Trip to NYC 5/29-31/15

We love going to NYC and it's great fun to stay in different neighborhoods.  (See post of October 2013 for our stay in Brooklyn.) This was our first stay in Chelsea and we really loved it.  Once you get to know the city, you realize it's just a collection of small villages.  Of course, some are really tall.

Our dear friend, neighbor, and volunteer chauffeur, Renee, was waiting to take us to the nearest Metro Station.

It is relatively easy to get to NYC - it only took 1 car, 2 Metro trains, and a ride on Amtrak.  What is really easy is getting free tickets on Amtrak - just convert AMX points to vouchers that can be used just like cash.  Much easier than trying to get tickets on any airline.

We only had to wait 4 minutes for our train

Readers waiting for train.

More reading on the train.  Hint for tourists - do not talk on the morning trains.  DC commuters like to read.  Another rule - when using the escalators, stand to the right, walk/run on the left.  DC commuters rushing to work - after all, it is called rush hour - do not take kindly to people blocking their way.  One last rule - do not stand in front of the escalator when you get off.  it's amazing how many people block others from getting off.  Very dangerous.

Waiting to transfer at Gallery Place/China Town

Scenes at Union Station

Lots of shops.












Some shops are more upscale than others.

Here's a tip - the lines at the Starbucks are always much shorter in the main lobby that by the boarding gates.

I spotted a student on a class tour while in line for a bagel who reminded me that we have Murphy Brown to thank for being able to wear caps with ponytails.  Creator Diane English cut a hole in a cap for one of the episodes and the style took off.  Thank you Diane!

We took the Northeastern to the city and were the first people on the train - got our pick of the seats in the Quiet Car - thanks to the Red Cap services.  Having their assistance, no matter how light you're traveling is worth the cost.  We were seated and comfy a good ten minutes before the rest of the passengers were allowed to scramble for seats.  When the trains are full it can be a real race.

A traveler's best friend and you can see we were traveling light.  

Scenes from the train:

Susquehanna River at the Chesapeake Bay

Wilmington, Delaware, is a fun place to visit. Even though this is the back side of the theater, the Delaware Theater Center is important to the life of the city.

The train goes by the Philadelphia Zoo.





















The first view of NYC is always exciting but this year was the first time we saw the new One World Trade Center towering over lower Manhattan.

After arriving at Penn Station, it was time for a short walk to our hotel.  Travel tip - never leave home without Dr. Scholls.  He is a tourist's best friend, especially when visiting a major city.  I find city dwellers overall a healthier lot because they walk every where.

Not only were we staying in Chelsea, it turned out that our hotel (The Hilton Garden Inn at 121 W. 28th - that info is for me and my feeble memory, not for any readers) was on the block for the flower district.  Here are shots of the sidewalk and scenes from our hotel window on the 12th floor.  The shot of the rooftop gardener was taken with my 1000 telephoto zoom.  I love my new bridge camera!

Inside one of the shops -

From our window -

Next trip I want to meet this guy.  He was really working hard once the sun started to set.  BTW, we just happened to be in the city for the Manhattanhendge - the one time a year when the sun sets right between the buildings on certain streets.  We missed it because we were inside seeing a show at the time.  Bummer. There is always next year.

Many of the older buildings still have their own water towers on the roof.

The following shot was taken on Sunday morning, so while not in sequence with the previous shots, it shows shop owners setting up for the day.

Once settled in at the hotel, we were off to the new Whitney Museum and the High Line, both in walking distance of the hotel if you don't mind going a mile or two.  We didn't because it was such a lovely afternoon.

Of course we took one detour into the first wine bar we came to and met our new favorite bartender in Chelsea.

                       Domenico from

                       Napoli

(pronounced NapoLEE)

                   

Domenico was great fun.  Said he had only been in the US for 9 weeks and arrived not knowing any English.  I found that hard to believe - his English was fine.  Said he had a cousin who was helping him.

There was only 1 other stop before the Whitney.  The Chelsea Market has a 2nd location across from the Museum.  We had to take a peek.

Looked good but it was time for culture.

Our 1st view of the Whitney at the far left from the corner of Gansevoort at Greenwich.

The weather was so nice it was hard for gallery goers to stay inside.

The trees on the platform are the end (or beginning, depending on point of view) of the High Line.

They took an abandoned elevated railroad track and turned it into an amazing park with great views and a fun place for people watching.

When we left the hotel we had spotted the neighborhood Whole Foods.  Time to get some carryout for dinner and breakfast and head back to the hotel.  

The check out lines were unique.  3 lines with 20 or so checkout registers.  You waited for your line's turn and the sign to tell you which register was open.

We looked everywhere for some wine.  Found beer all over the place.  Finally asked and were shocked to find out that the only Whole Foods in NYC that could sell wine was on the Upper West Side.  Some dumb NY law says only 1 location of a chain can sell wine.  Guess independent wine stores in NY have a powerful lobby operation.  Anyway, the helpful clerk told us about the nearest wine store in the neighborhood just around the corner.

He failed to tell us it closes at 7 pm.  We got there at 7:10.  Oh well.

There's always something else around another corner.

Shopping done, we were in for the night.

Saturday we were rested and ready to check out Macy's.  Not like the one at Landmark!













Noticed a couple of trends while on our walks.

Bike sharing wasn't the initial hit in NY like it was in DC, but the idea is catching on and we saw lots of stands everywhere and lots of riders. One family of tourists went by us too fast for me to get a shot, but I thought they were either very brave or foolish to be in NYC traffic with a couple of teenagers in tow, but they seemed to be having lots of fun.








Saw lots of simple summer dresses and no high heels!  New Yorkers tend to walk fast so it was hard to get really good shots.

Time for lunch before seeing an afternoon matinee on Broadway.

Usually when in the Theater District we eat at the Playwright's Pub on Broadway at 49th but since we were approaching from the south, we decided to try a new place.  We found a good one.  Lovely decor and a great menu.

Finally it's time for the real purpose of the trip.

This musical was stunning and deserves every nomination it has received.

While the Palace is a beautiful theater, apparently the ladies of the early 20th Century never needed to go to the loo.  Only 3 stalls for the entire balcony and mezzanine.  Another travel tip - go at the restaurant before the show.

Thanks to Stubhub and a very resourceful hubby, we got last minute tickets at a really good price to spend the evening at a charming little jazz club in Chelsea.  I had assumed the audience would be a bunch of fellow geezers but because the musicians  were a mix of generations, so was the audience.  Glad to see jazz still able to attract millennials. 

The young woman standing in the red dress was one of the singers.  This shot was taken during the break after the 1st set.  I never did get her name but a couple of the tables were full of her fans.

Sunday we reversed our trip to return to DC and Renee was waiting for us in the Kiss & Ride lane at the Metro Station.  If you haven't been to northern VA and seen these signs, just remember "Virginia is for Lovers" (the state motto).  

Traveling Down the Canal du Midi

As part of our downsizing project, I'm in the process of culling out old photos and came across this essay describing our trip down the Canal du Midi in September 2002.  I don't even remember writing it and I think it may have been for my law firm's newsletter.  I'm posting it just to have it in my electronic memory banks and I'm inserting a few photos taken from the 23 roles of film I shot.

Sunrise on the canal

The Pointy-End Goes in Front

The pointy-end goes in front was all I knew about boats when I talked two couples from our wine/dinner club, a fellow law firm administrator and her husband from Texas and my husband into going on a barge trip in France.  Among the group was a retired Navy commander and two competitive sailors, so I assumed they would know enough to help the rest of us.  The trip was originally scheduled to start on 9/12/01 and we were to meet two other couples in Paris who were going to join us going down the canal. Needless to say, no one left Dulles on that date and the other couples couldn't get home, so they went ahead and completed the trip.  For those of us still state-side, it took a lot of phone calls and visits to the travel agency over many months, but we managed to reschedule everything for the following year.

The term "barge" is somewhat misleading.  Think "cabin cruiser with a flat bottom."  There are companies all over Europe renting these boats to vacationers who prefer taking their chances on water than coping with European drivers on land, and the cost is less than staying in hotels, if you do a little shopping around.

Crew getting ready for initial cast-off in Castelnaudary

We selected the Languedoc region of France, which is sandwiched between Spain to the southwest and Provence to the east, traveling down the Canal du Midi between Castelnaudary, a village southeast of Toulouse, and Sete on the Mediterranean coast.  One advantage to selecting this canal was the absence of any commercial traffic.  People who have ventured into major rivers in Europe in the barges have returned with harrowing tales of near-misses with large commercial vessels.  Instead, it was just us and a bunch of other novices in the rented boats or those who own their version of a floating RV.  Another advantage was the canal's route took us through one of France's best wine regions that is just now getting the recognition it so well deserves.

My dear hubby, who is an avid student of history, was especially intrigued by going down the Midi.  The canal, which was an engineering marvel when it was built in the 17th Century, allows you to go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean without having to travel around Portugal and Spain.  He had read a book that excerpts portions of Thomas Jefferson's travel journal that describes his trip down the canal's entire length.  Much of the scenery and many of the villages were little changed from the days of Jefferson's trip.  Of course, the trails beside the canal that were originally used by mules to pull the barges (they did not have Evinrude engines in those days) are now used by bicyclists who can go much faster than any of the modern-day barges (our Evinrude was not very powerful - 5 knots, tops).


Crew getting their exercise.

       

                              

                                     

Visiting a vineyard

Accidents Do Happen

During our seven day trip on the canal we had to navigate through 43 sets of locks.   Some were in rural areas but others came with an audience just waiting for crews to have problems.  It was considered cheap entertainment. 

A lock in a
lovely rural
setting

A crowd waiting for a crew to mess up.

                   Going through these locks required a lot of teamwork, rope pulling, gate opening on the few locks that are manual, and just plain hard work (note to file - next time take two teenagers).  We had been warned that everyone at some point during the trip will leave a crew member hanging from the lock while the water and boat drop out from beneath them.  Well, we managed to go one better than that - we managed to leave the boat hanging from the lock!  The water dropped but the boat's "lip" was up on the landing so the boat tilted and everything inside starting flying.  One friend who was taking her turn at KP in the gallery was pummeled by flying cantaloupe.  The boat was quickly kicked off the lock by two fast acting crew members and we were able to go our merry way, but with a bit of egg on our faces.  Several other boats were in the lock and their occupants witnessed this event much to our embarrassment and their amusement.

We also had one incident of "man over board" but it was one of the sailing pros and it was his own fault -- so, we were unmerciful in our reminders of his slip-up.  It did give us the opportunity to find out that the canal was only five feet deep but really smelly.  Who knew.

Choose Your Traveling Companions Carefully

Our happy crew on the last night

One of the amazing facts of this trip was we had eight adults living in very close quarters for seven days and not one cross word was exchanged.  It helped that the weather was perfect, the food, either  on board or on shore in one of the small villages we passed, was unbelievably fantastic, and so was the wine, but the real key was our ability to laugh.  If laughter is healing, my immune system was good for a couple of years.

We were fortunate to have our own chef on board.  Here he is with one of his typical hors d'oeuvres spreads.

Did I mention close quarters?  The showers (at least we had two) were so small you could not take your clothes in with you.  We all mastered the art of the fast-dash from the shower to our stateroom wrapped in a rather small towel provided by the boat company (note to file - next time pack a large bath towel).  We also tried to time our showers while everyone else was on the upper deck.  The only time our "captain" (the Navy guy) got a salute was when he made a dash in front of me and one of the other female crew members.  Since he was carrying his soap and shampoo, etc., in his left hand and tightly holding his towel in the other, he refused to return our salute.  We forgave his lack of military decorum (salutes should be returned) because we had accomplished out goal - - he was the most embarrassed we have ever seen him.

The captain has the CONN

Planning Ahead Does Help

Everyone is encouraged to fly their national flag on their boat and it was marvelous seeing flags from all over the world sailing by us but we had other plans - we flew the Jolly Roger.  The reason was we had hoped to stage raids of our friends on the other boat but 9/11 had changed that but at least we were readily identified by the lock masters.  We also had a large stash of mimi-bottles of Jack Daniels and cigarette packs.  After tipping a few of the lock masters it became obvious word had spread and they were waiting for us as we approached.  We discovered that the younger ones wanted the cigs and the older ones wanted the whiskey.  We actually managed to get through a lock one day after it was official closed for the day.  Lesson learned - be nice to your lock masters.

Arrrrrrrg!

One of the younger lock masters and the only one who was a minority.  He was also one of the few who could speak English.  Each master is provided housing next to the lock.  His home is the building with the shutters seen behind him.

To pass the time, many of the masters had lovely gardens.  Apparently the master at this lock was a sculptor with a sense of humor.

We had enough camera gear to open a floating store.  Definitely before smart phones.

Yes, French women wear two-piece bathing suits.  Get over it.  

Remembering 9/11

We were very mindful of 9/11 and how concerned people back home were that the day would pass without any incident and we knew of the various services planned for that day.  When we woke that Wednesday some went ashore to visit the local church, hoping there was an 8 AM mass.  There was no service, but just sitting on the church steps watching the village wake up offered a quiet moment for reflection.  Later on we docked for lunch in a tiny village called Argens-Minervois.  What attracted us was the location of a winery right at the dock, and since we were traveling during harvest season, there were trucks lined up to deliver their loads of grapes.  After watching the process for awhile and going inside for a tasting and the purchase our daily provisions, we followed the drivers to an outside restaurant - sot of like assuming truck drivers know the best roadside diners.  Turned out it was the only restaurant in town.  As usual, the food was great and cooked on a grill right before our eyes.  The only distraction was the radio turned to some rock station - rap in French!  I couldn't believe it.

We were the only Americans in the place, and as we were about to leave God Bless America in English by Celine Dion came on the radio.  We looked at each other and quickly figured out that the time difference meant that it was time for the first period of silence in NYC.  We stood up and did not move until the song was over.  Everyone else, including the rather boisterous truck drivers, stopped talking.  We found the unexpected remembrance of the events of 9/11 in a rural village in southern France extremely moving.

Lunch on 9/11

We were most fortunate to have good weather (some parts of France were having terrible floods while we were there), no missed connections or other travel mishaps, except for the Captain losing his billfold to a pickpocket in the Paris subway on our last day in Paris (before and after the trip down the Midi we had a few days in Paris - how can you go to France without going to Paris?!  This will long be remembered as our trip of a lifetime.

Sete, a working class port city on the Mediterranean, was our last stop before returning to Paris.

The French fast trains are marvelous.