A Holiday Weekend

Zach and I were hoping to make it to Boston for the 4th of July long weekend, but our plans fell through, so we spent the three days around the city, just chilling out pretty much. The weather was less than cooperative--either hot and muggy or outright raining, so we didn't try anything too ambitious, like going to see the fireworks. We managed to get some pictures to document our weekend, though. Friday, Zach took me shopping and then we went further downtown and walked in the financial district. Being a holiday, it was really quiet down there, and most everything was closed. There was a concert of some kind in Battery Gardens, and we could hear it from down the street where we sat for a while, watching the people go by. You see all types--leftover hippies, want-to-be goths, career professionals, and life-long New Yorkers--all in a matter of minutes. Makes for a great study in people.
On Saturday, we went to midtown and hung out for a while at Grand Central Terminal, since it was raining outside. The station has amazing architecture and so many people coming and going. It's a lot of fun. Inside the terminal, they have a small market with fresh fish stands, a bakery, and artisan cheese for sale, among other things. I guess it works well for people to swing through on their way home from the train. Lots of tasty-looking stuff!
On Sunday, we went to the Strand, a famous, large, New York bookstore. You can usually get pretty good prices on books, and they had a lot of sale books out front for $1.00 each, so with a little searching, we found some that should be good reads. I'm well into "Conspiracy of Fools" right now, which is an account of Enron and what ended in such disaster. It's written with a very fictional style, and is based on tremendous hours of interviews with the relevant cast of characters, so it's a really good read so far. A lot like "Barbarians at the Gate," which I read earlier this year and loved!
Later on this week, we are going to see "In the Heights" on Broadway with Zach's firm. The ballet last week was really good--I greatly enjoyed the performance, especially the costumes and sets. It was very elaborate and beautifully done. I think the performances that we've seen together will definitely be a highlight of my summer. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this week's performance as well. I've read some pretty good reviews, so it should be fun!

At Macy's, Herald Square

Subway stop at Penn Station

As you can see above, many of the different avenues in NYC have different names in different parts of the city. This is the Fashion district, so 7th Ave. is also called Fashion Ave. here. Kind of makes for some early confusion as a new resident.

You can't really see here, but Zach's pointing at the word "Financier," which is what he wants to be when he grows up. The Financier Patisserie, which is where he's standing, is a pastry/coffee shop down in the financial district.

From Saturday, stacks of pretzels at Grand Central
Reading the New York Times in Grand Central. We shared the newspaper and read for a while. There are these large, easy-chair style plastic chairs downstairs that are nice for a little relaxation.
Eating bagels at Zaro's--one of my favorite NY bakeries, and conveniently located in the major train stations, so you can grab some amazing bread or a bagel on your way out.
Chandeliers in Grand Central

This is the table top design in the dining area of the Terminal. They show subway and train maps and trasnportation memorabelia. Pretty cool!