Now having been to both stadiums within the last couple of weeks, I can speak from first hand knowledge about the two.
Yankee Stadium sucks. What a waste of a couple of BILLION dollars and change. It's sterile, ugly as sin, has a ridiculous thin electronic ad strip that doesn't even fit the ads on it, it's so narrow. Has crappy graphics for introducing who is at bat ( I mean really, having a player's face arrive in a subway window or having their face show up after dusting off a base piled high with dirt). And what a lame game race between the three subway lines, the 4, the B, and the D. I mean really????? The food choices are nothing to write home about either. The only good thing was the very cushy, padded seats and that they played Louie, Louie (Seattle's anthem). Bob actually liked the electronic ad strip that goes around the inside of the stadium (he thought it was awesome), I just thought it was tacky, tacky, tacky. We are pretty much of the same mind that we will likely not be going back to see any more games there unless there comes a time when the Mariners are having a phenomenal year and it looks really good that they would beat the pants off the Yankees. Luckily (and I do mean luckily) the game was rain interrupted in the 5th inning which gave us a good excuse to leave early. Bob was so torn about going to tonight's game because he's got a lot of work to do right now but we did have the tickets that we paid for (discounted but still not cheap), and I am leaving town for five days starting early tomorrow morning. So it was a nice way for us to spend some time together before my trip. So we got home by 9:15 and Bob was able to log some work time. So it worked out well for both of us.
Now the Mets Citifield stadium is a whole 'nother story. They put their $850 Million to excellent use and produced a beautiful, fan friendly, inviting, and intimate stadium. While I still feel Seattle has better hot links and kettle corn, overall, the food choices at Citifield are amazingly diversified and plentiful. There are great views from all around the park and their electronic boards and graphics are fun and engaging while still being utilitarian and practical. I would say that by way of appearance and structurally it is on par with Seattle's Safeco Field which has been noted to be one of the most beautiful ballparks in the country. So KUDOS to you Citifield and the Mets. We definitely will go to Citifield again when we want to have a really great baseball going experience while living in NYC. (Even if we don't get comp tickets again from Scott's brother--thank you, thank you, thank you!!)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Staying on top of the blogging is way more work than I thought it would be....
Keeping a blog current is way more of a commitment than I ever thought it could be when I started this online diary of sorts. Can not believe it has been over two months since I posted anything. It is a total reflection of just how busy life has been...which is a really good thing for me. Still dealing with residual feelings of survivor's guilt for being able to live this incredible life. A friend asked me if I was still buying lottery tickets like I was in Seattle before moving here. I told her "no" because I feel like I'd won the lottery, there really wasn't a reason anymore except maybe to buy out friends and family who wanted out of their current lifestyles. So just to catch up on all that's happened since two months ago.....here goes:
First there was Jeffrey's visit, then a two week stay in Seattle, then work actually picked up a bit, my dear high school friend, Audrey, came for a short overnight visit, then my niece came to visit for a week, then Amma came to town and we hosted the retreat registration team (five of them) for 4 days plus were very involved with the 3 day program, then there was a slew of varied outings: two performances to see the Mariinsky ballet ((formerly the Russian Kirov Ballet)--so beautiful, graceful, powerful, dramatic, and the live orchestra's music was sublime), a few Broadway Plays (the Importance of Being Earnest, War Horse, The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and Freud's Last Session--all very well done), a walking tour of Chinatown and the Lower Eastside with what turned out to be a bit of a racist tour guide (uh hmmmm, awkward ......), a tour with the Tenement Museum (quite informative and a great living history lesson--we bought a membership so we can go to the several other tours they offer), a weird and strange evening of cocktail tasting at the Hudson Terrace with a visiting Seattle friend, Robbie (I was supposed to be going with my visiting niece but didn't make the reservation in time, it made me feel really old to be amongst all these 20 plus year olds--and the music was SO LOUD, even though I like what they were playing), a day and picnic out at Storm King Sculpture Garden up in the Hudson River Valley (pretty darn fantastic place--we loved it and look forward to getting out there again sooner rather than later http://www.stormking.org/), several movies (Beginners, Super 8, Myth of the American Sleep Over, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts I & II), a Mets baseball game (really cool stadium but for my standard baseball food fare (hot link hot dog and kettlecorn) Safeco field is way better), several get togethers with various friends (really nice to be able to cook for people and eat in a quiet place--all the restaurants in NYC seem to have decibel levels of at least 100--which makes any real conversation pretty much out of the question), picking up many bunches of organic basil at the Union Square farmers market to make my annual batches of pesto--(I wound up making 36 jars which should last us well into next year), checked out the Vishnu exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum with Megan and Lena (discovered that The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago is a permanent exhibit there--I've wanted to see that exhibit for forever--wow! it's a lot to take in), got a fantastic private art history lesson at the Metropolitan Museum from the artist, Doug Safranek (friend of a friend who, hopefully, will over time be a friend of mine in our own right), finally had my volunteer orientation for City Harvest (now just waiting for the notices of when they need volunteers), while in Brooklyn with Megan and Lena, we managed to finesse an impromptu tour of the very security crazed and rule bound Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn (despite (or maybe because of) how security crazed and rule bound they are, there is a lot about it that appeals to me (besides the incredibly cheap pricing and their much more comprehensive recycling program, it could be a really good way to meet and get to know like-minded people as I start to participate in the mandatory monthly work shifts. Touring it gave me a great feeling of having a little piece of Seattle within easy access--the PCC coops before they went all 21st century). Bob and I will go for formal orientation in October (if we can get in--they are uber sticklers for when you can register). Tomorrow night we are going to see the Seattle Mariners vs the Yankees at Yankee stadium. They are coming with a 14 straight loss record. I hope it isn't a bloodbath tomorrow night. That would just be so painful. Whew!!! So much goings on.... and that doesn't even count my more day-to-day mini-excursions to check out various shops and events that catch my interest. On Wednesday the 27th I leave for a long weekend trip to CA to see family before heading out to India for five weeks--leaving for that trip on August 5th and back on September 9th. And true to form for our lovely apartment, there will be a series of guests here in our absence (6 over the course of time we are gone). One of who will be our dear daughter, Kelly, who will be here to greet us upon our arrival back and stay for another week. That will be a real treat to come home to.
So that's the short version of all that's been going on......... a few more highlights about Jeffrey's visit and my niece, Danielle's visit are below:
So on our first outing upon Jeffrey's arrival we took a sail boat ride on the Shearwater Schooner. He took a red eye flight so was a bit sleep and food deprived and I had been racing around that day in preparation for his visit so hadn't eaten much either. Well you get a free drink on this boat ride, so we each had a beer and wound up quite tipsy -- great way to start the week long visit.
Walking in the rain in Central Park--the weather was not great for Jeffrey's visit but he was a really good sport (and a true Seattlelite) to not let the rain stop us from walking all over the city. We did eventually get absolutely soaked to the point of Jeffrey's shoes being really squishy and waterlogged at which point he reached his limit.
Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum is just jaw dropping and mind boggling as the bizarre, sublime, and beautiful reaches of an artist and designer's mind, creativity, and craftsmanship. Check out the link for more about it: http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/ Thanks to the membership card that the Children's Inpatient Psychiatry Unit gave me as a going away present, we were able to bypass the incredibly long line and jump to the front. It was so packed with visitors (over 500,000 people have gone to see this one exhibit at the Met).
The Accomplice--we did this kind of social scavenger hunt of sorts around the West Village on the recommendation of Scott. It was really fun and quite an adventure since we got thrown completely off track within the first 10 minutes of our excursion. What normally takes about 3 hours took us 5 hours because what we thought was a clue was just an advertisement for some clothing store across town. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar..........anyway it was a great way to navigate the West Village and we will likely do the downtown version when another adventurous friend visits.
Of course we did a ton of stuff more but those were definitely highlights.
First there was Jeffrey's visit, then a two week stay in Seattle, then work actually picked up a bit, my dear high school friend, Audrey, came for a short overnight visit, then my niece came to visit for a week, then Amma came to town and we hosted the retreat registration team (five of them) for 4 days plus were very involved with the 3 day program, then there was a slew of varied outings: two performances to see the Mariinsky ballet ((formerly the Russian Kirov Ballet)--so beautiful, graceful, powerful, dramatic, and the live orchestra's music was sublime), a few Broadway Plays (the Importance of Being Earnest, War Horse, The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and Freud's Last Session--all very well done), a walking tour of Chinatown and the Lower Eastside with what turned out to be a bit of a racist tour guide (uh hmmmm, awkward ......), a tour with the Tenement Museum (quite informative and a great living history lesson--we bought a membership so we can go to the several other tours they offer), a weird and strange evening of cocktail tasting at the Hudson Terrace with a visiting Seattle friend, Robbie (I was supposed to be going with my visiting niece but didn't make the reservation in time, it made me feel really old to be amongst all these 20 plus year olds--and the music was SO LOUD, even though I like what they were playing), a day and picnic out at Storm King Sculpture Garden up in the Hudson River Valley (pretty darn fantastic place--we loved it and look forward to getting out there again sooner rather than later http://www.stormking.org/), several movies (Beginners, Super 8, Myth of the American Sleep Over, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts I & II), a Mets baseball game (really cool stadium but for my standard baseball food fare (hot link hot dog and kettlecorn) Safeco field is way better), several get togethers with various friends (really nice to be able to cook for people and eat in a quiet place--all the restaurants in NYC seem to have decibel levels of at least 100--which makes any real conversation pretty much out of the question), picking up many bunches of organic basil at the Union Square farmers market to make my annual batches of pesto--(I wound up making 36 jars which should last us well into next year), checked out the Vishnu exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum with Megan and Lena (discovered that The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago is a permanent exhibit there--I've wanted to see that exhibit for forever--wow! it's a lot to take in), got a fantastic private art history lesson at the Metropolitan Museum from the artist, Doug Safranek (friend of a friend who, hopefully, will over time be a friend of mine in our own right), finally had my volunteer orientation for City Harvest (now just waiting for the notices of when they need volunteers), while in Brooklyn with Megan and Lena, we managed to finesse an impromptu tour of the very security crazed and rule bound Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn (despite (or maybe because of) how security crazed and rule bound they are, there is a lot about it that appeals to me (besides the incredibly cheap pricing and their much more comprehensive recycling program, it could be a really good way to meet and get to know like-minded people as I start to participate in the mandatory monthly work shifts. Touring it gave me a great feeling of having a little piece of Seattle within easy access--the PCC coops before they went all 21st century). Bob and I will go for formal orientation in October (if we can get in--they are uber sticklers for when you can register). Tomorrow night we are going to see the Seattle Mariners vs the Yankees at Yankee stadium. They are coming with a 14 straight loss record. I hope it isn't a bloodbath tomorrow night. That would just be so painful. Whew!!! So much goings on.... and that doesn't even count my more day-to-day mini-excursions to check out various shops and events that catch my interest. On Wednesday the 27th I leave for a long weekend trip to CA to see family before heading out to India for five weeks--leaving for that trip on August 5th and back on September 9th. And true to form for our lovely apartment, there will be a series of guests here in our absence (6 over the course of time we are gone). One of who will be our dear daughter, Kelly, who will be here to greet us upon our arrival back and stay for another week. That will be a real treat to come home to.
So that's the short version of all that's been going on......... a few more highlights about Jeffrey's visit and my niece, Danielle's visit are below:
So on our first outing upon Jeffrey's arrival we took a sail boat ride on the Shearwater Schooner. He took a red eye flight so was a bit sleep and food deprived and I had been racing around that day in preparation for his visit so hadn't eaten much either. Well you get a free drink on this boat ride, so we each had a beer and wound up quite tipsy -- great way to start the week long visit.
Walking in the rain in Central Park--the weather was not great for Jeffrey's visit but he was a really good sport (and a true Seattlelite) to not let the rain stop us from walking all over the city. We did eventually get absolutely soaked to the point of Jeffrey's shoes being really squishy and waterlogged at which point he reached his limit.
Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum is just jaw dropping and mind boggling as the bizarre, sublime, and beautiful reaches of an artist and designer's mind, creativity, and craftsmanship. Check out the link for more about it: http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/ Thanks to the membership card that the Children's Inpatient Psychiatry Unit gave me as a going away present, we were able to bypass the incredibly long line and jump to the front. It was so packed with visitors (over 500,000 people have gone to see this one exhibit at the Met).
The Accomplice--we did this kind of social scavenger hunt of sorts around the West Village on the recommendation of Scott. It was really fun and quite an adventure since we got thrown completely off track within the first 10 minutes of our excursion. What normally takes about 3 hours took us 5 hours because what we thought was a clue was just an advertisement for some clothing store across town. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar..........anyway it was a great way to navigate the West Village and we will likely do the downtown version when another adventurous friend visits.
Of course we did a ton of stuff more but those were definitely highlights.
Danielle’s visit to NYC (most of the places we ate at came by way of Martha Stewart recommendations as that is the goddess from which Danielle seeks guidance)
Subwayed all over Manhattan (north and south, east and west and of course saw three quintessential subway rats scurrying about the train tracks well below the platform where we waited for the trains)
Upper West Side
Epicerie Boulud (this is a Daniel Boulud enterprise that is much more in reach of the pocket book of the masses here in NYC unlike his famous Restaurant Daniel) so hard to pick just one or two things to eat for lunch, must go back time, and time again
Lincoln Center at night (extra bonus event was the outdoor SummerStage Soul Train 40th anniversary dance celebration)
Columbus Circle (had a drink at Robert on the 9th floor of the Museum of Art and Design (MAD))'
Riverside Park/ Hudson River Walk—had a beverage break and chillaxed at the Pier i Café with a great view of the Hudson river
Upper East Side
Metropolitan Museum (81st and 5th): Andrew McQueen exhibit (unbelievable creative mind), roof top Anthony Caro exhibit, Richard Serra drawings, masterpieces, and tour
Central Park
The Mall to Bethesda Fountain
Imagine and Strawberry Fields (Yikes! a crime scene was being scoped out there)
Turtle Pond
Belvedere Castle
Shakespeare Garden
Midtown Central
Gay Pride March (The NY state gay marriage act was passed just the night before--so cool to be celebrating it with a million people the next day)
Grand Central Station (42nd and Park)
Shopping along Fifth, Madison, and Park Avenues (Hello Bergdorf Goodman Shoe Sale!!), Dior Store, Chanel, Yves St. Laurent, Burberry
MOMA (amazing range of modern art, from the most abstract to highly accessible)
New York Public Library (great collection of memorabilia to celebrate the 100 year anniversary—including Dicken’s pet cat paw letter opener)
Bryant Park (nice stroll around the park and had a drink on the Southwest Porch—unfortunately got a few bug bites—but thank god not bed bugs)
Rockefeller Center
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen/Theatre District
Breakfast with the Germans!! (Rose’s young hunky German male acquaintance from Seattle and his family happened to be in town so we joined them for breakfast at the Galaxy Café—Mr. German dad was not impressed : ( though made it known in a very charming manner, oh well!!)
Comedy Show (way better than either of us thought it would be, sat close enough to have great seats but far enough to not have to be part of the act)
Times Square (always 1,000,000 watts)
Clinton Community Garden (a little nearby piece of heaven)
Amy’s Bakery (got totally hooked on the Miche bread toasted for breakfast)
Broadway show ( Motherf***er with the Hat), at the Schoenfield Theatre
After theatre shake at the Shake Shack
Pinkberry (Danielle says watermelon and chocolate chips is not a good combination)
Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market (vintage everything)
Chelsea
Chelsea Market (Brownies from Fat Witch, tastings at Fueling Station of salts, vinegars, and oils, scoping out deals at the Pop Up shops)
Company (Co.) (Great Gourmet Pizza and salads)
Standard Hotel (Tried to sneak our way to the Top of the Standard, aka The Boom Boom Room but you need a room key to swipe in the elevator to make it go, and you need to be a member)
Ace Hotel Bar and Breslin Restaurant (uber cool place where we had drinks)
Rickshaw Dumplings (didn’t wind up eating here but we did pass by it and checked out the menu—looked good!)
Highline Park (fantastic walk in the park)
Martha Stewart Headquarters Living Omnimedia (Just went there to say we went there but didn’t actually go to either of the two floors it is housed)
Just walking the neighborhood—really great place to live if you can afford it
West Village/SOHO
Designer Boutiques in West Village/SoHo (Anna Sui, BookMarc, Swedish Candy shop where Martha likes to shop, stopped by Stonewall Inn in honor of Gay Pride week)
Bleeker Steet Pizza (really great NYC style pizza and CHEAP)
Christopher Street/Bedford Street/Bleeker Street (really charming neighborhoods….who wouldn’t want to live there??)
14th Street at 9th Ave, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen (too cool clothing with prices to match)
Le Petit Puppy (pups on sale, marked down from $2700 to $2400, Bob was getting emotionally involved with this one very cute Australian shepherd pup til Rose made him come to his senses)
Flatiron
ABC Kitchen (ate at this new Jean-Georges restaurant—wow, really beautiful and delectable meal while still being quite affordable unlike some of his other restaurants--afterwards read that it was recently voted one of the best new restaurants in the country)
Eataly (ate paninis after breaking away from the Gay Pride March and looked at $250 a pound black truffles—thought about having a beer at their rooftop beer garden but didn’t afterall)
Washington Square/NYU
Strand Bookstore (18 miles of books!!)
Union Square (14th and Broadway (SW corner) (walked the farmers market)
The Bald Man’s Chocolate (had a mega chocolaty treat there)
Washington Square (so many performers throughout the park)
City Hall/Chinatown
Brooklyn Bridge (walked through the beautiful Civic center park before our walk on the Brooklyn Bridge)
Downtown
Ground Zero/Freedom Towers (just a very brief pointing out of the area)
Walked all around the financial district (the “Canyon” Streets) (NY Stock Exchange, place where George Washington was sworn in as our first president, etc)
Staten Island Ferry--FREE ride to check out the Statue of Liberty
Vietnam Memorial (very touching and powerful piece)
East Village (shopping, shopping, shopping)
Bits and Pieces
Tokyo Joe
Tokio 7 (D. found a beautiful Helmut Lang top there)
Lots of walking the neighborhood
Lower Eastside
Tenement Museum (really interesting look into the history of NYC’s people)
The Meatball Shop (the place was packed even for a late lunch)
Clinton St. Baking Company for breakfast (OMG, so worth the wait of almost an hour—and this was a weekday!!!)
Patricia Field boutique (definitely a specialty store for a very particular buyer)
In honor of Amy Winehouse's talent, I bought her two albums, Frank and Back to Black and listened to them today. I'd been meaning to do that for quite a long time, so this seemed right. What a waste drugs made of her.
Hopefully I will do better at keeping this current once back from India.......that or I may abandon it altogether. It's kind of weird because I've thought about abandoning it in the past .....often and routinely, but each time I think I will, I get some message from someone telling me that they enjoy reading it or asking for the blog address. So those spurious but timely comments have kept me lurching forward with the process.
We'll see...............
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