I Hate Being Sick!

Remember when you were a kid and you felt the only acceptable time to be sick was when you had to go to school? That's how I feel about this beautiful week-end. I originally planned to go to NoLita this week-end. However, on Thursday, I began feeling a bit under the weather and wound up home sick from work on Friday. Then this morning I thought I was feeling better until lunchtime. I was all set on making the journey by myself until after I ate and began feeling nauseous, tired and chilly. So, I laid my head down and slept 5 hours and only woke up just now. So, next week probably, although I hope tomorrow, or who knows when but I want to get back on the flippin' horse and get back to touring. This month has been a bit disorganized and maybe April I'll have better luck. My son has gotten out of his cast but is now off for the week from school for Easter Holiday and so, I'm still fighting for time on the computer. If this blog is a bit of rambling nonsense, it fits how my head feels. Hope I feel better soon.

SOHO Tour

Another Georgeous day in New York for a tour so with friends, off I went. Today I was joined by my friend and his wife, Tony
and Maricel. We grabbed the L train to 6th Ave and grabbed the 1 train going downtown. We got off the 1 at the Houston Street stop to begin our tour at Seventh Street and Houston. Upon exiting the train we saw this interesting tile art on the wall. There would be a lot of art today, but I can't help but appreciate the art that's in the Subway that goes almost completely unnoticed by the ample majority leaving and entering the train stations. I'm not sure if this comes across in the photo you see here, but looking at it in person it had this 3D effect that made you feel as if the turtles were truly floating in air as they are displayed as being submersed in the waters, maybe of the train station we were in. Well, I liked it.

The tour led us east on Houston to 6th ave, south to Prince Street and due east to Sullivan. For those of you who can't remember which compass direction the sun rises and sets, in more simpler terms, we zig zagged a bit based on the map on our card until we came upon Sullivan Street between Spring and Houston Streets. The first stop on the card was supposed to be Sullivan Street Bakery at 73 Sullivan Street which is now the Grandaisy Bakery. We stopped in as most of us were starting to get hungry as it was getting to be lunchtime. We foolishly figured, eh we'll stop and have us a nosh. So we walked in and living on the edge I literally asked what they recommended. The counter person recommended 4 different pastries to which I said we'd have one of each. This was the magic words as she not only bagged us one of each, she gave us a ton of samplers. We went outside and sat on some benches set outside of the door to the place and took a taste of each item. There were chocolate pastries, citrus cakes, flat-bread pizza's, and all kinds of heavenly yum-yums. I went back in, dropped a good tip in the jar and grabbed a business card. If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in. Their website is www.grandaisybakery.com. They actually have a few locations in Manhattan so give em a try sometime.
After leaving the bakery, we walked up Sullivan Street from Spring walking toward Houston. The weather was so good, it looked as if the Empire State Building was a block away. So I snapped this picture just to give you an idea how nice it was outside today.

The next point of interest was this location called Once Upon a Tart. The window display was georgeous and unfortunately, the glass was so clean it reflected my image and not what you could see beyond the glass. Their window display makes it appear as if Strawberry Shortcake lives there. Very pretty, but very cramped interior. We were so full, we couldn't make ourselves order a tart but they were all so very pretty.

Upon leaving Once Upon a Tart we headed up to Houston where at the corner is St Anthony of Padua church. Built in 1866 it is one of the oldest Catholic churches in New York. Built by mostly Italian immigrants it's interior is loaded with marble and fantastic stained glass windows. Now, I always feel uncomfortable with just snapping pictures inside of churches so you'll have to go for yourself to be awe inspired by it's rich interior architecture.



Now, we followed the card to 150 Thompson Street where there is supposed to be a great antiques shop called Eileen Lane Antiques. It's this building by the way. Inviting looking isn't it? We walked up to the door which was locked and had a series of bells to enter the building. We rang the one that appeared correct for the antique shop but nobody answered or buzzed us in. So, we walked on.

We were lead by the card to West Broadway to walk between Houston and Broome Street. The street is full of art galleries inside the buildings and artists who have made their own on the street. I felt it rude to just snap pictures of work these men and women prided themselves on and were selling for varying and large amounts of money. Now, we have a very rude saying in New York that goes, "If you kick over a garbage can you'll find a starving artist in New York." Many of these people in my opinion did not deserve this saying to be rested upon their shoulders. It was a very culturally enriching experience and for such a beautiful day was an absolute pleasure. Why go to an art museum you have to pay an entry fee for when you can see a fantastic one at no charge. This was the most significant part of the walk to me.

Somewhere along our walk was the place called Pet Bar with what appears to be a giant paper mashey(how do you spell this word?) of this 5 foot dog. It reminds me of my golden retriever Max who stands about this tall when he jumps up on you. Except, you'll never see my doggie in such a nice bow tie.










Now I somehow missed a bunch of things on the card with the exception of Balthazar's on Spring Street. There is Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Anthropolgie, Broadway Panhandler, Jacques Carcanagues Antiques and Kelley & Ping in this area. Maybe I was too engrossed in the artwork along Broadway to care, but if you decide to go to this area, send me some photo's of these places.

Now, when I went to City Hall I had walked up to this area near to where the tour ends at Spring Street and Crosby.
About a block or so away is Rice to Riches. I'm not a rice pudding fan.
But members of my household go mental if I don't bring them home good rice pudding when I'm near it.
37 Spring Street between Mott and Mulberry Street is where you can find this rice pudding ...museum which the gift shop is rice pudding. If you think I'm nuts for writing that, you have to go there to understand. These pictures are only a small sampling of the signs and pictures throughout the store. Even in the bathroom are signs hailing the plight of the gravitationally gifted and their quest for an exquisite treat. When you go to get your rice pudding, there is a display glass like that at Baskin Robbins but a lot nicer. Multiple flavors to choose from as well as "Jesus Droppings" which are the toppings for your rice pudding. The flavors all have interesting names also. My favorite to mention is "Sex, drugs and Rocky Road". So, I brought home the goods for my wife and my father-in-law and took a good nap. After all the walking I did this week-end a good nap was well deserved. Until next tour...

Williamsburg Bridge Tour

This was a beautiful day to be walking in New York. The weather was in the low 70's with virtually no humidity and very little to no cloud cover. A very early preview of what weather is to come and I hope for very many more days like this.

The card recommended I start in Manhattan, but I chose to start on the Brooklyn side. I took the J train to Marcy Ave. At the Marcy Ave station I took a picture of one of the stained glass art windows there. When I exited the station I followed the signs which pointed to the Williamsburg Bridge.

Before reaching the bridge I walked through a park just before the bike/run/walk path for the bridge. The park is dedicated to Valley Forge with a statue of Washington upon his horse.


Right at the entrance to the pedestrian path of the bridge was a bike dedicated to the death of someone struck by a car as a bicyclist. "CYCLIST KILLED HERE DAN VALE 26 YEARS OLD FEBRUARY 18, 2009 REST IN PEACE" is what the sign above the bike reads. You might not be able to see this in the picture, but there are several signatures on the bike from loved ones to this man.

Following the memorial I entered the path to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge. Now there are clear instructions on the floor all the way across that indicate that pedestrians running and walking are to be on the left side of the divider and bicyclists on the right. NOBODY seemed to care except me. Key word is "seemed", because the New York attitude is of general indifference and those who were not on the correct side may have been wished excruciating death by slow torture by their "fellow" New Yorkers. Most of the view was obstructed for picture taking by this heavy metal fencing. Since we have to stop people from killing themselves, I couldn't take all the pictures I would have liked. Here's an example so you know what I mean.

















The first picture worth sharing was the your leaving Brooklyn sign. Oy Vey?!? Really? Anywho....







As I was walking the bridge I was able to get up close to the fence and snap a shot of a rooftop that was well painted in a mosaic. Didn't think I knew that word did ya? Actually, I'm not sure I used it right so, it was all artsy and stuff and I liked it so I took a picture of it.

As I got near the first tower of the bridge there was a bronze plaque that had been graffitied over telling you the start and finish date and probably the history of the bridge. However, I could only read the opening year which was 1903. I'd have taken a picture of it, but it was truly disgusting to see and I didn't want to save it. The view of the Manhattan skyline was amazing. I did my best to take photo's of it. Very few were worth saving. I'll post the ones of interest here.













































After I made it to Manhattan, I made a trip into Brooklyn on the F train. At the Essex and Delancy station for the F train there was some interesting tile art on the walls that I snapped a few pictures.































My day ended with a walk along the shoreline of Brooklyn looking over at Staten Island with my good friend Joe. However, this was not part of the tour. But I thought I'd share the picture I took of the Verrazano. Hope to see you next tour.

The Williamsburg Bridge Today

I have not blogged in ages because getting to the computer has been impossible. To be fair, nobody has really asked what's going on. So, today I plan on crossing the Willey-B. I'll make some calls to friends who have come before or have been interested in joining me in the past to see who is game. Maybe, I'll stop at Peter Luger Steak House for lunch?

Tonight Cancelled

Due to the weather and my wife not going to bed last night and sleeping all day and not waking up and leaving me with our son the one foot wonder, I will not be touring tonight. I will probably do this tour another time and take on another one next week. Sorry fans. Calling it a night.

It Has Been Impossible.....

I've been trying desperately to get on here and blog. Due to long hours and days at work and my son at home with his broken foot, I've had little opportunity. I am sooooo going on my tour tonight even with the rain. Everyone that was going has bowed out due to the rain. The irony is, this tour is supposed to be indoor art galleries and restaurants. The info is on the left side view bar with the start point and start time. If anyone is interested, you need to email me. You could even post a comment. Until people start going again, I'm going to continue going and blogging about it. As always...I hope to see you on a tour.

The Lower East Side Tour

Thank God I love my child. He erased most of my pictures from my camera as well as the video I took. I will allow him to live another day. However, a few pictures did remain and I will of course update these as I go.

First off, this was the longest tour I've done. It lasted 6+ hours and covered a great deal. It started with a camera failure and ended with a meal that made my tummy very happy.

The camera I had been using so far on these tours contained an internal rechargeable battery that no longer wanted to recharge. I got it for my birthday. Not a birthday a decade or even a few years ago, but the one that just passed. So, not making that mistake again, I went and got a new one at Toys R Us. Why there? They had a large camera selection there and with the aforementioned child I was familiar with the store and where everything was, so I made my purchase there. Boy would that come back to bite me in the buttocks! To begin, the store's parking lot is on the roof and you have to ride an escalator about 5 stories down to the store and then 5 stories back up to get to your car. Once inside the store I chose a 10 mega-pixel camera. I know squat about mega-pixels. All I know is more is better than less so I bought the one with the most. For all I know a pixel is made of fairy dust and somewhere Tinkerbell is dying. So, with Tinkerbell's demise I hope everyone will enjoy the pictures I take. So, the camera can take pictures but not keep them unless I buy a memory card. So, with the help of a Toys R Us sales aid, who was barely escaping puberty, I bought a memory card and the fun began. After making my purchase I ran up the escalator with joy and excitement to where I had parked my car. Thanks to all the thieves in America it was wrapped in plastic strong enough to make the blood vessels pop on my head and the veins bulge from my neck. Of course once I broke through them with a nail clipper's pointy part of the nail file I keep in the car(cause I'm such a prissy-sissy) the package cut my hands real nice. With sweat poring from my head, I get all the extra plastic encasing off the camera and I pull out the memory card from bag. Now, I go through the same torture removing the memory card from it's protective plastic to discover the memory card is smaller than the slot on the camera. So, down the escalator I went in a run. Now, let me mention I am very overweight and running confuses my stomach into thinking there's a cheeseburger at the finish line or it's time to digest, it never knows which. So, I go to the returns counter, they get the same brilliant young pubescent stranger to come to the counter, see my problem with camera in hand I might add and he goes and brings over a memory card adapter set. With the exchange I actually save $2.00 and get a small refund. Yay me! Maybe I will afford the cheeseburger and avoid the toilet? Well, with glee out the store I go and run up the escalator to my car again. Once I get the memory card adapter into the camera which did fit, the camera comes on to tell me the memory is full. HUH?!? I take it out, turn it around several times and make sure I stuck it in the camera correctly as if maybe the ritualistic act of spinning the memory card around will confuse the camera, I stick the card back in and still reads memory full. Back down the escalator I go and now my stomach is realizing no cheeseburger will be coming so it's time to evacuate the doo-doo factory. As I approach the counter I am standing in great discomfort and crossing my legs as behind myself as possible to avoid actually grabbing the derriere cheeks with my hands in front of the brilliant staff at Toys R Us when again they get the same jackass kid to come to my rescue. On his return from behind his counter(for the third time) he realized, he didn't have to sell me the adapter at all and could have just given me the full sized card for this camera the whole time. I wish a pimple to grow on his face, swell up and then back down, and reappear on his but making it impossible for him to sit or do what rhymes with sit. So, after my acquisition, this time I try it at the counter and it worked...THANK GOODNESS...and off to the Toys R Us bathroom I went. With all the toys to play with at Toys R Us, wouldn't you think people would have other things to play with instead of what's in the bathroom? I leave you with that thought and move on to the actual tour from there.

I rode in on the J train to Essex and Delancey to catch the F train. At the Delancey station is fantastic tile artwork. Unfortunately, the pictures I took of this were deleted. The F train took me to the starting point when I got off at the East Broadway station. Now, the card had totted there would be very few linen shops but at least one would remain by the name of Harris Levy at 278 Grand. When I arrived there, there was no longer a linen shop and after the next major stop on the tour I would discover why.

The Tenement Museum is located at 97 Orchard Street, but you must go to 108 Orchard Street where you buy a ticket to go on a tour into 97 Orchard street. 108 Orchard is a shop which has an amazing display of books, post cards, nick nacks and all kinds of goodies that range from New York City memorabilia to toys to ethnically traditional items.You would have to go there to understand what I'm describing. But, I wanted to do a tour, so I got on line to buy a ticket. On your way up to the counter you are literally given a menu of the tours available.Each tour provides something rich in history of this once heavily crowded and culturally diverse area of New York using the building at 97 Orchard Street as a portal to the past in it's mainstay from 1863 till eviction day in 1935.I chose the tour "Getting By: Past and Present". It just so happens to be a very interactive and participant driven tour and lasts 2 hours.It was rich in history and culture. The tour guide, Adam, brought us into the building and sat us in what is called the kitchen. Inside this first room you enter are multiple tables and chairs. What I did not realize was that these tables were antiques and were made of metal. They were exquisite in design and really sturdy. We were invited to sit down around these tables and to introduce ourselves and divulge if comfortable our ancestry. Fortunately, all were very comfortable and we openly shared our histories. With each introduction and divulging of what countries our families hailed, the guide was quick to point out very intriguing and impressive facts. Queens, the guide pointed out, now is the hub of where foreign born Americans now settle when they come to New York, over 45%. One of the members of my group was African American and either her great or great great grandmother was a slave. From this, we delved into the history of the Jim Crowe laws and how her family migrated from the South to the North to escape those segregation laws. With this open forum, each person was permitted to ask a question and I had the fortune in my life to once meet a Tuskegee Airman. I shared how this airman told me how he joined the Tuskegee Airmen to get away from those same prejudices only to discover they existed up north as well, but with less segregation. This led my group member of African American descent to tell the tale of her mother working as a chambermaid and how hard it was to get work outside of these labor intensive occupations as an African American. Low and behold, this had the guide describe how this would come back to be an important part of our tour that day. From here we gathered up and entered the hallway. These buildings were not made with running water, proper lighting, proper spacing, safety or even proper toilets. When it was first built, it had 4 outhouses outside with the clean water pump right next to them. To set up disaster, these apartments were not made with comfort but greed in mind. 5 floors housed 20 apartments and on average had over 100 tenants residing in the building at the same time. Reason being, mostly immigrants moved into these tenements trying to build and start a new life. So, they say you shouldn't crap where you eat. Well, neither should you drink near where you poop. All that waste near the fresh water supply contaminated the water and a great many got Cholera and died. Now, there was a ton of info, so I'm gonna jump to facts to keep this rolling:
-Attending school was the law but not strictly enforced until the Great Depression. Why? Men were out of work and started taking the jobs the children used to do and since the children were out of work, families figured they better have their kids do something to fill their time and keep them out of the way of the parents trying to work and make ends meet so off to school they went. So, the Great Depression is greatly responsible for education taking hold in America for all children.
-Each law that came to upgrade the building was not retroactive or supported financially by the government so, the tenants were forced to pay or forced to leave. With the huge number of immigrants coming into America, new tenants willing to pay the higher rents were easy to find.
-Many of the tenants in these buildings ran their own businesses making garments in their homes.
There are plenty more facts and items of interest in the tenement building. But, it wasn't until near the end we discovered why Harris Levy disappeared at 278 Grand. After the tour of two apartments in the museum we got back together for tea and cookies and a closing round table discussion. One conversation lead to another and which point it was discussed that September 11, 2001 interrupted the busy season for garment workers. For those that don't know, the busy season is September to October for the Christmas rush. As a result of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, the city closed down almost completely around the busy season. As a result these small garment shops went belly up as they couldn't ship within their own city. Till this day, retailers in NYC get their garments from New Jersey and Connecticut. What a shame. All the Tenement Museum pictures come from their website www.tenement.org. As always, there is much more to that location, but you either had to be there or hopefully, you'll go there and check it out. I highly recommend it.

After the museum, the card had me walk all over the neighborhood and had me walk backwards from how they lay out the next series of food attractions.

















Katz Deli was supposed to be last per the card, but it was the first I was led to. Let me tell you all the bad, it's CROOOOOOWDED. There were no available tables also. Each sandwich was more than $15.00. Now, hold your hats...IT WAS AAAAAALLLLLLLL WOOOOOORTH IIIIIIIIITTTT!!!! When you get up to the counter and order, they cut the meat right in front of you and give you a taste while you wait. God himself must have cooked the meat. I'm drooling remembering. I ordered a Pastrami on rye and 3 other sandwiches of which some where Corned Beef for my lazy family waiting at home. I shoulda ate them all on the train if I knew the sandwich was gonna taste as good as it did. This location is where the famous When Harry Met Sally scene is shot. I don't think Meg Ryan faked it...I think she was reacting to the food. WOW! If you never had one, and you are anywhere near Katz, get a pastrami, corned beef or Ruben sandwich. You'll thank me...and God for Katz.

Next was Russ and Daughters where great caviar is sold. I was too late to go in, so I don't know what else they really carry.






Finally I ended at Yonah Shimmel Knishery. I went in and asked what they recommend. They were actually soon to close so I grabbed what they had. I had no idea they made so many kinds of Knishes. The knishes were okay. I liked the fact they had so many options but my goodness where they filling. Boy did I have a stomach ache after I ate my Katz sandwhich and a quarter of a piece of four different knishes. One was a regular potato, one was a raspberry cheesecake, one was blueberry and the other was kind of a meat-pie kinda thing. Eh, I'd pass on the knishes and get the sandwiches at Katz. Well, it took 4 days to get this thing up here. Hope you appreciate it. Till next time.

Lower East Side Tour TO BE POSTED

Sorry followers, I got home really late from yesterday's tour and have yet to download video and pictures. I assure you there will be plenty to share and show. It may take more than a day to get it all up here so, please be patient. Usually I get home before 5 p.m. after a tour. Yesterday I got home after 7 p.m., I was exhausted and starving. By the time I finished dinner at 7:45 p.m. I was ready to pass out. I went to bed around 9 p.m. and slept like a champ or down right dirty bum, your choice. The tour was awesome and another solo adventure. I did and saw a lot and can't wait to write about it later today. Look forward to feedback from those of you who read these, so I assure you, it's a goodie. Till later tonight....

Sunday March 7-Lower East Side 1

Haven't had a chance to blog as my son has broken his foot, he was on the computer more and I got a stomach bug and was bed ridden so, I couldn't get to the computer. This was the first real opportunity I've had so I hope you all don't think I forgot about this.

This tour starts at Canal and Essex Streets. Best way to get there is by taking the F train to East Broadway. Sites include Harris Levy a linen shop, the Tenement Museum and it's shop at 90 Orchard Street, Eldridge Street Synagogue, Romanian-American Synagogue, Yonah Schimmel Knishery, Russ and Daughters and Katz's Delicatessen. By the way, I will not be doing any faking of any kind in the delicatessen as Meg Ryan should not be topped. Katz's is where the famous Harry Met Sally scene occurred.

Gonna grab a knish at the Knishery and a sandwich at Katz, so I won't be bringing a lunch. If you come along, I'd recommend the same. As always, hope to see you on tour.

Mmmmmmm, Homemade Pizza and Mozzeralla and Tomatos

Little Italy, you don't stop amazing me even after I've left. My wife rocks too by the way! She made this amazing white pizza with the tomato and mozzarella salad on the side from the fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese I bought at Alleva. Oh my God was this delicious. Then we went out and rocked out with the rock band Black Ice at Woodhaven House here in Queens. Couldn't help but post this after yesterday's amazing day. Hope to see you on the next tour which will be of the Lower East Side. Until next time...hope to see you on a tour.

Little Italy Where Have You Been?!?

WOW! This was another GREAT tour! I went solo as too many people were all blahzey about the cold, the snow, the slush, the itch in their behind, etc. From start to finish, I had a great time. It started with an Andean Music band in the subway at the Union Square Station. Give them a looksie:


Not only did I drop a buck for the performance, I picked up a CD for $15.00. Call me a sucker, call me what you will, but I like the sound and I'm listening to it now and I like my purchase.

I took the R to Canal and had to walk a bit to get to the beginning of the walk which starts at Canal and Mulberry Street and heads north. Restaurant after gorgeous restaurant fills the Street. To give this place some extra pizazz is the Matre D's outside yelling to the passing couples to come in and try their restaurant in competition with a Matre D across the street or next door yelling over them right in front of the potential customer(s). The exchange goes something like, "Hey, you come on in and enjoy the BEST Italian Cuisine" and across you'll hear something like, "Hey, don't listen to him, he may be better looking than me but the food here is sweeter! We got better cannoli's too." It's hysterical to watch and extremely warm and friendly all at the same time. All the guys have smiles wide across their faces and I couldn't help but laugh good heartily at them doing this. As I walked up Mulberry Street and reached Grand Street, I found a little museum that I highly recommend:
The Italian American Museum is the former Banca Stabile. This was a humongous Cog in the wheel that made Little Italy what it is. Many Italian American's when they came to America relied heavily on this bank to make their transition into becoming Americans. Money exchange, rooms to rent, registry for the birth of your children, setting up transport of packages and people, communication to the mother land all took place at this bank from 1885 until the great depression destroyed it's solvency in the 1930's. Now home to a small yet growing museum of Italian Heritage in America, it is definitely a site to see. The suggested fee is $5.00 which I gladly paid.
The museum had lots of dedications to art, the history of the bank and history of some famous New York Italian Americans. Give the pictures a gander and enjoy.












































































After a thorough visit at the Italian American Museum, I bought a couple of shirts to aid in support of this establishment and it's endeavor to some day expand into more exhibits. Once I left the museum, I went down Grand Street a little to a pastry lover's paradise: FERRARA!!
Before this place, I was sadly mistaken...I thought I had already tried Cannoli's. I wasn't even a fan of this highly toted Italian Pastry. However, this place has been around since 1892 and was recommended on the card as a place to stop in and have a cappuccino and pastry. I waited patiently to be sat down and ordered my cappuccino and asked the very well dressed waitress what pastry she would recommend. She asked if I had ever been there and told her I hadn't. She recommended the Canolli and I figured, eh, okay.
Once this plate and cup came over I snapped the pretty picture. What you don't realize is how big this canolli and cup is. It's bigger than you think and I should have put something on the table for scale but failed to do so. My jaw dropping made it hard for me to concentrate. After I began digging in and placing the first bite of this desert into my mouth I felt the need to have the waitress come back over and smack me for my insolence. How dare I be so ho-hum about this phenomenal treat! I felt young again. In fact I think I gained back precious minutes of my life with every bite. I heard music in my mouth and my head was alive with visions of skipping in a park watching unicorns frolic under rainbows. If you go to Little Italy and do not stop here, YOU NEED AN EXORCISM TO REMOVE THE STUPID OUTTA YA BODY! I made sure to bring home a taste for the wife with a mini canolli. After she had it, she wanted to renew our vows and swore to divorce me if I don't go back soon and get her more.

Alleva is across the street on the corner of Grand and Mulberry and had homemade mozzarella and ricotta which I bought a pound or so of each. When my wife opened these we had a taste of each and I have no idea what I've been eating before this. More MOUTH WOWS! Buy some of this when you go to Little Italy. My wife is making magic with our purchase: A Caprese Salad and a White Pizza. Yummy! As you can see from the picture, this is an establishment that has been here over a century. And from the taste of the fresh homemade cheese it is no surprise.

Umberto's was on the card as a place of interest. Not that it recommended eating here, but that it survived the locale which once housed the old police headquarters. So, I stopped in and had a lunch special with a little red Cabernet. I ordered calamari in red sauce which came with choice of soup or salad. I chose the salad and wasn't impressed and wished I had the soup. The salad was a mixed greens with red vinaigrette that was very bland in flavor. Then the entree came and the calamari sat on top of a bed of pasta. The calamari was a little tough and the sauce was nothing to write home about. It wasn't awful and not great. The wine was good and without that I'd have been really disappointed. If mom had made it, I would have eaten it, said thank you, walked out the door and not spoken of it or looked forward to left overs of it but I'd have eaten it again. However, at this place I paid for this experience. This was an eh, meal. The restaurant wasn't anything special to see and the restaurants at the start of the walk looked far more appealing. Next time, I'll stop at one of those and you can count on me returning to this location. WOW! This tour was great and all the little shops along the way had great T-shirts, posters and other nice bricka-bracka. When the San Gennaro festival in September comes around, I will be going back. You can count on it!

Yes...I'm Going Tomorrow!

There has been plenty of time to clean up this slop so I'm going into the city tomorrow. Otherwise, if I sit on my duff in fear of snow, I'm gonna go crazy. I did call into work today as when I woke up this morning, it was actively snowing like crazy, there was over a foot of snow on the ground and they hadn't plowed my street. My job is in Long Island and is a 26 mile drive for me and all the video I was seeing of the highways showed cars traveling, using the Force(don't sue me George Lucas) as there were no lines on the roadway and they were driving on top of ice. Now, I can drive in that stuff, but I've seen enough morons on drive's in this stuff and I don't trust anyone other than myself.
When there wasn't a mound of snow on the ground, as I walked to the bank in my own neighborhood on Wednesday, I found this memorial that's been sitting right out in the open. It's a Word War I memorial to the men who served and died in the Great War who were residents of my town, Glendale. I've found that since I've started doing tours of New York, I sometimes forget to look at the things in my own back yard. If you wonder where to look for this if you are ever in Glendale, it's on the corner of Myrtle Ave and Cooper Ave. It sits across the street from a fantastic German restaurant. Give it a read if you ever pass by it. Until tomorrow...hope to see you on a tour.