Soiree in New York City: A Retrospective: Come share the adventures!

[Eloise]

   

September 8-12, 2010
We Came, We Saw, We Conquered! We're BAACK!   

Author's Tea at Sarabeth's on Central Park South:

Front row, seated: Authors Bruce Frankel and Maryann McFadden
Left to right (scroll sideways  to see everybody):
Mary, Tom (Maryann's friend), Eloise, Judy's friend Liz, Joan R, Zulema, Pedln (hiding), Ann, Judy (Pedln's daughter) Andrea, Meghan (Joan R's daughter) Gay, Lucy's friend, Vivian,, Deb (Maryann's friend), Lucy, Ginny. Not shown: Patrick, Maryann's husband.

Morning at the Met: at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing

Left to right: Lucy Ginny, Mary (in back) Zulema, Andrea (ALF), Ann, Vivian, Meghan (JoanR's daughter), Eloise, Joan R, Gay (Bow Belle), Pedln.

       

Ginny your pictures are fabulous, they make all of us look 10 years younger.

That is a really low price for the Bahamas. I need Bermuda right now because I came down with a virus since 12 days and am housebound.

I can’t tell you how thrilled it was to pass by the Statue of Liberty on our Hudson cruise. I had a thrill looking at New York Skyline.

Ann, Mary and I went to the High Line Park, we didn’t stay long because we wanted to go shopping and as usual when I am not alone I can’t decide on anything to buy, then rush, rush to get to our other events.

The restored cubiculum is so gorgeous on that picture Ginny. I learned a lot about the Roman ceremonial chariot and I was surprised at the size of it, just enough room for two feet on that little platform.  While I was in that prestigious museum I didn’t even have enough sense to go and see the Impressionists section afterwards and my poor little brain had to take a break and I left for I don’t remember what.

I am so sorry I missed Frounces Museum and the Bridge Café when everybody got first together, next time though.

I am anxiously waiting to see more pictures. I didn't bring my camera, it was too heavy to carry.

[ginny]

Ella, I am so glad to see you here, we missed you and Cindy this time, maybe next time!!

Eloise, I am so sorry to hear you've had the flu, it's really awful this year, I hope you are on the mend!

I think the Met is pretty overwhelming the first time and there's no way you can see it all.  I am so glad you enjoyed the chariot and cubiculum!  The pictures really ARE good, but it's the people in them that make them so.  Isn't it?

Now we have the premiere event of our trip and the reason we went and that's our Author Tea at  Sarabeth's. Two authors, yet.

Ann outdid herself, Sarabeths, which is very crowded, was really beautiful I thought.

Here are Pedln and her daughter and friend, and Mary on the end, isn't it pretty?

But first things first!

Sarabeth's is right across from Central Park. You can eat on the sidewalk, very European and look at the horse carriages:

[ginny]

We set out in a state of high excitement! Our Limo awaited and it wasn't the cut rate folks, it was Carmel:

Here's  Pedln doesn't she look regal, getting in the Limo:

Everyone pretended they were used to this.  Actually we should have been used to this, we seemed to do it all the time.

Help yourself, it was set up for a king:

Kind of hard not to grin, staring at that! (Do you think any of us will ever use any of these delights on any of these trips?) hahahahaha

[ginny]

Then we got to Sarabeth's and we met Maryann McFadden,  our Author,  and Bruce Frankel our  Author and they immediately set about meeting and greeting and making everybody feel at home: they both went right around the tables.

Maryann had brought her husband and two friends, and they were fabulously interesting and creative. She looks like a 40 year old. I thought she was quite young but it turns out she's not, she just looks young, don't I wish.

Then Mary took the floor as our MC  and was definitely the chic hostess with the mostest.     Mary is very animated and it was a joy to have her be our permanent MC Forever!

Maryann  wrote:

 I just wanted to thank you and Ann and everyone, including Mary, for making me so welcome, and my entourage LOL.

I had a great time! And our cruise was simply amazing, the beams of light at Ground Zero were just incredible at night. I don't know if you do Facebook, but I posted a picture there.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Maryann PS. Bruce was a doll! What a nice guy!

When it was over, they really had to leave , they were taking a cruise and almost did not make it, nobody wanted to leave. She   spoke very impressively  

and also addressed the business end of what's entailed now in writing a book and it was eye opening: it's a BUSINESS, not at all what I thought, that was very illuminating. She also  totally ignored the huge noisy group somewhere behind her, a classy lady. She's working on a new book which sounds like something everybody will want to read, about a book store owner, can't wait for it to come out.

We could have used you,  Ella, for questions.

Then  Bruce spoke and he's written everybody:


I don't know how to message everyone who was at Sarabeth's yesterday,  but I want to thank you all for your warm welcome and welcome praise.  

It was truly lovely talking with all of you, and great to have faces  
to go with the names.

I hope the rest of the trip is great and that you got to the concert  
at St. Patrick's in time to get seat.

If anyone would care to post a couple of lines of review on  
Amazon.com, I would greatly appreciate it.

I hope to see you on SeniorLearn. Once I'm free of the pressure of  
the current book, I do hope to use it more and get myself a bit of  
education.


Warmest regards,

Bruce




I notice that he'd like a review of his book on Amazon, I think we can do that, for both of them, don't you? Let's do!

Bruce was also engaging, disarming, charming and super,   just like Maryann. What a guy!   He had me with the quote from his mother, everything he said after that was pure gold. He spoke about research on the aging brain, it was fascinating.


  It was truly lovely, when we took the photo in the heading they chatted, they really did their part to make the entire thing a success.

It's kind of heady for us, too.

Bruce is working on several new projects and putting himself up as guinea pig for one study of how dancing affects the brain, it was just a great day of exposure to these two writers, who are creative, charming,  and not incidentally, extremely nice people, and everybody there tremendously enjoyed both of them. I had a great conversation with Maryann's friends and husband, and all thee of them were fabulous and creative. One runs an old time Vaudeville Theater. Where do you meet people like that? At our  Gatherings, thanks to Maryann and Bruce.

 It was just a super day, everybody had to leave but nobody wanted to. And yes there was plenty of room at St. Patrick's and it was absolutely spectacular, that children's choir!!!! Three choirs or was it four and this event is sweeping the country in memory  of 9/11. It was beautiful. I got some of them on film.

You know, we do these things very well. We're getting better and better. It's because of the people who pitch in and make it work, in whatever way, however small, everything those of you who went did contributed to it. It was the smoothest most enjoyable best one of these I've ever been to, and it's because of who went, including the authors and their kindness.

I am not sure how we could improve upon it.

One for the  Books! Bring on the rest of the photos!  

[mabel1015j]

Thank you Ginny, it is great fun to see and hear about your trip. To repeat Bruce's comment, I love putting candid pictures to the familiar names.......Jean

[Eloise]

There were many firsts for me on my trip. I had never been to a Broadway show, faaaaantastic, never rode in a limousine, was I surprised that the seats were all on one long side and, yes mam the bar on the other side. Did we drink something? I don't remember but we didn't even need that to feel excited and happy and it is the first time I speak to a famous author who was extremely sweet and kind revealing to us some of his private struggles, we even spoke together about ageing.

We are still having our gorgeous Fall here in Montreal, the leaves are still on trees in front, the garden is put to bed and we enjoy this lull before the onslaught of winter.

These were great photos Ginny, thanks for posting them.

.  

[Bow_Belle]

Thank you Ginny for the photos and your piece about the trip.

Here is my first page about my time in New york. More to follow

To New York from Somerset for a Seniorlearn Soirée
Continental airlines run planes from Bristol to Newark New Jersey and I live only an half hour journey from the airport. The flight took 7 hours and it was a pleasant flight. The whole journey was effortless!

My teacher Ginny and   Andrea who was a member from the book club had also flown into Newark so they waited for me and held a sign up with my name! I felt like royalty. We shared a cab to our hotel, which was in downtown Manhattan.

The Hotel was called “The Leo” and run by a group of retired Catholic Nuns. It was friendly very reasonably priced and a lovely place to stay. The staff were helpful and |I enjoyed my stay there immensely

That evening we dined in a Restaurant at the foot of Brooklyn Bridge in a very old part of the Town. The restaurant had been built in 1784 and it had a lot of character. It was obviously very popular as it was full and the food and service were excellent It was lovely meeting  in the flesh all the people I had previously  been doing Latin translations with all year. They were introduced to me and it was great to put a face to a name!

Lucy, A New Yorker lives on an island called Rockaway in the Borough of Queens and is right on the Ocean. She, others, and I had spent the summer without our teacher translating Book 3 of the Cambridge Latin. She had very kindly organised for us a trip on the river Hudson.

Second day
We got to the Quayside and boarded the boat for the trip around Manhattan. Because there was a high tide, we were unable to complete a round trip, as the boat would not have been able to go under all the bridges. We had an excellent guide who gave us a wonderful commentary and told many interesting facts about Manhattan as well as naming all the skyscrapers and other buildings and places of interest. We went under Brooklyn Bridge saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and saw the spot where the plane had landed on the Hudson, which was pier 88. Because I had seen many American Movies, it was great to see the buildings that I recognised in real life. Some of the older buildings had unusual looking water towers on the tops.

When the trip finished we went to Chelsea Market for lunch. There were many food outlets and we found a table which one of us had to stay at whilst the others all went to choose what to have.

Some of the choices were Thai food, fresh lobster/crab, Fried Chicken, Burgers, Italian, Chinese, fresh sandwiches, Gelato, Cupcakes, and so much more.” It was just a treat to look at all the different foods on offer and difficult to decide what to have!

That evening we just had to walk a few yards from our hotel to have dinner in an Italian Restaurant.

More to follow

Gay Hector

[ginny]

Jean, so glad you're enjoying them!

Eloise, I love your lists of Firsts.  I had some firsts, too. In retrospect it seems the perfect time to have gone, NYC never disappoints! I do have the list of people who have paid for the  Cruise photos and will send them off, hopefully before 3010 so don't worry, they are coming and we'll all have (except for moi) a record of our free face lifts! hahaha

Gay (Bow_Belle) I love your diary! Brings it all back  and from your point of view, it's like experiencing it all over again!

So! It was the Brooklyn Bridge, had I known that I think I would have looked twice. Hasn't somebody written a book about the building of that bridge? McCullough? I'll have to read the book and go back now that I know what it IS.  Besides the food was great and so was the company.  hahaah

I wish I had the discipline TO do a travel diary, you think you will never forget this or that and then you do. I like this kind of discussion because hearing from everybody makes it all come alive again.

[gingerw]

Thank you all for your posts, pictures etc. almost as good as being there. Marcie thanks for letting us know about this discussion thru book bytes.

[Eloise]

Hello our Gingee, it's so nice to see you here.

I am making another list of things I missed this trip, although the days were so packed full that I don't think I could have squeezed in one more. Next time I will take more time in the Met but my head was spinning and I had to take some air. Another first was to step inside Saks 5th Avenue. Should I tell you that I was looking for the ladies's room? But it was a real thrill, it felt like a Breakfast at Tiffany's movie. I learned that the new fashion color this fall is black? Every item on display on the floor was black with a tiny dress in burnt orange far away. Naturally every mannequin on the floor was size 00, it would not fit me for sure.

I was a tiny bit overwhelmed by all the glamor and the fast pace of people rushing past me.

Next time I hope we will be graced with authors like Maryann and Bruce who gave us a taste of what it is to publish a book, its misery and its reward. what an experience to hear it from their own lips.

[pedln]

Bamboo is what this is -- on the roof of Met.  Is this what people were paying for -- to climb in the bamboo?  But what a view we had from up there.  Beautiful.

Ginger -- yay.  It's good to have you here.  We've missed you.  I remember that on my very first SeniorNet trip you and Anna were the very first persons I met -- in DC 2002.

If this picture works, there are more to come.  I don't want to overload they system with photos too big.

Eloise, isn't that the truth -- the days were so packed, so much to do, so little time.  Kind of like a gigantic moving "To read" pile.   

[pedln]

   JoanR and Eloise on the roof at the Met

 Andy, at Patsy's Italian Restaurant

 Ginny, JoanR, and her daughter Meg

 Ann and Mary

 Eloise and Gay   Gay always had the greatest smile. Just a pleasure to see.

Okay, I don't know how to place these pictures, but 1) JoanR and Eloise on the roof at the Met,
then the next ones are all at Patsy's Italian Restaurant, just a couple doors down from Leo House. The food was good, but we thought their billing system needed to become part of the 21st Century. At the table next to us a young woman was reading, and of course we had to know what -- I'll Fly Away or Fly Away Home -- something like that.  

[ginny]

Pedln, thank you for the great photos, I did not know you went up on the roof too, that bamboo, isn't it a mess? i wonder if it...surely it's not permanent, I wish somebody would explain the attraction of it?

I am glad you went to the roof and Eloise got to go, our tradition, we need to keep it up!

Ginger so glad to see you here!

Eloise and Saks, sounds like a book! I sent your nice comments on the authors to both of them today.   I have found more fabulous places looking for the Ladies'. Once I sashayed right into the Plaza as if I stayed there and went up to the Ladies', can't remember which floor and a nicer Ladies you'd be hard pressed to find. It was lovely.

I am so glad somebody got photos of us in Patsy's Pizza!

Next time we can go to the Italian one, was it Don Giovanni,  everybody was raving about one block over. I'm ready to go now actually.

Was it Wally Lamb's book I'll Fly Away? Golly I wish I had known, but I never notice stuff like you guys do.

Posting for Andrea:

Andrea has sent this photo on of the Monteleone Chariot at the Met:

She got roped into hearing TWO presentations on it, so she should know it by heart! hahahaa

[pedln]

Was it Wally Lamb's book I'll Fly Away? Golly I wish I had known, but I never notice stuff like you guys do.

NO, it was Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home, about a woman much like the wife of Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, or that Congressman trail hiker from South Carolina.

[ginny]

OH, ok!! You are doubtless referring to our Governor of South  Carolina, Mark Sanford and the Appalachian Trail.

[Maryemm]

Have just spent ten minutes following you all around New York! It was obviously a fantastic trip as the images prove. I can only echo what others have said: it is so good to put faces to names. Just wish I could have been there!

[ANNIE]

I am really enjoying all the pics that everyone put up.  Mary has ours and so far I haven't heard a word from her about when I might get to see them.   She is in NC so I can't do much about it. My camera is broken again.

I loved the Cubiculum and the Chariot plus all the facts that Ginny imparted to us.  What happened to the vase that we saw with Achilles on it playing chess??

[ginny]

You did a great job with this trip, Ann! I'm glad you enjoyed the Met!

The vase showing Achilles and Ajax playing chess on the beach which we had as explanation for the chariot is actually in the Vatican Museum in Rome:


And of course a million reproductions of it are everywhere. I have one myself from a study tour of Greece a few years ago, sitting right here.

[ginny]

Maryemm, having you would have made it perfect, I wish you could have come, too! You and Gay could be our British contingent, that was just a lot of fun!

[gingerw]

Hi Eloise good to hear you had such a wonderful time. But then what's new about that with this group. smile.

Hi pedln Good to see you are still up and at em. Great photo of the
bamboo on top of the met, never heard of it before. Smile.

Howdy Ginny always good to see you.

[rosemarykaye]

I have just found this part of the site - what an absolutely wonderful trip.  I do hope you will have another one, although I can understand how hard it must be to organise.  The Barbara Pym group have an annual conference (one in the US, usually in Boston, and one in the UK, in the Oxford college that BP attended) - I haven't managed either of them yet, but I've seen the write-up of the Boston one and they too had a fabuous time - I think they even went to the same church evensong.  The local members recently had a tea in Boston, and my friend there said even that took months of organisation. 

It's great to read everyone's accounts of their experiences; I do think we get so much more out of these things then we did as callow youths - I went to Boston, NYC, etc when I was about 20, and can hardly remember a thing about it, whereas nowadays any trip I make (not that that's many!) is far more precious.

Rosemary

PS I love those Eloise books.

[ginny]

Welcome,  Rosemary!~ I loved your post here! I agree with you about how we get so much more out of everything now!

We've been going on these since 1998, but it seems lately we manage every other year. Everybody pitches in and does something so it seems to go well, but the people going are also one of the main reasons it went so well.

I love the idea of a BP society meeting!~ Oxford! (We all need to go there!) Boston! I was for years a member of the EF Benson Society (both of them) and met many fine people through it, can still remember the trips to Rye, it's exhilarating to be among people with like interests.

We are so glad you found us! Welcome!

[Eloise]

Welcome Rosemary, funny thing but I was the only person with my name until I met someone about 12 years ago on the old SeniorNet whose name was also Eloise.

Next time we have a "Soirée in NYC" I would like to propose a better schedule. For example, because there is a lot of time gap between group visits, I could insert in the gaps what we each would like to do. For instance, a group activity is going to the Met from 9 am to 2 pm. I was not organized enough for what to do afterwards, so I missed doing some things I would have preferred instead of what I did. I usually like to just spur of the moment activity when I travel, but during 3 or 4 days there is not enough time for that so I would need to be more organized. This way we spend less energy in transportation and more on fun things.

I wonder if that is clear enough. I am already thinking of another SeniorLearn reunion.  .....

[ANNIE]

Welcome Rosemary!  We are always pleased to have anyone here who can enjoy these stories and pictures as much as we do.

Clear and concise, Eloise!

I wish that I had the picture of you at the Plaza shop for Eloise!  But Mary is not available at the moment so you will have to wait until she or I send it to you.  She will not be back from Atlanta until tomorrow.
In the meantime, I think if we all just think of one thing we missed in this trip to NYC plus new things offered by new members who will be on the next trip, we could come up with something for everyday that you would or me or anybody might like to do.
For instance, I have yet to have seen the 9/11 Museum and will definitely want to see the new buildings at the 9/11 site.  They are supposed to be ready to view by 9/11/2011.

Also, there is the Morgan Library which promises to be worth the tour.

Did I see a museum dedicated to architecture?

I have yet to see Harlem and the tour offerings look enticing.

There is so much going on at the Met all the time and I am sure we can find something anytime we go.

I believe you wanted to see the Cloisters.

The Botanical Gardens in Central Park with a tour?

Mary and I visited Central Park many times and its worth a relaxed stroll.

Gosh, I am sure there are many more things that people have wanted to see.

Don't miss Eataly!  Its a hoot and the food looks scrumpcious!  Better than Chelsea Mall, by far. 

The Hop On-Hop Off city tours? 

I could go on here but you all know the drill!

[JoanR]

Hi!  I enjoyed every minute of our NYC Soiree and don't feel that I wasted any time - the trouble is that there is so much to see and to do, that you can't possibly hit everything.  Perhaps not even in a lifetime!  There are some things that I hoped to squeeze in - The Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, the Morgan Library, Greenwich Village, Soho - there is a bookstore down there that I particularly wanted to visit - so, another time!- and ,of course, there is Brooklyn which is a whole day in itself if not more.

The Brooklyn Museum is very interesting, the Botanical Gardens are said to be lovely - isn't the NY Aquarium in Brooklyn, near Coney Island?  In the same area there is a large Russian settlement with restaurants and shopping  to match - sounds interesting.

Harlem is worth a trip - a guided tour is helpful or you'd miss the history - eat at Sylvia's!! and visit the Apollo theater.

Oh, I could go on and on!

Of course, as others have said, it was the wonderful group that made the trip really special.  We wouldn't have had our limo ride to the museum & the special tour there had it not been arranged by Ginny.  Nor would we have had the special tea at Sarabeth's where we met 2 delightful authors had it not been for Anne's hard work.  Ginny shepherded a few of us to Ellis Island too.  I really don't know how we did so much in just 4 days!!  A choir concert in St. Patrick's, even!!!
The climax was our last night's dinner upstairs at that funny little place on 23rd st. where the food was good and no one minded how much noise we made!!  What a hoot!!

[ALF43]

Well I will echo Joan's take on our trip. 

I enjoyed every minute of our NYC Soiree and don't feel that I wasted any time - the trouble is that there is so much to see and to do, that you can't possibly hit everything.

I agree whole heartedly Joan and feel that the problem is, we didn't have enough days there.  I think we needed more than the scheduled 5 days.  (Wed-Sunday)

I lived in NY City and know that there will never be enough time to see and enjoy all but next time I think for our new comers the step on-step off bus tour is the ticket.  This is the first year I have not done it and I really missed it.  It is a wonderful venue to get a "taste of the city."
Any more walking they would have to shoot me.
I must have walked 3000 miles and guess what I did not lose one bloody ounce.  (I hate it when people exaggerate, don't you?)

[pedln]

Well, and some things are nice to revisit too -- add some days for that.  Evensong at St. John's the Divine.  If I lived in NY I go there every Sunday evening.

And the Bridge Cafe and that crazy last night place where they let us write on the tablecloths -- East after Eighth -- or something like that.

One of these times we've got to go HIGH at NIGHT and STAY there and enjoy all those lights.

Rosemary, you come with Gay next time.  You will have a ball.

Who knows, we might make it to the Tenement Museum.  And St. Paul's Chapel, again.

And if you've never been there -- the Judy Chicago exhibit of The Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum. That's a bucket list must.   And that Museum is right next door to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

[ginny]

You know, just reading this, I'm ready to go again, no joke! There is SO much we could see and do there and I thought the weather was perfect!

I do understand what Eloise is saying tho and while it's true we really packed those hours we could have (and I think we'll take her up on her offer to help schedule the off hours a bit better because had XX known that YYY was available XXX might have enjoyed it) had the off or down time fixed so that those of us of independent minds could be free to do whatever and those who might like to go along could do that too. I thought you all did a super job there as well, kudos to Andy for organizing the last night.

Nothing is so good it can't be better, I  want to do all the things you all are talking about right now! What would you think about closer to  Christmas next year if we went to NYC? Of course the weather was perfect and there's so much going on in that time. Can we do two Gatherings? Can we do the west coast and NYC? Or not? Look at Al Pacino on Broadway sitting in Sardis.

 Do we want to look into a cruise, the local people have unbelievable cruises from SC and Fla, very very cheap.

Where would you want to go? I'm always going to be in NYC if still moving that is, but that could be a mini trip.  The Botanical Gardens are a trip to die for, you take the train out of Grand Central Station and you eat in a gorgeous conservatory, and there's a train/ tram that takes you around the gardens, lots and lots of walking.

OH and just now I heard from Bruce Frankel about a new article appearing today on him here:

http://www.secondact.com/2010/10/bruce-frankel-and-the-new-realities-of-turning-60/

Is it his birthday today? I must go look!

Let's plan a new one!~



NYC is getting to be our tradition.  But I'd love to hit the west coast, oh my!

[ALF43]

Ginny it is so exciting to be a part of a group where everyone just wants to enjoy themselves- no griping and complaining.  Our group just kept "plodding along" and enjoying each and every moment.
  I will always agree to a NYC trip with anyone, anytime BUT with that said I wish that we could somehow organize a California trip.  If not California, then west- somewhere.

I do not cruise, I have vertigo and after 4 attempts I have given up.  I do NOT get sea sick I just get the vertigo and have to eat, sleep and drink sitting in one spot.  NO Walking at all.  And you know how much I love walking around and seeing ev erthing.  I find cruises limiting.

I am going right now and check out Bruce's new link.  Thanks for the info, Ginny.

[rosemarykaye]

I'm afraid I don't know who Bruce Frenkel is, but I have just looked at the very interesting article, and he certainly doesn't look 60!  Is he a film star?

Rosemary

[ANNIE]

No, RosemaryKaye,
Bruce Frankel is one of the authors who graciously offered to join us for our tea at Sarabeth's in NYC.  He said he was very nervous but he spoke so well of meeting and writing about the people in his book.  We truly enjoyed hearing all about them.  Then he told us of his newest idea for a book about dancing. Actually, about, the tango!  So he is taking tango lessons and we await his book about aging and dancing plus many other ways to live longer maybe?  He is just delightful!

[Eloise]

Andrea

all but next time I think for our new comers the step on-step off bus tour is the ticket.  This is the first year I have not done it and I really missed it.  I

There might be one more time in NYC for me, that's all so I will have to study the map a lot more in order to do what I want to do without straying too far. Usually I love to stay in the center of a big city like NYC, this is where the most interesting things are. We were so fortunate to have good weather, but in winter you can always expect miserable weather, so I don't think I would like to go later than November.

In the winter it would be nice to go on a short cruise, I would certainly consider that Ginny. BTW I am planning on a Florida vacation next winter, I guess it would be near St. Pete Beach that I know from having been there before. I want to see the ocean, that is always my No. 1 priority. But going on the West Coast is not possible for me as it is beyond my reach, not that I wouldn't like to go though.

Ann,  If Bruce Frankel writes a book about dancing, I will read it for sure, he is a great writer. 

So little time, so much to do.

[ALF43]

Eloise- that is the beauty of the "step off/step on" bus tour.  You can sit and enjoy the entire city as you listen to the narration and never get off if that is your choice.  You can get off once, twice, as many times as they stop to pick up passengers or drop them off or stay put in your seat.  Ginny and I had  splendid open aired seats right up atop the bus, to relish the fresh air and all of sites unencumbered by a roof of a bus.

Rosemary- Bruce Frankel is an Adonis.  That's all I have to say.  Oh no- one more thing. 
 If I could learn the Tango WITH him, I would die a happy lady. He's suave, sincere and mighty handsome.

[rosemarykaye]

Well I didn't like to say that at first, but too right, he is gorgeous - I will be next in the queue 

[ALF43]

Right beside a few of us, I'd wager.

[ANNIE]

Here's a quote for the NYC foks.  See if you can identify the author of the book that wrote these lines.

"Cormac waits for the dark young lady on an evening of steady rain.  Not just rain, but an unruly New York rain, pushed by river winds.  He is in the backyard of a restaurant called "East of 8th", on 23rd street, next to a movie multiplex.  Its a few minutes after seven on an evening in March.  A huge Cinzano umbrella spreads above the table, but the wet breeze toys with it, lifting it along an edge," [/b]

[pedln]

Forever  by Pete Hamill?

[ANNIE]

That's right, Pedl'n!  I should have known you would come right up with it.  Did you also read the book??  I am almost done and will hate to put it down.  So much history that I never knew about NYC.  Its all there in a delicious but very different tale.

And didn't we have a great time at East of 8th???

[pedln]

Annie, I haven't read it, but sure would like to -- someday.  Let me see if I have the correct premis -- this guy arrives in NY in the 18th century, does something remarkable that allows him to live for the next 250 years, and goes through several facets of NY history.

We should have it as our NY read, but I doubt he'd come talk to us without a huge fee.

(I like a scavenger hunt)

[ginny]

If we could get Pete Hamill to speak that would seal the deal for me with NYC in 2011!!