I Hear A Symphony

...and dogs barking, horns honking, and people speaking en francais.

That sentence pretty much sums up my weekend, and what a fabulous weekend it was. You know I must first mention the weather, right?  Absolutely gorgeous! It's really starting to look and feel like fall here, and I'm just going to pretend I don't see that high of 82 predicted for Wednesday, because now that fall is here I'm ready for cooler temps.

We had sunny bright blue skies all weekend long, and spent as much time out of doors as we could.  Friday night a business friend of the hubs invited us to be his guests at the opening night gala of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. We actually know several people connected to the symphony as trustees and supporters, but we'd never been to a performance here.

The venue is stunning and the acoustics are amazing. Musicians say this particular venue has some of the best they've ever experienced, and I'd definitely love to see more. The symphony performs in the NJ PAC (Performing Arts Center) located in the Ironbound section of downtown Newark. I've written before about all the wonderful restaurants in that area, but the gala event included a cocktail hour, the performance itself, and then a late night supper after the show so we had dinner in the PAC. Everything was so lovely, truly, whoever organized the event gave it just the right touch.

Hubs and I like to dress up, and doesn't going to the symphony sound like a grown up thing to do? The music was fabulous (yes, I know I'm overdoing it with the adjectives, but really-it was fabulous) and the dinner afterwards was delicious. I sat beside the percussionist and enjoyed hearing more about how the symphony works, and how he got involved with it. Plus, here is my dessert-

I didn't take a lot of photos because it felt a little bit obnoxious, but this dessert was so good I didn't think anyone would mind.

Saturday was another blue sky kind of day so hubs did some yard work and I did some fun things like wash the bathroom rugs, and then we went into town and had a lovely al fresco lunch. Hubs wanted to take the MG, but I had a new haircut that was still feeling new so I said we had to go in a car with a lid.  Convertibles + hair =convertible hair.  'Nuff said.

Sunday was yet another beautiful day and we had plans to trek into the city to check out an event at the Javits Center.  Super cool building!  The Javits Center is home to some of the biggest events in NYC, and hubs has been to a couple of work related convention type things there, but this was my first time inside. We were there for an event called 'Meet the Breed' aka puppy time!

There were hundreds of dog and cat breeds represented, but sadly no Gordon Setter breeders. We really want another Gordon, but hubs has also always wanted an Irish Setter and I've always said no way, because do you know any Irish Setters? They're crazy. Fun crazy, but still a little too high energy for me. Except maybe this one-

What a love, and so mild mannered. Her owner is going to breed her later this fall and we took his contact information, and now hubs will start the process of trying to convince me we need an Irish Setter.  We do have some Gordon contacts, so right now I'm still holding out for another Gordon.

After we'd wandered around the dog show we headed out of doors, because quite honestly there are few things better than a sunny fall day in The Big Apple.  We walked all the way to Bryant Park and had a lovely lunch on the patio at The Bryant Park Grill. I highly recommend.

As it happens there was a French festival going on in the park all weekend long, so we wandered through that and dreamed of trips to the French countryside while savoring dessert-a French cheese plate.  Si délicieux!

We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.  When you live in the Northeast you need to take advantage of the gorgeous autumn, because we all know what comes next.  Hopefully not a foot and a half of snow in October, but hey, it's happened the last two years before so not as crazy as it sounds.

Soaking up the sunny mild days of fall makes the coming winter a little easier to bear.
A trip to France wouldn't hurt either.  

Empire State of Mind

I know I said something about writing posts with more substance and less 'here's where I was yesterday' sort of content but here's where I was yesterday-

In my defense Daughter2 doesn't go back to uni until this weekend so we're still ringing in the New Year.

We trekked into the city late yesterday afternoon to meet up with a co-worker of my hubs. We got there a little bit early because I was determined to see the tree before it comes down on Saturday. We parked near the restaurant then took a cab over to Rockefeller Plaza. In warmer weather we would have walked it but whoa!

Can you tell it was just a little bit chilly? And breezy? Still fun though...we hung out in the Plaza for a bit and then ducked into a restaurant for a glass of wine and a warm up. It was 20 degrees in the city yesterday so we kinda needed it.

Before heading over to meet our friends we made a quick stop in Bryant Park. A beautiful tree and an outdoor skating rink were set up there too and this is such a pretty little spot very close to the NYC Public Library.

We were only eight blocks from the restaurant but we jumped back into a cab because did I mention it was 20 degrees?

One of the things I love best about my hubs is his ability to make friends wherever he goes. It makes for a very rich life. This particular friend/co worker lives in Brazil but he and his wife have been on holiday in The Big Apple so we were excited to meet them for dinner. Another one of hubs work peeps and her hubs and daughter also joined the party and since they know lots of great spots to dine in the city we asked them to choose the restaurant. They did not disappoint.

Korean BBQ. The restaurant was situted in 'Koreatown' which is a whole street (maybe more?) filled with Korean restaurants and shops. You always hear about the Chinatown and Little Italy sections of NY, but there are streets tucked all around the city that are dedicated to different cultures and ethnicities...it's a big part of what makes NY such a fun and interesting (and let's not forget tasty!) place to explore.

Back to the BBQ...it was a dining 'experience'. There are BBQ restaurants all up and down this particular street but we ate in one called Wonjo. Our reservation was for 7 PM on a Wednesday evening and you could barely get in the door. It was absolutely packed and they're open 24 hours a day! You know a place is good when it's full of the local folks eating there too.

The room was a little warm since essentially you have a BBQ happening at each table...our friends informed us its best to eat here in the winter. There's a hole in the center of your table topped with what looks like a grill grate.

Once you've made your entree selection your server removes the grate and then someone suddenly appears out of nowhere with two enormous baskets of smoking hot coals. I did take note of the emergency exits upon being seated because I'm a mom and that's how I roll.

Your server grills your meat in front of you and while you're waiting for it to cook you taste all the wonderful little side dishes they've placed before you. I wouldn't want to be a dishwasher here. We were a table of eight and there must have been about twenty little bowls to sample.

So interesting and delicious, there wasn't anything I didn't like. Big surprise there, right? My favorites were the eggplant and the pickled daikon which is a type of radish that tasted a lot like cucumber. There was also a little dish of salted oil to dip your cooked entree in and I could have put a straw in that it was so good.

A couple of people at the table opted to try something besides the BBQ and they chose Bibimbap. This is a signature Korean dish and its kind of like a rice bowl topped with meat, vegetables and a fried egg. Also delicious!

I love this city. There is something about being in the middle of all the hustle and bustle that is so energizing. It's hard to put in to words but I do kind of see why New Yorkers sometimes feel like they can rule the world. Even in 20 degree temps!

Silly Old Bear

Do you know what is on this corner?

This amazing building ...The New York Public Library

I joined some new friends today for a tour of the library followed by a delicious lunch in Bryant Park. As an aside, let me just say once again how much I love New York...this city is just so alive and you feel that the minute you arrive. I only took a few photos mainly because these women don't know me very well yet so I thought it was best not to overwhelm them with my camera obnoxiousness right off the bat. I held back y'all...I promise.

Anyway, there are two enormous lions outside the entrance to the library and they are known by the nicknames Patience and Fortitude. They were given these names originally by Mayor LaGuardia in the 30's because he said these were qualities he felt New Yorkers would need to survive the economic depression. I'm pretty sure the names still work.

Anyway, the building is absolutely beautiful...it is neoclassical in style with lots of gorgeous marble and carved wood ceilings. And of course there are all those books...miles and miles of books and periodicals and maps and more...over 75 miles worth, much of it housed under Bryant Park. And let me just tell you that if you think catalogs and magazines pile up at your house you haven't seen anything...imagine receiving over 10,000 periodicals per week!

Now, if all those books and all those magazines and all that architectural beauty aren't enough guess what else they have right here in their very own collection?

They have the real live, honest to goodness Winnie the Pooh. Well, not real live but you know what I mean. And all his friends are here too... all except Roo that is. Not sure what happened to Roo but our tour guide pointed out that it appears the Milnes owned dogs so I do have a theory. Anyway, they are absolutely too cute for words and look very well loved. The toys were given to Christopher Robin Milne between 1920 and 1922. Pooh came from Harrods Dept. Store in London and these are the toys that inspired the stories.

Course if Winnie the Pooh isn't your thing you can also walk down this staircase which is indeed the staircase from 'the movie where Carrie Bradshaw gets her prince'...they filmed the wedding scene from that movie here.

Or maybe you recognize this view which was used in The Day After Tomorrow...

Or you may not recognize it because in the movie some snowwaterhailtornadotidalwave thing was rolling straight down 42nd Street and headed right for the lobby.

Which, incidentally, is magnificent. After our tour we walked around the corner to Bryant Park which is a pretty little patch of green surrounding the library.

Here sits a statue of William Cullen Bryant for whom the park is named...he's all dressed up for Christmas. We had a lovely lunch in this little spot right in the park, hence it's name Bryant Park Grill. There is a bit of fall and a bit of Christmas happening but it's all good....I love the vines growing around the building and the food was excellent.

There just happened to be a little Christmas Market going on right here so we managed to squeeze in a teensy bit of shopping before heading home... such a nice day.

And I know what you're thinking...you're thinking that if this isn't overwhelming people with pictures than what in the world is?