Yes, we made it home.  But I thought you might enjoy some New York MUSICA and a few big city scenes before we go back to small world reality.

We caught the Island Home for our return trip on the MOST beautiful day.  I must say, the weather for our whole trip was brilliant!  Cool enough for a sweater, warm enough for basking.

Here we are tooling along, we’ve just turned out of the city onto the FDR Drive going north past the east river toward Connecticut.

Lots of I-95, the Connecticut Turnpike is very very ugly, which I’ve always found hard to understand because Connecticut is so beautiful, how did they let this hideous road run right along next to the shore???  I don’t know! (venting time)  But since Joe was born and raised in Connecticut he has this other “secret” road to take us on instead.  It’s not a very big secret, and it’s not a very big road, it’s called the Merritt Parkway.

It’s famous for the beautiful bridges and overpasses built beginning in the 1930’s. Each one is designed in a different architectural style, all designed by the same person, and all built by the WPA — which it would be nice if we had again!  This country got some of it’s prettiest roads and buildings because of the WPA.

 My favorite part about the bridges on the Merritt Parkway is that they are all too low for trucks. Wizardry in bridge building is what I call it. Hence, no trucks on this road!

It’s so civilized, 37 miles of just-beautiful ~ it’s actually in the National Register of Historic Places!

Like a street in Central Park.

That’s not to say there is no “nature” in The City.  Just the opposite.  Besides the miracle that is Central Park where the city goes to drink in the trees and the sky and have picnics and play ball and run and walk, we had our own little miracle of nature ~ Joe took this picture of a dragonfly that landed just over our head where we were sitting at the time on the 16th floor of our hotel (the Affinia Shelburne, at Lexington and 37th, BTW). That is some wandering dragonfly.

See the string of lights?  That’s where the dragon fly alighted.  This is the top floor of our hotel, where, on beautiful evenings like this one . . .

They serve cocktails in this “room” with a view.

Joe loved it up here and so did I. Next time we want to bring our binoculars!

From our stools we could feel the breeze (remember, we are still on an island) and look off in all directions, and down onto “roof gardens” such as this one.  These people must have worked late or were out of town, because no one in their right mind would have been indoors on an evening like this if they could have helped themselves.

Just across from our rooftop was this interesting old building, with open roof and arched windows and green growing up inside the walls and lots of people inside celebrating TGIF.

Even though we’re on the 16th floor, we had to look up at these two.  It’s so wonderful to see the old architecture alongside the new.

Even more interesting when the sun goes down and the lights begin to come on.

And of course, right from our stools we could see the Empire State Building, all lit up.  Green this time.  The building lights up in all colors depending on the event being celebrated at the time.

 Green was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Police Athletic League, but they change it for the Fourth of July, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, for almost any celebration imaginable.

Saturday we had lunch in this wonderful French restaurant called  Les Halles (pronounced Lay Ahl).

The food was wonderful!!!  I had a Salad Niçoise and Joe had Steak au Poivre and both could not have been more delicious.  

We took the whole day off.

After lunch we hopped into a taxi and went to . . .

One of my favorite stores in New York called ABC Home ~  which is seven stories of gloriosity ~ everything you need to help you remember what a wondrous world this is. 

It’s like a museum because everything is so artsy and special and one-of-a-kindish, but better than a museum because if you see something you simply can-not live without, you don’t have to just cry inside, you can buy it!

They have beaded horses, elephants and lions, which I know everyone needs.  But that’s not the point, the point for me at ABC Home is looking and ooohing and aaaahing and taking pictures, and these fanciful colorful creatures are perfect for that!  I may not need them, but I still think they are wonderful and appreciate the creativity that made them.

Everything is artistically and carefully arranged. Someone really cares about the details in this store. This lamp is so fun, little pricks of light come out of it as you move around it.  The copper pots?  Yes, I know.

They even make timers, whisks, and potato mashers look good.

There’s all kinds of beautiful bedding and towels, a whole floor of it, and lovely fluttery curtains too.

And every so often, for no reason except to pleasure the eye of the beholder, eye candy like this.  They are real roses and smelled wonderful. The eye and the nose were pleasured to the nth.

Vintage dinnerware!  Silver candle sticks and serving pieces.  They have kept away from the dull, the humdrum and the mundane.

It’s anything but. They had antique and new drinking glasses in every color, some of them paper thin.  See the ceiling? The whole building is in an old warehouse.

They believe in art . . . these little salts! Everything is so different.

And if you need a wooden-handled pestle and mortar or a sparkly carafe, you have come to the right place.

Lots of furniture too, in all styles, sofas and chairs, everything . . . useful and original too, like this cart on wheels.

Yes, they have a baby department that is truly hard to get out of.

I just wished I could squeeze into one of these little girl dresses!  I would take the one with the big red polka dots.

Of course, they have the dinosaur division.

I know you want to know what we bought.  The only thing I needed was to fill up with inspiration and beauty and there was plenty of that.  I just so enjoyed looking at everything and taking pictures.  The jewelry was made by designers, it was delicate and just gorgeous ~ I could never have chosen just one thing.  But, this ↑ is what I bought.  It’s for asparagus and pasta among other things and we needed it.  Did I tell you I am pretty practical (not very practical, but pretty practical)?  Unless I need it, or I can’t live without it, I try not to buy it.

But I needed this hipster charcoal onesie and could not go home without it ~ for our new baby boy (my great nephew) Xavier.  The pottery X has a hole in the back; it can be hung on the wall.  A cool hip New York baby outfit for my Central Coast of California Baby is on it’s way.

We had drinks at King Cole Room, at the St. Regis Hotel, a place we accidentally discovered one lovely rainy night many years back when we could not find a cab.  We’ve always come back to see the amazing Maxfield Parrish Mural over the bar.

We spent the morning at The Morgan Library and Museum.  Saw lots of paintings of romantic landscapes and other amazing and beautiful things ~ such as this.  This IS George Washington!  This life mask was molded right on his face in 1785 and the miracle is now we could stand in front of it and take a picture of it. That’s George Washington!  Can you believe it!?

One of the ceilings in Morgan Library.  Talk about filling your inspiration cup . . . there is nothing like beauty and history and . . .

the music of the night.

Mas Musica? Cuz we’re goin’ home . . .

And here we are on the boat, heading home . . . passing our sister ship . . . skirting Old Cape Cod . . .

The light was especially beautiful as we drew closer to the island and the sun was getting low.

Here we are arriving into the harbor.  You can tell the season has changed, the sailboats are coming back!  (They put them away during the winter and the harbor is empty. Sailboats with flags flying are a harbinger of the summer season.)

Yes, we had our people waiting for us.  As we are emptying the car, they watch.  They were adorable, wriggling around on the floor to be petted, which we did happily.  Elizabeth and Diana took such good care of them.  While unpacking, we turned around in time to see the moon coming up . . .

The next morning, Sunday, real life, we walked along quiet shady streets over to Elizabeth’s new house because they were having a yard sale in her driveway.  From left, that’s Daisy, she’s the darling daughter of Mimi holding the whale, then Amy in the stripes, I’m behind Amy, then Diana, and up front, that’s Elizabeth.  Elizabeth’s new house is on the left.

We walked downtown to have breakfast at the Waterside Market . . . then we window-shopped up Main Street.  I heard Mimi say, “Hey isn’t that your house?”  And I looked in the window, and by gum, yes it is!  Someone had painted it and the painting was for sale in the window of this gallery!  Pretty good eh? We thought so!

So then we went back home.  And put the flag away until Independence Day, once again making ourselves incognito.

And played with Jack, watered the garden, did laundry, made tea, and sat down to write to you.

 

And here we are, ready to begin life again.  Only twelve days from today and we go back out to Connecticut to Gladys Taber’s House!  Can’t believe it!  And the next time I post, it will be the celebration for our three years of blogging, five years of Facebook with fun giveaways for my Girlfriends!

 Hope you enjoyed New York!  It’s always fun to have you along.  ‘Course I think of you with every click of the camera!  Rabbit-Rabbit Girlfriends.  Happy June! XOXO