The three of us (BFF, Keeley and I) meandered over to the Morningside Farmers Market at 110 Ave and Morningside Park. Unfortunatley, due to the time of the year, there were not a lot of vendors with set up stalls but the ones there were of very high quality. We purchased fresh baked croissants for our breakfast and then I was off to procure vegetables for the gourmet dinner that I purposed to make this evening. Baby salad greens, yellow carrots with their tops still on and a two large bunches of baby turnips rounded out my choices for our side dishes. We stopped to pick up some organic almond butter and forestalled our entrance to the park, lingering to breathe in the sweet smell of the honeycomb from the organic bee farmers stall.
We turned to look at the natural grandeur of the park vista before us and descended down a large flight of stone steps into the deep valley with its soring side wall of mica schist rock. A park bench beckoned and we sat down to eat our morning comestibles and watched the local colour. I'm sure Keeley would tell you the highlight of her time there was watching a group of young men playing soccer on the field, especially the curly-haired soccer player who was showing off his fancy leg work. I'm not sure if the thing I was entertained most by was the guy who jogged around the running track carrying his ipod with speakers instead of ear buds or the 30-something Napolean Dynamite look-alike, complete with headband, who seemed to be trying to show off and make an impression. We're just not sure who he was trying to impress!
After a stop at an organic market for the rest of our planned evening meal we headed back to the apartment and then out for our day. We took the bus down to Columbus Circle, crossed the street and entered one of the most famous gateways into Central Park. We first happened across a mini marathon for children that was sponsored by the New York Firefighters Association and then we promenaded past the dairy house, the carousel, and one of the park's many ponds. The Mall, of course, is our favorite spot because it provides the quintessential view of New York. As we listened to the melodic strains of a local saxaphonist we each took turns cavorting in the fallen leaves and tried to capture on camera the enchantment and captivating spell that Central Park seems to cast on its visitors.
Although reluctant to forsake such beauty we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we spent the following three to four hours. Sadly, some of the things we had wanted to see such as the textile and musical instrument sections were closed but we did enjoy Egyptian antiquities and the painting galleries which contained work from the impressionists. Seeing a large number of Van Gogh's and Monet's masterpieces was again almost overwhelming but I revelled in the majesty and movement of their plein air works.
My BFF was overcome with emotion when we entered one particular gallery. Hanging on the wall, with light coming from behind, stood one of Louis Comfort Tiffany's most famous pieces of art glass, Autumn Landscape. The piece was luminous, with a glass stream that looked like it was tumbling down a rock river and the sun lit the sky aglow as if taking its final bow before sunset. We spent a fair amount of time then sitting on a bench watching passerby, resting and massaging our over worked tootsies.
After we arrived home that sense of peace that comes from my delight in taking the time to prepare good food came over me and I set about preparing our gourmet fete. The menu consisted of dijon mustard roasted chicken breast; baby greens salad with balsamic and olive dressing; a crispy on the outside, moist on the inside baguette; oven roasted yellow carrots with their tops on and sauteed baby turnips with garlic. Son and DIL expended a large amount of energy during their shopping day trying to find the best Tiramisu in the city. Encased in ladyfingers our "cake" first tasted of espresso and finished with silky top notes of mascarponi cheese and whipped cream.
Sitting around the dining table allowed us to talk about our day, what each person had enjoyed the most and savour all of the delights that make up this vibrant and complex city.
Salynne ©2009
Sounded like a marvelous day!
ReplyDeleteI got this email from my BFF. Toooooo funny; the benefits of spell check I guess; either that or I was subconsciously talking about the sweat smell of the vendor ;) I'm going to leave it AS IS!
ReplyDelete"So I had a good laugh when I read the following:
“We stopped to pick up some organic almond butter and forestalled our entrance to the park, lingering to breathe in the sweat smell of the honeycomb from the organic bee farmers stall.”
I assume you meant the SWEET smell of the honeycomb...............;o)
It was a really good laugh, though!!"