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Posts Tagged ‘Carnegie Hall’

Top Ten Things To Do In New York City During Christmastime 2013

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , on November 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

My previous blog(s) on what to do in New York City during Christmastime have proven to be among my most popular posts.  I’m including links to those two and am adding a few more fun things to do while you are here visiting.  You ARE coming to New York City during Christmas aren’t you?  So much to do, so little time….Top Ten Things To Do in New York City during Christmastime and the  later version: Top Ten Things To Do In New York City During Christmastime UPDATED!

The season really does officially kick off with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade BUT each year retailers move the calendar dates closer to Halloween than Thanksgiving.  Literally I swear Duane Reade was decked out in red bows and candy canes the day AFTER Halloween.

1. ROCKEFELLER CENTER:  There’s so much holiday here that it makes the list every year. NOT only should you go and see the tree and watch  the ice skaters, you should also check out The Top Of The Rock.  With the country facing economic catastrophe and the world between two wars, John D. Rockefeller’s vision for his center never wavered. Rockefeller Center and the observation deck were his gifts to Manhattan- a place for locals and visitors to marvel at the city he loved.  Yo

u can visit this spectacular observation deck during the day or night.  I opted for a night when there was a full moon and all I can say OMG.

What You See

What You See

2. CATHEDRALS and CHURCHES:  Some of New York City’s grandest structures are the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  Among the most accessible are St. Thomas’ on Fifth Avenue and St. Bart’s on Park Ave. Take a moment and visit one or more of these places of worship, you won’t be disappointed.  The peaceful atmosphere (although a bit hectic at St. Patrick’s during Christmastime), the magnificent altars laden with red poinsettias and the glory of their stained glass windows is well worth a drop in. 

English: Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, N...

English: Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City – Shot from the northwest corner facing southeast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. THE HIGHLINE and EATALY:  There are “touristy” things to see and do and there are some that are more so.  Apparently, Eataly has become a  must see, must stop for literally thousands of visitors.  This is the gastronomic retail empire created by Lidia and family and Mario Batali.  Go, see, eat, buy and who knows you might even have a Lidia spotting.  As for the Highline, so many of my friends and relatives take visitors there, I felt I should include it.  It is a 1 mile long linear park elevated above the City and affording fabulous views.  If it’s not freezing or windy when you are here, you might want to walk along this man-made wonder which actually preserved the a scenic path where the former cargo trains ran.  

The Highline Park

The Highline Park

4. CANAL STREET: If you haven’t picked up all your gifts yet, this is the place to go.  You will find a splendiferous display of wares you won’t believe.  Handbags, perfume, gadgets, scarves, hats, gloves, jewelry, more jewelry, watches – you are truly in a shopper’s paradise on Canal Street.

5. MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC:  There are so many venues for holiday music, I couldn’t possibly list them all.  A few highlights to consider are starting December 17th are:

17 — Gotham Holiday Swing, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, Garrison Keillor, Nellie McKay, the Hot Sardines, Jonathan Batiste & the Stay Human Band and others, 8 p.m., Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St. $55-$65. (212) 840-2824 (the-townhall-nyc.org).

17-28 — Michael Feinstein’s Holiday @ Birdland, 8:30 p.m., Birdland Jazz Club, 315 W. 44th St. $75-$200. (212) 581-3080 (birdlandjazz.com).

19-20 — The New York Pops, “Under the Mistletoe with Ashley Brown,” conductor Steven Reineke, Essential Voices USA, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium, Seventh Avenue at 57th Street. $37-$112. (212) 247-7800 (carnegiehall.org).

21 — The New York Pops, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” narrated by John Tartaglia with Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA, choreography by New York Theatre Ballet and actors from TADA! Youth Theater, 2 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium, Seventh Avenue at 57th Street. $75-$400. (212) 903-9734 (carnegiehall.org).

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Where in the World is Pbenjay?

Posted in BY THE WAY, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , on February 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ancient Chinese coin Chinese coins

Ancient Chinese coin Chinese coins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Time certainly flies whether you’re having fun or not!  It’s been quite hectic around here. We have some famiglia stress, I changed companies and that meant moving a ton of “stuff” out of one office and sorting and sifting through it before I moved it to the new office.  Yesterday I spent a couple of hours trying to squeeze the equivalent of 12 clowns into a Volkswagon!  So much so that a couple of people noted that I had a LOT of STUFF on my desk.  Well you know how it is when you create a home away from home!

Actually the move-out was so stressful and time-consuming that I swore I would travel light the next time.  That seems to have gone out the window.  I know I have a lot of things on the desktop and it looks cluttered and that is of course the OPPOSITE of what I was trying to achieve.  I have Feng-Shui‘ed my desk area.  Yes really!  

I checked out my Kua number and what my favorable directions were and which were not.  I moved my computer to an angle so that I am facing it in my best direction.  I have a couple of Chinese coins hanging on red thread on the West wall of the cubicle.  On my left I have round objects and red;  There is a red glass apple (The Big Apple) in the Northwest corner, a picture of a red Phoenix on the west wall along with a tiny pin of a red tomato and a very small pair of Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers ( a pin).  Then on the right side representing water and good luck is a turtle I’ve had for over 35 years. It’s made out of polished stones.  And you need some Chinese coins so I have several piled under the monitor.

OK well now that I am positioned for success, it’s time to put the pedal to the metal. And in fact -I have an exclusive listing on a great apartment which is getting a lot of activity.  Time will tell….Having an Open House this weekend.  I had great hopes for that event but now Mother Nature is sending us a blizzard. I wonder what Feng Shui symbol would counteract a blizzard?

Sometimes I can’t put my mind to rest, clear my head and stay in the moment.  This evening I battled to stay calm and concentrate only on the music.  We had a delightful night at Carnegie Hall listening to the St. Luke’s Orchestra perform pieces by Beethoven, DeBussey, Chopin and Schumann.  The orchestra’s new conductor is terrific and a wonder to watch.  He looks really young to me but he certainly is talented and as I said, watching him did keep me fascinated.  However, I kept catching myself thinking about the  offer, thinking about the family issue all while I’m sitting in the fourth row in Carnegie Hall for God’s sake!  As my husband likes to remind me, “do you know how many people would kill to be sitting in Carnegie Hall right now?”   I know he’s right and every now and then I have to remind myself that what I take for granted is the stuff dreams are made of for a lot people.  

New York City is a treasure trove of experiences;  ok forget the museums, the stores, the landmark buildings – Just an ordinary day can bring you to some of the most fascinating neighborhoods. Today I went to Astor Place, an area on the East border of the Village and the East Village.  I happened to be in the first all glass building down there.  When it was built it looked so out of place, we all hated it. But now, 10 years later, there are several other glass monoliths up or in the stages of completion.  Everything looked like it was always there.  Well, we all know about the changing faces of a city or neighborhood.  And then I went uptown to the East 70’s and world changed again just like a silver Christmas tree changes its look as the color wheel goes round.  And then we ended up in Midtown – Carnegie Hall is on West 57th St between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.  Actually it’s across the street from the monster glass tower, the infamous building with the dangling crane during Hurricane Sandy.

Im glad to be home in my pajamas writing my blog.  Good Night All

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