For the first time in a month I used the coffee maker…truth is, I had tried before but I wasn’t quite sure how to use a model from the 21st century. My coffee pot at home was a wedding gift, from 1968. It almost qualifies for midcentury. I told Mayi that my coffee pot at home moans and groans so much I feel like having a cigarette when it’s done. The morning was very relaxed playing games (Mayi taught me how to play Sudoku) on our iPADs and having coffee. But, once we started going…man! did we start going… to the tune of over 30,000 steps!
Our end goal was to visit the Basque Embassy (near the United Nations) on 2nd Avenue and 44th Street. We walked up Broadway to Washington Square loving every minute of what we saw. From there we walked up 5th Avenue, and passed the Empire State Building.
By the time we arrived to 42nd Street it was close to noon and, I may or may not have mentioned that I may have left my sunglasses at the “La Bonne Soupe” a couple of days ago at the place I had lunch with Pierre. It was on 55th Street just off of 5th Avenue – what’s walking another 13 blocks? We decided to continue our walk to the restaurant and at least look at the menu to see if we wanted to eat there. Good news, bad news: Lunch was delicious, but no sunglasses. We sat at the bar, ordered escargot and had a very relaxed visit in the perfect cozy spot.
After lunch we continued our journey to the Basque Embassy to visit with Unai Telleria, the delegate from the Basque Government, and Nerea Arrieta, the Institutional Affairs Officer. When they asked what I had done so far in New York, I told them I had been to a wonderful book-signing event at Lincoln Center. I mentioned Kirmen Uribe’s name and Nerea very calmly looked at me and said, “He is my husband.” Amazing! A city as large as New York and yet we have all these ties. We talked about NABO, Basque Clubs and the New York Basque Club in Brooklyn. We were there for at least an hour and it was a very pleasant visit. I was extremely happy to have met them because now that made at least 10 people in NYC I know by name.
From there we walked to the United Nations.
We started heading towards lower Manhattan, turning left, turning right, walking and talking and just taking it all in. As we walked we thought about different areas we should see. With our trusty map app we saw Grand Central Station and Times Square.
Eventually, we decided to check out the “High Line”. While I had heard a lot about the High Line, I can’t say I was impressed. I’m thinking I should revisit it to see if I feel differently; after all, at this point we were really getting tired and fairly thirsty. For perspective, the High Line is a 1.5 mile-long greenway with over 500 plants and trees planted on a pathway that still have remnants of railroad tracks. This is, actually, the path freight trains would use to deliver food to lower Manhattan in the mid-1800s. Here’s a little bit of history: There were so many deaths due to the street level tracks that by 1924 there was a movement to create elevated rail lines. The line was fully operational by 1934 and would transport millions of tons of meat, dairy and produce. The lines would cut through some buildings, creating easy access for factories like the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) which is now the Chelsea Market. By the 1960s train use dwindled as trucking became popular. Although parts are truly beautiful and serene, you can see the old tracks which certainly adds a flavor of history.
We finally got off and walked another few blocks to stop for a drink… in a Vietnamese bar. Although I had my reservations about the place, I didn’t argue because there was no one sitting at the bar. I had the best tasting margarita with passion fruit. It hit the spot!
Needless to say we came back home in a cab; it was after 6:00 p.m. and we had been walking since 10:00 a.m. It was a long and adventurous walking day. I say adventurous because we saw so much with no grand plan from the get-go. I love when everything falls into place.
For our final dinner we went to a local restaurant named “Broadstone”, on the corner of Broad and Stone. Very clever. We ate at a table in the bar on the on the ground floor; however, there is another bar on the third floor, named the “John Jay Bar.” John Jay was one of the founding fathers of our country and he actually owned the land that Broadstone stands on. Although John Jay opposed many British policies, he did not support independence from Great Britain in 1774. Interesting. I guess I always assumed everyone at the time was in total agreement about separating from England. I am thinking my 8th Grade teacher, Miss Lee, would have loved this particular area; she taught our class about the Revolutionary War and made it come alive for me. It is by far the part of our country’s history I’ve enjoyed most. Thank you, Miss Lee!
