3 bloggers

Lucky me! I spent most of the day Sunday
with fellow bloggers Bibi, from Belgrade,
and Lily Hydrangea, and Bibi's friend
(and blogger-to-be) Marianne—who took
this shot of the 3 of us. Here we are
on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade,
admiring the best view of downtown
Manhattan. For sure, one of the things
I love most about blogging is getting to
meet some truly wonderful people!

Gay Pride Parade

The parade was yesterday, and this year
is also the 40th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots. The guy on the float?
Hey, if I had a body like that, I'd be
proud too. As for the others, I'll just
say that anything goes on this day.
(That's the elbow of my new BFF,
Officer Nunez—it's in most of my
parade pix.)

Imagine . . . freedom

Let me add my voice to those of others all over
the world today: Where is our blogger?
Here's hoping that YOUR voice will be heard
loud and clear again, Amir. In the words of John
Lennon, "You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm
not the only one."

chill out

These little kids are keeping cool in
the newly renovated fountain in
Washington Square Park.

Skywatch Friday

Took this of the Mediterranean from one
of the hiking trails in the Cinque Terre,
in Italy. The not-too-tough trail got
treacherous when the skies finally
opened up—those rocks are definitely
slippery when wet!

the great lawn

Just your typical summer afternoon in
Central Park—and I always wonder why
all these people aren't at work or school.
This was the site of this 1981 event,
among others—not all in great weather.

abc wednesday - W is for "wedding"

This is Joe and Giovanna. I don't know them,
but they got married somewhat publicly in
the garden a couple of weeks ago. So I
parked myself in the rose bushes with my
camera, all the while thinking "abc Wednesday,
W is for wedding."

Surf's up!

We've been having some seriously lousy
weather around here. But these surfer
chicks out in Montauk were undeterred.
Neither fog nor rain nor cold cold water . . .

The High Line

Check out New York's newest green space.
For once, instead of tearing something
down and building yet more unaffordable
condos and coops, this great old elevated
railway has been saved and turned into a
wonderful planted walkway. Love it!

art in the garden

What a lovely way to spend a beautiful
summer Saturday. Although capturing
the roses with a camera wasn't exactly
unpleasant either!

windows

Dial-switching brought me to the movie
"Kate and Leopold," which naturally made
me think of the Brooklyn Bridge. Here's
a slightly different view (and one that can
only be taken from a car, hence the shaky
composition). And no, I have no idea what
this space under the bridge was originally
used for. Any guesses?

Skywatch Friday

Been spending WAY too much time
at the Apple store on 5th Ave. Took
this when I went to pick up my laptop,
which was getting its 3rd new hard drive!
It's a cool place though, and I love the
"glass" staircase.

Weehawken Street

I've always been fascinated by this house,
not your typical NYC dwelling! It's in the
far West Village, near the Hudson River.
Recently learned that the ancestors of
friends of mine came here in the early
1800s and set up a business on this
street (unloading ships and delivering
the goods). I think this may have been
part of their property—and wonder if
they put up this sign. (Maybe not, but
I know it's been there for at least 30
or 40 years!)

abc wednesday - V is for "violin"

Here's a twist on your typical subway
musician. Instead of playing himself,
he was teaching others to play (no
mean feat, I should think). My train
took long enough to arrive that I was
able to hear both of them play. The
guy was pretty good!

water lily

They're in bloom at the garden, and I've
taken lots of pictures of them. Most are
fully opened, floating on the surface of
the pond and very colorful, but for
some reason, this is the one that just
completely blew me away.

the narrowest house . . .

. . . in New York City. This 9 1/2-ft.-wide building
is 75 1/2 Bedford Street, in Greenwich Village.
Edna St. Vincent Millay lived here in the '20s. Other
tenants included cartoonist William Steig, his wife,
and her sister, Margaret Mead, who all lived there
together in the '30s, and John Barrymore and Cary
Grant (no, not together). But which one left that
bike parked out front?

One year old!

This is the 1st anniversary of my little
blog! So I'm hoisting this glass of bubbly
and toasting all of the lovely new friends
I've made. Thank you for commenting
and making my day. I'm inordinately
fond of all of you! And a special merci
to Eric and PDP—my inspiration always.

guess the borough

Do you know where this was taken (by my
friend Lisa, btw)? A lot of people picture this
when they think of this part of the city. Now
do you know?
(I will be sadly sans Internet until at least Sunday
afternoon. See you then.)

Skywatch Friday

A storm was brewing above the Pantheon in Paris, 
creating that beautiful mix of darkness and light.

where's my bread?

This place had been a Soho institution since the '20s.

Vesuvio has actually been closed for a while. When

the original owner died, his family took over. They

expanded the business and made super sandwiches.

Unfortunately, the health department had some

serious issues with the way they kept the place

(though I'm sure the local rats were thrilled). 

This painting by Christopher Oakley shows 

how it looked originally, when it was 

just the best bakery south of Houston Street.

abc wednesday - U is for "umbrella"

A rainy day in Rome:  In this crowd

at the foot of the Spanish Steps, taking

photos of each other and Bernini's Fontana

della Barcaccia in the Piazza di Spagna, I

count nine pinwheel-design umbrellas.

Do you suppose they were all 

staying at the same hotel?

art or vandalism?

Saw this on LaGuardia Place in the Village.

Since it's right outside this beautiful community

garden, my best guess is that one of the

gardeners decided to turn some poor biker's

misfortune into an artistic statement.

What do you think?

of all the trees . . .

. . . that grow in Brooklyn, this particular weeping beech 

is my absolute fave. In fact, I've shown it to you before.

score!

Came upon this friendly Saturday afternoon
roller-hockey game at the Bleecker Street
playground.  (To score in this game you
have to knock the puck into a turned-over
garbage can.)  After watching for a few minutes
(oh, okay, it might have been longer than that)
I began to wonder what he looked like 
under all that bulky clothing.

vinyl

Followed the sign on the sidewalk . . .

to this stoop sale (one of many these days)
in the neighborhood.  They had some good 
stuff, but I resisted.  Still have all my records, 
but unfortunately I no longer have a turntable!
How about you?

skywatch Friday

Took this one from daughter Katie's

terrace, right on Flatbush Avenue in

the heart of good ol' Brooklyn.

alwyn court

That's the name of this building at
the corner of 58th Street and 7th Ave.
The terra-cotta detailing on the facade
is amazing.  (In fact, it would make a
great painting.)  This place used to have
huge (14 room) apartments; of course,
now the interior has been renovated
and the building is a coop.  I can remember
when the facade was almost black, but
it got a cleanup job too, and I am glad
about that.

abc wednesday - T is for "tattoo"

Someone asked for it (Shell, I believe),

so here it is:  my one and only 

mid-life-crisis tattoo.

power to the pedestrians

Took this last Monday, Memorial Day (in the same spot as 
yesterday's photo), as everyone was trying to get used to
the idea of this stretch of Broadway (42nd to 47th Streets) 
now being a pedestrian mall.  It's not exactly Piazza Navona, 
and the area could use a few classy outdoor cafes to replace 
all the schlocky souvenir emporiums—but everyone seemed 
to be enjoying this space where formerly you could barely
walk down the sidewalk, and the taxis would just as soon mow 
you down as pick you up.  Hey, it's a start.

ahoy there

Last week was Fleet Week here, and we've
been seeing sailors all over town.  These 
guys in Times Square were probably 
hoping for some of this action!