New York fun

Staying with friends in the outer boroughs of NY has provided new experiences and lots of fun. Over the past week we explored Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn; Glendale, Astoria and Flushing in Queens and of course, lots of time in Manhattan. We enjoyed authentic Polish, German, Chinese and Greek food in wonderful mom and pop restaurants and wild food courts. The subjects were gobbled up before any photos.What is Grass Jelly? I don’t know and don’t really want to know!In Manhattan, we visited Hudson Yards, an insane new addition to the skyline, with several buildings still under construction. There are offices, residences and a multi-level super-fancy mall. There is the Little Spain Mercado food and wine area on the basement level with many great tapas choices from every region in Spain. A William Greenberg Desserts awaits on the third level for iconic black and white cookies (or any-color and white).Outside is the Vessel, the landmark symbol for the complex of buildings. There are timed tickets (free) to climb to the top (a great aerobic workout with a view). In the future, I will book online; there was a multi hour wait and we opted to photograph from the bottom.Instead of walking up the Vessel, we walked up Broadway to look at the sculptures of the endangered birds. Outside of several of the upper west side 1 2 3 subway stations, Art in the Parks, the Broadway Mall Association, the Audubon Sculptures Project and Birds on Broadway have jointly sponsored an outdoor art exhibit. This year, artist Nicolas Holibor has created endangered bird sculptures from reclaimed wood. All of the wood used to create the works was locally sourced and all of the birds represented were abundant in the area at one time.

The bike path on the west side is as familiar to me as Central Park. It was great to revisit my go-to exercise routines while smiling at the surroundings I have not seen in a while.Commuting on the subway as a visitor instead of a daily rider provides a different perspective and experience. Across from me today, an interesting selection of footwear for a rainy morning and a celebrity finding the most efficient way to get around. In front of many stores, including designer stores on Madison Avenue, there are people handing out flyers for all sorts of activities and special offers. Just past the cool windows of the Hermes flagship store, I accepted a scratch-off flyer from the Harman electronic store and actually won a pretty fly Yankee hat!The fun continues with a bunch more days filled with friends, shows and food. I❤️NY.