Walking up and down 5th Avenue

When my Mom was in town, I showed her Central Park for the first time, took her to revisit Times Square (she'd been during Christmas of '09) and we got drinks at The Plaza Hotel. I planned to show her some of the unique little boutiques and shops down in the Lower East Side one of the days that she was here, but she asked to see Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral instead. Wow, I didn't even think to take her there. I guess I am really turning into a local, because I haven't been back to those places in a while. I used to go all the time, and I used to take my visitors there right away.

So we ventured up and down 5th Avenue to admire some of our favorite NYC stores: Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendell's, Juicy Couture, etc.


At the start of 5th Avenue and Waverly Place in the West Village
The arch in Washington Square Park


Nearby row of brownstone townhouses used by NYU,
on Waverly Place at Washington Square Park & 5th Avenue


Further up 5th Avenue in the 40's: St. Patrick's Cathedral


Trump Tower on 5th Avenue


Golden food court inside the Trump Tower


Louis Vuitton Ostrich egg theme


Tiffany & Co


Cool Burberry window display on 57th Street & 5th Avenue


If you're visiting the City for the first time, the tenth time or even if you are a local, these are the best places to see! You really will feel like you're seeing the best sights of NYC!

Another temporary Installation on Park Avenue: 'Roses'

Another temporary installation further up the way from Urs Fischer's Untitled (Bear/Lamp) is Will Ryman's Roses.

Made of fiberglass and steel and temporarily set up on Park Avenue between 57th & 67th Streets, Roses is made up of several installation pieces within the street medians and is up through May!

The 'Untitled' Bear by Urs Fischer

Sitting (barely) upright on park Avenue and East 52nd Street is Urs Fischer's latest and weirdest temporary installation: Untitled (Bear/Lamp) on Seagram Plaza, in front of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's famous Seagram Building.


I hear this thing will be up for auction next month by Christie's.

Walking through Central Park in Spring time

I thought Fall was the best time to be in the park, to see the trees in bright yellows and greens. But it can be nice in the Springtime as well. The trees are covered with pink and white flowers. Shakespeare's Garden is blooming. The Great Lawn is green. The turtles come to the surface in Turtle Pond. People take over the fields and couples ask for pictures by The Lake.

My favorite benches inside the Arthur Ross Pinetum


Lovers on the Great Lawn


Trees over the Great Lawn


Bow Bridge and The Lake
(with a view toward The Dakota and The San Remo on Central Park West)


Sundial in Shakespeare's Garden (and it tells accurate time!)


Random banana hanging on a tree by Turtle Pond


Belvedere Castle


The Mall before the elm trees turn all green!

Central Park: Mom in town Edition

My Mom came to visit me in New York City the weekend of April 15th. We visited my favorite spot in Central Park - The Arthur Ross Pinetum located by the 86th Street and Central Park West entrance. While in Central Park we took fun pictures of each other inside the Pinetum and eventually made our way to the Reservoir, The Great Lawn, The Lake, Shakespeare's Garden and Bethesda Terrace.


Inside the Arthur Ross Pinetum, surrounded by pine trees!




My Mom on the Reservoir Bridge by 86th Street


Bow Bridge, The Lake with The Dakota, The San Remo in the background


Inside Shakespeare's Garden under a Magnolia Tree


Looking out over The Great Lawn and Turtle Pond from the top of Belvedere Castle


Bethesda Terrace


Spring tree on the Great Lawn

The 2011 Macy's Flower Show

Scenes from the Spring 2011 flower show at Macy's. This year's theme was "Towers of Flowers" and it ended on Sunday, April 10th. I went the day before, on a busy Saturday, and braved the crowds of tourists and other brave locals on the 1st floor near all of the jewelry and make-up counters.

I was most looking forward to seeing the Japanese Garden located toward the front of the store near the 34th Street Herald Square entrance.

Around the Reservoir

My new favorite place to visit in Central Park is the Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, near the entrances of 86th Street at Central Park West and 90th Street at 5th Avenue, right by the Guggenheim Museum. I can walk from my apartment in the Upper West Side over to this large body of water set against the many neighborhood skylines that surround it.

It is just 1.58 miles to walk the full length around the reservoir—my friends and I go all the time now that it is getting warmer!



View toward Midtown East


View of the Eldorado in the Upper West Side 90's