I Go Out Walkin'

Just a little view of the leisurely time people were having in the park last weekend. What a wonderful place to take a stroll, jog, bike ride, etc.

Taking a Stroll...

Just a nice little clip from Central Park last Monday. There were a lot of people out walking, biking, running and the whole place was just alive.

Postcards In Honor of Britain

So Prince Harry is visiting New York City and I thought that I would share a couple of cards that my mom brought back from London for me almost a decade ago! Greetings from HRH Prince Elizabeth II:



and you can't forget his father, Prince Charles!


I'll keep my eyes open if I see him, although that might be difficult - I don't think visiting our apartment is on his itinerary!

Memorial Day 2009

"Honor to the Soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as he best can, the same cause—honor to him, only less than to him, who braves, for the common good, the storms of heaven and the storms of battle."
-Abraham Lincoln 1863

I know I am a day behind, but here we are with the memorial day post. I'll take just a moment to honor the spirit of the day. Happy Memorial Day to all those that have served for our county, and to one particularly special person in my life - Uncle Marty! There was a time that he sailed with the U.S. Navy. Here's one a great pic of my favorite sailor (with Great Grandma Azniv and Great Grandpa Mugerdich)!


The entirety of the day was wonderful. We started out with a picnic in Central Park. Felipe, Grace, Nicole, Michael and I spent a lazy afternoon playing frisbee, UNO, and Apples to Apples.


The weather was beautiful and the company was great!



Nicole approves....

After a nice long, leisurely time at the park we took a walk down the bike path along the Hudson River. Around 42nd Street and the Intrepid Museum there were bunches of tourists milling around chatting with the few sailors they could find on leave for fleet week. We continued south until we were able to meet up with Cord and his friend at the Frying Pan at pier 66. It was a lovely evening and perfect to sit with friends on a boat on the Hudson River watching the sunset!



At the top of the post you'll see a photo I grabbed of two sailors talking with a friend. The silhouette was too much to pass up. I hope everyone had as enjoyable a weekend as we did! I'm enjoying my last evening with my baby sis before she flies on home....

Maybe I Should Buy a Lotto Ticket...

Claire Danes

As previously mentioned - my younger sister Grace flew into New York City this morning. What an eventful day we have had together! First we did a few errands, during which time we saw a man shoplift a very large bottle of laundry detergent underneath his not so large jean jacket, a woman purchase approximately 50 bottles of hand sanitizer (the kind with the pump), and several celebrities.


Tonight is the opening gala of the American Ballet Theatre. This event is being attended by Michelle Obama (who we did not see, but whose presence was obvious based on the numerous police and secret service vehicles flanking the Lincoln Center).

Grace and I were on our way to meet Felipe at P.J.Clarke's across from the Lincoln Center. When we walked through the plaza, there was a wall of photographers lining up to the entrance of the Met. We stopped for some time while we waited for Felipe to catch up with us. During the short span that we were there we had a great time watching all the people come in their gala finest. Silk dresses, silver men's dress shoes, lace wraps, and a variety of other fashion do's and don't included. First then we recognized Renee Zellweger, who obligingly posed for all, then Claire Danes - also posing (at times with Hugh Dancy). Lastly we saw a very striking Sigourney Weaver, she was more reluctant to pose and so walked by fairly quickly. It later turns out that may have been because she was late to the performance!


Renee Zellweger

For actual photos go here. These are the getty images from the event.

In the almost four years I've lived in New York, I have rarely seen a celebrity passing by, and I don't often care too much about what's going on. But it was a pleasant surprise to come upon this scene today. And ironically - just earlier today Grace was jokingly asking me how many celebrities I've seen recently - to which I replied a vehement "None!"

Another Visitor - My Baby Sister!

My baby sister is coming on Monday! Wheeeeeee! I would venture to bet that she'll have as much fun here in the big city as she's having in this old photo of us from 1987. Haha! More pictures to come...

He Paints with Nature

"An artist, he paints with lakes and wooded slopes; with lawns and banks and forest covered hills; with mountain sides and ocean views."
- Architect Daniel Burnham about Frederick Law Olmsted

Wednesday I took the opportunity to walk again through Central Park on my way to meeting a friend and Felipe after work. If ever there were a good way to relax and unwind after a day at work - a walk through this amazing place is the best! This park was specifically designed to be a calm oasis in an urban jungle.

"Every foot of the Park's surface, every tree and bush, as well as every arch, roadway and walk, has been placed where it is with a purpose" is how Frederick Law Olmstead, the park's creator and architect, once described it. He and Calvert Vaux created this masterpiece in the middle of the city, Olmsted working on the layout of the land, and Vaux creating the structures within it (bridges, the Belvedere Castle and so on). And thanks to their vision, me and millions of other visitors get to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of nature in such an unnatural place.


A place to sit and reflect...


and a place to relax with companions...

My first experience with this park was in the winter of 2003. On this visit I used a guide book that gives historical walking tours through the city - including my favorite tour, one of Central Park. In it I learned about Olmsted and Vaux's vision for the park, the history of the land (once occupied by squatters and residences, and later Hoovervilles!), and the historical events that have occurred there. I recommend this book to anyone taking a trip to New York City - it's called The Big Onion Guide to New York City: Ten Historic Tours The book gives so many wonderful facts about the history of this complicated city, things that most conventional tour books do not give you.

And if You Threw a Party...

Today we had a Golden Girls "Marathon" (A whopping 8 episodes) with a few friends. A little get together to honor the late great Bea Arthur! Sammi made a delicious cheesecake (a golden girl favorite) to enjoy and Emily brought over a variety of yummy baked goods.


With my cute new plates from IKEA :D

After some time watching golden girls, we moved on to pizza and a game. Tonight we decided to play In a Pickle. The game involves what can fit into what. Each person either has to place a card down that is smaller than or bigger than the cards on the table. For instance: There was a bone IN the test tube, and the test tube was IN the school. and so on. When any row has four cards, the person to place the fourth has started a "pickle" round. Each player then gets one more chance to put down something that the biggest card can fit into. Whoever places the biggest card wins the stack. Whoever reaches a certain amount of stacks first, wins the game. It's fun when hearing people try to explain how they think France can fit in a castle (it can if it's a map of France!). Here are a few of our combinations (hint: the card at the top of the stack is supposed to fit in the next card and so on.)






We had quite a bit of fun making up the stories!

Happy Mother's Day!

To the two great ladies who brought us into this world - Happy Mother's Day! We owe so much to the two of you!

Lots of love!,
Silva and Felipe

Miscellany

miscellany |ˈmisəˌlānē; miˈselənē|
noun ( pl. -nies)
a group or collection of different items; a mixture

Here are some pics from around the city the last few days. Just a few things that caught my eye.


Upper East side, 66th Street.


33rd Street near Madison Avenue.


Along 5th Avenue and Central Park.

Summertime is the Right Time...For Reading

I don't know what it is about summer that makes me believe I will have more time for reading. Perhaps it's the remnant feeling from when I was in school, and looked forward to the summertime for my reading for pleasure instead of for schoolwork. Or maybe it's because the idea of sitting out at the park and reading while a nice breeze passes by seems romantic and relaxing. Either way, the warmer weather and the greening of the parks has me thinking about the list of books I'd like to read through this summer.

So I made a list of the books, and please - feel free to leave suggestions for good books! (This list is not in any particular order - unless you count the way in which they popped into my head as order!)

1. Disquiet Please: More Humor Writing from the New Yorker, David Remnick and Harry Finder (Random House) This is a book I started about a month or two ago, and have been working through slowly - I'm hoping to finish it soon. I became interested in it when I read another book that was a collection of stories from the New Yorker edited by David Remnick called Secret Ingredients. Very funny stories!

2. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky This is one I've always wanted to read, but never got to. I enjoyed immensely Crime and Punishment and find Dostoyevsky's work to be compelling.

3. Toward a Psychology of Being, Abraham Maslow I've mentioned this book in a previous post. I very much enjoy Maslow's psychological theories and have been looking forward to reading more of his written works.

4. Wicked, Gregory Maguire I recently saw the musical with my friend Sammi and the perspective that the book was written from was interesting to me. I like the idea that a previous literary work was expanded to include an entirely different perspective.

5. Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman This was a book that my dad enjoyed, along with many other people. I would like to finally read it to understand what the draw is.

6. The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton I saw this book about a year ago and thought it could be a fascinating read. I have always generally enjoyed travel writing - reading about the adventures and dreaming about what I would like to do myself. One of my other Travel faves is The Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys by various authors. Look into it...it's a good read.

7. Fierce Pajamas: An Anthology of Humor Writing from the New Yorker, David Remnick and Harry Finder This book makes the list because I've enjoyed the other New Yorker Anthologies so much. This leads to the next book...

8. Wonderful Town: New York Stories from the New Yorker, David Remnick I suppose it's that I really enjoy reading anthology collections - stories by a variety of authors keep things interesting and offer a great array of perspectives.

Ah yes, and we can't forget...
9. Any of the Manolito Gafotas books I have from Spain. I need to continue improving my Spanish!

Don't forget to add your suggestions...I'll be looking forward to some. And ask how the reading is going, I need to be kept to task!