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

[JoanP]

September 8-12, 2010
Everyone is invited!  

Autumn in New York, (are you singing?) What could be finer?

Based on the resounding success of our 10th Anniversary Gathering in NYC in 2008, we thought we'd try it again!~

Our Hotel: The Leo House:  "The Little Heart in the  Big City," with the best rates you'll find anywhere.

Hotel Information and Rates

Garden at the Leo House

If you are a Latin student, come meet some of  your classmates, for a fun filled day or  weekend:

Classics Students at the Met, NYC 2008

Tentative Schedule:

                

Sept 8th-Wednesday: --Contact: Ann for details. Ann  plans for us to meet at the Fraunces Tavern Museum at 3pm.  When the museum closes at 5pm, we'll walk to the Bridge Cafe, also historic,  for dinner. Our reservation is for 6 pm.  Fraunces Tavern is  where George Washington and his generals met after or during the Revolution.   The Bridge Cafe

Thursday 9/9: --LucyLibr--plans a cruise on the Hudson. Contact: Lucy for details.

Friday 9/10  11:00 am: Metropolitan Museum of Art:  Gallery Talk  for all Latin Students and Everybody  Interested - The Ancient Child--Michael B Norris- Assistive Listening Devices available. Followed by Lunch.   Michael Norris is the author of several books on Greek and Byzantine art and a staff member of the Museum.

Museum curators, conservators, educators, independent scholars, and advanced students of art history regularly present Gallery Talks that focus on specific aspects of the collection, as well as on special exhibitions. Don't miss this! Free with Museum entrance fee.

---After Lunch: Free Afternoon at Leisure
 

Saturday 9/11:  Our First Author's Tea at the award winning  Sarabeth's, see below! -

Sunday 9/12 Those wanting to go to Ellis Island will convene in the Lobby of the Leo. As an alternative, Ann plans a trip to the Tenement Museum. OR just do your own thing! Contact: ginny for details.

Other Enticements:

Alf is planning a Surprise!  Contact: Andrea   for details.

Pedl'n plans a day at the newest NYC park, the High Line.    http://www.thehighline.org/ Contact: Pedln for details.

Additional Possibilities:

The short terms, unscheduled -- High Line Park, with maybe a visit to Chelsea Market nearby, Union Square,  The Strand,  shopping,  Tenement museum, Botanical Gardens, Etaly if open, a Broadway Show, Algonquin or Chelsea Hotels, concerts, opera, bus tour of NYC, etc.

Monday 9/13: : Travel Day:  Departure


New!!


9/11: Our  First Ever Author Tea at Sarabeth's on Central Park between 5th and 6th Avenue:  This is our room!

Join us on September 11 in this award winning restaurant looking out on the Park for one of their famous Teas, at less than half price, $10 only, no tax, and enjoy meeting our authors, Bruce Frankel,  and Maryann McFadden:


"I can think of no writer I'd rather have sing me songs of the sea, even sad ones, than Maryann McFadden."---Anne Rivers Siddons
We'll be discussing Maryann McFadden's book,  here on SeniorLearn beginning August 15 - at
"So Happy Together" Join us today!

Bruce Frankel’s book, "What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life" is inspirational!  "This upbeat, inspiring, timely book shows how taking a risk and fighting to find a passionate career — at any age — can reinvigorate your life...”— Susan Shapiro
Come join Bruce now - and be inspired!  
Talking Heads ~ "What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life"

Contact: Ann today to secure your place at the table!  We have only a few seats left!~  Don't miss this one!!

See information about reservations at the LEO HOUSE. Deadline to reserve your accommodations is June 15!

Questions about the gathering? Contact: Ann

As a New Yorker would say, "What's not to like?"  

Join us if you can, you'll never forget it!

Sign in here and help us plan what you want to see and do!

[JoanP]

 As you know, Bruce Frankel, the author  of "What Should I do with the Rest of My Life" will be one of the two authors meeting up with SeniorLearn in NYC.  You can meet him here right now - I'm hoping that you will all participate in the new Talking Heads discussion - here:  http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=1572.0

It's an interesting subject - on how we plan to spend  the "REST OF OUR LIVES."  Some of us have no plans.  Like me.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but look forward to this discussion - for inspiration.

  Not only that, but he has accepted our invitation to bring in his 85 year old mother who became a professional portrait painter at age 85!  She sounds marvelous - hopefully she will stay on after the discussion is over.

Please stop in - we need a welcome committee here -  in Talking Heads - "What Should I Do with the Rest of My Life"

[Lucylibr]

Times for the 3-hour cruise are 10:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m., so you visitors decide what fits your schedule best.  Lucy

[ANNIE]

Lucy,
What's the best time for you and are we eating on board or afterward??  Is your knowageable friend going with us??  Do they have a guide speaking to us??  Do we pay you or pay when we get there.

[ginny]

We have a cancellation and a nice single room with shower and bath ensuite which will be cancelled before the 8th, in case anybody is considering coming but was afraid all the rooms were taken.

If you are interested, write me immediately as this will not be available after the 7th or so. A super last minute opportunity!

Lucy is that the Hudson River Cruise? I have always wanted to go down the Hudson River ever since we went to the Cloisters in 1998, they say it's out of this world. I am very excited about this unusual opportunity and want to know more, too!

All I saw in Europe were ads for Jersey  Boys, a show on Broadway with lots of Tony's, it's not new, but it's the story of Frankie Valli and his band, lots of glorious music to take you back (way back) haahaha I'm thinking of doing at least one show and doing that one, we seem to be BEFORE David Hyde Pierce and Johanna Lumley coming from London and after  a lot of others, I've got a list of who's on there, I'll bring it tomorrow.

But if you're interested, we could think about a show too, and an early pre dinner and I know just the place.

I am really getting excited. Is anybody going to Ellis Island with me??

[JoanR]

Welcome back Ginny!  You've been missed!  Can't wait to hear about your adventures - you being you, there had to have been Adventures!

I've never been to Ellis Island - an awful omission.  Would love to go!

[Eloise]

Can I tag along too Ginny? I have been to Ellis Island about 13 years ago, but could go again especially if you are going to tell us about your trip to the Amalfi Coast. I just saw the movie "A Good Woman" and the plot takes place there with period costumes of the 1930s. The setting is  just like the photo you posted before you left.

 

[Lucylibr]

You can easily find the Circle Cruise site on the Internet. My thought is that the 3-hour one is best, goes farther and you see more--but decide for yourselves what you want to do.  Yes, there is narration. When I went with friends a couple of years ago, we decided that it could best be heard on the top deck near the front.

Bob and I are still planning to go. He likes to take photos and did not want to go on a cloudy day, and then the weather became very hot. We still plan to go.  I was planning to ask about discounts for our group when we went there. But I will call and see what I can find out on the phone. Then I can tell you if we buy tickets in advance or what. The going price is $35.

I do not advise buying food on board.  I think it best to eat before we leave and bring some snacks such as a beverage and whatever you might want. It saves standing in line and paying exorbitant prices for ordinary snacks, which I think is all they have.

The time is up to you visitors. Anytime is okay for me. We will need to get to the pier 30 minutes before departure, and we will need to take two buses even though it is a short distance from the Leo.  Or we could get a cab or a couple of cabs. We live only once, and how many times are you coming to NYC?

I am interested in joining you for almost if not all the activities you are mentioning--tenement museum, Ellis Island, Broadway, and the Highline, for which I have an excellent map printed from the Internet. I'm planning to take a look there before you arrive.

[ginny]

YES!!! Yes yes yes!! Ellis Island, let's go! I'll coordinate that one, let's go!

I know a lot of you have seen it already, I have NEVER been. You get a fantastic boat trip around the Statue of Liberty and view back of Manhattan,  as well.   I can't imagine the experience they went through, I am sure they would send me back, the changing of names to names which were pronounceable, YES!! Let's go!

YES Tenement Museum, they have guided tours of what those immigrants came into here. I think it would be a super experience to read some book, any book about the immigrant experience and then go thru Ellis Island and see the Tenement House --- maybe hear a talk. They have Tenement Talks about the experience, the one August 11 as well as the 15th  look fabulous but we won't BE there on August 11 or 15! They also do guided walks thru the neighborhood.

I'd like a good weather day for our Ellis Island  trip, so we can list it as an alternate to our schedule, giving people a choice.

So far we have:

ginny
Joan R
Meg?
Eloise
Lucy?

The Met is ominously silent on talks on  our Sunday, but the previous months are absolutely packed with Roman and Greek talks, so I'm holding my breath.  We need to be somewhat fluid in this most exciting of cities in the world, so we can wheel and choose, everybody with something they want to do.  Everybody with a choice and people to do it with.

Our readers are very independent eclectic people, so they can choose or not what they'd like. I don't know what Andrea is planning but we'll offer Ellis Island, which is going to be an all day type of treat as an ALTERNATIVE trip for a good weather day (not, however, in opposition to the Hudson Cruise)...Away all boats! hahaha

The new issue of Newsweek recommends the following books on the Immigration Experience, how many have you read?

1. The Uprooted by Oscar Handlin, winner of the 1952 Pulitzer Prize in history...the European immigrant experience in the late 19h and early 20th centuries.

2. Strangers in the Land by John Higham 1955. American nativism exploring the roots of xenophobia.

3. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos...Rich tale of the Castillo brothers, Cuban immigrants.

4. Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, set in post 9/11 New York, lively emotionally exacting story traces the fracturing of the Dutch born narrators family and the refuge  he finds in the city's Caribbean0dominated subculture of cricket.

I've heard a lot about those last two.

I like Lewis Orde for immigrant stories, his novels are so rich.

More....

[ginny]

I can't load the Tenement page, something is wrong with my satellite reception today, but if you can, please list any talk we might be able to hear there?

We get the NY Times and here is a list of Broadway and off Broadway shows, .

Patrick Stewart is coming September 21. Darn.

Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch are in A Little Night Music. I saw it last year with Angela Lansbury, and Catherine  Zeta Jones, they were great, the show is  OK but nothing to write home about UNLESS you want to see Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.

I'm such a Philistine, I like to see stars sometimes on shows, go figure. I find you remember them after the show.  The great Lion King is an exception, it's fabulous.

--American Idiot
--Billy Elliott
---Brief  Encounter
---John O'Hurley in Chicago
---Come Fly Away.
James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave coming in Driving Miss Daisey October, DARN!

---Fela!~
---Daniel Radcliffe comes in February in How to Succeed in Business...
---In the Heights
---Jersey Boys
---David Hyde Pierce and Joannja Lumley come 9/23 in Lat Bete
DRAT

---La Gage aux Folles...Kelsey Grammar and Dougas Hodge
Tony Shaloub (Monk) and Anthony LaPaglia leave August 15, DRAT

---Mama Mia
----Mary Popppins
---Memphis
---One Million Dollar Quartet
----Mrs. Warren's Profession
----Next to Normal
---Promises, Promises
---Rock of Ages
-----Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth The Addams Family
---The Lion King
---Phantom of the Opera
----West Side Story
----  Wicked

And a BUNCH of off Broadway I don't type well enough to put in here. I really like Nathan Lane, maybe I should switch to see The Addams Family,  it's at the Lunt Fontaine, easy access to Times Square, etc.

But check any of them out on Ticketmaster. We learned last year to get the half price tix at the South Street Seaport, just walk in and get half price and on to wherever you're going, good stop when going to Ellis Island, actually.

I REALLY like Nathan Lane. hmmmmmmm

[Lucylibr]

I just read Netherland and am going to a discussion of it tomorrow at the library. It's a wonderful book. There is a description of the Caribbean neighborhood where I used to live in Brooklyn, and the proposed site for the cricket field is near where I live now.  The book has everything--sex, romance, family, adventure, and much about New York then and now.

[ginny]

I've got that, Lucy, and have heard SO much about it, let us know how the discussion went at the Library?

If you all are planning to have tea with our authors at Sarabeth's, which is SO exciting, I can barely wait, you really want to come over to the discussion, ,link in Joan P's post in the heading of his book. A LOT of his book is at his website, and he is absolutely fabulous, it's become a discussion on life choices in general, in retirement, and in old age,  and is not to be missed. Come on over, he's super.

[pedln]

Ginny,  yes.  I would like to go to Ellis Island, also.

Re: Tenement Museum:  I posted this link a while back – 97 Orchard Street by Jane Ziegelman.  And that address is the site of the Tenement Museum.  Somewhere I read that Ziegelman is either employed or is a volunteer at Tenement Museum.

97 Orchard

In the meantime we have Jane Ziegelman’s modest but absorbing “97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement.” The story it tells, about Old World habits clashing and ultimately melding with new American ones, is familiar. But Ms. Ziegelman is a patient scholar and a graceful writer, and she rummages in these families’ histories and larders to smart, chewy effect. Ms. Ziegelman, whose previous book, “Foie Gras: A Passion,” occupies a place at the plummier end of the food history spectrum, introduces us to the Glockners, the Moores, the Gumpertzes, the Rogarshevskys and the Baldizzis, who all lived at 97 Orchard Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, between 1863 and 1935.

Here’s the link for the Tenement Museum.

Tenement Museum

In part, “97 Orchard” is about real estate. Ms. Ziegelman traces the history of tenement buildings in Manhattan, noting that they were the “first American residences built expressly for multiple families — in this case, working people.” By the start of the 20th century, she writes, “97 Orchard Street stood on the most densely populated square block of urban America, with 2,223 people, most of them Russian Jews, packed into roughly two acres.”

[ANNIE]

Ginny
Try this link:http://ppc.broadway.com/

There are clips, interviews, videos, etc.etc. If I were choosing, it would between "Jersey Boys" and "Million
Dollar Quartet".  And I must include on other that really sounds good,too.  That would be
an off Broadway show entitled, "Viagra Falls" which comes over as very funny without anything inappropiate. 

Ginny again,
Yes, the deposit arrived.  Sorry not to say so sooner.  All is well.  We have to FAX the final number by August 23, that is 14 business days before the 11th of Sept.

[ANNIE]

To those who are choosing something on Broadway,

Mary says don't miss Jersey Boys!  But if she and I choose, it would have to be the $1,000,000 Quartet since she has seen Jersey Boys.



I have list of  9 attendees at the Fraunces Tavern or The Bridge Cafe:

Ginny
Andy
Ann
Mary
Pedl'n
Zulema
Lucylibr
Gay
Jeanne (maybe)


If your name isn't here and it should be, please email me. Or if it is here and shouldn't be.

For Sarabeth's High Tea: 16 & 1 maybe

Our authors:
Mary Ann McFadden-"So Happy Together"-Our discussion-Aug 15 -Sept 5th.
Bruce Frankel-"What Should I Do With the Rest of My Life?" A Talking Heads topic in Aug.

Attendees:
Ginny
Andy
Mary
Ann (moi)
Pedl'n
Liz
Judy
Zulema
Gay
Eloise
LucyLib
Joan R
Meg
Vivian
Jeanne (maybe)

Again, if your name should or shouldn't be here please let me know by email.  We need to make our reservations at Sarabeth's firm as to numbers.

[/color]

[ginny]

And don't forget, Ann, the two authors, for tea, that brings the attendees to 19. I am so excited about our First Ever Author's Tea, and I know we will totally enjoy both of them. Bruce is amazing, I can't get over him in the Talking Heads discussion!

Pedln, Yes I can't load the site of the Tenement House is what I'm saying, but I left it on yesterday as I ran errands and it did come up, several hours later (something is wrong with my satellite), boy I wish we were there in August, the 11th and the 15th particularly look fabulous but am not seeing anything while we were there. I DID see your link to 97 Orchard Street and a local walk and tour of the neighborhoods, tho. Both look fabulous, I especially would like to see that book, I may have to run by there.

I did start Netherlands, and the author lives in NYC, but for some reason I could not stick with it, despite some of it taking place in the Chelsea Hotel, right down from us, with a long long LONG association with famous writers, so instead started one written by the Senior Paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History ( the one London, not NYC, unfortunately) so  will begin the Mambo Kings. I loved the movie.

I hadn't hear of the $1,000,000 Quartet, Ann, but I'm so glad Mary saw and recommends Jersey Boys. Maybe we could do a Theater Night, have a pre theater dinner,  and all branch out. Most of the theaters are right there.  The more I think of Nathan Lane the more I think I may need to see that one, he's really good.

I also read last night about Ellis Island, amazing facts. According to Fodior's New York City it received "the largest migration in human history:"

Between 1820 and 1880 it received:

3 million Germans
2.8 million Irish
2 million   British

Between 1880 and 1930 it received

4.6 million from Italy
4.0 million from Austria- Hungary
3.3 million from Russia
2.8 million from Germany
2.3 million from Britain
2.3 million from Canada
1.7 million from Ireland
1.1 million from  Sweden.

There's a great engraving I love, let me see if it's online. Yes, here it is:



When they got here tho the streets were not paved with gold as you can see when you read the Tenement House site. I am so glad to be going at last!!

Everybody put on their track shoes, tho, it does appear to be a lot of walking!

[ANNIE]

On last count up there including our authors, I got the numbers that I put up at the top.  We only lost one.  I've recounted them 4X this morning and I am still coming up with 16.
So if Jeanne writes me back and wants that room, I will tell her to contact you before 5pm on Friday, okay??

I remember wanting to see the Tenement Museum in '08 but because of the stairs we decided against it.
I would really like to get 97 Orchard St and read it and see this museum.

Ginny,
That's why I gave the link of Broadway.com.  You can see and hear parts of all the different things that are available on the Great White Way.  Here's the link to $1,000,000 Quartet:
http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/million-dollar-quartet/

"What Is the Story of Million Dollar Quartet?
Based on a real-life jam session of rock ’n’ roll gods Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, Million Dollar Quartet reveals what happened at that historic meeting on December 4, 1956. With the holidays just around the corner, chart-topper Presley, a then unknown Lewis, rising star Cash and stalled up-and-comer Perkins find themselves assembled at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where their producer and manager Sam Phillips has business on his mind. In the rocking hour that follows, Phillips’ roster of extraordinary musical talent shows why and how they became four of the biggest names in music history."
 

[ginny]

hahaa Ok I'll let you be the official counter, you're right, I just think positively.

Jeanne would need to contact Joyce asap, she'll cancel it by Sunday.

Yes I can see that much in the ad in the NY Times, sounds good also. But Nathan Lane? I think my choice is made. I like  Bebe Neuwirth too.

But the theaters are pretty much all together, so we could do a Theater Night, assuming anybody is interested.

[Lucylibr]

We had an excellent discussion of Netherland at Brooklyn Public Library.  I am pleased by how many people show up and how enthusiastic they are about the books we discuss.  The leader puts a lot of work into the program.

I was able to check out a copy of the Bruce Frankel book and look forward to reading it.

Does anyone know anything about Vivian?  She is away now on vacation, and she said she registered for the Latin class but still seemed unaware of our website. I am quite sure she wants to attend the dinner. I will try to see her for lunch before the soiree.

[ANNIE]

Lucy,
Yes I have heard from Vivian concerning Sarabeth's.  I will put her on both lists.

Ginny,
Nathan Lane???  He is not in $1,000,000 Quartet or "Viagra Blues".  So what is he in??
I saw Bebe Neuwurth's name some where but thought she was in something else there.

[ginny]

They are both in The Addams  Family.

I've been reading more and more about Ellis Island and one site said your ticket includes free entrance to the Statue of Liberty, so if some of you want to seque there  that opportunity exists, too. Seems a lot for your money.

It also means we're going to get a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty, photo op, we'll take a group photo even if we don't disembark there.

[ginny]

Ok I've written Lucy, Andrea and Ann. We finally have a Greek and Roman program at the Met, it's their Gallery Talks and Assisted Listening Devices are available. It's free,  and I can tell you the one I attended on Stained Glass last winter was an eye opener and I'll never forget it. They use curators or assistant curators and you really learn something.

It's on the 10th of  September, which is a Friday.  It's open to all Latin students and anybody else who might like to come. We may have to adjust our schedule if Lucy is willing, (if I'm reading the schedule above correctly. It's called Gallery Talk

The Ancient Child
September 10, 2010
(FM assistive listening devices available)
Discover how children grew up in ancient Greece and Rome.
Michael B. Norris
Free with Museum admission
11:00 a.m., Tours Sign, Great Hall.

What a gift! These programs are to die for and to get one WITH assisted listening devices AND on ancient Greece and Rome is just a gift.

I guarantee you this man will give you more than that woman last time did. Very excited about this!!!  YAY for the Met.



Sarabeths will be the next day, and you can precede that if you wish with anything including the events at the 9/11 site.

Oh boy.

We'll get a loose head count once we see if we can manage to schedule it in. I would like to go on the Hudson Cruise too, so we need to see what we can do here. If this works we'll reschedule the Ellis Island Excursion for Sunday September 12.

Remember, too, you can do anything any day out of the wide range of possibilities here.

Here are some books by Michael Norris online, it's obvious he knows the subject:
(Norris, Michael (Michael Byron))

    *  Norris, Michael (Michael Byron): Greek Art, From Prehistoric to Classical: A Resource for Educators (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, c2000) (PDF with commentary at metmuseum.org)

    *  Norris, Michael (Michael Byron): A Masterwork of Byzantine Art: The David Plates: The Story of David and Goliath (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, c2001), also by Esther M. Morales, Alice W. Schwarz, and Edith W. Watts (PDF with commentary at metmuseum.org)

    *  Norris, Michael (Michael Byron): Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, c2005) (PDF with commentary at metmuseum.org)

Could NOT be better, if we can manage to schedule it!  Am loose on Ellis Island.

[pedln]

September 10 is a Friday, and an 11 am program at the Met sounds good.  I remember that I enjoyed the last one, and those listening devices do work very well for me.  Then there would be ample time in the afternoon - predinner hours for whatever folks wanted to do.  Lunch at the Eataly?   An afternoon visit to the Guggenheim?  A busride to Union Square and people-watching, or to the Strand Bookstore?  It's a long way to the Tenement Museum, so that might not be a practical choice.  But the 11am timing makes this a good day for a two-doer.

[Eloise]

Yes - to Ellis Island, the Met, the Eately, Union Square, the Circle Cruise, Sarabeth.

Possibly - a Manhattan evening bus ride and/or a Broadway show, window shopping.

No - Tenement Museum and Ground Zero.

Is there time left for something else during the 4 days I will be in New York? Of course getting to and from all those places takes time too.

I am surprised that nobody mentioned the Cloisters Museum.

[ANNIE]

Ginny,
I think the 10th is Andrea's day but I am sure she would give it up if asked nicely.
We go on the Lucy Hudson boat trip on the 9th, Thursday.

Pedl'n,
What time are we leaving for the High Line Park on the 11th.  I noticed that they just received some permission for something at the Park in July.
I would like to return to our hotel and dress for our tea and that means leaving the hotel by 3pm to take the bus recommended by Joyce.  I am just sure that I need to dress up. Hahaha!
Ginny,
Have never heard a word back from 2 emails that I sent to Zulema.  I wonder if she is out of town??

[ANNIE]

Here's a good story from a lady who I think contacted me when I was in charge of Author's Corner back in the dark ages on SN.  She would certainly fit into one of Bruce's books.
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=1713&id=11784

[pedln]

Looking at our schedule --

Wed, 8 -- Dinner at Fraunces?  or Bridge cafe?  or  ??

Thurs 9 --  Circle cruise  -- three hours on board, plus travel time to get to it

Fri, 10 -- Met at 11 am

Sat, 11 -- 4-6 Sarabeth's

Sun, 12 -- would this be good for Ellis Island?

The short terms, unscheduled -- High Line Park, with maybe a visit to Chelsea Market nearby
Union Square,  The Strand,  shopping,  Tenement museum.

Yes to Dinner Wed. night, Circle Cruise, Ellis Island, the Met, Sarabeths,  High Line park w/Chelsea market

Hopefully -- UnionSquare/The Strand,  eat at the Eataly,  Tenement Museum

Probably not a Broadway show, maybe a foreign flick if one showing nearby.  I already checked the Joyce Dance Theatre near Leo House, but nothing schedules while we're there.

[ginny]

OK thank you Pedln, that's just what I need, I wrote Ann saying let's convert the Day 2 to a date and time, because obviously I can't tell which day is which!~  Once we're certain of those days and dates (are we?) we can fix the heading to change it.

Andrea says  yes let's schedule  the Met on the 10th at 11:00 (thank you, Andrea!) and then we can declare a FREE DAY after that for folks to go and do whatever they'd like. Or of course they can do any day as a free day.  So Eloise, here's one day free from lunch on where you can hope to do all those things you want to do, I've got a ton of them myself. When does the Wollman Rink open?  One of my favorite things in NYC is seeing the ice skating at Wollman Rink, but I think they don't ice it until the end of September, is that right?

I notice that the Food Network Channel is doing a huge cooking thing October 7ish Paula Deen, Bobby Flay,  with lots of "foodie" celebrities on hand, drat. I'd like to see them, I think. I think their time in the spotlight is very limited, I personally think the foodie thing is a fad and going to die (probably from overexposure hahaha) so I am interested in it while it's a flash in the pan.

Then we'll schedule (for those wanting to go) Ellis Island for Sunday, we can be our own crowd of immigrants processing out.

So we'll get the new heading up asap, and you can plan your own shopping and touring of neighborhoods or tours of the city by bus or whatever delight of NYC you really want to savor, once we get it more defined. We don't want to KILL anybody with a schedule either.

The new issue of Food Magazine has the "best" eateries by specialty in the country and several are in NYC, so I will put them here shortly.

Andrea says she loves Nathan Lane but is  not interested in the Addams Family and will check out what's on offer when she gets home, she's on the road, so am reporting for her.

Remember also, I think it was Ann? who asked a person who lived in the area where the best restaurant was and she said you're staying a few doors down from the best Italian restaurant in the city-- kind of a mom and pop place, I loved it, remember the portions that 6 could eat? I loved the entire family standing around. I just saw another one on tV last night, where authentic Italian food and a very limited menu is served, something about Restaurant wars, I'll look it up too.

I'd like to try that place two doors down  again but there are tons of places in the hotel area  you could eat at, too, cheaply and well, including a BBQ place and a Boston Market take out or eat there.

You can pretty much do anything you like in NYC. We've got our great tea at an award winning restaurant and two fabulous author speakers, a new event, so we'll eat well. Hopefully somebody will want a show on Broadway and we can eat at the Marquis revolving restaurant beforehand (or at any of the million other cheap and fast eateries at Times Square) and we can all go to the theater of our choice. I would see Jersey Boys instead of Nathan Lane if everybody wanted it.

Then we can take the Express Subway (only one other stop) right back to our hotel. Nothing to it. Lucy can tell us which one, I always get on the wrong subway: it's one of our traditions.

[ginny]

And as far as the Eataly is concerned, yes  yes yes!!  23rd street? REAL zabaglione? REAL gelato? If nothing else we could all have a cone there, great find Pedln! IS it open yet?



EATALY, a giant Italian food hall opening in a month or so on West 23rd Street near Fifth Avenue, is a culinary extravaganza, from arancini to zabaglione.

Patterned after the original in Turin, Italy, and created by the restaurateurs Joseph Bastianich and Mario Batali, the complex will have more than 20 retail departments, most with their own dining area.

Among the options for shopping and eating in the 36,500-square-foot space will be antipasti, salumi, pizza, fresh pasta, crudo and other seafood, roast meats sold by the pound, panini, dessert items, gelati and coffee.

Some retail areas will have dining counters. The fish monger and the produce area (where a “vegetable butcher” will prep your artichokes and such to order for cooking at home) will also have restaurants with waiter service.

The most elaborate dining area will be Manzo, a full-scale white-tablecloth Italian steakhouse with 80 seats. It is the only named restaurant in the place, and the only dining area that will take reservations. Michael Toscano, formerly of Babbo, is the chef.

The fish department, and its accompanying seafood restaurant, will be run by David Pasternack, the chef of Esca.

Shoppers will find an array of Italian products, imported and domestic. Cookbooks and housewares have their sales niches, and classes will be offered in a small cooking school.

Specialties made on the premises will include mozzarella, pasta, some cured meats, pastries and other baked goods. Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery and the Mozza restaurants in Los Angeles will oversee the bread and a range of focaccias.

A wine shop has an entrance on 23rd Street, and access to a counter for takeout pizza will be on 24th Street. A central wine bar will serve food gathered from the various departments. Dogfish Head beers will be made and sold at the 250-seat rooftop beer garden occupying another 6,000 square feet.

Alex Pilas, who ran private events at Del Posto, is the executive chef of the entire operation.

Oh boy, that's about as "foodie" as you get. Real gelato. Real zabaglione. Wow!  I'll get my DIL some real pasta. YES! I vote YES! Cooking school. wow wow wow, please let it be open! (They may open it for that giant foodie convention tho).

I want that 97 Orchard Street book too.

[ginny]

Eloise, the Cloisters, of course, is absolutely gorgeous and atmospheric, a bit out but doable.  They also have tours and talks,  it's part of the Met.  For the Latin students, I was trying for the Met since the Cloisters is mostly Medieval, the Met has a lot of different things more,  and since we did The Cloisters so well with the man himself, Thomas Hoving, in 1998, really anything else would be an afterthought, but happily the Met came through. I still can't believe our good luck. I can't believe they scheduled that thing, they must have heard we were coming.

I can tell you truly there is as much difference in speakers in these Gallery Talks and the Hired Speakers who talk generally,  as there is in a walnut and an apple. We're going to love this one, and come away with a lot more than children: you watch. You'll have something to talk about over the Thanksgiving table, I guarantee it.

 Then we can eat lunch there IN the Met (several options, some cheap) or go to one of the closest and famous eateries. I need to see the frescoes s from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor house again,  too, in the Met: they've just been recently totally restored and they are now thought (by some experts) to have belonged to Caeclius,  the subject of the Cambridge Latin Course Book

It's an entire room, we breezed through it in its darkened form  in 2008, it's now all bright as it once was,  and is fabulous, don't miss it before you leave:

The surviving paintings are extremely fine examples of the late Second Style, the most renowned style in Roman wall painting. Throughout the frescoes from the villa at Boscoreale there are visual ambiguities to tease the eye, including architectural details painted to resemble real ones, such as rusticated masonry, pillars, and columns that cast shadows into the viewer's space, and more conventional trompe l'oeil devices, such as three-dimensional meanders. Objects of daily life were depicted in such a way as to seem real, with metal and glass vases on shelves and tables appearing to project out from the wall. Cumulatively, these trompe l'oeil devices reveal the Republican owner's evident pleasure in impressing guests at his comfortable summer retreat.

Luxury villas, like the one at Boscoreale, were often the setting for conspicuous consumption of Hellenistic art and culture by the Roman aristocracy. Although in public life, a senator aimed to cut a severe figure of traditional Roman values—austere, practical, conservative—his household and his villas were the settings for extravagant displays of refined living—of building, decorating, eating, and philosophizing. The inspiration for this came from the Greeks in the east, including the repertoire of ideas and the artists, decorators, and intellectuals. Roman villa architecture combined the core of a Roman house with peristyles and gardens borrowed from Greek gymnasia, palaces, and sanctuaries. The Roman aristocracy aimed to evoke the culture of Athenian academies, the charmed world of the Hellenistic pastoral, and the magnificence of Alexandrian palaces. Portraits of Greek philosophers and writers represented learning; statues of satyrs and nymphs re-created an idyllic Dionysian landscape; and wall paintings, rich in Greek myth and dynastic portraiture, provided majestic interiors.

Source: Boscoreale: Frescoes from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

[ginny]

And last but possibly least hhhaha the September 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine (the new one) lists "America's Best:"

and the following in NYC for your possible interest. They will showcase these on the  Food Network Channel September 20 to 23 at 9 pm Eastern time:

1. Best No Nonsense Pizza: Lucali of Brooklyn NY.
2. Best Spaghetti with Red Sauce: Scarpetta: scarpettanyc.com
3. PDT: pdtnyc.com
4. Keens Steakhouse:  keens.com
5. Falai: souffle and desserts:  falainyc.com


So those are 5 somebody might want  to try.

[ANNIE]

Ginny, do you have a fridge in your room for take home boxes??? Didn't we eat in that spaghetti place down the street??
For Mary and I, who have spent a whole day on Ellis Island and found our relatives bricks and photographed them,  I am thinking the Tenament Museum would be a definite maybe.  Is there anyone here who would prefer going there??  I will have to  check in and see what they offer on Sunday.  
And, as I have said before, don't miss the St Paul's Chapel down at the 9/11 site if you happen to be there.  Its incredible!

[ginny]

No I don't, maybe we could split a plate, some of us, much much too much food!


Ann, The Tenement House is a good alternative for Ellis Island. We'll go past the Statue of Liberty on our Circle Line Cruise Lucy is doing on the 9th, so IF the main attraction was the water and skyline and Statue viewing, you'll get that on the Circle Line. I think the  Tenement House is a good alternate on  Sunday or really anything you'd like to get up.

Ok Ann has confirmed Pedln's dates, so check out the heading this evening for a new look date wise.

Getting very excited here. If you go to the Tenement House and meet the author, get me one of her books 97 Orchard Street and I'll pay you back, I want those original recipies, unless they have it at Ellis Island which they may.

WHEE!!

[ginny]

And listen, always, always, you are free to do whatever interests you. We know our readers are independent people. Our chief concern is to HAVE something on schedule and somebody to do it WITH should that appeal to you. If not, do your own thing of course!

[JoanR]

I think, for me, the Ellis Island trip will take precedence over the river cruise since I've been on that cruise twice in the past.  It's really great and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone.  However, I have never been to Ellis Island and would love to go!
I wish I could get to the tenement museum too  -  never been there!
The Met guided tour sounds terrific!  A must!
Sarabeth's!  Oboy!
Hanging out with Pedln and Eloise at Union Square & maybe getting a few blocks further downtown to the Strand sounds like a very good thing to do.  We could eat in the Whole Foods there on 14th St.
I hope to get to do the High Line Park and the Chelsea Market.
I'm with Pedln on giving a miss to the B'way shows - too expensive plus my hearing is not so hot!  I think a good foreign film is a great idea. Surely there will be some.
Aha!  Eataly!!!!!  Hope it's ready for us!

What a Soiree this is going to be!!

[ANNIE]

Ginny,
I would be changing the listing for the Fraunces Inn Tavern to The Bridge Cafe but I have completely forgotten how to do all this.  We have reservations at 6pm.
And here's link to the menu:  You have to look on the left side and click on the Dinner menu for meals but you can also pick and choose from the Chef's Selections(below the Dinner menu clickable) which are available every day but do change as to what is offered.  I read up on their chef and he is pretty cool.  
Be sure to read the history of this place.  Velly intelesting!  As Charlie Chan used to say!!  Good grief, am I dating myself?

http://bridgecafenyc.com/New_York_Restaurant_cafe_Tavern/the-menu/

[pedln]

A 6 pm dinner for Wed. night is good, Ann, for those of us getting in mid-afternoon.  And they also give bus directions as well as subway.  Easy, 1 transfer, two minute walk.

Does anyone know what Strata Bercovici is --  that's on their dinner menu.

I've been on the Circle Cruise once  -- three years ago and it was great.  So now am debating about going on it again, or maybe something else that is also exciting.  We always do this, don't we, find way too many exciting and interesting things to do.

JoanR, if the weather is nice, you can also buy lunch at a kiosk in Union Square.

[ginny]

AND in today's New York Times we can see in their  Book section a review of 97 Orchard Street! It looks perfectly marvelous, too bad we can't read it before we go. I don't know which would be better, to read it before or get it IN NYC.

Are we au courant here or what?

I don't know what that is on the menu but remember we've got Eloise, she can wow any restaurant with her French and she's a fabulous cook besides, so HEY NYC here we come! hahhaha

[Zulema]

I haven't been here for a couple of weeks.  My 14-yr-old grandson was visiting from Japan and we had the most wonderful visit in the city and out of town.  He hadn't been here for three years, though I saw him in Japan in February.  Anyway, a couple of answers from me. 

I sent a check to Ado Annie for Sarabeth as soon as I received an e-mail, but had not received any before, and that one came through the Senior network rather than my e-mail, which is listed under my profile.  And I am very happy we are going to dinner at the Bridge Cafe rather than at Fraunces Tavern.

Pedln, I think, asked about the Strata Bercovici.  It's explained as Grilled vegetables with a "name" goat cheese with roasted beet risotto.

Is the guided tour at the Met on Friday just for our group?  Do I need to put my name in?  And are we having lunch with our guide?  Or am I presuming?   The American Wing atrium has reopened and is also a beautiful area under glass, and there is a café there and a lot of tables.  It's just café fare, sandwiches and salads, etc., and reasonable, as is the cafeteria in the basement.  Nothing is really cheap, but this is New York.  All of the eating places get crowded, but this will be early enough since we start the tour at 11.

I'll just throw in a caveat or two, as is my usual habit.  The trip to Ellis Island takes up a good part of the day.   The Tenement Museum has a variety of different tours. Some of them don't go all the way up,  some do and there are a lot of steps.  And some of the neighborhood walking tours don't go in to 97 Orchard St.  Those who are interested should look at the website which is very informative and has a lot of linked explanations for each tour.

[ANNIE]

Zulema
So glad you are coming to Sarabeth's with us!
Thanks for info about Ellis and 97 Orchard St.
Sounds like you will be with us for almost all planned! That is great!