Today, we took a trip on the subway into "The City" and had the great joy of getting together with our friends Cesar and Daisy. We arranged to meet at Grand Central Station, where they arrived on the commuter rail from Connecticut, and we then walked from 42nd to 57th Street just past Carnegie Hall for lunch at The Brooklyn Diner. This was the coldest day of the year so far here in New York, so it was a long and chilly walk in the best company we could ever want. Cesar and Daisy are both native New Yorkers who have lived in Connecticut for a very long time. We became friends in the '80s when San Geraldo and Cesar both worked at the Yale Libraries.
On our way out of Grand Central, Cesar led San Geraldo to an UP escalator while Daisy was leading me straight through the building. (After 9/11, the lower level had been closed off and Cesar didn't realize we could once again cut through.) Daisy couldn't get their attention until Cesar was on the first step of the escalator. He quickly jumped off. San Geraldo was already well on his way. He debated running down the UP but blessedly decided against it. When he got to the top, he made a dramatic crossing to the DOWN escalators. The last time we were there, Cesar led us (correctly that time) up the escalator; Daisy turned and led us back down, and then led us back up again. We get a lot of odd looks.
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SAN GERALDO DOING HIS EVITA IMPERSONATION.
(CLICK TO SEE HIM IN ALL HIS GRANDEUR.) |
It was 17F (minus 8C) when Cesar and Daisy left Connecticut in the morning; 45F (7C) in the city didn't seem so bad to them. I found it a bit raw, so you can imagine what San Geraldo was like. He wore long underwear, a T-shirt, sweater, hooded sweatshirt, and hooded winter coat. He used
both hoods and complained that his feet were cold.
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| SAN GERALDO AS WE HEADED INTO THE "BITTER COLD." |
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| YOU CAN SEE HOW COLD CESAR FOUND IT. (HE WORE GLOVES WITH HIS SWEATER.) |
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DAISY, DOING HER VERSION OF EVITA (OR THE VIRGIN MARY?), AS SHE REACTS TO SAN GERALDO'S GET-UP.
(HE HAD JUST PULLED UP HIS PANTS LEG TO REVEAL HIS LONG UNDERWEAR.) |
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| SAN GERALDO WASN'T THE ONLY ONE "IN THE HOOD." |
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| "BROOKLYN DINER.... THE FINER DINER." REALLY GREAT FOOD. MANHATTAN PRICES. |
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| HEADING INSIDE. |
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| UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS BROOKLYN LAGER. |
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| INSIDE (THE CHILLY RESTAURANT) AND DOWN TO ONLY ONE HOOD. WHAT A MAN! |
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| ACROSS THE STREET, THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE. |
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| THE 7TH AVENUE SIDE OF CARNEGIE HALL, SURROUNDED BY SCAFFOLDING. |
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TRACK REPAIRS REQUIRED US TO CHANGE TRAINS AT KINGS HIGHWAY.
JUST BEFORE NANOOK OF THE NORTH (AKA SAN GERALDO) PROMISED
TO NEVER AGAIN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COLD OF FUENGIROLA. |
Wow! Such fun to see photos of New York! Are you serious that it was 17°F in the morning!?!?!? (Well, it was a ridiculous 21° F here... somehow, 17 seems WAY colder).
ReplyDeleteHow nice for all of you to be able to get together :)))
Judeet:
DeleteBut that 17° was in Connecticut. We were in the 30s at the start of the New York day... and still complaining. According to Accuweather, a "dramatic weekend warmup" is on its way; we fly home Friday! Daisy and Cesar are two of the most wonderful people I've ever known. Always uplifting to spend time with them.
I have only been to New York once. It was Christmas time and I was never so cold in my life! I thought I was going to die and so AGA and I spent the coldest day shopping but passed it off as necessary for our survival.
ReplyDeleteKirk
PS
I ticked 'cool' on your reactions as there was not a 'cold' one to choose...
Kirk:
DeleteGood to know what you meant by "cool." New York at Christmas, on a not-cold day, is so much fun. But the city on a cold winter day or a hot summer one... hard to take. Shopping is the only solution.
Great shots! It's been a long time since I was in NYC. I'm loving the pictures! And, Isn't San Geraldo from North Dakota? Perhaps "from" is the operative word. ;)
ReplyDeleteWalt the Fourth:
DeleteSan Geraldo is from South Dakota (one should never confuse the two)! And, yes, he grew up there and then he LEFT. But apparently he was never very cold-tolerant. All he took away from his wintery childhood was a permanent chill and the ability to expertly drive in snow.
Oh, please forgive. Ken's from North Carolina, so I know how sensitive one can be about not confusing. No one ever accused me from being from Old York, by the way. ;)
DeleteWalt the Fourth:
DeleteIt is so funny witnessing how sensitive those residents of similarly named states can be. (Of course, no one had better ever suggest I grew up in New Jersey!)
S.G. looks as if he's just escaped from the asylum - though I suppose in those unfamiliar (to him) weather conditions most people would. And Winter has hardly started to throw its worst at NY yet.
ReplyDeleteDidn't the two of you want to tap dance down 42nd Street? Perhaps the reputation of the location has long since outlived the reality.
Raybeard:
Delete42nd Street is very upscale now (for better and worse... huge high-end -- expensive -- brand-name retail all along the way, but at Broadway, beautiful and exhilarating). They cleaned it up after I left. But, yeah, I still sing the song in my head whenever I'm there. San Geraldo quite often looks like an escapee, doesn't he?
Helloooo my darling. Look what happens, I come back from the USA just as you arrive! I have some reading to catch up on :-) I can feel that cold, a shock to the system for you coming from Spain. We experienced the whole range of temperatures, freezing in Colorado and 80 degrees in Vegas - what a country!
ReplyDeleteHave a great time honey.
Di
xoxoxo
Di:
DeleteYour trip looked really wonderful. Ah, Vegas. We lived there for two years. A dangerous place to let San Geraldo loose! We're sitting at Starbuck's after our frigid (36F/2C) 10-minute walk!
Damn adults behaving like kids and playing on escalators. I would have called security.
ReplyDeleteSo is Manhattan prices a good thing?
Andrew:
DeleteWe'll never grow up (and I'm so glad). Manhattan prices have never been a good thing. Lunch for four at a "diner"? $174... before the 20% tip!
Diners in Manhattan are certainly more upscale than the ones here in the Midwest, where the term 'greasy spoon' is more than apt....Love the photos, I would have been bundled up with SG, not a tough bone in this body!
ReplyDeleteIt hit 18 F here Tuesday night. I built a lovely fire and sipped coffee as I typed.
Jacquelineand....
DeleteSan Geraldo would have happily sat right next to you by the fire! I'll be doing a post of a Brooklyn diner and the huge servings. But no greasy spoon. I remember those!
Don't forget... if you get hungry for Spain, you can eat at the Lizarran in Rockefeller Center ;-)
ReplyDeleteSharon:
DeleteThat was our only chance and we walked up Madison, so never even passed Rockefeller Center. But that's OK, I look forward to sitting out on a restaurant terrace in Fuengirola enjoying some Spanish food.
I thought Jerri was from Minnesota, or someplace nearby with similar cold. How quickly we forget!
ReplyDeleteKristi:
DeleteSouth Dakota. But, he "was from" is the operative phrase. He was never good at it and he left 40 years ago!
Love the pictures; love New York!
ReplyDeleteAnd Carlos would be as layered, and multi-layered as San Geraldo.
And Brooklyn Lager is yummy.
AND it was 19 degrees in Smallville today! Oy!
Bob:
Delete19 degrees. UGH!!! We haven't hit freezing during our visit and it's still too cold for us. Can't wait for the winter warmth of Southern Spain. I'll take one of those frigid 50-degree winter days any time!
Great company, great diner, great 'get-up' on Jerry! Glad it wasn't February in NYC!
ReplyDeleteJim:
DeleteCold and windy this morning and now, finally, it's getting a bit milder. Tomorrow (when we leave) should be beautiful. San Geraldo will be down to ONE hood!
New York looks exciting as always but you two are probably better off in sunny Spain. Will the DD ever visit you there?
ReplyDeleteStephen:
DeleteSo much happier in Southern Spain, but do love seeing NYC and the Duchess and the Kid Brother. Too much of a trek for the Duchess given the lack of non-stop flights. So, she'll make do with our visits. Fortunately, she's been here on her own, so is familiar with much of what I share.