Ole Radi: The Big Apple...taking a bite

How could you not....

Well, I was contemplating going to Dublin...and then over dinner last week, there it was... the opportunity, followed rapidly by one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make...New York... YES PLEASE!!!

Being led astray by the locals, what is that peeking over my shoulder Skip and Robin!!!

The City that doesn't sleep... five days and my feet didn't touch the ground... A whirlwind of dinner's, lunches, breakfast and as always the sheer joy of just walking about and immersing yourself in the thrill of being in a new (big and busy) beautiful City and catching up with dear dear friends, including Cynthia whom I met at cooking school in Bologna and finding little bit's of gorgeousness in unexpected places...

Hotel number one was just around the corner from Times Square, I loved this Hotel, they made a little "error" in service and spent the rest of my stay spoiling me rotten, including a "Red Velvet" cupcake from The Magnolia Bakery waiting for me on my return in the early hours of one morning...

Times Square, talk about sensory overload, just like the movie's folks, and a place where you never quite know who might be watching you...

Howdy Officers...misdemeanouring with Mel...

I strolled down Madison Avenue early one morning and was thrilled to see they had gone all out with a very special treat for me...

Nothing like finding your name up in lights, without an audition!

I wandered on down to Central Park, what a beautiful place, ice skating, horse drawn carriages and a man sitting on a hill playing the saxophone all accompanied by a crisp sunshiny day (and a bit of a horsey whiff in the air)

Brunch at the Wright Restaurant at the Guggenheim Museum

was a truly

delightful way to wile away some hours on a Sunday ... how amazing to be able to visit a city so very far from home and to look around the table and see familiar and much loved faces and hear their matching laughter. Also learning another wonderful life lesson, that two Wrights (in a glass) don't make a wrong, but three Wrights plus a couple of Prosecco's could certainly set you on the path to giving it a nudge :0)

The Wright

Another interesting observation,

did I in fact find the most discerning homeless man in New York? I only ate half my bagel, wrapped the rest, took a napkin and scooted backdown the street to the man I had seen rattling his Starbucks cup... hmmmm, he asked me what sort it was..."cream cheese?" yes I replied and still warm"what else?" oh the pressure! Would he like my selection? Bacon, avocado and red onion...in fact should I even mention the red onion....! The relief when he said in a Grizzly Adams kind of voice...(and hairstyle) "awwwright"... Phew! happy days...

As it is prior to Thanksgiving, many of the Christmas decorations are still "under wraps" including the Sax 5th Ave windows and the Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree. There were still smatterings of delight to be seen, the last time I visited with my lovely buddy Trish it was for Christmas, so I can safely say, these guys give "good decoration"

The Highline was also an amazing location. The old New York rail lines that were used to transport dangerous goods above the city streets...they have now been preserved and turned in to a public park which offer fabulous history and views, including this stunning piece of glass work by Spencer Finch. The Hudson river flows in both directions, he took one photo per minute over the 11 + hour journey and then created this (a part of) a beautiful installation in glass representing the changing colours in the water as the light changed during the duration of the journey...

good job Mr Finch!

The Highline is located in the Meatpacking district, the home of the Chelsea Markets where I made short work of one of the most enormous lobsters I've ever laid eyes and lips on, this is a gritty "up and coming" area, filled with sexy edgy little boutiques cheek by jowl with Mario's place of sausages, suppliers of offal and other speciality meats and a place where you don't muck about with rules...

It is also home to Hotel number two, with floor to ceiling windows and views across the Hudson to the city skyline...and I kid you not it's own Ice skating rink...it would be churlish to not be impressed with that!


The Lady herself from the bedroom window....

So thanks New York, you're not a Dame you're a Lady, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance again... I love your Hot Dog vans, I love your Roy Lichtenstein in the subway, I love that you offered me the opportunity to put people I cherish in the same room, and I love that you didn't rain until it was time for me to leave...

A real live Roy no less!

I also love that I ended up in a bar in the lower East side last night that was filled with Elk heads and stuffed Pheasants and could only be accessed through a lane way.... thanks Diane and Beck!