A Gorgeous Day!

The gorgeous weather those of you in Missouri are experiencing has reached New York! Today was beautiful. I started the day with several hours at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I wandered around a bit and then found this lovely bench area where I could sit, listen to an audiobook, and work on some knitting.

This is the view of the lake from my comfy bench.

And this is the lake's view of my comfy bench.

Now a bunch of nature pictures from Prospect Park:

The pretty lake

The willow tree in the distance

There's a nice bridge across the water

Leaves

The swans look kind of like the line of kids on the other side

Lily pads!

Somewhat creepy fence in the middle of the woods

My next stop was the library to get my new library card. When I got there I wandered around the area until I found a little place called Mangia Organics. I got this tasty pizzetta with artichokes, roasted tomatoes, and zucchini on whole wheat crust. Yum!

Then I went to the mid-Manhattan Library (the part of the library across the street that's not so intimidating). I checked out one of my old standby mysteries for some mindless reading on the subway. When I left the library I decided it was perfect weather for reading in Central Park. Was it ever! I found a perfect spot in the grass where I could lean against a rock and read. It was lovely. I'm thinking of making that a frequent activity.

When the sun started to set I headed home. It's a little under an hour from the park to my apartment. When I got home it was just getting dark. I stopped at a market and got a few ingredients so I could bake the chocolate chip crunch cookies from my mystery book! I cooked up the leftovers from last night's dinner, finished it off with a couple warm cookies, and spent the rest of the evening in the nook watching Frasier (of course).

Meanwhile at home my cats miss me!

(they're crying on my bed)

I don't like titling: Tuesday

I didn't really know what to do with myself today. The forecast said the temperatures were supposed to be in the 90s, so I wanted to be mostly inside. First I thought I'd go to the Merchant's House Museum (a tour of an old house!), but they're only open Thursday-Saturday (random...). I eventually decided to go back to the Lower East Side. When I walked around there yesterday there were tons of restaurants that looked good, so I wandered around until I found something tempting. I saw Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop on a corner and went in.

I must be on a hummus kick because I chose their "Humongous Hummus" sandwich. It had tons of hummus with roasted red peppers, shredded carrots, lettuce, and tomato on whole grain bread. The shop was small and crowded, so I took my sandwich to Sara D. Roosevelt Park. I sat on a bench in the playground area and watched the kids play in the fountain.

I can't get over the little girl in the blue shirt! She was so cute! The whole half hour or so I was eating lunch she kept filling up her little plastic cup...

and dumping it somewhere else. She mostly dumped it on that pile of leaves you can see in the bottom right corner of the frame.

Eventually, her mom gave her a big bucket and she filled that too!

A family in the fountain.

This kid was playing tag with some other kids and seemed to love sticking his face directly in the spray.

Then I went to The Doughnut Plant (as seen on the Food Network's Throwdown With Bobby Flay). I had this delicious blackberry jam filled doughnut! I also got a refreshing glass of blueberry lemonade. After my tasty dessert I went to the New York Library for the Performing Arts to look around. I need to get my library card soon!

Then I headed home, took a short break, and went to the laundromat. The wash was $4.25 for one load! Yikes! I need more clothes! It was a fun experience. There were tons of families and lots of little kids ran around playing tag. On my way home I stopped at a market and got some groceries for black bean burgers. I also found corn on the cob and pineapple, which completed a delicious meal!

I just came inside from the back roof that the kitchen window leads to. Gilly and I watched the sunset over Manhattan. The weather was perfect and the view was beautiful. I'm going to try for a photo op tomorrow.

Rainy Mondays aren't that bad

Today was long and sticky! I started out trying one route to my internship. It was a little long and I think I'll try another route later in the week. After finding my internship (nestled in Chinatown where you would never expect to find a film company) I explored the area for a bit. I walked by a lot of Chinatown kitsch shops and some other cute stores before taking a break in a park to cool off. The park had a mist fountain, but I couldn't go in with my camera! I had planned on going to the Eldridge Street Synagogue, but I spent a lot more time exploring than I had planned, so I headed back to the Prince St. Station.

A cute family crossing Prince St.

I had to take a picture of Ina for Ryan and Matt. There's a store for her friends in the Hamptons too!

A bike chained to a sign on Prince St.

The next stop was the Essex Street Market where I planned to get lunch. I read that it was a great place for produce, fresh meats, and prepared lunch food. It turns out there's not much in the way of sandwiches and cooked food, so I headed down the street and found a nice place called Flowers Cafe. It was a fun little hippie inspired place with sandwiches, salads, and ice cream! I had this delicious sandwich called The Boardwalk. It was made up of avocado, carrots, red onions (I took those off), tomato, lettuce, and hummus, all on amazing rye bread! While I hadn't planned on it, I had to get a scoop of ice cream:

They were very generous! I haven't had mint chocolate chip in years and it really hit the spot.

The weather forecast called for afternoon rain, so this morning I decided to buy a movie ticket. I picked a film called Scandal Makers (synopsis & review here), which was part of the Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center. On my way, I saw this cool shot of a woman with her massage chair waiting for the train!

This was a random woman playing a song on one of the Sing for Hope pianos (info). This was one of two I saw a the Lincoln Center. The other pianist was a little boy!

When I got out of the movie the ground was wet and I had completely missed the rain! I thought I would make black bean burgers for dinner, so I headed to Trader Joe's to shop (thanks to Matt for telling me where it was). I walked about 20 of the 40+ blocks and then decided to take the subway the next 20 (the rain only made the air incredibly sticky). The walk was nice and it gave me a quick glance at the lights of Times Square, but the lure of an air conditioned subway car was too strong. When I got to TJ's the windows were papered up and, peeking through the holes I could see a group of people in Hawaiian shirts having a meeting. It must be a new one! At that point I was too tired to go to the other one and decided to head home. I stopped at a bodega on my walk back to the apartment and got some rice and black beans to cook. I got back just before dark and had a nice dinner.

I know I promised to take pictures of the rest of the apartment, but I haven't finished. Here's the nook (it's a room, not the Barnes and Noble e-reader). It is attached to my room and offers a nice view of the street outside. It's a great place to watch the kids play or see the ice cream truck drive by!

Sunday in the Park

Today I visited Sunset Park, my neighborhood’s namesake. It’s not even a block away from my apartment! The park is full of a mix of people who represent the diversity of the neighborhood.

This post is going to be all about the pictures:

There were a lot of different Asian activities going on this morning. This was some sort of kung fu type thing, I think. Those are swords they're holding!

There were a lot of Asian people at the park today. The part of Sunset Park where I live is mostly a Latino area, but the Brooklyn's Chinatown is close by in Sunset Park. This little kid is so cute!

This was one of about three dancing sessions going on in the park. I'm not sure if they were lessons or just for fun, but they all seemed to be having a blast!

There were several different kinds of dance going on in this group. These people were probably the best of the couples dancing.

I wasn't sure if they would mind me taking pictures, so I tried to be inconspicuous. Eventually, I decided to go around to the front side of the group to get a good shot and no one yelled at me!

This guy was talking on his phone and looked super happy!

A cute mother and little boy waiting for the pool to open. I left before it did, but apparently it's insanely crowded during the summer. It's public and free and with today's sticky air I don't blame them for rushing for the cool water!

The people on the basketball courts didn't seem as pleased to have me take their pictures. I got a few of some guys playing and then one of the little boys asked me why I was taking pictures, so I left their court, took a couple more quick pictures, and left! I really like this one.

These cute little kids were filling their pails at the water fountain. Very cute!

A guy walking his dog. That's about it... I wonder what it's sniffing.

This is my new friend Mary! She saw me taking the last picture and asked what I was doing. I told her and showed her a couple pictures. Then she continued to tell me about how she told Father Kevin to make today's service short and sweet so she could go home and put shorts on. The she told me several other stories that all included "and I say to him..." "and he says to me". The she told me to take her picture, which I did (only after she took her glasses off). Then she told me I have to make a copy for her and give it to her if I see her in the park sometime. I think I'll do that and look for her next Sunday.

This is 44th street across from the park. My apartment is about a block down that hill.

Cute fire escape on 44th!

After exploring my neighborhood a bit I had a nice 20 block stroll to Green-Wood Cemetery. It's huge! There are supposed to be maps at the entrance (Leonard Bernstein is buried there!), but I couldn't find them. I'd like to go back at some point. It's really beautiful. The huge sign at the entrance says photography is not allowed, but I couldn't resist this gorgeous shot!

After the cemetery I took a different 20 blocks back to my apartment, making a quick stop at Key Foods on the corner for lunch. I spent the hottest part of the afternoon inside sitting in front of the fan and planning my week. Then I went out for dinner. I planned to go to a rice bowl place in Manhattan, but when I got there they were closed for renovation. I decided to walk around the area to find something else and on my way I saw some "joke" or something in the form of 100+ guys on motorcycles riding between cars and on the sidewalks. I'm still not sure what it was.

I ended up at a "fresh" mexican restaurant called Lime Jungle.

The service was a little weird since they didn't have the two waitresses/hostesses assigned to certain tables, but they were friendly. Most importantly, the food was quite good. I got a veggie quesadilla that had cheese, grilled peppers and onions, and, most importantly, black beans!

It wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever had, but it really hit the spot tonight. I had a nice uneventful ride home and I'm ready to relax and get ready for tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll hit up the Museum of TV and Radio...

First Evening in New York

After a smooth day of travel it was wonderful to get to my apartment in Brooklyn. I walked around the neighborhood with my new roommate Gilly. She made a nice meal for me and I think we'll get along very well. I'm all unpacked now! I've posted a few pictures of my room. It's getting dark, so I'll take pictures of the rest of the apartment tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a day of exploration!

~Alie

Bookshelf with all of my stuff

Funky Ikea Dresser/Closet Pod!

Futon/Bed and cool lamp

Corner (that's a radiator in the corner)

The whole thing: small, but perfect

Finally, my first picture with my new camera is my adorable cat Olive. Unrelated to New York, but still highly cute!