Another glorious sunny day greeted us. We headed out to the\nEast Village for some brunch. Mardi had found a pretty cool place, Beauty and\nEssex. We arrive at 11.30 after catching the F train downtown. It\u2019s\nclosed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although there is a crowd waiting outside. After a few\nminutes the doors open and we are shown to our table. The restaurant seems to\ngo on forever as we enter the space. We pass through two rooms and under a\nlarge skylight before we are seated. The space is relatively empty, but after\n15 minutes it\u2019s packed with eager diners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We order a selection to share. Eggs Benedict, chicken\nbiscuit (sliders) and the signature dish: egg, bacon and tomato dumplings. They\nare delicious. We then order some donuts. A few minutes later chocolate\ncroissants arrive. We let the staff know, who bring us our donuts, leaving the\ncroissants. Yummy! Bonus dessert. We\nenjoy the donuts, with dipping sauces and take the croissants home for later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After breakfast, our plan was to walk around the East\nvillage, but Mardi isn\u2019t very well. She heads home and I spend the afternoon in\nthe park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I get off the subway at 57th<\/sup> and entered the Park\nat 7th<\/sup> Ave. I wander past the Hallutt Nature Sanctuary, the ice\nskating rink and stop in at the chess and checkers visitor centre. There are\nhundreds of people skating and no free chess tables, I was keen for a game. I\ncontinue my walk and enter the Mall. These days it resembles a strip mall. It\nis lined with people flogging cheap souvenirs. A hundred years ago the\nbeautiful people of 5th<\/sup> Avenue would parade in their finery. Today\nit feels a little tacky, which is sad. It\u2019s such a beautiful walk. At the end\nthere is beauty though. The Naumburg Bandshell is hosting a group of carollers.\nAlthough they aren\u2019t singing, they are all playing bells. The ensemble is\neasily over 100 people, many with two, three and four bells. They play carols,\nwith the bells sounding beautiful in the later afternoon sunshine. I stand and\nlisten for a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I then wander down Bethesda Terrace and wind to the left,\ncoming to Bow Bridge. It\u2019s teaming with people. \nI cross the bridge and meander down to Wood Chip Vantage Point. It a\nquiet out of the way area and affords me some solace. I sit in the hundred year\nold chair on my own and meditate for a while. It\u2019s peaceful, although in the\ndistance Happy Birthday singing is ringing out from Bow Bridge. I sit a little\nlonger as the peace and quiet returns. The water is calm and the ducks calmly\nglide by. I sit quietly for around 10 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I continue my walk. I move through the ramble. As I walk,\nthe tall trees, devoid of leaves, cast shadows across the path. In the undergrowth and leaf litter the\nconstant sound of squirrels on their never ending nut hunt surrounds me.\nRustling sounds behind me, in front of me and on my flanks. If the sun wasn\u2019t\nshining and instead a moon was overhead it would be a scary place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Belvedere Castle is next on my journey. I stop and take in\nthe view over the pond. The castle is crawling with kids exploring every nook\nand cranny. It looms large as I pass it on the right walking downhill and pass\nthe turtle pond on my way to the great lawn. As I pass the great lawn each of\nthe baseball diamonds is full with families enjoying a game. I stop and watch\nand listen to the action for a while. Fathers yelling instructions as their\nkids hit or pitch. Laughter. The joy of kids yelling and enjoying a free and\neasy Saturday afternoon. I sit and listen for a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I continue my walk. Along the way conversation enter my\nspace and leave as passers by come and go. Two young girls discussing boys. An\nolder couple planning a party for a sons 21st<\/sup>. An unhappy office\nworker telling a friend she is quitting next week. A very elderly man in a\nwheelchair being pushed by a younger, but old, couple. A boom box in his lap\nplays jazz at a volume indicating his hearing isn\u2019t the best. A teenager on a\nskateboard zooms past being pulled by a dog. And me, blending in, walking\npeacefully on a bright Saturday afternoon, not a care in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The great lawn ends, the 86th<\/sup> st transverse stops\nmy progress as I look for a way across. Turning left, I eventually find the\nsteps up and over the transverse. There are three transverse. 79th<\/sup>,\n86th<\/sup> and 97th<\/sup>. Traffic cuts across and below the park.\nBut crossing them isn\u2019t easy. You need to find the way over as the road is so\nwe 20 metres below park level, uncovered with no traditional crossings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I\u2019m across the transverse I come to the Jackie Onassis\nReservoir. A vast body of water covering the width of the park and extending\nfrom 86th<\/sup> to 96th<\/sup> St. I walk anti-clockwise around it,\nthe preferred direction. It takes around 45 minutes non stop to circumnavigate\nthe reservoir. It\u2019s big. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As I\u2019m walking joggers fly by, their feet crunching on the\ngravel track. People stop and take photos, which I fo when I\u2019m at the northern\npoint. It\u2019s coming on sunset, so I stop for a while to see what the sunset will\nbring. It\u2019s a rather lacklustre display tonight, some clouds move in. I take\nsome photos and continue my walk. I finish the loop and then head out of the\npark. I walk down Central Park West for five blocks before descending into the\nsubway at 81st<\/sup> Street. I change at 59th<\/sup> Street from the C\nto the ! And end up at 42nd<\/sup>\nSt. I get a bit turned around in the subway and emerge at the wrong end at 42nd<\/sup>\nSt, the exit brings me up at 40th<\/sup> St. I walk for a block searching\nfor some landmarks, follow the light basically and find my way home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mardi is resting peacefully in our room and we sit and rest for a while. We\u2019ve got a big night planned. We are off to Eleven Madison Park for dinner. It has become a special part of our visit to NYC over the years. Sublime food, impeccable service and beautiful surroundings. We sit and chat for three hours as we work through the tasting menu. We relive our trip, enjoying the highlights again and recognise how fortunate we are. We also talk about our 2019. It\u2019s been tough in parts, Mardi being made redundant, some illnesses earlier in the year for Mardi and in the middle of the year for me. Our cats have also been incredibly sick this year, we almost lost two around Easter and are loving with one with advanced cancer. Mardi finished her degree, and while she is free of study now, the effort invested was massive. We also lost Mardi\u2019s father this year. We were also able to repair and renovate our bathroom and courtyard during the year. As we are enjoying dessert we chat to the staff at the restaurant. We talk about NYC and some of the highlights of our trip. We eventually pull on our coats and ride the subway home, arriving home a little after midnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n