Where Sally Dropped Off Harry

The movie When Harry Met Sally has a special place in our hearts and so making a trip to Washington Square where the couple shake hands and say farewell after the long drive from Chicago, as seen here, was a must.

It was baking hot and another chance to sit down watch the world go by and replay the scene from the movie in our minds was very welcome. 

It was whilst we were sat down G took out his copy of the novel Washington Square. Because I have neater writing than him G asked me to write a short note inside to say that the book had been bought all the way from Southampton, England and left for someone else to pick up, read and then leave for someone else, as in the spirit of book crossing.

Who knows if someone took it, or whether it was just left to curl in the sun but then we were off again, this time in search of a vinyl record store G had found out about.

Of course there were a few stops on the way to admire buildings such as this one, labelled Fire Patrol, which has been converted in apartments.

No records were purchased and so we wandered on for a few more blocks before we turned around and headed back the way we had come because on the way to Where Harry had said goodbye to Sally we had spotted somewhere we wanted to investigate a little further.
Just before you reach Washington Square there are a cluster of buildings which belong to the New York University along with a small courtyard and very well maintained garden which contains a very regal statue of Cervantes.

Just look at that face, he'd be quite the hipster these days with that natty little beard.

As pretty as the garden was it was Washington Mews we wanted to stroll down. This article tells you all you need to know about the historic row of houses and it also contains better photos which really capture the European feel of the street.
It doesn't matter where I am I can't resist a handsome front door photo opportunity. The colour, the knocker, the letterbox, all perfection.

By now the travelling was starting to catch up with us and so we made our way back to the hotel, passing through an area called Gramercy Park. It was here I found the first house I fancied living in. What do you think?

We then rounded the corner and I quickly changed my mind and decided I'd like one of these townhouses which were built in the mid 19th century for the richer inhabitants of New York.

And so ended our first day.

Flat Iron

Like I mentioned yesterday this trip to New York was my treat to G and the agenda was all his, but thankfully there were things on his wish list which I was also desperate to see. The Flat Iron building was one of them.

And here I am, posing oh so casually with a tub of daffodils next to me and the Flat Iron building behind me.

I am totally in love with this tall, slender, curvy slice of architecture. 

We were so incredibly lucky with the weather and the blue sky was the perfect photographic backdrop.

Here is G, with the building behind him, enjoying the first of many iced coffee drinks which he consumed during our visit. Frequent re-fuelling in the heat was necessary.

And here is the detail which appears just to the right of his head in the above picture. Gorgeous.

Walking towards the back you can see how the Flat Iron broadens out into it's round edged triangular shape.

Near to where the daffodil tubs stood were a collection of tables, chairs and parasols which we made full use of. Drinking in the sunshine and the view of the Flat Iron to our left but also the one to our right.

I do not have a head for heights and so take my (hard) hat off to people who can work in these cradles

 so high up on tall buildings.

As if the Flat Iron on one side wasn't enough to feast your eyes on then you could always look further down the street to the Empire State.

From here we went to find the place where a scene from our favourite movie was filmed. 

So Good They Named It Twice

When I surprised G in October last year with plans for a trip to New York to celebrate his 50th birthday this year it seemed such a long way off.

Well time, as it has a habit of doing, has ticked by and last Tuesday we got on a practically empty plane and flew to Newark airport.

I have to admit I wasn't looking forward to the long flight but it passed relatively quickly, there was a good deal of snoozing which helped! 
Because there were so many empty seats we were invited to move if we wanted and G took the opportunity to sit in the row in front of me during the flight. This meant he could stretch out to his full 6ft 5in and so feel more comfortable by the time we arrived.

Once we had made our way to our hotel room and unpacked we went in search of food. On a recommendation we took ourselves off to the dining concourse at Grand Station Central where we enjoyed a combination of sesame chicken, chicken in black bean sauce, sweet and sour chicken and fried rice which really hit the spot.

New York has been G's number one place to visit for the longest time and so our agenda was always going to be doing and seeing the things he wanted. Seeing Grand Central station was high on my wish list too. 
It is truly every bit as elegant as I thought it would be.

This was the image of Grand Central station I had in my head and standing on the stairway and taking in this scene was just magical.

Of course the whole building is beautiful but looking up is absolutely stunning.
The brilliant chandeliers 

and the astronomical ceiling is breath taking.

In the centre of the main concourse is the famous clock. 

Seeing this from our spot on the stairs made me realise, spine tinglingly so, we were actually there.

I know that sounds daft but I had that feeling so many times during our few days there.

Some images were so familiar having seen them in movies or TV programmes and it felt unreal to be there and among them, but it was always exciting and totally fascinating.

Unfortunately this photo is slightly out of focus but I loved the simple elegance of this traveller, how she is stood, how the pattern of her dress echoes the scrollwork around her and the colour reflects that of the ceiling.

I'm going to be posting lots more snippets from our trip and so I apologise if you get a bit of New York boredom but I want to record as much of our time there as I can.

No More Egg and Spoon

On a walk in our local park recently I was really sad to see the diamond shaped flower beds around these evergreen domes had been grassed over.

These diamonds were our favoured course for many egg and spoon races during those times when the children were younger and we would pack up a picnic and a fill up a day of the school holidays with outdoor fun.

So many happy memories.

First Booty

We've been in Salisbury today.

A belated Easter get together with G's family.

People being poorly and rubbish weather last weekend meant a date to see each other was arranged for this weekend instead.

It just so happens that the car boot in the field near my mother-in-law has started up again and so G suggested we went up an hour earlier than originally planned and give ourselves a little time to have a wander round and see what we could find.

That plan got a thumbs up from me.

Here are my buys from the first car boot of 2016 and in the order they were purchased.

First up is this big pasta serving dish.

As well as pasta I'm thinking it would be good to use for serving up garlic bread which is always a welcome addition to a pasta bake type meal.

Mine for 50p.

Here we have S wearing the jumper I bought her for £1.00. Animal print and fluffy two of her favourite things when it comes to clothing.

As if I don't have enough brooches already but I couldn't resist this polka dot bird. Another £1.00 purchase.

This item will go towards my sister's bundle of birthday gifts. Two brand new Cath K dusters for £1.00.

Final purchase and also £1.00 was an Avon room spritz in orange blossom, a fragrance we haven't tried as yet. I normally stock up on these for using in the bathroom when they are on offer in the catalogue at that price but I haven't bought any for a while and we are down to our last one so I was really pleased when S spotted this just as we were leaving.

Just a handful of things bought and a real mix of items they were too and to include a present, a jumper which made S happy and something useful I would need anyway was a good result all round I think.

Edible Easter Flowers

This is how S and I spent half an hour on Easter Sunday.

Digestive biscuits, icing and a bag of M&Ms were transformed into colourful, pretty flowers.

Eiffel Day

Today is Eiffel Tower Day. The day marks he completion of the tower in 1889.
So now you know, what will you do to mark the occasion? Wear an outfit which has a dash of French chic about it, cook coq au vin for tea or croissants for breakfast, maybe even book a trip to Paris ?
Me, I think I'll watch the Maigret episode I recorded on Sunday evening and maybe indulge in eating an eclair.