More Rockefeller Estate

The Rockefeller Estate

We journeyed up to Tarreytown today, on our very last day, to visit the estate of the Rockefellers. The first one acquired the land and built the main house and each succeeding patriarch added things. Nelson added his modern art acquisitions. Of course, the place is magnificent.

Dinner with Doug & Lamar and their old friends

We had cocktails in their Park Avenue apt. and then dinner at this very nice restaurant.

Snug Harbor, Staten Island

We met some women gardeners while in the East Village and they recommended Snug Harbor on Staten Island. We thought it would be interesting to explore Staten Island so we did. To be charitable, do it in the spring, not August when it's really hot.

The Addams Family

Our friends, Doug and Lamar, came to visit all their old friends in NYC. They lived in CT and PA for almost 30 years and so this is coming home for them. They had befriended Morgan James, a member of the cast of the Addams Family, when she came to Savannah to participate in the annual Music Festival there. She got us tickets for the show and we all went to dinner afterward. It sounds like she has a very promising career in that she has a one-woman show coming up in Asheville, NC before she takes it to Birdland this fall. Check out her website: morganjames.org.

The East Village

When I told Ed we were heading out to the East Village he said: haven't we already been there? But when we got off the subway at Aster Place and he saw Cooper Union, he knew we had never been here before. The East Village is quite gritty as is exemplified by Tompkins Square Park which was known as the needle park 40 years ago. I think it still is, it's just calmed down. We saw some beautiful gardens scattered thru out the area. There are so many young people.

Views from the top....................

Finally; the Empire State Building

We decided to attempt to got to the top at dusk to see the lighting up of the city. We stopped for one of our farewell dinners at an italian place called Abboccato on 55th Street. Very nice place. The lines for the Empire State are mind boggling. A regular United Nations. It took us over an hour to get to the viewing platform but they have all these exhibits while you are snaking thru the lines. I took the chiller picture for my son, Walker, because that's the business he's in. That was part of an exhibit about saving energy and clean environment.

Walking around Cobble Hill

This area in Brooklyn is just south of Brooklyn Heights. Here exist the Monopoly streets of Baltic, Atlantic and Pacific Avenues. The red brick townhouse is where Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's mother was born. Sinclair Lewis lived in one of the row houses in these pictures. What a clean part of New York! It's very close by subway to Wall Street. This would be a good place to live. They have a Trader Joe's and lots of cute looking restaurants and shops.

Tour of City Hall

This bldg. was built in 1804 and much of it is original. A beautiful bldg. that we were not allowed to take pictures in. Wonderful huge portraits of Washington and many of his generals who after the war became governors, etc. It is a working bldg. housing the mayor's office and the city council. Everybody was working (although behind closed doors).

Scenes around Wall Street

We are winding up now, trying to tie up all the loose ends, so yesterday we walked around Wall Street with all the other tourists. Our guide book said you could get in the stock exchange but when we got there is was all blocked off with barricades and security guards. The only way to get in is to know someone who works there or is connected, etc. We called our broker to see if he could get us in, but, of course, we're running out of time. George Washington took the oath of office where his statue stands now.

Martinis @ Balthazar............

A dear friend asked us to check out this space. You can't really call it a restaurant, it is a Parisian brasserie. It is on Spring Street in Soho which has great galleries and great shopping. A very beautiful street.