Busy New York City Weekend

This past weekend was a whirlwind, and I'm just getting around to capturing it in writing. 

I returned to NYC with two friends on Saturday.  It was a cold and dreary day, but we spend time exploring the quaint little section of Midtown East known as Tudor City. The pictures show why it's named as such.

Tudor City, which is very close to the United Nations, feels like a quaint village away from the hustle and bustle of the big city - until you look up.  I like this view of the old building juxtaposed to the iconic Chrysler Building

Tudor City also has a cute park. The children - and the lions - didn't seem to mind that it was snow-covered.

After this brief walk, we eventually headed to dinner at Vice Versa in the West 50's area. The food was average - good but not great - and the wine was nice. From dinner we went to see Valerie Harper (a.k.a "Rhonda," Mary Tyler Moore's sit-com buddy) in Looped.  This comedy is about Tallulah Bankhead, an actress in the 1930's - 1950's, primarily. 

Tallulah was funny and wild and apparently a great actress at various times.  She also pushed the envelope -  drank in excess frequently, seemingly had a passion for cocaine, and had affairs with men and women. One thing for sure, her wit contributed to a library of quotes that are occasionally shocking but always funny.  Harper's performance was outstanding.  I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a Tony nomination for this role.

On Sunday, we had brunch at Resto on East 29th St.  Again, the food was average.  The coffee, however, was outstanding.  It's called Stumptown Coffee and originates from Portland, OR.  The only retail location for it in NYC (besides the few bags Resto had) is at the Ace Hotel on 29th St in NYC.  (I was really craving the coffee this week but still haven't gotten to the Ace Hotel yet to get a fix.  It's on my list of things to do soon.)

After brunch we hopped the 6 train to the end - the Brooklyn Bridge stop.  We walked across the bridge with hoardes of people competing for limited space because of the snow-filled walkway. It was still a pleasant walk, though.

I felt giddy when "Lady Liberty" came into view; I'm always tickled to see her. There were also great views of Manhattan.

We spent a little time in Brooklyn but had to hurry back to my apartment so my friends could catch a bus to Philadelphia.  After they left, my whirlwind continued with a walk to Carnegie Hall and then Lincoln Center, where I had to pick up tickets for various events. 

I topped off my evening with my first Ethiopian meal.  It's been literally 20 years that I've wanted to try Ethiopian.  I liked the Red Sea on 9th Avenue in the West 40's because there was a vegetarian (or meat, if that's your preference) sampler that  gave me the opportunity to try a bit of several main entrees. The bread with which you eat had a consistency that was very unfamiliar to me.  I found that I couldn't always use it to "dip" as the waitress coached me because some items were so chunky that dipping wouldn't work.  In those cases, I used the bread like a mitt and grabbed the food that way. I would definitely have Ethiopian again.

I walked all the way back to the East side with a full belly, tired legs, my beloved Sunday New York Times, and memories of a great weekend.