Saturday in Manhattan

We are in New York City and it is an amazing place!  I spent two very productive days with the great team at Cornell Cooperative Extension - NYC.  I will write more about that visit in detail in a future blog.  I wanted to share some of the fun things Mike and I saw and did in various places in Manhattan on Saturday.

We headed out from our hotel, the Chelsea Savoy, on foot and walked to Union Square where the Greenmarket is on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Mike and I love Farmer's Market and go to the Bellingham Market as often as possible.  We like to visit markets in other cities and we are never disappointed by what we find.  This market was no different.  It was a feast for the eyes and the spirit

Yummy cheese!

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Plants galore!

Amanda, the friendly yarn woman who helped me select beautiful hand dyed green yarn.  This farm was a big part of Clara Parkes Great White Bale project.  I am a reader and fan of Clara's and a regular reader of Knitter's Review. 

The beautiful naturally dyed yarns at Catskill Merino Sheep Farm.

We had a great time visiting with these folks and brought home some seeds to plant.

Mother Pigeon created these lovely birds.  What a pleasure to see the art being so approachable!

We hopped on the subway and went north to the Upper East Side where we ate lunch, found the All Souls UU Church and walked to and through Central Park.  Central Park is an awesome part of the city.  Mike has been almost every day.  I have been three times already.  We spent time on Saturday wandering through the sunning crowds, watching bicyclists of all sizes and shape ride the road around the park, and visiting the Turtle Pond.

Spring time in Central Park!

Turtle Pond, and yes,
we did see turtles sunning themselves along the edge.

After returning to hotel and having a rest, we set out again for Chelsea Market and the High Line Park.  Both are in our neighborhood and we were excited to go.  Again, we were not disappointed.  The Chelsea Market has a plethora of shops and eateries and art galore.  We enjoyed a very casual meal of Japanese Mexican fusion restaurant, Takumi.  I have never tasted a spicy tuna taco but it was good.  As was everything else we ate.  Beans and rice were a combination of edamame, red beans, black beans and brown rice.  So good to my palate. We topped the meal off with gelato that was to die for.  We tasted but did not order the olive oil flavor.  Interesting.  Where else but NYC?

One of my favorite shops in the market was a Spice and Tea shop.  I bought both to bring home.  The colors and smells lured us.  I felt like I was being transported to a street market in Africa!

What would you buy?
We got a special blend for cooking fish and another for poultry

and some tea.

Famous clock in the Chelsea Market.

We ended our day by walking back to our hotel on the elevated High Line Park trail.  What a wonderful thing to do at sunset!  It was a beautiful day and many were enjoying the pleasure of walking along the edge of Manhattan above the crowded streets.

Looking west from the High Line.

Going north on the trail.

Saturday was a great day for both of us.  We walked over eight miles, not uncommon for tourists in New York, took several subway rides and at the end of the day walked past people lined up to see films at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Two of the theaters showing films are on our street, one on our block.

Whether you have been to New York City or not, I know you will all appreciate the words of a newcomer who sees the city for the first time and you will think about going for yourself or returning.

Thanks for reading.