Saturday
Saturday was my friend Molly's 22nd birthday brunch. Molly, Lindsay, Kate, Chelsea, Caitlyn and I took a RamVan into the city and headed towards Alice's Tea Cup, on West 73rd Street. Unfortunately, the place doesn't take reservations and when we inquired at 12:45 pm, the wait was 3 1/2 hours! We decided to look elsewhere around the Upper West (one of my favorite areas! So many adorable brownstones, cafes, and little shops). Someday, someday...
We made it to Josie's West on Amsterdam and 74th. From the outside it appears to be a regular diner, but it's much more than that! It was cozy but roomy inside, with an eclectic vibe that separated it (and raised it a bar above) regular diners. There were lots of little tables and booths, with a variety of customers. Quite a few couples toting small children, as well as single older customers perusing the paper.
Josie's boasts of "healthful and wholesome ingredients," and they deliver. Apparently Josie's is known for it's chef, Louis Lanza, and his organic, dairy-free menu options. (On their website, they also mention their "triple distilled water," but I couldn't taste the difference. Tap is always fine by me!)
We were each served a slice of fresh raisin bread with some sort of delicious cinnamon topping before we placed our orders. Mmmm. I ended up ordering the yummy Veggie Omelette (natural egg omelette filled with grilled portabella mushrooms, fennel, asparagus & natural cheddar or soy American cheese), which also came with fresh fruit. We had a variety of menu options at our table, and everyone was thoroughly satisfied. I had a taste of Kate's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - so good!
I liked the atmosphere of Josie's a lot. There was just enough of a quiet chatter inside, and no rush at all for us to eat or get our bill. Definitely a great place to go for a long relaxing brunch.
After brunch, we stopped by Magnolia Bakery, where Molly got a cupcake, before heading back to LC and the RamVan.
Sunday
Sunday I woke up early and headed into the city via the RamVan. After returning my back-up Halloween costume at Filene's Basement, I hopped on the 1 downtown. Who do I see on the subway on a Sunday afternoon? A Jesuit professor of mine from Fordham! One of my favorite philosophy professors at that. He got off a couple stops down, while I continued all the way to the last stop, South Ferry.
I wanted to go to the tip of Manhattan (which wasn't always there - it's just a landfill. Remember when they found the remains of a boat at the World Trade Center Excavation site? That's why).
After emerging from the station, I walked West, away from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to Battery Park. It was a glorious day out, bright and sunny. I love Battery Park because of all the open land right on the water. There's so many benches everywhere too, among careful landscaping. I sat on one between some purple flowers and watched boats tote the afternoon tourists to and from the Statue of Liberty. Although the boat dock wasn't too far in the distance, I was just far enough away to avoid the noise and crowds.
Quiet and peaceful by the water.
From there I continued walking along the water, past Castle Clinton and the...
... Castle Clinton National Monument.
Posters covering a construction site.
Trees still changing colors.
Looking down from the park's public roof deck.
The park's open lawn and amazing view from the roof deck.
Love all those bare trees lined up.
From the Park I walked along the Esplanade.
Weeping willows in the city!
Skyscrapers a block from garden landscapes.
Jersey beyond.
The Esplanade! So beautiful.
The Esplanade Plaza, with a year round volleyball court.
Looks so out of place in front of all those glass skyscrapers.
"Tall facades of marble and iron proud and passionate city
mettlesome mad extravagant city"
Can you spot it?
Hidden harbor - check out the boys sailing their toy boats!
Statue of Liberty.
Walking along the Esplanade, I came upon something completely out of the ordinary. What could this be?! I could see people standing on the top, and some shrubbery peeking out, but couldn't tell what else was up there. I saw people coming and going from that small entrance underneath, but I decided to walk around the perimeter before venturing in.
View from the "front."
What appeared to be a small pathway zigzagged among grasses and rocks to the top.
Hm. There was no entrance from this side, so I headed back around.
Quotes all along the side of the thing.
Looking in. Once inside, I could hear audio repeating the quotes.
From the top!
Bizarre, but amazing.
Back down on the Esplanade.
After reading a few of the quotes and upon reaching the top, overhearing two people talking with heavy Irish accents, I realized that I had finally visited the Irish Hunger Memorial! It contains stones from each of Ireland's 32 counties, as well as native Irish flora. The quotes that I had been reading "are bands of texts separated by layers of imported Kilkenny limestone. The limestone is more than 300 million years old and contains fossils from the ancient Irish seabed. The text, which combines the history of the Great Famine with contemporary reports on world hunger." For an interesting article about the Memorial, click here.
I really enjoyed this Memorial and will definitely be back.
From the Memorial, I continued walking North along the Esplanade and discovered that I love this area of Manhattan! From the Esplanade you can't even hear the roar of the city. There are small playgrounds, basketball courts, and even a skate park, not to mention all the picnic tables and rolling green lawns. This area really felt like a neighborhood; full of parents and kids, people taking afternoon jogs, and others lounging in the grass.
Turning the corner past River Terrace Walk, I came upon the city again. The Hudson River Greenway runs parallel to West St (9A), so I was walking near streets again. The first pier that I came to seemed to have been built entirely for children. It stretched out into the water and had jungle gyms galore. I could hear small shrieks and screams and could see little bodies tumbling about.
After some researching, I found out that the pier just reopened this November. According to Lower Manhattan Developmental Corporation, the Pier (25) "includes an 18-hole miniature golf course and snack bar, beach volleyball courts, children's playground, town dock and small boat moorings, berthing areas for historic ships, a flexible artificial turf lawn for junior level sports and lounge-chair seating on the far western end of the pier with stunning views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. The adjoining upland section includes a basketball court, a street-course style skate park, lawns, tree bosques seating areas and public restrooms."
Definitely coming back here, especially in the spring and summer!
From Pier 25 I crossed the 9A and walked up Greenwich St to West Houston, then up Varick (which turns into 7th Ave), and pulled a right on 14th until I made it to Union Square!
I was pleasantly surprised by the Holiday Market!
I wandered through the market - there's a lot of cool booths set up this year, including a Stuffed Artisan Cannolis vendor, mmmmm.
After perusing the little shops and sampling all the free chocolate, I took the subway back uptown and ended the night at Columbus Circle, where they just recently strung Christmas lights on the trees and started playing Christmas music at the entrance to the shops:
