The morning view from our hotel room on the 25th floor.
We decided to check off my #1 wish – a trip to Mood Fabrics – just a 20 minute walk from our hotel. 3 floors of fabric – an overwhelming choice of fabrics – most of the bolts lay horizontal on deep shelves (like the upper right part of the picture) which makes searching for something special a bit challenging.
Since it’s impossible to find good buttons in Sacramento, this array was enviable:
A whole section of trims:
We walked back along 5th Ave and browsed in a few stores, Lulu Lemon and Saks Fifth Ave were impressive. In the afternoon, we went to the West Village for a food tour. Our guide, Amanda (red shirt):
First stop: Mamoun’s for falafel.
Bagel with cream cheese and scallions from Bagels on the Square:
Cupcakes from Molly’s Cupcakes:
Molly was a 3rd grade teacher before opening her shop which is decorated like a classroom including (well-anchored) swings at the counter. Also on the tour were friends of Maria’s from Lake Wildwood, Heidi and her mother-in-law Sheree. While all 3 of their husbands are golfing in Arizona, we are having fun in NYC!
The owner of the next restaurant is a 28-year old woman whose father had a newsstand for 30 years on the same site. When he retired, his daughter opened Taco Mahal. Because her father is Indian and her mother is Puerto Rican, the food she serves is a fusion of the two cultures. We had a delicious tikka masala taco:
There were many other points of interest along the way. Chumley’s was a speakeasy whose actual address is around the corner which is where the cops showed up during Prohibition. Meanwhile, the customers came out this door to mill around until the cops left. This is where the term “to be 86’d” came from:
The building from the tv show, Friends:
On the right, a public school. During the week, this street is blocked off so the kids have a place to enjoy recess.
The only wood-built house in Manhattan:
A “slice of pie” from Two Boots Pizza. “The Duchess”:
And, finally, a cookie from Chip City where cookies are always served warm.
Now stuffed beyond anything reasonable, we went back to the hotel to regroup. Later we met Sheree and Heidi at:
Sheree’s niece is the lead singer in a group called Young Me and the Moons. In 2014, a group of friends at Harvard Business School started a band performing hits from the 80s to make a little extra money. Now graduated and scattered across the country, they get together once a year in NYC for a one-night stand.
We were seated in the VIP section with family members and friends off to the side – yay.
arletelouise 