i think my MJ references in these titles
are just weird little skips & hops in my brain
due to staying in ABC City
blogger is being weird,
so i had to go ahead and publish
the first part of our trip
& start a new post to finish us out
so....to get back to things!
on this, our sixth day,
we took an amble from our abode
to Chinatown, in search of
good food!
we encountered an intersection
where there appeared to be
a tradition of tossing shoes
over the electrical wires
& lots of good graffiti
 |
| wonder who replenishes the money in this ancient ATM |
i was curious about the rolls of vinyl
(on the right side of photo below)
what are they for?
they seemed too thick for wallpaper
but not quite like flooring
are they tablecloths?
i figured this was a Korean TV station
but google tells me it's a karaoke bar
that is now closed
finally made it to our destination:
Super Taste Restaurant
26 N. Eldridge Street
yum.yum.yum!
hubby found this one,
and it did not disappoint!
reviews told us to try
the homemade fried dumplings,
the hand-pulled noodles,
and the pork bao rolls
(see my reaction below -
they were amazing!!!)
they look uncooked, so i really
didn't know what to expect
& now i don't really know how to
describe them...except want more
tip: get there right as they open so you can snag a table
after filling our bellies,
we wandered generally
towards lower Manhattan
with no particular destination in mind
we happened upon Little Italy
on the way
we decided to head south on Broadway
towards the Battery
& popped into the warm New Amsterdam branch
of the NY Public Library
as libraries are almost as great as
free art museums
in the search for warmth & toilets
(pictured above is the gorgeous
Woolworth Building, which was heavily guarded
so we couldn't get in to see even the lobby)
we stopped in at St. Paul's Chapel,
which is tied to Trinity Church nearby -
and both were respite locations in the
aftermath of 9/11
this church was built in 1766
& is the oldest surviving church building
in Manhattan
 |
| "Here the Wicked cease from troubling and the Weary are at Rest" |
 |
| (William Franklin was the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin) William aligned with the British and fled to England after the Revolutionary War, was disowned by his father, and died there in 1813 (i guess his wife was fortunate to die before all that kerfuffle as she got a very nice epitaph on this memorial) |
graveyard scenes
 |
| a sycamore tree in the graveyard protected St. Paul's Chapel from the flying debris of the Twin Towers' collapse |
 |
| Trinity Episcopal, Wall Street |
truly wandering & checking maps
to see what of interest is nearby
so we popped into Federal Hall
of which i'd been completely unaware
(no history buff am i...)
^ looking up
we went to so many sites that are managed
by our National Park Service
how fortunate we have an entity
that cares for our shared and unique history!
& looking down, where Washington stood
then back outside for a view of the NY Stock Exchange
we thought we'd check out the Smithsonian
(housed in the former
the building was cavernous
and fairly overshadowed
the small exhibitions
 |
| Matlatzinca Fertility Goddess ~ Tejupilco, Mexico ~ 1325-1521 wooden statue depicting fertility and female spirit of nourishment |
we were so close to the water,
we headed for it
largely avoiding the hustlers
offering the last boat of the day
out to the Statue of Liberty
there were fabulous cement slides
in the Battery Park playground
and we were not done with the day yet!
because we had tickets to see
Stereophonic on Broadway!!!
we picked up the subway again
in Greenwich Village
after stopping in at a record store
near where Bob Dylan once lived
(& the street that graced an album cover
featuring Dylan and his then-girlfriend, Suze)
then we headed to the Golden Theatre!
to see the Tony award-winning Stereophonic
which we thoroughly enjoyed
from out usual nosebleed seats!
we were near the person who
controlled the lighting, i think
great cast - still some of the originals from when it
opened & won the Tony awards
the set design was great!
back to ABC City to rest before another day...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
we woke up to SNOW (again)
and this time, it really did the job!
on Christmas Eve, no less
 |
| Tompkins Square Park |
we strolled to our favorite French bakery,
Le Fournil, on nearby Second Avenue
for breakfast of buttery delight
there was a steady line of regular customers,
some of whom ordered in French or with French accents
carrying away their daily baguettes
and special Christmas treats
there was a heated exchange
at one point
between the manager and a man
who must have come in through the kitchen
...all in French...
on our walk back,
a nearby church was open -
so we popped inside
where a woman was busy
placing an array of poinsettias on the altar steps
they had a memorial out front
for their Polish congregants who
perished on 9/11
the remainder was a low key day,
resting in our airbnb
before we headed out to see
 |
| Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree |
 |
| New York City Center auditorium |
we got to see some real classics!
such an awesome evening
phenomenal dancers
what a great end to our trip!
(we flew home on Christmas Day)
until next time, New York!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
