Four Adoring Chicks in Manhattan

New York is a big city. The buildings are big. The convenience stores and salad bars are big. The prices are big and the fun is big.

for andrea

I am in the city for less than 24 hours. I am with three super women and we are gallivanting into late afternoon toward dinner. Marianne who has arrived barely an hour before from Holland takes us to 230 Fifth Avenue to a rooftop bar overlooking all of Manhattan.

We walk, we talk, we drink, we are amazed by the views of a skyline moving from dusk to dark.

credit to JB

We leave 230 Fifth and catch a cab to Soho. We are headed to a restaurant called Boom, which I mishear as Boob. :^) Soho is one of my favorite parts of New York New York. It is upscale and bohemian and even window shopping is interesting. We don't have time to do that, however: instead we eat and laugh and talk and eat and laugh and talk. A guy at the bar tries to pick me up and I am flattered in part because he has all his teeth and looks rather normal. JB tells him I am with her and he grins and tells her not to let me out of her sight. It's been a hefty while since anyone has come on to me and I quietly gloat.

We dunk our bread in perfect olive oil. We toast. Honestly I cannot believe that this is only the second time Marianne and I have spent "real" "in person" time with one another. She is a friend I now know well and the comfort level between us and among the four of us is obvious and lovely. We have met through blogging & live on different continents. And here we are, we four, settled in like long lost friends.

There is no other city like New York. I hope this photo shows the scale of it. Huge buildings. Bright lights. But not everywhere. We are traveling in a ten block radius around Times Square and Bryant Park and the Fashion District. Beyond this super sized area, there are charming neighborhoods and corner grocery stores with fresh fruit and fresh flowers set up outside.

In New York you can't be surprised if you happen to pass Sarah Jessica Parker on the sidewalk or stumble upon a department store window displaying the real deal all gold suit Elvis wore for his Vegas shows. The glitz is not phony.

New York has trees. Plenty of them: trees and parks and small tables and chairs strategically placed throughout the city.

Ah Marianne....

The next morning we meet at le pain quotidien for breakfast. I am glad to be able to recommend this place, thanks to Lori my special friend, and once again it does not disappoint. Breads and cheeses and Lo's butternut squash fritatta and large cappuccinos. We are in no rush and we linger.

We take pictures everywhere. Do you know already how much fun it is to be with people who also take pictures everywhere?

We walk. We will walk through Bryant Park and later JB will orgasmically find Mood from Project Runway on 36th Street. In a random grocery store, we will find a lunch buffet spread that is longer and larger and fresher than any of us have ever seen, even though it is probably just a bit above average for New York.

We will all say farewell by 1 pm. Goodbye Marianne kiss kiss. Goodbye lo see you soon kiss kiss. JB and I will head back to le pain quotidien for a final fruit tart and handleless cup of coffee before we too leave New York.

It was a grand time.

A Very Grand time.

♥

kj

ps. for more: http://mandarianne.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-york-part-i.html