Every adventure must have a beginning….

…and mine began very early on the morning May 16th with a 2:30 a.m. shuttle ride to the airport in Leon, MX to catch my flight to NYC. I was headed for a short visit with good friends Ira and Diane Goldman which would include dinner with dear friends Trish Hoard and MIchael Rice.

But before I left San Miguel, I had a rather hectic week as I chose to move out of my apartment due to an untenable problem, and in 3 days I packed up and put everything I own in a storage unit. I am basically ‘homeless’ and will spend the next 4-5 months deciding how and where I to live when this adventure concludes. Lots of options, but at this point in time, I cannot see myself returning to the States until there are major changes in the White House.

But back to NYC! I hadn’t been there is so many years. I’m a Chicago-girl – the Midwest’s better and much friendlier answer to NYC. But I must say, I had a truly wonderful day and a half – I ❤️ NY!

I took the bus in from LaGuardia, and Diane and Ira were waiting at the Columbus Circle bus stop for me. Ira grabbed my suitcase and we took the subway to 34th street to meet Trish and Michael for dinner at the Michelin-rated Cafe China. Trish and Michael (who speaks fluent Mandarin) know exactly where in NYC to find the very best ‘gourmet Chinese’ dining experiences, and this place was amazing! When you are the only non-Chinese persons eating in the restaurant, you know you’ve found a truly authentic restaurant!

After dinner, we did a slow walk back to Diane and Ira’s beautiful condo behind LIncoln Center, and I collapsed from complete exhaustion and a very full tummy!

The next morning I awoke to this beautiful view of NYC and a sliver of the Hudson River from the Goldman’s deck.

Ira is the #1 greeter and tour guide at both the Bronx and the Central Park Zoo. This morning he was all dressed in his official uniform and was off to give a tour to a group of small children at the CPZ while Diane and I were headed out to do some last minute shopping and do the one thing I had been looking forward to do for years – walk The Highline!

The Highline is an old railway line that was slated to be demolished but was thankfully saved by some very foresighted locals who saw the potential for a ‘garden in the sky’ that allowed places to sit above the traffic and noise and see NYC from a whole different perspective. We spent several hours walking the entire length and enjoyed the people, the many languages we heard, the art, the view of New York you only see from ‘up there’ and the glorious vegetation, flowers and trees that have been planted and now maintained by a huge cadre of volunteers.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After a nice lunch at the new Hudson Yards, which is centered by ‘The Vessel’ (you can walk around and climb up to the top and enjoy the view of a typical NYC hot dog cart parked below)…

• 

• 

..we headed back to the Goldman’s for nap before a delicious dinner by that great chef, Nacho Goldman. It was soon time for me to hop the subway to Far Rockaway where I would change to the AirTrain that would take me directly into JFK and my 11:57 p.m. flight on XL Airlines to Charles De Gaulle Airport, PARIS!!! It was an easy flight and because of the departure time I managed to sleep most of the way.

So now, until next time from Paris….thanks for stopping by. Questions and comments are always welcomed.