On Boxing Day, we joined Julie and Chris Larkin and Margaret Cowden for an outing in celebration of Julie's birthday. We started off at the Museum of the City of New York 

It’s always got interesting things going on. We spent some time in the New York at its Core Exhibit which had some fascinating maps on diversity, density, and money from the early 1900s forward and an interactive display where you could learn about various key figures in NYC history of that era.  I confess I was embarrassed to learn that Khalil Gibran was a New Yorker.  

Upstairs I delved into a couple of other interactive exhibits about the census and counting New Yorkers.  There was a table with ipads and a program that allowed you to look at any census tract and note correlations between factors there.  I was looked at the correlation between single motherhood and poverty (not surprisingly it’s strong and more so in some neighborhoods than others). You can also access this tool online at data2go.nyc  

They also have a project going where you sit and answer questions about yourself and your values and then it generates a visual representation of your "profile" and adds your data to a series of collective diagrams.  You can get a button made of your profile at the gift shop.  

Linda meanwhile was designing a virtual park in Gowanus and then standing on a designated spot to have her image projected into it.  Definitely a return visit is in order  

Next we had a great Thai lunch at Malii on Second Ave  (food was good, but believe them when they say it’s spicy).  Photos are of pumpkin curry and spicy basil chicken  

The Larkin sisters:

After lunch we strolled down Second Ave. to see The Women Street Photography exhibit at PS109 which includes Linda's entry.  On the way some interesting sights  

Here’s Linda's photo and one of the group with gargoyle (they rescued the gargoyles from the school facade when it was being turned into an art space)  

Our visit to the Huntington Library included the desert garden which I remembered fondly from 30 years ago. It’s grown more spectacular since then. Such a variety of textures, colors, and shapes. Fascinating and beautiful. Here are some of my favorites:

Where they get toothpicks?

Thursday we made our way to Pasadena to visit some dear family friends, Linda and Bruce Calkins whom I've known since childhood (Bruce was the associate pastor at Soundview Presbyterian Church and then took over the pulpiit when my dad left). They now live in a community developed for retired Presbyterian ministers and their spouses. We had a walk around their community followed by a trip to the Huntington Library and Gardens where Linda and Bruce are members.

 We lunched in the Chinese garden. 

And afterwards took a stroll around the Lake

Towards the end of the path, this fellow was giving an afternoon concert. You didn’t have to know anything about his instrument (I confess I don’t even know the name of it) to know that he played it beautifully and with deep feeling and precision. 

Wednesday Linda an Maxine and I flew out to LAX and then drove over to Venice Beach where we had booked a couple of suites in Su Casa, a hotel right on the boardwalk. Venice Beach has changed a lot from the grungy surfer hangout we remembered from our college days, but it is still definitely rough around the edges, particularly at the end where we were staying. We realized our hotel was actually right next to a Phoenix House center (Max, who works in harm reduction, noted that maybe her work was following her. 

The night scene was a little daunting, with an odd mix of hipsters at boardwalk bars, skate boarders, street musicians, and homeless people.  But the next morning we had breakfast right by the ocean with a much brighter (though hazy) vibe. We weren’t sure how much of the haze was mist, or smog, or smoke from the nearby fires in Southern California.

Breakfast was at the Figtree Cafe where we particularly enjoyed the corncakes and the chicken sausage hash

Monday the weather was spectacular - a cool clear day with low humidity after a few weeks of muggy, sticky days. We met our friends Jane and Susan for lunch in DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge). We started at the fairly new Time Out Market - an upscale food court - and brought our purchases out to the picnic tables by the river. 

A kind fellow diner snapped a group pic for us  

Jane and I wanted to go on the carousel (which turns out to be called "Jane's Carousel"), but our partners were less enthused. We initially had aspirations to ride the stationary horses, but abandoned that plan as we contemplated how either of us was going to mount them (or perhaps more concerning, how we would dismount without an ER visit). Instead, we demonstrated our excellent adaptation skills and claimed a carriage seat (Jane's inner Brooklyn came out as she scrambled over to grab the best spot). 

Next stop was the roof deck at 55 Water St which has a spectacular view of the river, the carousel, and both bridges.

Susan gave the reclining bench a try and pronounced it enjoyable.

Before we left the neighborhood, Jane and I sampled the wares at Jaques Torres' chocolate shop - only one piece each, and insanely priced, but well worth the calories  IMHO

We've been in Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island for the past 5 days. We've had a great visit with our friends Margaret and Chris as well as visiting with other friends out here.  Last night we took in a local production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure in Mitchell Park

Tonight we had dinner at a relatively new restaurant Port Waterfront Grill. Great spot with a wonderful view and an interesting menu. 

Then we walked over to Mitchell Park again - this evening for a country western band concert. 

There was singing, line dancing, and at least one very personal interpretation 

For our last night in Paris, our friends Annie Marie, Rheanolte, and Rachel said they would come to our neighborhood for dinner since their trip was just getting going as ours was coming to a close and we needed to pack. We ate at Les Comptoirs de Lisbonne, a wonderful Portuguese restaurant on rue Faidherbe, a few blocks from our flat. Sadly I forgot about photos until we'd already eaten our dinners, but it’s highly recommended for a great meal in a friendly, warm place that was very reasonably priced. Especially good was the pork with clams and the grilled fish dishes. Oh, and the pasteís de nata (Portuguese custard tarts)  

On Sunday we decided not to attempt any more sights, but instead to have a relaxed brunch together before Linda and I had to leave for the airport. Parisians are just starting to do brunch as a thing. Rachel's excellent scouting that morning uncovered Paperboy Paris, a cute little place around the corner from their flat. This place might get the award for best use of really small kitchen. 

 Avocado toast (it’s a thing in Paris too) 

Salmon and egg on toasted bun with barbecued beans (taste more like chili beans)

All accompanied by fresh fruit and vegetable juices made to order.

A round of last photos

There are colored pencils to draw on the placemats!

Last two photos before take off

I was remembering that on an earlier trip I'd misread the "Chantier Interdit" sign as singing (chanter) forbidden. But it turns out chantier means construction site.  Very different- here the word is applied to fashion.  

Au revoir Paris.  C'était formidable!

The Jardins des Plantes is only about 5 blocks from the L'Institut du Monde Arabe which was our next stop so we decided to head there for lunch. They have a pretty fancy restaurant overlooking the Seine or a much more budget friendly cafeteria without the view. But it turns out the restaurant becomes the tearoom after the lunch service so you can guess what we did. No pictures of lunch, but it was tasty with three main courses and an appetizer plate you can select from typical Lebanese mezes like humus, babaganoush, coban salad etc. 

The building itself is fascinating- all the widows are constructed of diaphragms that open and close with the sunlight.  From the cafeteria you can see the inside workings of the apertures.  

The main exhibit was "A la plume, au pinceau, au crayon: dessins du monde arabe" (From the pen, the brush, the pencil: design from the Arab World) which included images from the 11th century to the present day  The curators made the point that during the Renaissance, the Arab world didn’t really have the notion of "the artist" as it was conceived in Europe, but that many artisans created intricate designs for their objects.  Present day Arab artists draw from that rich heritage.  Here are some of my favorites:

This one was really interesting- as you walk, the three panels appear to move and shift relationship  sorry in retrospect that I didn’t take a video  

Saturday we met at the Jardin des Plantes which is not one of the typical tourist sights. It dates back to the 17th century, though it came into its own as a park for the people after the French Revolution. It is sort of a combination botanic garden, science and industry museum, zoo, and exhibition space. 

The day we were there, the poppies were out in beautiful force ( les coquelicots - one of my favorite French words to say). 

In amongst the poppies were the largest ornamental rainbow chards I've ever seen, perhaps harkening back to the garden's original purpose as an herbarium. 

As we continued, this chiropractor's eye was caught by a ginormous vertebra on the lawn (turned out to be a sculpture) - dinosaur skeleton perhaps?

We also strolled through the rose garden

By then we were ready to sit and to eat so we passed on the little zoo, but not before getting a peek at the panda rouge  S/he was a little camera shy so we had to crib a photo from the zoo poster:

Friday our little troop headed off to Chartres to see the cathedral and the old medieval town. The forecast originally included rain and there was a bit, but the afternoon was spectacular. We arrived in time to walk the church's famous labyrinth in the morning.  We were part of a fairly small group, some  chanting, others praying quietly. My favorite part was when you reach the center while waiting to step into the very center, there is a slightly larger circle surrounded by half- circle "petals".  The person in the center is therefore surrounded by  a ring of other labyrinth "pilgrims" if there are enough people walking at the same time.  Walking felt more solitary, but the central ring felt like a more communal experience. A sign nearby said that in older times, the archbishop would walk the labyrinth on certain occasions, carrying a yellow ball of fabric.  When he reached the center he would toss the ball back and forth with congregants standing around the labyrinth's edges in a festive, celebratory game.  

They’re in the (lengthy) process of cleaning the cathedral walls. This shot shows the difference between the part that’s finished and the part that is yet untouched. 

Lunch was at La Picoterie - a little crêperie where they had two whole pages of gluten free buckwheat crêpes - a great find for Rachel and I. I had a local specialty with mustardy duck sausage and apples and a crêpe underneath. Linda had a traditional one with bacon, cheese and potatoes.  Rachel's, with cheese, ham, and poached pear was by far the most beautifully presented 

After lunch, we took a walk through the old cathedral town and had coffee, tea, and Linda got to have a paumier, something she loved as a student in Paris 

This house, the Maison de Saumon has wood timbers dating back to the 1500s. Large wood carvings are incorporated into the design, including a large salmon from which the house gets its name

This one says something like "If you suffer from thirst or hunger, you’ll find good food and drink here". Unclear whether this is a literal advertisement or a metaphorical/biblical statement. 

Like all tourist attractions, there’s no lack of schlocky stuff, but this one made us laugh

In the afternoon we were scheduled to have a tour with Malcolm Miller, the famous guide to the Cathedral and its windows. Unfortunately he was ill so my travel buddies had to make do with me reading bits of a badly organized guide book. Still, with two clergy people a pastor's wife, and a preacher's kid, we were able to work out some of the stories in the windows.  I do recall, from Miller's tour decades ago, that he pointed out that the windows were a way of teaching biblical stories to illiterate people - kind of like the PowerPoint slides of their day. A lot more durable though - some date back 8 centuries. These are pictures cribbed from the internet.  My iPhone wasn’t equal to the task (or perhaps it was the iPhotographer).

An interesting feature was the inclusion of the sponsors of each window in the bottom scenes. For example, the carpenters or cobblers or the famous rich guy would be featured as if to say, "Brought to you by..." Here’s an example (cribbed from soniahalliday.com) featuring the stonemasons 

The afternoon sun made the windows more brilliant and added new drama to some of the sights inside and outside the cathedral.  

Since we had planned a whole day here, , I had also made a reservation at Café Bleu, a restaurant very near the cathedral for convenience sake. You might expect a restaurant so near tourist/pilgrim central to be of lower quality, but we were very pleasantly surprised.  My risotto primavera had salad and perfectly cooked vegetables on top of it.  Also beautiful were Linda’s gamberi arrabiata and Annie Marie's sea bream.  

But the show stopper was Rachel's strawberry Pavlova