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new york city, april 2004 [page 3 of 4]
the closest to the plaza hotel i will get until i land some sort of major book deal.
grand army plaza at the east 59th street entrance to central park.
one of the dozens of horses awaiting the signal to giddyap and begin a carriage ride around the park. l.q.t. and i provided voices for them, inspired by the thought that perhaps their old pals from the farm were sad to find their buddies were in service in the mean city of new york. (eg. "ah, man, i ended up here hauling this buggy while you guys are all happy on the farm.")
signs of spring at the pond, south east side of central park.
l.q.t. takes the time to smell the flowers. turns out they don't have much of a scent. (i can't for the life of me think of what these flowers are called, but i know we had tons of them in my old backyard in vancouver.)
looking south at the base of central park.
outside of the dairy in central park. inside is the information office and the gift shop. years ago this was a creamery serving milk to children.
on board a couple of stallions on the carousel.
l.q.t. caught up in the merry-go-round whirl.
the fence around the carousel was so whimsical with its tiny horses.
unfortunately we only had the time and energy to explore maybe one tenth of the park, and exited here at the south west side on 59th street, heading towards columbus circle and back to our hotel to rest up.
we met the ever-lovely dahl at nearby gabriela's for some delicious mexican food and a few rounds of margaritas. we missed meeting up with the overwhelmed fish, but caught up with her over drinks a couple of nights later. our dinner, drinks and chat ended up being well over three hours! what fun!
inspired by former-new york blogger rachelle b, we opted to eat at the blue ribbon bakery on downing street in greenwich village. we'd hoped for a late breakfast, but settled for lunches of sandwiches on quite possibly the best bread i've ever had.
in the basement of the blue ribbon bakery; first the bakery itself, and to its rear the kitchen. the downstairs also boasts additonal seating and a darker version of the cozy brick, slate and hardwood ambience. i scared the bejesus out of this employee when i took this photo. "mercy!" she exclaimed.
walking the criss-cross streets of greenwich village, where chess is a popular passtime. this is one segment of a larger group of storefront windows featuring various themed chess sets.
the famous arch and fountain in washington square park. we delighted in revealing to native new yorkers the fact that it was once a potter's field, and now over 10,000 bodies remain buried beneath the park. workers who are improving the park currently may not move any bones they come across while doing construction. shortly after the burials the park became a gentrified cultural hub, as depicted in the works of henry james, edith wharton and more.
at the northwest corner of the park stands a massive english elm, known now as "the hanging tree", as in the park's earlier incarnation it was used to hang folks.
after a long tromp through the village we unwound over martinis at the fat black pussycat. i've got a coffee martini, and l.q.t. has herself a fat black martini.
l.q.t. winks to signal the ingenuity of the pussycat's phenomenal happy hour.
my second martini was the cherry bomb. we told the bartender, liam, that these drinks were creepers, because they went down sweet as candy and then hit you hard later.
an actual fat black pussycat grins from high above the main room in the corner. he knows there's a good thing goin' on in there! |
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