Trip to New York City, 2012 — Part 1

My nephew lives in New York City and works as a jazz string bassist. My sister-in-law visits him occasionally. This year she suggested that my brother and I meet them there. I was able to go on Tuesday afternoon and come back Wednesday evening, spending about 26 hours in the Big Apple. I went by train, which was much more pleasant than driving, although it probably cost more than driving there and parking somewhere.

I got to my hotel shortly after 4:00 p.m. In the three hours before I was due to meet the others at s-i-l's hotel, which was a few blocks away, I walked a couple of blocks to Columbus Circle*, took some pictures, strolled through a tiny bit of Central Park, saw a bit more of the neighborhood, and had a little snack. Back at my hotel, I read the introduction to The Tipping Point and said my evening prayer.

When we met at my sister-in-law's hotel, I gave my nephew a piece of art titled "Bongo," by Jack Bilander. The original etching was done for the U. S. Embassy in Tokyo, at least 50 years ago. Several prints were made (perhaps 150) and signed by the artist, and I don't know for sure if this was the original or one of the prints, but I think it's probably not the original. But anyway, what with the musical theme and the association with the U.S. and Japan, as well as the quality of the work itself, I thought he might like it; and he seemed to.

We went to dinner at a Spanish restaurant called La Nacional. They said it was a tapas place and, with my limited experience, I was dreading salsa and chips. But it was really pretty good. We had shrimp in garlic sauce, sauteed mushrooms, large fried sardines with their heads on, "patatas bravas" (diced potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce), all accompanied by a nice rioja wine. Afterwards we went to Times Square, and strolled the remaining 14 blocks to my hotel — stopping for coffee along the way. I had thought I'd stop into the bar at the hotel, but I was sufficiently tired that I just went to bed.

I'll tell you about Wednesday in another post or posts. And if I get around to it, I may also post some pics.

*There were skateboarders at Columbus Circle. I wondered if in warmer weather they would go shirtless. I'm not going to go there again just to check it out. But if you happen to be in NYC at 5:00 p.m. on a hot day, you might want to go to Columbus Circle.