Wow! It's summer!

Judging from my last post, the last 3 months of my life have been pretty bloody full. I mean, not even a few minutes to spare to scribble down the exciting things that I do on in my life. And what about that food blog I intended to keep! All those spring veggies that appeared - asparagus, fava beans, zucchini flowers, I made some divine dishes with them. You would've loved the recipes. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! I swear. Where does the time go?

Well, so summer vacation has started. It hasn't sunk in yet. Spring was such a busy time that I didn't notice it go past. And before I even realized that the May page had been ripped off the calendar, my students were saying good-bye to me. I don't think they even realized that the school year was really over. On the last week of school they seemed perpetually perplexed at their desks getting emptied out and their books disappearing.
Oh well, that was one fast train zipping through the months and then screeching to a sudden halt. And then I had to get off! And start my vacation.

I actually had to race out of that "train" so as not to miss a plane that whisked me to New York City for week I of vacation. I jetted across America on a sunny Friday afternoon and srrived in NY at 11:00 at night. I felt a bit apprehensive being alone in the big city late at night. But a yellow taxi deposited me safely at an airport hotel. The cabbie, a young man with a thick Indian accent, seized the opportunity to rip me off. He didn't turn on the meter and then insisted the 3 mile ride was $15. Oh well!

The week in NY was terrific. Everything worked out so beautifully. My London cousin, Angie, joined me on Saturday, and we planned out our week. We stayed in a very comfortable studio apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I hadn't realized how lucky we were to get this place until I heard that very basic hotel rooms cost around $250. We were paying $120 a night - for something that was spotless, spacious, cute, and convenient to all the major sites. Isn't the Internet an amazing resource?

Here's a list of my NY highlights:

1. The art museums. Loved the Metropolitan. There was a special Picasso exhibition and it was so cool to see so many of his famous paintings - ranging from the young Picasso in Barcelona, through his blue and rose periods, to the cubist works. Also enjoyed seeing Georgia O'Keefe paintings. There were quite a few Van Goghs too, which I relished. The Guggenheim was quite an experience with its unique design and architecture. I loved the Thannhauser collection with its great collection of works by Cezanne, Gauguin, and the Impressionists. And MOMA didn't disappoint either. The 4th and 5th floors contained a vast collection of early 20th art. What a feast for the senses! More Picasso and Van Gogh. The Mexican artists - Orozco, Siqueiros, Rivera, and Frida Kahlo - were well represented and very enjoyable. The exhibitions of contemporary art didn't appeal to me.

2. Spending an afternoon with my friend Lucy and later having dinner with her and Lee, her husband. Lee and Lucy live near City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. Lucy took us on a walking tour around her neighborhood. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoyed views of Manhattan and of Brooklyn. Then we turned around and walked to Battery Park, around the waterfront, into the Financial District, saw Wall Street and the Stock Exchange, went into the winter garden from where we saw the sight of the World Trade Center. Then we strolled through Tribeca. For dinner we had excellent dim sum in nearby Chinatown.

3. Central Park. Everyday we walked through different parts of the park. What an amazing park, with so many activities going on in all its different parts - free Shakespeare, ballroom dancing, live music, remote controlled boats, to name just a few!

4. The food. So many different types of cuisine to choose from. The first night we had Burmese, which seemed like a fusion of different Asian foods. I had a vegetable mango curry in a coconut sauce. It was delicately spiced and full of flavor. On other nights we had Indian (Little India on Lexington between 29th and 30th), Chinese (dim sum), Vietnamese, Vegetarian Asian, and Malaysian.

5. The bagels. We all know that NY has the best bagels, don't we?

6. Exploring Greenwich Village, discovering interesting vegetarian restaurants there, and atmospheric bars.

6. The views of Manhattan from the East and Hudson Rivers while on a 2 hour cruise.


New York is such an interesting city and there's so much to see and do. I found it exhausting too - noise, people, traffic, and all those huge buildings.

Anyway, now that I'm on vacation, I'm hoping to blog more frequently. So stay tuned.