Wednesday in NYC

(and also in Connecticut...)

The Wednesday of our NYC trip started late and lazily.  There was a Starbucks run (a block away - here are some photos from the neighbourhood on that short jaunt). 

Then the three of us finally made our way through Madison Square Park,

pausing to admire the dogs and the surroundings, to Eataly.  Shopping for light snacks for the room and a spot of lunch.  Ah, Eataly is fun.  We parked at the little Campari bar

in the centre of everything

and had a cocktail

and something to eat. 

Service was wonky, but we were unbothered.  After lunch, we popped next door to the Eataly wine shop where we browsed, Conrad bought a bottle for the room (that we never did open), and left gobsmacked at the prices of some of the reserve bottles.

The rest of the afternoon, as I recall, was devoted to napping and reading and relaxing.  As it should be!

Late that afternoon we headed to Grand Central Station

and boarded a commuter train up to Stamford. 

In Connecticut.  That's where we met up with Steven - so good to see him. 

It's been a couple of years or more, I think.  Ryan couldn't join us, so the four of us enjoyed catching up over a dinner not too far from the station. 

Steven is just so damn delightful.  I hope it's not so long before we see him again.

After dinner, her dropped us off at the nearby station, and it was two trains back into the city.  Once there, we headed to Wine:30 again.  Marco seemed glad to see us.  We splurged on a nice wine to end the night,

and then came back to the room, took a last look at the city at night,

and then headed off to bed. 

Steven!

In among all the busyness of conference coming up and such, it was a lovely midweek treat to have Steven come for dinner last night.  He flew in to LA the day before, and he will be in SoCal for some days yet, but this was my only chance at catching up with him.  Plus, he got to meet Van and Olive, a nice bonus.  I made us a meaty stew and some biscuits and a raspberry tart, we had some cocktails and wine, and a nice evening was had.

Ah, if only we could convince him to move west....

work trip to NYC

Thanks to my work with my professional association, I have some opportunities to travel for a few years.  Mostly Chicago, something I do not at all mind.  Recently, however, I was at LAX at breakfast time,

beginning a trip to the east coast.  Two days of meetings in NYC, my first trip there in a year.  Out on a Wednesday, and a looooong day of travel, what with delays in Chicago (winter rain and more, I think) en route to LGA.  Ah well.  I had a nice pod seat for the first leg, at least.

Day one of the meetings was on the 51st floor of the Bank of America building at One Bryant Park.  Impressive views that would have been all the more impressive with clear, sunny weather.  Alas, we didn't get that until the next day, when we were on the fifth floor of an NYPL building on Fifth Avenue, unable to see much at all.  Darn it.  Still, the 51st floor views were fine enough.

New York is such a walking city.  I can't recall the last time I used a subway even when visiting there.  Each of the two mornings of the meeting days I got together with the same two other colleagues, and we set out for about an hour.  Northward one morning,

southward the next. 

We talked business and gossiped about our profession.  The Thursday I managed 20,000 steps!  Not too bad.  I need more of that in my day-to-day life.

The meetings wrapped up on the Friday at lunch time, but I wasn't flying home until the next day.  That evening I left the city and added a new state to my list of visited states:  Connecticut.  When last I was in NYC, Steven had come in to the city for dinner with me and Conrad.  This time I went out to him, enjoying catching up over pizza at his home, meeting his boyfriend, Ryan, for the first time. 

A real highlight of the trip.

Ultimately, I didn't see too much of the city.  Meetings and then a dinner with colleagues ate up most of Thursday and Friday, and come Saturday, I was simply keen to get home.  I caught a cab to LGA well before my flight and found myself in an almost empty United Club.  That whole airport has had quite the glow-up, and the club was no exception.  I sat, watching some television on my iPad.  Two staff persons approached me with a treat, asking if they could take my picture.  Why not?  I let them, then enjoyed the pastry and mimosa. 

By dinner time, with minimal delay, I was back home in Pasadena and heading to Maestro with Conrad and Van.