that small brownstone charm to them. After that, most of the blocks are changing fast with new office towers and hospital and school extensions.
Tucked into the block between Second and First Avenues at 242 East 33rd Street between two brick apartment buildings is a unique little brownstone with a sunken stairs and a small court yard that shows how different the neighborhood must have been in the early 1900’s as the home was built in 1901. With its small garden and flower potted line stairs, it shows such character.
Heading back to Lexington Avenue, I also passed P.S. 116, the Mary Lindley Murray School named after the prominent Murray family member who stopped the British troops in their tracks with song, entertainment and pleasantries while the Patriot forces escaped (Murray Hill Neighborhood Association and Wiki).
Mary Lindley Murray entertaining the British troops at her home
The elementary school that bears her name has quite a good reputation with parents and the neighborhood. It is a progressive elementary school with good test scores and advancement for children. The school also has a strong PTA and the parents seem to care at the school.
As I made my way back down the street, I noticed how quiet the block was that afternoon. The school must be closed for now since the increases of COVID in the City. Usually you would see lots of children running around and yelling and screaming in the playground but there was no one around.
East 32nd Street was almost similar but the neighborhood starts to change with the large Kips Bay Tower complex that was built during the urban renewal changing the configuration of the area. The classic look of this section of the City especially between Third and Second Avenue starts to change.
Kips Bay Towers was part of the 1950’s Urban Renewal project
Those small tenement buildings start to end by Second Avenue. One unique building does stand out is an old brownstone that sits alone in the back of the playground like a lost sole. It looks like what was previously an old mansion when the neighborhood was once fashionable. With its beautiful detail work, it stands out amongst the plainer buildings.
Architect Robert T. Lyons had been hired to design a new clubhouse on the site. The 28-year old architect had produced a four-story brick and stone confection that pretended to be a French townhouse. A rusticated limestone base sat a few steps above the sidewalk and the stone stoop was flanked by two cast iron lampposts. A stone balcony stretched the width of the second floor, matched by another at the fourth floor (DaytonianinManhattan.com).
The historic marker for the Milton Glaser historical marker
Here on the second floor New York magazine was founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968. Milton Glaser remains in the building in the form of W.B.M.G., Inc. (the initials of Walter Bernard and Martin Glaser), and Milton Glaser, Inc. (DaytonianinManhattan.com)
One unique feature of East 31st Street once I rounded the corner was the painting of the logo of the now closed Vino Tapa at 201 East 31st Street. The restaurant had been opened for outdoor dining when I first started to walk the neighborhood and was going strong but by my second trip the restaurant had shut its doors during the pandemic. It’s logo sits proud on the wall near the entrance.
The Vino Tapa Logo outside the restaurant at 201 East 31st Street
The standouts on both East 31st and East 30th Streets are the brownstones and tenement buildings that sit between Second and Third Avenues. Many people decorated their homes early for the holidays and all the wreaths and garland with lights on coming on in twilight really put you in the festive spirit.
Another building that had beautiful detail work carved into it is 160-164 Lexington Avenue, The Dove Street Marketplace, which offers floor after floor of high end goods. This building sits on the corner of East 30th and Lexington Avenue.
The detail work is amazing on 160-164 Lexington Avenue-The Dove Street Market
The building has the most beautiful detail work on all sides. It was built in 1909 as the New York School for Applied Design for Women. It was designed by one of the school’s instructors, architect Wiley Corbett, to resemble a Greek Temple (Forgotten New York).
Across the street from the Dover Street Market at 154 Lexington Avenue is the First Moravian Church. The building was started in 1849 and finished in 1852 at the Rose Hill Baptist Church designed in the Lombardian Romanesque style. In 1869, the church was sold to the First Moravian Church which had been located at Sixth Avenue and 34th Street (Daytonian in Manhattan).
The First Moravian Church at 154 Lexington Avenue was built in 1854
When I rounded the corner again down Lexington Avenue at East 29th Street, I found myself back in “Curry Hill” and all the wonderful South Asian restaurants and stores. I ate at Curry Express at 130 East 29th Street for a late lunch. They kept advertising a lunch special for $6.99 for lamb kebobs and Naan Bread and it sounded really good.
The “Curry Hill” section of Lexington Avenue
The food was really good but the only problem was that they microwaved the kebobs and that made them a little hard. Still they had a nice garlicy taste to them with a combination of ground lamb and spices. The naan bread was freshly baked and very good (see review on TripAdvisor). What really stood out at lunch was the Chicken Patties that they had. They are delicious. Ground spicy chicken wrapped in a flaky pastry. They make a great snack while walking around.
Curry Express at 130 East 29th Street (Closed in 2022)
The one thing I enjoyed about the restaurant is that the customers with me were not boring. They were an interesting bunch of characters that reminded me of why Manhattan and New York City in general was so interesting. They dressed usually, made the strangest comments to the owners and complained about nothing.
Walking back through East 29th, you will see impressive wooden home at 203 East 29th Street which is one of the oldest homes in the City. The house sits on what was once the “Rose Hill Farm” that dated back to 1747 (The Rose Hill section of Manhattan overlaps between Third and Lexington Avenues with Kip’s Bay). The house itself is not part of the original estate but must have been moved to this location when the street grid was laid out in the mid-1800’s. The house is said to have been built around 1790 (Wiki & Manhattan Sideways).
203 East 29th Street is one of the oldest houses in Manhattan
I also journeyed into Vincent Albano Jr. Playground again. I was able to relax on the benches while I was watching a few of the neighborhood kids play in the playground. I guess the parents needed to get out of the apartments as well during the week. This small park has an interesting history.
The Vincent F. Albano Jr. Playground at 523 Second Avenue is tucked into a corner of Second Avenue and East 39th Street. This quaint little park is full a charm with a small playground and shade trees all around it.
The park was designed by architect M. Paul Friedberg in the late 1960’s and has gone through several renovations since that time. The park was named after Vincent F. Albano, a Republican district leader who lived in the neighborhood until his passing in 1981. He helped preserve the park when the neighborhood was going through all the construction changes (NYCParks.org).
On my three trips to Kip’s Bay, I was able to see the park at different times of the seasons, with the last stages of the warmer months giving way to the holiday season. The park has its own Friends organization so the park is well maintained and very popular with the residents.
When walking towards First Avenue, you will run into the historical and massive Bellevue Hospital complex. The side streets between East 30th and 26th Streets is pretty much monitored by the security of the hospital and there is not much to see. On East 30th Street where the Men’s Shelter is located there is a lot of people walking around at all hours of the day.
The Bellevue Hospital complex runs from East 30th to 25th Street
As I rounded the corner to East 28th Street, I noticed how dark it was getting and I decided to stop for my first day. It is hard to walk the streets of the neighborhood when you can’t see much. Since it was getting dark, I stopped at a unique clothing store whose display windows captured my attention, Vintage India at 132 Lexington Avenue.
Vintage India is a clothing store that carries all sorts of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories. There are many traditional clothing choices both vintage and modern and there are some contemporary outfits with a British influence. The men’s clothing selection has some colorful jackets with interesting designs and patterns. The jewelry selection for weddings is extensive and I love the designs of the items.
Vintage India has an amazing selection
I started walking Kip’s Bay again about a week later after I had given my last quiz and the last two research papers for my class were distributed out to the students. I had some time to break away from school and it was nice to just wonder the streets of New York again.
I started where I had left off at the corner of East 28th Street and Lexington Avenue admiring the windows of Vintage India again. The store is pretty amazing and it is worth the visit to see the beautifully designed clothes.
Walking East 28th Street is a neighborhood again in transition by the time you reach Second Avenue. The big Kip’s Bay Court complex dissects the street from old tenement housing to the glossy new complex. The one attribute is Bellevue Park South that is hidden away in the middle of the complex. By this point all the leaves were gone and the park seemed pretty barren with not that many people in the park. There were a few playing basketball but outside that not much action.
The large Kips Bay Court complex at 490 Second Avenue, that stretches from East 26th to East 29th Streets and when you walk through the complex you will find the oasis of Bellevue South Park. As Fall was progressing, the park was ablaze with what was left of the gold and reds of the leaves of the trees that surrounding the park.
Kips Bay Court Apartments stretch from East 26th to East 29th Streets on the east side of Second Avenue
Bellevue South Park is a nice break for all the people working in the area and for people living in the apartment complex. The park was created in 1966 when this whole part of the neighborhood went through urban renewal in the 1950’s that ran from East 23rd to East 30th between First and Second Avenue. The park is full of playground equipment and long paths and has some interesting artwork.
What really caught my eye when walking around the park was the sculpture “Scagerrak” by artist Antoni Milkowski. The three interlocking steel blocks was created by the artist for the park in 1970.
Mr. Milkowski is an American born artist from Illinois but moved to New York City as a child and is a graduate of Kenyon College and Hunter College in New York. He started to get involved with art in the early 1960’s and started to create contemporary pieces. The work was donated to the Parks system through the Association for a Better New York whose goal it was to enliven parts of the City. The work moved around until places in Bellevue South Park in the mid-1970’s (NYCParks.org).
Walking back through the neighborhood a few unique buildings stood out. The brick apartment between 218-225 East 28th Street was built around 1900 (Daytonian/Cityrealty.com) and has faces staring back at you in all directions with a beautiful geometric looking cornice. You have to walk on the other side of East 28th Street to admire its beauty.
219-225 East 28th Street and the detail work above the doorway.
Another interesting building is The Epiphany School at 141 East 28th Street. The building dates back to 1888 and the new building was built in 1902 by architect Elliott Lynch in the Beaux-Arts style (Daytonian). You have to walk on the opposite side of the street to admire the true beauty of the stone carvings and the multi layer designs. I wondered if the students that go to the school ever stop to admire it.
The Epiphany School School has a lot of interesting details.
The unique details on the front of the building.
Turning the corner at East 27th Street the architecture on this block starts to get interesting so remember to look up and around or you might miss something. The first building that stands out is the brick building at 218-222 East 27th Street with its faces that follow you and their devilish looks.
I am not sure if the architect was trying to scare the residents at 218-220 East 27th Street
The faces outside glare at you.
The faces
The faces.
I was struck by the sculpture on the corner of East 27th Street in the courtyard across from Bellevue Hospital. Here is the sculpture “Sentinel” by artist Theodore Roszak. It was designed and dedicated to all people involved in public health. The sculpture is somewhat hidden now under scaffolding during a current renovation of the building next to it.
Mr. Roszak was an Polish born American artist who grew up in the Polish section of Chicago. He was mostly self-taught. He studied both at the Chicago Art Institute and in Europe. He created this sculpture in 1968 and it studied the struggle between man and nature (Art@Site).
Another interesting piece of architecture is the original Bellevue Hospital Building that now has the new entrance of the hospital surrounding the original building. You can try to sneak in to the hospital but there are guards all over the entrance. I was able to walk in during one of their breaks and see the lobby. It once had a beautiful entrance but modern architecture has taken over. Take some time to see this interesting stonework and carvings.
The original Bellevue Hospital entrance by McKim, Mead & White
The original building which was designed by architects McKim, Mead & White in 1930 housed the oldest continuous public hospital in the United States founded in 1794. The hospital was built on the original Belle Vue farm (thus its name) and today is one of the most innovative hospitals in the world. It still have the stigma though of being a “nut house” when it is far more doing so much innovative work in medicine (Bellevue Hospital History).
The original Bellevue Hospital built by McKim, Mead & White in 1930
On the way back down street, I passed the Gem Saloon again on the corner of Third Avenue at 375-377 Third Avenue. These buildings were built in 1910 and was once the old Rodeo Bar that had been a staple in the neighborhood for 27 years. The restaurant was still offering outdoor dining even though it was getting cool out.
I stopped by La Delice Pastry Shop at 372 Third Avenue again. There is a reason why this bakery has been around since 1935 is the consistency of their baked goods. I got a black and white cookie and munched on it on the way back to Lexington Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor).
La Delice Pastry Shop at 372 Third Avenue has been there since 1935
The wonderful pastries that the have in the cases.
I was getting tired when walking down East 26th Street and had to stop in Bellevue South Park again. This time of the afternoon there were more people in the park, sitting on the benches talking and there were a few people walking their dogs around the park. It really is a nice place to relax and just people watch.
I was tempted to stop at Tipsy Scoop at 217 East 26th Street for alcohol infused ice cream sandwiches so I stopped on another visit to Kips Bay to try it (see review on TripAdvisor). I had one of their Confetti Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches ($7.00), which were two rather large Confetti Cookies with Cake Batter Vodka Martini Ice Cream in the middle. I did not get much of a buzz but felt it later.
Booze infused ice cream at Tipsy Scoop at 217 East 26th Street
The Cake Batter Vodka Martini Ice Cream sandwich is beyond mind-blowing. It is so nice to get a buzz from a dessert after a long day
This Ice Cream sandwich is huge!
Yum!
The second time I walked the neighborhood, I had the Raspberry Sorbet with Red Wine. Now that also gave me a buzz
The sorbets with alcohol can relax you on a hot day
When I got to First Avenue again it was tough to walk the side streets between First Avenue and FDR Drive because they were either closed off access or loaded with security so I had to walk around them. There is not much to see on these side streets.
On the way back I passed 226-228 East 26th Street and noticed more faces staring back at me. This building was constructed in 1900 and you have to look up at the detail work to appreciate all the stonework and multiple looks you get from the carvings.
Walking by the glassed in hospital entrance, the building was really busy that afternoon. People were milling around the lobby and rushing off to where they had to rush off too. I decided to stop staring in the lobby as I could tell that security was watching the tall guy with the tinted glasses.
By East 26th Street, I passed “Little India” and was in front of the 69th Regiment Building at 68th Lexington Avenue. This beautiful building is the home to the New York Army National Guard’s 69th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Fighting Irish” since the Civil War (Wiki).
The building was designed by architects Hunt & Hunt in the Beaux Arts style and was completed in 1906. It has been home to many events and show including the controversial 1913 Armory Show of contemporary art (Wiki). You really have to walk around the building to admire its beauty and history.
The historic plaque from the building.
As I rounded Lexington Avenue towards East 25th Street, I stopped off to the side to admire the mural of artist Yuki Abe “Urban Ocean”, a colorful painting that sits on the wall opposite next to the entrance of Jenna Optical at 50 Lexington. The colorful portrait has a whimsical look to it.
As I walked along the blocks on East 25th and East 24th Streets I noticed a distinct change in the neighborhood getting closer to the commercial district of East 23rd Street. Baruch College which is part of the CUNY system is starting to take over this section of the street and NYU is building up their campus closer to First Avenue. The older buildings of the area are giving way to modern glassy administration and classroom space for the college.
The one stand out on East 25th Street will have even more faces staring at you at 208-214 East 25th Street. Between the glaring looks and the mansard roof on part of the building it gives it almost an eerie look to it. Even though it has a Victorian look to it the building was constructed in 1930 (Realty.com).
I took another walk through the Asser Levy Park watching the few people working out on the track. The park was pretty much empty and closed at this time of the day.
208 East 28th Street decorations
208 East 28th Street decorations
Asser Levy Park tract on East 25th Street
The Baths and Park was named for Asser Levy, a Jewish trailblazer in colonial times when Mr. Levy and 23 Jews fled from Brazil in 1654 to seek refuge in New Amsterdam. He challenged Governor Peter Stuyvesant when he tried to evict the Jews from the colony. He was the first Jew to serve in the militia and own property in the colony (NYCParks.org).
The street art is also interesting on this part of Lexington Avenue. One the corner of East 24th Street & Lexington Avenue is the Friends House New York, a housing unit.
The Friends House at East 24th Street at Lexington Avenue
Painted on the wall is a very unique painting by Italian street artist, Jacopo Ceccarelli (painted over in 2026).
Painting by artist Jacopo Ceccarelli
The mural is on the corner of East 24th & Lexington Avenue-The St. Francis Residence Building (painted over in 2026)
The Milan born street artist, who goes by the name “Never 2501” hones his skills after moving to San Paolo, painting murals with an edge that got global recognition. He uses geometric forms in his work with circles and lines creating the abstract(Do Art Foundation).
I ended my walk reaching the new Student Plaza being constructed at Baruch College and relaxing in a small park by the East Midtown Housing complex that sits between East 23rd and East 24th Street between Second and First Avenues. On a cool winter evening there were only a few residents milling around but it is a nice place to relax and catch you breath.
I can only imagine the area is like when school is in session and the place is swarming with college students but for now the few CUNY and NYU students who are walking around get to where they are going with masks on as the campus building look shut for the semester.
The future “Baruch College Clivner-Field Student Plaza at East 25th Street off Lexington Avenue
The afternoon ended with lunch and a much needed break at Awesum Dim Sum at 160 East 23rd Street. It was one of the last times I was able to eat inside a restaurant before the City shut indoor dining down again due to COVID in early December 2020.
I had their Fried Rice Dumplings and their Roast Pork Buns with a Coke and that was more than enough after a long walk. The food was excellent as usual (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The restaurant has been my new ‘go to’ place since visiting this neighborhood and Murray Hill and will probably carry on into exploring “Rose Hill” and “Gramercy Park”.
The restaurant has also been discovered by the Baruch and NYU students who were dining both inside and outside on the cool but crisp evening. Nothing stopped anyone from having their Dim Sum.
The Baked Roast Pork Buns here have a sweet dough when you bite into them. The food here is excellent.
After having to fight off everyone in the restaurant for a seat “socially distanced” I ended my evening with a much needed back massage in Chinatown. (I will discuss the fact the Chinatown looks like a ‘ghost town’ now with its blocks of ‘for rent’ buildings and empty restaurants in a later walk. I don’t want to have to describe how bad things have gotten down here.)
All the selling of Christmas trees, yard work and snow shoveling did a number on my back and I needed an hour of work of them pulling and pushing into my lower back to get it back to normal. It would take two weeks for it to heal.
I stopped in Little Italy to end the evening for a couple of slices of pizza at Manero’s Pizza at 113 Mulberry Street. The pizza here is amazing (see review on TripAdvisor) being crisp on the outside and on the crust and the most delicious tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella. The pizza here is like heaven.
I swear it was full steam ahead for the rest of the holiday season. December for me just keeps getting busier. From the time we finished the Victorian Walking Tour to after the Epiphany my feet never touched the ground. Christmas tree sales kept me busy on the weekends, class finished up with my final exam night on the second week of December (I am very proud to say that I gave out 28 A’s, 2 B plus’s and 2 B’s) and then I really got busy with my volunteer work.
After the weekend with the Victorian Walking Tour and the Washington’s Crossing event, it was off to visit Lillian again. I had just seen her at Thanksgiving and here it was three weeks later, I was out on Long Island for another family event. The facility she lived in really does a lot of nice things for the families.
Lillian and I with her Christmas present, Petula the Pup from FAO Schwarz
I had given Lillian a choice, would she like me to come out for the Family Dinner or the the Family Concert the next week? I unfortunately could not do both. Work was getting busy and I had two Christmas parties to plan. So we decided on the Family dinner. We really had a nice time.
We joined her roommate, Marie and her two daughters for dinner that night. The facility had a nice dinner for us with roast beef, mashed potatoes and broccoli that was surprising well cooked and seasoned for a nursing facility and they gave you plenty of it. We had a nice time chatting and getting to know one another when Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance and greeted all the residents and their families. The two staff members who played the roles did a marvelous job with it and made it extra festive.
After dinner and a tour around the building greeting other residents and their families I said my goodbyes to Lillian and her roommate and her family. I had a long trip ahead of me as well. I could tell that Lillian was a little sad by it but I said that I would see her at Valentine’s Day and we would see each other after the craziness of the holidays was over. That is when I surprised her with the small Petula the Pup that we both used to sell in both of our time in the Pre-School Department at FAO Schwarz. She was very surprised and touched by it. It must have triggered something because I saw her cry a little. It made her happy that someone remembered (Please see the blog on Day One Hundred & Thirty-Lillian passed away three weeks after our dinner together).
The next morning myself and the volunteers who work with me at work had our Christmas party for the residents of the Maywood facility that I work with on my job with the County of Bergen for our Post-Stroke & Disabled Support Group. We had entertainment with Van Martin Productions and we decorated the tables with garland and candy and the room for the holidays. The whole affect was very festive.
The ladies who are part of the group that comes to our events had a wonderful time. Each one of us baked a special dessert for the event and at all the place settings were chocolate Santa’s and candy canes for each resident. We served desserts and coffee to everyone, handed out gifts to all and had a wonderful afternoon of good food and wonderful entertainment.
That evening, I hosted an Italian dinner at my home for the ladies who volunteer for me. Taking everyone to a restaurant gets expensive plus at the holidays everyone rushes you out so I found it more personal to have it at my house.
I cooked the entire meal and served it. We started the meal with homemade mini-meatballs that I made a few days before, sautéed shrimp and cheeses for the appetizer and for dinner I made chicken cutlets, spaghetti with marinara sauce, garlic bread and a nice salad all with the accompanying wines. We had a wonderful time and did a lot of laughing that night.
Chicken cutlets and pasta.
As I was serving dessert which I made an assortment of cookies and cakes, the noise got louder. Other guests joined us later and there was a lot of catching up to do. It was a enjoyable way to spend our last day together before the holidays.
The next day I joined a friend that I had not seen for almost two years for lunch in Sanducci’s at 620 Kinderkamack Road in Paramus, NJ (see review on TripAdvisor). It was just nice to finally catch up as it had been a long time since we talked. We both agreed that our lives had us running in different directions. We spent our afternoon laughing at things from years ago and in our current lives. It is nice to spend time with friends at the holidays. I had not realized that Nancy and I had not seen one another in two years!
After lunch, I had to prepare another dinner as we held our annual Men’s Association Christmas Party at the tree-stand to end our season of selling. That Friday night, we had four trees on the lot and by the time the party was over we sold them out. We sold 338 trees (one was stolen, and one was donated) during the holiday season and that was a new record for us.
The Christmas tree stand site the night of the party
I made a batch of stuffed shells for dinner and a batch of chocolate brownies for dessert. I never know what to make as it is a potluck, and all the guys bring something different but two years earlier three of us brought baked ziti. So, I know shy away from that. That and I wanted something quick because I was still tired from cooking the night before.
Our former President Mike and VP Roy at the Christmas Party
It a fun evening of great food and conversation mostly dwelling on the success of this year’s sale. God, can some of these guys cook! Our former President, Mike, makes a venison chili that is always the highlight of the dinner especially on a cold night. The stuffed shells were put under the warmers and were a big hit. I never have to sell brownies to anyone. I was sure they were gone by the end of the evening.
The HHMA Christmas Party at the tree stand
The weather started to drop that night and after an hour at the party it went down to 35 degrees. Even sitting by the barrel fire, I could not take it anymore. I said my goodbyes by 9:00pm. I was exhausted from a week of cooking and had still more to do over the weekend. I had to plan two menus for that Sunday and had to have back to back meals. One of the guys later on told me that a group of them were there until 2:00am. Not a night I would have been out.
What was left of the trees the night of the party
I had to sleep in that Saturday morning because I was worn out from the running around that week but there was food to prepare, a house to clean and a table to set. I needed a break from it all to put me back into the spirit of the holiday so before I started all the prep work, I went to Ringwood Manor for their celebration and to see the decorated house.
Ringwood Manor every year is beautifully decorated by a group of volunteers. The house was open for tours of life in the Victorian Age. Each of the rooms was decorated to the hilt with garland and plants and all sorts of decorations.
The Ringwood Manor Dining Room
Ringwood Manor has an interesting history. The area around Ringwood, NJ was the center for iron ore manufacturing and was a big player in munitions during the Revolutionary War because of both the amount of ore in the hills and the strategic location near New York City.
In 1807, the land was bought by Martin J. Ryerson who built the first home of the property which was a 10 room Federalist style home. In 1853, Peter Cooper bought the mines and the home and it became one of the biggest suppliers iron ore to the Civil War effort. Peter Cooper’s partners were his son, Edward and his future son-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt.
The Ryerson section of the house decorated for the holidays.
The home became the summer estate for Mr. & Mrs. Hewitt and added on to the house in 1864, 1875, 1900 and 1910. The home then had 51 rooms and was designed in the Classic Victorian style with furnishings from all over the world. In 1938, the home, it contents and grounds of the estate was donated to the State of New Jersey (Ringwood Manor Park History).
The Dining Room at Ringwood Manor
The tour was self-guided and you could take as much time as you wanted seeing each room. There was a docent on hand to explain all the decorations and furnishings as well as the purpose of the room. One of the points that was made when I was visiting the decorated homes during the holiday season was that Victorians never decorated every room in the house like on the tours.
The Christmas Tree in the French Drawing Room
They decorated maybe the living room and dining room with a tree and garland. Only the wealthiest families would decorate more than that because they had servants to maintain it. Trees and garland were used after the Civil War because Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert was from Germany and brought the Pagan tradition of putting a tree inside the house with him to England (Victorian Christmas History).
After my visit to the manor, it was off to Auntie El’s Farm at 171 Route 17 South in Sloatsburg, NY (see my review on TripAdvisor and LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com) for some baked goods and a tour of the farm. I roamed through the farm stand who just like us were wiped out of Christmas trees. I bought cake truffles ($5.00 each) and a Caramel Apple Cake ($10.95) for my Christmas dinner and munched on Apple Turnovers ($3.50) and Cider Doughnuts ($1.00) while I was there looking around the bakery. In the farm stand area, they have to most delicious jellies and jams to choose from and other gourmet products.
Auntie El’s desserts!
The Christmas department at Auntie El’s
When I got home, I spent the rest of the time cooking for our Engine One Brunch for Company members and families on Sunday morning and then for my Christmas dinner with my family on Sunday night. I never left the kitchen.
That Sunday was a busy day for me as I had to pull off two back to back meals. In the morning from 10:00am-1:00pm was the Engine One Brunch and after clean up and saying goodbye to everyone was the early Christmas dinner with my family from 4:30pm to 9:00pm. I had never done back to back meals before and don’t plan on doing it again. Way too much work!
I got to the firehouse at 8:30am that morning and had to deal with a major mess. The Department Christmas Party had been the night before and they did not clean it properly. So the first thing I had to do was clean all the tables, throw out the garbage and mop the floors. That took almost an hour.
Then I had to clean and set up the kitchen for Brunch. Once I got that done, I set the buffet table for the food and then put all the table clothes on the tables in the main room. Then I set up and started to cook and set the tables for breakfast. By the time I was done with all of that, the first guys started to arrived to help me.
Me setting up breakfast
I cooked an elaborate breakfast menu for the members of our company, our honorees and family members.
Me in front of the Brunch Buffet Table
It really was great meal. I prepared two egg casseroles, one with bacon and the other with Italian sausage, a French Toast Souffle, homemade waffles (I drag that waffle iron all over), fresh fruit salad and then I baked a cinnamon crunch coffee cake, blueberry muffins, a chocolate chip pound cake and brought in assorted bagels from Panera and doughnuts from Mills Bakery in Wood Ridge. There was something for everyone.
We had a wonderful time. About 54 people showed up for breakfast and did people come hungry. We did not have much left. Our Lieutenant, Bernie Valente, gave the welcoming speech and greeted everyone for brunch and wished everyone a happy and safe holiday season. It was a nice morning of good food and conversation.
The Engine One Members at the Brunch
After the Brunch was over, I said my goodbyes to everyone and had to clean and mop the room again. That took some time but the place was spotless when I left.
I ran home and thank God, I had already cleaned the house, set the dining room table and prepared the house for guests. I was able to take a 45 minute break before my family showed up for a pre-Christmas dinner. I relaxed on the couch for about twenty minutes before my family showed up. I was so grateful they showed up late.
What a great time we had that night! My Aunt Dee and my cousins, Wayne and Bruce came to dinner and we had a wonderful time. Since I was joining my brothers at my Mom’s house for Christmas Eve and Day, I would not be seeing my aunts and cousins this year.
I cooked a four course meal that was my pride and joy. We started with an assortment of cheese and crackers, sauteed shrimp on toasts and mozzarella sticks with a bottle of bubbly to toast the holidays. We had a nice time just catching up with work and family events.
About an hour later, I served dinner. I kept it simple this year making chicken cutlets, a potato puff and string beans with butter. It was the perfect evening of good food and conversation. My cousins told me about work and what was going on in their lives and my aunt was telling me stories about her upcoming holiday events. We always have a nice time.
For dessert, I had the desserts from Aunt El’s. I served the caramel apple pie and the cake truffles. I have to admit that they were all a little sweet but still good. There was a layer of caramel and chocolate on the top of the apple pie. It was a nice way to end the evening.
After a week of cooking for five parties and dinners, I took a break from the kitchen and planned a couple of Christmas events. The first was I attended the Hasbrouck Heights High School Holiday concert. I had a nice time listening to the choir and jazz band. The school was packed with people filming the whole thing. I have never seen so many cells phones out.
The one event I had gone to last year was the holiday concert at Carnegie Hall and looked forward to seeing it again. The ‘Home Alone Concert’ with the New York Philharmonic had been sold out as was the ‘Holidays with Brass Concert’. So I scoured the internet to see if there were tickets left to the concert and I was in luck. It looked like someone had given up their two tickets and grabbed the second to last ticket for the concert and it was on the isle! What a concert!
First, I love going to Carnegie Hall during the holidays. It is so beautifully decorated for the holidays and everyone from the staff to the concert goers are in the festive spirit. The concert was called “Under the Mistletoe” with the New York Pops with singer, Ashley Brown who had originated the role of “Mary Poppins” on Broadway.
Here is Ms. Brown preparing for the concert I saw on December 22nd.
What a wonderful concert! Ms. Brown was accompanied by Essential Voices USA which was a choir that sang during the concert. They opened with much excitement the songs “Deck the Halls” and “It’s the most wonderful time of the Year” and then introducing Ms. Brown singing “Jingle Bells” and “Winter Wonderland”. The rest of the concert was filled with traditional Christmas songs and a lot of holiday cheer.
The Carnegie Hall Stage before the show at Christmas time
In the middle of the second act, Santa came down the aisle near me and greeted the crowds. I swear I was having a somewhat rough holiday season missing my father and all and when I saw Santa, I really believed it was him. I was so happy to see him as was everyone else in the room. I could see how emotional people were and knew they felt the same way. It looked like everyone just wanted to believe that night and we are talking of a crowd of concert goers who were in their fifties, sixties and seventies. I guest you are never too old to believe in Santa. It has been a rough year for everyone.
The inside of Carnegie Hall decorated for the holidays
The concert ended with a big sing-a-long with Santa, the Essential Voices USA and Ashley Brown leading the “Jingle Jangle Sing-Along” with the songs, “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “Here comes Santa Claus” and ending with “Jingle Bells”. Even Santa joined us singing! I swear, that whole concert hall rocked with people singing all the classics and it brought the house down. People were on the feet applauding at the end of the concert. I had never seen so many smiling faces in one spot in a long time.
The Sing a Long with Santa
The next morning, was still singing the concert in the back of my mind as I was preparing breakfast at the firehouse for the Department’s Annual “Santa Around Town”. A group of us got to the firehouse early to wash the truck, so I cooked the traditional Engine One breakfast before we started the wash and decorating. I made a pancake and sausage breakfast for the guys. We had a ball eating, laughing and talking about upcoming holiday plans.
The Brothers of Engine One Hasbrouck Heights before ‘Santa Around Town’
We then got to work washing the whole truck and preparing it for the long trip around Hasbrouck Heights greeting residents with holiday cheer and assisting Santa handing out candy canes to all the kids. It is a long evening but we really lucked out with the weather. It was warmer than usual around 45 degrees and people really came out to see Santa. We had large families of kids and dogs taking group shots with Santa. It is nice to see that people still do believe (See my Blog: The Brothers of Engine One participate in “Santa Around Town” December 23rd, 2018). We had a great time that night.
The next morning it was off to visit my immediate family for Christmas. I know I have visited Woodstock, NY and Cape May, NJ in the past for the holidays (as you have seen in this blog) but it was time to join the family again on Christmas Day. I had not spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my mother and brothers since 1981 and the last time I had spent Christmas with my Mom was in 2010 so it was something I was looking forward to this year.
I spent my morning visiting cemeteries, paying my respect to my aunts, uncles, cousin. grand parents and finally my father, dropping off flowers and arrangements to all locations. I say a small prayer and send my wishes. I think this important at the holidays.
Then it was off for the four hour trip down to my mother’s in Delaware. It really was a wonderful Christmas with my family. We all had not been together for the holidays for such a long time. The last several years I would go down after the holidays and we would spend time together then. Since my father’s passing this is the first time the rest of us have been together as a family.
Christmas Eve was always a lot of fun in my family growing up. We would go over to my parents long time friend’s house from 1969-1981 until my parents divorce. Christmas Day was with my Aunt Elaine and my cousins from 1969-1990 right before my aunt passed away. Those were very special Christmas’s and I will always remember them. Since then it changed from year to year as was Christmas Day. All of us kids moved around the country and with school and jobs everything kept changing.
Somehow the stars aligned this year and we were all available. It really was a nice four days and it was fun connecting with everyone again. My younger brother came up with my niece and my older brother with his husband, so the extended family was all there.
We went to Confucius Chinese Restaurant at 57 Wilmington Road in Rehoboth Beach for Christmas Eve dinner (see review on TripAdvisor) and it was packed that night as if everyone in town had the same idea we did. We spent most of the evening either yelling over the table or saying hello to the dozens of people my mom knew in the community. The town was hopping for Christmas Eve and there were cars all over the place with people eating at restaurants up and down the downtown area.
When we got home after a wonderful dinner and tour of the downtown Christmas tree, we just relaxed in the living room and talked. It was nice to finally catch up with everyone in a peaceful environment. In the back of my mind, I still could not believe how Christmas creeped up on us this year or that it was actually Christmas Eve. I slept like a rock that night.
The Lo Mein is amazing here
As are the Soft Shell Crabs
A delicious Christmas Eve dinner
The next morning it was all hands on deck as I was helping my mother in the kitchen after breakfast. After a quick bowl of cereal and a shower, it was off to chopping, cutting and rolling in the kitchen. My mom said she would need my help in the kitchen helping with dinner which was a surprise as she never lets anyone in the kitchen when she is cooking.
I helped her make the breaded broccoli, the pigs in a blanket, making sure that she tied the crown roast the right way (it took some time) and stuff it and then arrange cookie trays for the dessert. Four of my mother’s friends joined us for dinner so there would be ten of us and did we eat that afternoon. My mother is an amazing cook and host and knows how to entertain at the holidays.
Cooking in the kitchen with my family
We had a nice afternoon of reminiscing about family Christmases of the past, what my mother’s friends were up to and how all of our lives were going. It was a nice evening of good eating and wonderful conversation. My brothers and I even cleaned the whole kitchen for my mother so she could relax and enjoy her guests.
Christmas with my family
The next two days we spent at my mom’s house just catching up and relaxing and my brothers and I each hosted a meal for the other members of the family so that we could give my mom a break from cooking for a large group of house guests.
In the afternoons, pretty much everyone did their thing and then we would meet up for meals. My brother and my niece brought their little French Pug named “Boogie” up to my Mom’s so she would not be lonely. God, did we spoil that dog with attention and treats. She was the cutest most well behaved dog and what was funny was when I was lying on the floor watching a movie with my family, she plopped down next to me on the pillow and slept.
Boogie sleeping next to me
Our first afternoon after Christmas, our family met at “A Touch of Italy” restaurant at my mother’s recommendation. The food was excellent. The most delicious thin crusted pizzas I have had in a long time. The pizzas, pastas and sandwiches are delicious here. For dinner the next night, we went to ‘Big Fish’, a local seafood restaurant my mother wanted to try.
It was now two days after Christmas and people looked like they were having family dinners before everyone had to go back to work. The place was mobbed! Our waiter, Scott, really handled the table well with our ten people. “Big Fish” (see my review on TripAdvisor), is a local seafood restaurant whose most popular dishes is everything fried. A friend of my mother’s said that she always has the fried shrimp when she is dining there. So that is what I had for dinner.
The inside of Big Fish Grill at 20298 Coastal Highway
They were like heaven in every bite, sweet and briny and the breading was cooked perfectly. The potatoes and vegetables were also perfectly cooked. Between the entree and appetizers, there was no room for dessert to the shock of my family. Me miss dessert?
The Fried Shrimp meal at Big Fish Grill is excellent and should not be missed
Our last morning was tough. My brothers were leaving for home and I was heading up to Cape May that evening to go to the theater to see “The Actors Carol” at the Cape May Theater and spend the night at the Chalfonte Hotel. It was baby steps back into the family Christmas and I still wanted some time alone for the holidays.
My mother made a big family breakfast and then we said our goodbyes over a fritata and sweet rolls. It was nice being able to spend some time with my brothers who live in other parts of the country and my niece who was off from school. We chatted on about the holiday and what we were doing for New Years and then it was off to travelling for all of us.
For the first time, I took the Lewes-Cape May Ferry from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey (see review on TripAdvisor). It was about an hour and a half and had it been a warmer sunny day it would have been a beautiful trip. When I got there, I sat outside and watched dolphins swim by us. Of course, it had to be a cloudy day and then started to get cloudier and sprinkled so I spent the rest of the voyage inside watching a tourist film. I was able to watch the bay go by and it is quite a site. There is a beauty to the Delaware Bay.
I got into Cape May within the hour and settled at my hotel. I had just been at the Chalfonte in September for the Firemen’s Convention and the town was still hopping with tourists. It really has become a big destination for the holidays. It is funny though to see the main hotel closed for the season. It really does look haunted at night when only the spotlight is on it. The place was buzzing when I left nine weeks earlier.
The Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May at Christmas time (the main hotel is closed)
I settled into the Southern Annex (see review on TripAdvisor) and took a nap before the show. It had been a long but fun four days. It was nice to just relax and be by myself now. It was funny what a year can bring to you and how different you can become. I guess I was no longer that person that needed Cape May or Woodstock anymore. They were perfect for their time in my life but even I felt it was time to step out in the world again.
The Southern Quarters right next to the main hotel
My usual bedroom at the Southern Quarters on the top floor attic room. What a view!
The Christmas welcome at the Southern Quarters
The room has a wonderful view of all the decorated homes
The show was funny that night. “The Actor’s Carol” was a take on the classic “Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. The star of the show within a show was a Prima Donna whose best acting days were behind him and made everyone miserable in this small town production. He was in turn visited by three ghosts from his past to show him how he got to where he was in life. It was not the most original show but very clever in premise.
After the production was over, I looked for a place to eat but a lot of the popular places were either closed for the holidays or closing for the evening. Just wanting a snack after the show and before going to bed, I stopped at Dellas 5 & 10 at 501-503 Washington Mall (see review on TripAdvisor) in downtown Cape May for dinner. This small drugstore has a soda fountain and restaurant in the back like Woolworth’s did years ago. The food is very good and the burger I had was well prepared. I had fun as the only customer talking with the waiters.
Washington Mall during the holidays
I walked all over downtown Cape May that night as I had the year before. It just seemed different this year as the experience was surreal. It was still Christmas to me but I just felt changed by the last four days. Still downtown was beautiful with all the lights on the trees, the creative window displays and the bells from the church sounding in the back. The gazebo in the main square still had the Christmas lit up and that put me back into the Christmas mood.
The Gazebo in downtown Cape May
I got back to the hotel and slept like a log. All this driving and running around got to be too much on me. The hotel annex was really quiet even though it was full of guests. I did not hear or see anyone in my time at the hotel.
Their Christmas tree in the downtown park is always spectacular
The next morning as I checked out, I was surprised to see Uncle Bill’s Pancake House at 261 Beach Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor and DiningonashoestringinNYC@Wordpress.com) open this year. It was locked shut last Christmas. I guess they figured the town was busy for the holidays and trust me, a smart choice as the restaurant was busy. They have the best breakfasts and their pancakes and scrambled eggs are cooked in butter so there is some extra caramelization to them. The service there is always so friendly and welcoming.
Uncle Bill’s at 261 Beach Avenue at Christmas time
The pancakes at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House are the best
After breakfast, I walked the downtown again, walked all through the Congress Hall Hotel, where I stayed last year for Christmas (See Day One Hundred-This is Christmas) and then visited the Physick Mansion for another Christmas tour of the house (See TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com). It is always a nice tour and the mansion is so nicely decorated for the holidays. The tour like everything else in Cape May was busy. It was sunny and around 48 degrees that morning.
After the tour, I left Cape May, probably to see it later again in the Spring and then headed up the Jersey Shore line to visit Margate and the Lucy Elephant statue (see my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). I had not climbed the top of the elephant yet and since it was a nice day wanted to take the tour before the statue closed for the day. I drove up the shoreline to Margate, NJ and got there by 2:00pm.
I got on the tour which was just about to leave and we climbed the whole statue and got to the top of the ‘howdah’, the transport on top of the elephant. That was the reason why I went the statue. I had not been able to go to the top in 2015. It is the most beautiful view of the ocean and the best part is that it got warmer toward the afternoon. I was able to walk around the statue and by the beach and it must have gone up to 50 degrees.
The top of the Howdah
I decided since it was early to double back to Ocean City, NJ and have some lunch before I drove home. What a spectacular afternoon walking in the Boardwalk. It was crowded because of the weather and surprisingly this late into the holiday week, a lot of the businesses were open.
I was able to go to Johnson’s Popcorn at 1360 Boardwalk (see review on TripAdvisor), which had a line ten deep, for caramel corn. They were making it in small batches and when I started eating it was still hot from the machine. There is nothing like warm caramelized corn on a cool day.
My favorite is the Cheddar and Caramel Corn combination. It never arrives home full!
After that, I went to Manco & Manco Pizza at 8, 9 & 12th on the Boardwalk (see reviews on TripAdvisor) for lunch. Their slices were the best. They make a good sauce and it was so busy that the pies are coming constantly so it was fresh. This is a real Jersey Shore pizzeria and the attitude of the guys working there showed it. You have to visit the Jersey shore Boardwalks to know what I am talking about. As the sun started to go down, it was time to leave. It was getting cooler. I got home later that evening in good time because there was no traffic.
Manco & Manco Pizza is always busy all times of the year
New Year’s Eve was just sitting at home relaxing and calling friends. It looked like everyone was bunking in this year and the fact it went down to 10 degrees on New Year’s Eve night I could not believe all those crazy tourists were sitting in Times Square. I went to bed right after Midnight.
Later that week, I did make a trip up to Woodstock, NY to see their Christmas tree before they took it down but it was down already. The town just seemed depressed when I arrived. I had not been up here since Christmas of 2016 so it had been over a two years since I celebrated a holiday up in the mountains. First, it had a cool damp feel to the town but since you are in the mountains it can be that way. Also, since the holidays were over, a lot of decorations were already down and usually you would keep these up until the Epiphany on January 6th.
Downtown Woodstock, NY during Christmas
The worst was several of the restaurants and clothing businesses that I had remembered from a few years back had gone out of business so there were empty storefronts. It just did not seem like the magical place that I had enjoyed three separate, wonderful holiday season’s. I really wanted to see the tree in the square but you can’t have it all. Still I had lunch at Shindig located at 1 Tinker Street (see review on TripAdvisor) and they have the best burgers and mac & cheese around. It was nice to sit by the window on this cold but sunny day and watch the world go by. I just walked around the town on this quiet afternoon.
Shindig at 1 Tinker Street in Woodstock (closed June 2022)
It is a new bar/restaurant in 2024
The Epiphany brought my only church visit to Corpus Christi Church and the service was nice. The church was still decorated for Christmas so it was the last thing to keep me in the spirit of the holiday. We had our Installation Dinner at the fire department a week later but that is another story Check it out on my blog, The Brothers of Engine One HHFD below.
Overall, it was a nice Christmas. Different from the last five years since my father’s passing but it was time to move on and enjoy the new family traditions we are creating. I was ready for the change.
I do not know how Christmas creeps up every year. It starts when Forth of July weekend ends and then we blink our eyes and there is Christmas. The years just keep getting faster and faster. Even though the holiday season snuck up on me the month of December was full of interesting events.
I had to put my walk around Manhattan on hold for most of the holiday season. Between classes, work, the Fire Department and selling Christmas trees (as you have seen in other blogs), the month of December was a busy one. There were different events to attend, activities to participate in and places to visit.
Christmas to me is not just the holiday itself but the time of the year to give back and help raise money for those in need. I really believe in giving back to the community during the holidays so there was a whole series of fundraisers that I attended. As my friends always say of me, you never sit still for one minute.
The holiday season started right after returning from seeing Lillian out in Kings Park, NY. We had such a nice time together having dinner with the other families and enjoying the entertainment that I promised her that I would see her in two weeks for the family Christmas dinner at her facility.
The next day, I got up early to the firehouse to help wash the truck as the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department was participating in the Annual Holiday Parade in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. Our Chamber of Commerce sponsors the parade and Christmas tree lighting every year on Thanksgiving weekend.
The Holiday Parade in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ is always a lot of fun. It gives all of us a chance to give back to the community as the procession of floats, decorated cars and organizations participate in the parade ending at the circle near the edge of town for the tree lighting ceremony.
Engine One in the Hasbrouck Heights Holiday Parade
Before the parade, all of us met up at the firehouse to wash and decorate the trucks and then stage by the Boulevard before the parade. I always enjoy watching the little kids in awe when the trucks pass by. It was cold the night of the parade so the crowds were thinner than previous years but still people looked like they were having a nice time. After the parade was over, everyone met at the circle for the tree lighting ceremony which got the usual ohhs and ahhs.
I had to be up early the next day as we had to unload 340 Christmas trees from the truck for the Annual Christmas tree sales for the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. This is our organization’s largest fundraiser and it is our job to sell all those trees for our scholarship program. We must have set a new record for emptying the truck and by the end of the season for selling them (See Day One Hundred & Twenty Six).
It is something for me as next year I will be going on my twentieth year on the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association. I have seen the growth of the organization and the all the high school seniors that we have given a head start with our scholarship program. I can’t believe I have served on the Executive Board for four years now as Director (Sargent of Arms). It has been quite the journey.
The members of the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association setting up the trees.
This starts the holiday season in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ with the Boulevard decorated for the holidays, fantastic window displays by our town merchants and everyone excited that Santa was coming. The holiday season means holiday parties, tours of decorated mansions, hand writing Christmas cards and keeping everything in check. I went to a record thirteen Christmas parties and get togethers this year. I am the member so many organizations and with four jobs everyone wants to get together. I was a busy person this year.
Right after Thanksgiving Weekend with the endless activity and getting to work selling those trees, I had to go back to work and put my schedule together for the month of December.
My first weekend of December was busy with back to back activities with Sinterklaas Weekend ahead of me and the day after the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party. This is always a busy weekend so I spend my weekend up in Rhinebeck at the Quality Inn (See review on TripAdvisor) while I run from one place to another. This was on top of the fact that my class would be presenting their final project for my Communications class the Monday I got back to work.
This was my sixth year participating in the parade. Rhinebeck, New York is a magical place at the holidays. The store windows are beautifully decorated with all sorts of merchandise that showcase the stores and the trees that line the downtown are layered with white lights that illuminate the downtown. Little wooden paintings line all the trees in the downtown area and garland accents a lot of buildings. It looks like a quaint little Christmas town straight out of a Currier & Ives print.
Downtown Rhinebeck, NY at Christmas
I help with the set up at 10:00am at the Starr Library every year. This year the theme was the Butterfly. (At the cocktail party fundraiser before Thanksgiving, the Sinterklaas community was introduced to the Butterfly King & Queen and were given the traditional blessing before the start of the Sinterklaas season.) The committee created Butterfly puppets for the parade that we put together that morning. As I unpacked the truck with the other volunteers, I could not believe how fast the year went. I kept asking myself how did this go so fast.
The same group of volunteers I have worked with for four years and we all worked in tandem with each other, emptying out the truck, unloading all the puppets and then putting them all together and stacking them against the library for the night of the parade. I have done this for so many years, I know how to put most of them together in my sleep. We were done in about two hours and then I was able to enjoy the rest of the days activities.
I have been volunteering in the parade now since 2010 and I can definitely tell you that the number of people has tripled over the past four years alone. After the Opening Ceremony at the Beekman Arms Hotel (I get a kick out of Mother Holly’s ‘feeling Jolly’ speech every year), I got a copy of the day’s activities and then snuck up to Red Hook, NY right up Route 9 to visit a few stores and restaurants on my bucket list for my blogs (you will find Little Pickles Children’s Store on ‘LittleShoponMainStreet’ and Village Pizza II on ‘DiningonaShoeStringinNYC’ on my WordPress.com blog sites).
Red Hook’s downtown was decorated for their Christmas event the next weekend. As one gallery owner explained “everyone is in Rhinebeck for Sinterklaas, so the town is quiet”.
Little Pickles in Red Hook, NY
I was able to visit businesses for my blogs that had not been open the weekend I visited President Van Buren’s home in Kinderhook, NY (see the Van Buren Homestead on my VisitingaMuseum.com site) and revisit old ones. I wanted to get a better feel for their downtown. (Please don’t miss the pizza at Village Pizza III at 7514 North Broadway. Their slices are excellent).
By the time I got back to Rhinebeck at about 1:30pm, I could not find a parking spot. The town was mobbed with people and almost every block around the downtown was lined with cars. I had to park almost five blocks away.
The rest of the afternoon was full of concerts, performances by the dancing polar bear and the grumpuses and lively singing at the churches. All four churches in town had either singing groups or bands. Lining the Main Street of Rhinebeck were all sorts of local charities selling Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, hot dogs and other snacks. Most were almost empty when I got back as people were snacking as they walked the streets to get from one activity to another.
The Grumpus singing and dancing in Downtown Rhinebeck, NY
I decided to relax and not run around for the afternoon as I have seen most of the shows and acts that were on the roster and pinpointed how I wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon.
I first visited the Butterfly nest that was located in the courtyard. The artists are very creative on the Sinterklaas staff. They built entire Butterfly cocoon that you could walk through. There was music going on in and around the cocoon and when I exited, the grumpuses were starting to do one of their dances in the courtyard. They had the whole crowd laughing and clapping along.
My stop on the event was the ‘Into the Light’ show at the Church of the Messiah. I have seen this show over the years of coming to Sinterklaas and I swear, the girl who plays the main character has not changed in the last five years. She is just getting older.
‘Into the Light’ Show
I spent the rest of the afternoon at the United Methodist Church listening to the Brass bands. I got to hear the Funkrust Brass Band and The Second Line Brass Band. It was nice to just sit back and relax and listen to the music. I had been running around the town the who afternoon.
After the bands, it was time to get ready for the parade. So back up to the Starr Library and my position in the parade as part of the “Star Forest” of puppets. We lucked out again that night as the weather was mild and it was in the high 40′ that night.
As the excitement of the parade started and we made our way down the hill, I noticed immediately that the crowds had really grown this year. They were five deep at the parade route on both sides and everyone had their cellphones out to record the parade. With all the white lights on the trees, all the decorated windows in full light and all the Sinterklaas stars that lined the route, it was a beautiful and festive night when coming into town.
Me in the Parade in the ‘Star Forrest; by the Mother Earth Float
People got so excited to see “Sinterklaas” (the Dutch word for ‘Santa Claus’) and the various characters in the parade as ‘Mother Holly’, ‘The Pocket Lady’, ‘The Dancing Polar Bear and his trainer”, ‘The Butterfly King and Queen’, ‘The Grumpuses’ and ‘The Wild Women of Rhinebeck’ joined the brass bands, floats, puppets and singers, dancers, performers and animals who make the parade what is every year. It really is exciting to be part of this parade.
At the end of the parade route, we pass the stage with all the members of the Sinterklaas family to make our final goodbyes until next year and drop off the puppets. It was funny that the whole time I was walking in the parade I kept telling myself how fast the year had gone and I could not believe I was here again.
Watch me in the Sinterklaas Parade in the ‘Star Forrest’ on the right
I dropped off my puppet and went to watch the last of the parade before leaving for dinner. It was fun to watch the fire throwers perform at the end of the parade. It was a nice way to end the evening and after the performance was over, the crowds dispersed to go to dinner. Every restaurant in town was mobbed all evening.
I went to a barbecue restaurant that I had wanted to try for years, (See review on TripAdvisor). I had the buffet dinner ($20.00) that they had set up for the day and just ate. I had to admit as much as l liked the food, the waiter annoyed me when he charged me for the refills on the drinks (Noted in the review and in his tip).
As I walked back to my car, it started to mist and rain lightly. I did not realize how far I had packed away from town. I was four blocks away near the Duchess County Fairgrounds. That is how busy the town was that day. I just went back to the hotel and relaxed. I had an early trip the next morning.
The next morning after a big breakfast, it was off to the Boonton Firemen’s Home for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Christmas Party for the residents that we throw every year. The facility was nicely decorated and we had some crowd that afternoon with all the residents present and their family members as well.
The band was a lot to be desired as they were off key most of the time and the lead singer could not sing a note. The place was really in the holiday spirit when member, Jerry Naylis and his family, who sing in their church choir and whose daughter in law sing opera, entertained the crowd. It really livened up the room and put us all in the holiday spirit. His little granddaughter stole the show when she sang ‘Jingle Bells’.
The Naylis Family entertaining the residents at the Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ
During the intermission we gave the residents their Christmas presents, monogrammed sweatshirts with their names on them, as a gift which I still see them wearing everytime we come to the home for events (See blog, BCFHA@Wordpress.com-Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association below).
The residents look forward to this party every year and were very touched by the gifts and the holiday thoughts. It was a fun time for all.
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association with the residents in December 2018
After the party was over, the members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association went to dinner at the Columbia Inn for our annual get together. We had a great time just catching up with one another and having a few laughs. The restaurants pizza is terrific too (See review on TripAdvisor).
With the weekend closing, it was back to work for me and another week of a round of holiday parties. First though, my students presented their project, “Bergecco-Park Consulting Inc. presents “Welcome Week 2019-Follow the Yellow Brick Road back to Bergen Community College”, their final exam project (See Day One Hundred & in ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’). The students gave a very professional presentation to a crowd of professors and administrators and members of the Athletic, Theater, Art, College Foundation, Alumni Association and Department of Special Services were on hand to view the presentation. It was well received by everyone and I could not have been prouder as a professor (please view that blog for the full project presentation).
Our logo for “Welcome Week 2019-Follow the Yellow Brick Road back to Bergen Community College”.
See the whole project presentation on my site, “MywalkinManhattan.com”
After I finally had the presentation behind me, it was a series of holiday parties one after another between the school, the fire department and various organizations that I am involved in (and that number is high). I joined the faculty at the college for our annual holiday get together, which was really nice. They had a full Thanksgiving dinner for us and a lot of holiday cheer. The Administration got up and wished us all a happy holiday season and good luck with the remainder of classes. It was nice to talk to the other professors who had come to the presentation. They gave me nice feedback at the party.
The next night it was off to the Engine One Christmas Party at Segovia’s in Moonachie. It was a nice evening with the guys, toasting the year and the successes that we had as a company (See The Brothers of Engine One HHFD-Blog on WordPress.com). It had been a busy year for us activity and project wise accomplishing both getting the bell fixed and chromed and getting the tee-shirts finally ordered and out to everyone. It was nice to catch up with everyone in a relaxed environment.
On Friday night was the annual Friends of Mills Mansion Holiday Cocktail party and fundraiser. Normally this is the night before Sinterklaas but it seemed that no one was in the holiday spirit on November 30th so they held it the week after.
Me at the Mills Mansion Holiday Party with members of the Friends Executive Board and dancers from the Isabel Duncan Dance company.
We had a really nice time. The event for the first time was sold out and the mansion was packed with well dressed people. The food was excellent and the servers did a nice job passing appetizers to all the guests. One of the local wineries was sampling one of their new sweet ice wines as well as a Chenin Blanc. It was a perfect dessert wine for the holidays.
The rooms were fully decorated for a Victorian Christmas and the Jazz band they had performing were excellent. They were engaging and people cleared the floor for impromptu dancing. It was nice to see people get up and dance again. It was nice to just sit back and catch up with other members I had met over the years and listen to the music. After that I took a quick tour of the rooms before heading back to the main room to hear the holiday greetings from the Executive Board.
The formal dining room at the Mills Mansion for Christmas
It was important that they sold out the event because the money will go to renovating both ceiling in the dining room and redoing the curtains that line the dining room windows. The mansion is slowly returning to its past glory and these events make this possible. The only problem was I was really tired after the event and it was a long ride home.
The weekend was coming up and there were two big events planned and I wanted to get enough rest to enjoy them. The first was on Saturday afternoon where I joined the Cornell Club as we we took a tour of the Ladies Shopping Mile and Gramercy Park with an event, the “Victorian Tour: Origin of Christmas Traditions” (See Day One Hundred & Twenty Eight). We literally walked this entire section of the City around Union and Gramercy Parks and walked up lower Sixth Avenue to visit the old department store buildings to know their history as part of the shopping area after the Civil War.
On Sunday was the dress rehearsal for the “Washington Crossing Reenactment” at Washington Crossing Historic Park. The event takes place every Christmas morning to remember when General Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised the British. It was an interesting event that everyone should see once in life. It is very important to know how he crossed the river, in what type of boat and the conditions they were under that morning during a snow storm.
The Military Parade by the Delaware River
We started the morning with a Artillery Demonstration and then this lead to a Fife and Drum Parade in the historic village on the Pennsylvania side of the park. Then the troops had a Musket Firing Demo & Soldier’s Drill by the Delaware River. At noontime, the troops had their formation and the Reading of the Order of Battle.
See the parade of soldier’s before the Crossing December 2018
By 12:45pm when the troops made their trip, the event was narrated by Major General Walter Lord, U.S. Army (Retired). The troops had their parade movement and then they loaded the Durham boats, which were rebuilt for the event from the original designs that General Washington and the troops actually used.
The Washington Crossing Reenactment 2018
What I found interesting about the event was that they used the same boats as General Washington used and even in normal conditions, it was hard to maneuver these boats in the river. One of the boats even had problems had with the crossing and it took them extra time to cross and they had rescue boats off to the side in case the boats lost control, Imagine doing this during an ice storm riding in boats with chunks of ice coming at you in the water. What these men did to save our freedom is commendable.
The reenactments have been going on at this site since 1838 where it was discussed the importance of this historic event. The first attempt at a proper crossing was done in 1844 but the crowd was so rowdy and drunk that it marred the event. When they tried the event again in 1876, it was so cold and the exposure to the weather and too much alcohol consumption by the crowd marred the event again and it was noted not to attempt is again for another hundred years (History of Washington Crossing-Park).
As part of a pledge project in 1947, a group of Rider College students attempted the crossing again and it received national attention. In 1953, a half-scale Durham boat was built and a proper ‘authentic’ using the same boats as used that day of the crossing and it was successful. Over 700 people came to the event and since then it has become an annual tradition (Washington Crossing Park History).
It was a busy first half of the holiday season and just kept getting busier as the holiday got closer. Between work and outside activities, I just kept running.
Please read about the Victorian Walking Tour on Day One Hundred & Twenty Eight.
As a member of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) Film Society, I get invited to a lot of showings of new and old films alike. This evening I put the walk aside and got work done around the house and then headed into the city to see the showing of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. The movie intrigued me as well as it horrified me and woke me up to what having a stroke is like from the perspective of the stroke patient.
Needles to say that after taking care of my dad, who had one of the most dangerous types of strokes you can get, for almost four years and knowing what is it like to be a caregiver, this was the first time I experienced what my dad was going through in his recovery. The main protagonist in the movie was a 43 year old fashion editor for Elle in Paris and was hit with such a devastating stroke that it turned him into a what some would call a ‘vegetable’. His form of communication was by winking to his therapists his thoughts and ideas. That was unique to some of the things I have seen up in Helen Hayes Hospital when visiting my dad in therapy.
I was shocked by it all especially seeing it from his perspective and what his feelings were and it made me sympathetic to the patients. It is easy for us as caregivers to say ‘I understand’ when we really don’t and when people responsible either don’t do their jobs or do or say something thinking the patient does not hear or understand and knows full well of their surroundings.
I walked out of the theater that night shaking and very emotional when I thought of my dad and all the times we sat in that theater at the museum before he got sick. It put life into perspective to me. I do not know how much the rest of the crowd felt but it hit me at the core.
As I left the MoMA, I saw Julian Schnabel surrounded by the usual ‘artiste-types’ and I did not want to bother him. I walked out of the museum still shaking. Something told to go back and say how I felt to the director.
I walked back into theater and approached Mr. Schnabel and pushed the artiste types to the side and introduced myself. I told him who I was and what I do for the Department of Disability Services for the County of Bergen and that I had taken care of my dad for over three and a half years. I thanked him for giving me a perspective of what my dad was going through and how it affected me as a former caregiver. I could see that he saw the emotion in my face.
The whole conversation took about a minute and if I had stayed one more second, I would have cried on the guy’s shoulder and I don’t think it would have looked good for me to cry on the shoulders of one our most important artist’s of the 20th & 21st Century. I found out later he was taking care of his own father when he was sick as he got involved in this film. Only another caregiver could have understood this.
So I am dedicating Day Seventy-Nine of “MywalkinManhattan” to Julian Schnabel, whose direction in this film opened my eyes. I think only someone who has lived it could understand the significance of this project. Losing a parent is not easy.
I recommend seeing the “The Diving Bell & the Butterfly” to all caregivers. When you are feeling frustrated or overwhelmed, please remember who we are taking care of and see it from their life. I am always glad that my dad and I had one another. We were very lucky!
Okay, I did not make my goal of walking the whole city by the end of the Summer but when work, book edits, fire and ambulance calls and life in general get in the way, there is not much you can do but keep on walking. I started my walk today at the 165th Street subway station. At least I am moving down the subway lines.
Exiting the subway, I took the long walk down Broadway towards 155th Street to 153rd Street the traditional border of Washington Heights and Harlem. For all the reputation that these neighborhoods have to the rest of the city, they are really nice especially west of Broadway by the Hudson River. I concentrated on the west side of Broadway today, making 153rd Street my border until I start the eastern part of Broadway. At 84 degrees, the Summer has not let go yet and it was a beautiful sunny day to venture into the city.
I started down the hill on 153rd Street at the Trinity Church Cemetery, which is advertised at the ‘only active mausoleum’ on the island of Manhattan. By the time I got into the city at 3:30pm, the cemetery was closed for the day, but people were still walking around the sides of it, jogging, walking, biking and just enjoying the day.
The entrance to the cemetery at West 145th Street
The cemetery in the summer of 2025
By the wall on Broadway, I read a plaque that said this was the line of defense for General Washington against the British during the Revolutionary War. Many people forget how much Manhattan played a role during the war. If General Washington were only to see the neighborhood now, he would be pretty shocked. That is just about the sticker price on an apartment in the area as this area is getting more costly.
As I walked this section of Broadway, I ventured into the Sweet Life Pastry Bakery at 3887 Broadway for something to munch on to keep the sugar high. I had one of their fresh Concha pastries that is a type of sugary sweet cake. For a dollar, it quite a bargain for this red topped sugary pastry.
Venture inside for many other delicious sweets. Munching on the cake and walking around the other side of the cemetery at 155th Street, at the end of the street there is a series of steps that takes you to a set of stairs that leads to a small patch of Riverside Park with the most breathtaking views of the river and Fort Lee, New Jersey.
It’s nice on a sunny day to take in the view and the way the sun shines off the water and the river rushing by creates a very inviting and relaxing place to take in the views of the park. I sat and watched the joggers, bikers and people just walking and talking pass by enjoying their afternoon. Then it was back up the steps to continue up Riverside Drive.
As I walked down the side streets between Riverside Drive and Broadway, there are many pockets of small sites to see and enjoy. At the end of the stretch of 158th Street, there is a row of townhouses with different designs, all sitting in various stages of renovation, with a few still boarded up.
There are not many places in the city where you are going to see much of this. I was pretty surprised that two or three were still in bad shape. I don’t give it that much time before someone passes these homes and snatches them up for a new home. Still, they look genuine. Like the people that live there have seen the good times and the bad times of the neighborhood.
At the start of corner of 157th Street and the beginning of Riverside Drive at 811 Riverside Drive, there is the most unique home sitting next to an apartment building with similar architecture, but it looks more like a Gothic house that was once someone’s mansion until it was turned into apartments. This now two-family house looks almost like a frat house but kept in the utmost care. It is worth the wait to stare at from the street.
The house was built in 1922 for clothing manufacturer, Nathan Berler and was supposed to be part of a bigger development of duplex homes. It was the only one that ended up being built. This unique home sits amongst the buildings known as the Audubon Terrace (Untapped Cities).
Another is a pocket park on Riverside Drive West which mergers into Riverside Drive. What I have found is that when these communities ban together, they can create small, picturesque parks for all the neighbors to enjoy. Their form of community gardening has created a place for seniors and their caregivers to relax and kids to run around in without fears of cars. It is a nice place to sit on a bench and watch the world go by. The start of Riverside Drive off 158th Street and Edward Morgan Place offers another beautiful patch of hilly park space on two levels of stone wall with a staircase in between.
Many people were sitting on the wall chatting away enjoying the day, not noticing the trees still in full form and several brownstones with potted plants and window gardens decorating their fronts. These colorful displays accented the brownstones’ and almost brought the park to the front of their homes. A black cat followed me up the street, my first companion on this walk. After a block, it meowed and walked back down the street.
I walked all the side streets between 158th Street to 164th Street, admiring the pre-war buildings and watching the families outside setting up tables and chairs and talking to their friends and families or just playing dominoes or cards. These folks seriously pay attention to what is going on around them. My walk up and down Riverside Drive will complete this side of Broadway in Washington Heights.
The front of the Hispanic Society Museum at 613 West 155th Street
The main gallery of the museum
I stopped one day to visit the Hispanic Society Museum & Library at 613 West 155th Street (see my reviews on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com) on one of the rare days that it was open. It is a wonderful place to admire Spanish art from different eras. Take time to admire the murals towards the back of the museum and then some of the Medieval art in the middle of the museum.
Hispanic Society Museum & Library in the main gallery
I ended my day with a soda and some freshly fried chicken Pastelitos at La Terraza at 3881 Broadway. This little restaurant displays their selection of entrees in the window. The pastelitos they in big demand as they disappeared quickly from the window display, and I lucked out with ones that just came out of the fryer. They were the best with spicy shredded chicken squirting out with every bite. That with a Coke is a nice way to end the day.
Please read my other blogs on walking Washington Heights. It was a big area to cover:
Day Twelve: Walking West of Broadway to West 170th Street:
mywalkinmanhattan 