Azaleas

The star of our botanical garden visits has been the vibrant azaleas. 

walking around

On Wednesday, it rained, so we stocked up on cheese, sausages, and duck rillettes and delicious Vista Hermosa totopos at Foster Sundry. I am reading Tom and Lorenzo's book Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul's Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life. Lunch was cheese, fruit, and charcuterie, and dinner was ratatouille and sausages. We took a beer up to the roof for a view of the skyline of Manhattan. Since it had rained earlier, the view was rather hazy but still striking.  

Thursday was sunny so we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded.

Next, we strolled over to Chinatown  and got dim sum at Mei Lai Wah-- roasted pork buns, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, shrimp dumplings, a pork and pineapple bun and a coconut cream bun--all delicious!  We walked a block over to Columbus Park and sat near the older Chinese women playing cards and the men playing their own game. Next we just wandered around Little Italy until my feet told me it was time to go home. Even though I've been walking two and half miles a day for months, walking for four hours straight is a lot for me.

After a lie-down, we found a hardware store where we could get a few items for the  new apartment, and then had drinks at Maite's near Maria Hernández Park. The neighborhood dog and people-watching was a treat.

Today we are going to visit the Poster Museum in Manhattan, then check out the Chelsea Market and the Mercado Little Spain, and walk the High Line in-between them. We love the High Line! This little video has fascinating images, both from when it was a working railroad line and from when it was abandoned and became overgrown with vegetation:

Brooklyn Botanic Garden excursion

 Yesterday we had our excursion to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was marvelous! we tramped throughout the whole entire place; my friend checker her tracker app and said we had walked three miles. Highlights of new blooms were the lilacs, tree peonies, bluebells, azaleas, and wisteria. The colors of the azaleas are amazing:

The cherry trees had leafed out so the blossoms weren't as visible, but they were still floating down around us. I especially enjoyed the people watching--lots of small children. After, we got soft serve at a Mister Frostee truck in front of the Brooklyn Museum's OY/YO sign.

In the morning, we had a fabulous brunch at Chavela's in Crown Heights: a guarache with beans and pork and two perfectly fried eggs and torrejas with fruit compote and panela. We ate outside in a lovely booth area surrounded by plants. This is what it looked like pre-lockdown:

trip to New York!

I am about to go get my second dose of the vaccine! Yesterday I bought a ticket to New York to visit my daughter in Brooklyn. I had bought a ticket to visit her in March of 2020, so I'm thrilled to finally get to see her new apartment, her studio, and her neighborhood. There are so many things we want to do together; even with pandemic restrictions, we'll be busy. We each are making a wish list. Here are ten things I want to do that I haven't been able to do on all my previous trips to New York:

1. Ride the Staten Island ferry and maybe visit the Botanical Gardens at Snug Harbor

2. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

3. See the Yayoi Kusama show at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.

4. Do a walking tour of the Bushwick street art.

5. See the formal Conservatory Garden at the North End of Central Park and walk the length of the park.

6. Check out chef José Andrés' Little Spain market, in the Hudson Yards under the High Line.

7.  check out tacos from Los Hermanos and try out some of the Mexican food here or here in Bushwick.

8. maybe we could try this bakery crawl (although we might keel over) or we could try a different one every day.

9. view the Statue of Liberty from the gardens in Battery Park.

10. traipse around the Green-Wood Cemetary.