Quebec City is a lovely place for wandering, narrow and meandering streets aglow in stately autumn robes, shop after shop, whimsical decorations around quiet corners, pleasant surprises, every last one. As is our usual and marvelous good luck, the skies were clear and bright, and though the wind laced its icy fingers around the city, the rain only came when we tucked in for the evening. We walked ourselves silly, along ramparts and the river, up and down steep city staircases, and in leafy parks. We did not suffer, however, fortified with great food (crepes, raclette, confit of duck!), many a stop for a stunning view, locally made moccasins, steaming coffees, cocoas topped with towers of whipped cream, a pile of gifts, and most decadent of all, hot ciders spiked with brandy.

I most definitely think we’ll be back, but in winter next time, when everything is aglitter with snow.

A final look at our most awesome New York City adventures, made special by the fact that darlin’ Maren got to join us for a spell! We met for brunch at the Beehive Oven in Brooklyn, a postage stamp of a place with snazzy food and equally good service. I noshed on the picnic platter and had no complaints – pimento cheese, pickles, deviled eggs, ham and biscuits. Yes, ma’am. A friend of mine once asked if I hailed from the South, my devotion to biscuits, grits, Tabasco, and pimento cheese more than a passing fancy. The truth is simple, I am a Westerner, through and through, but if the food is delicious, I want it in my mouth.

We took the subway to Brighton Beach and walked to Coney Island, which tickled me in ultimate tourist fashion, I suppose. I mean, seriously, how many places can a person DO that? Cool. Cool. Cool. It was fun and silly, and straight out of the movies, with the hubster and I dipping our toes into the Atlantic for the first time! The skies were threatening and the wind fierce, but that water was WARM!

We took the subway back into town, thinking we’d spend a couple of hours at the Guggenheim, but with a line of people numbering in the h u n d r e d s, we changed our plan right-quick and spent the better part of our evening at an Upper East Side deli eavesdropping on the cutest bunch of elderly ladies and pondering relativity. They were what we would consider rich, each with a driver and a penchant for expensive delivered flowers and yogurt parfaits from Dean & Deluca, but when the conversation drifted to a couple they knew who bought an apartment just to store their winter clothes, and we all gasped, “Can you imagine?!”, the next upper echelon was revealed.

And finally, the A R T ! Bushwick has more murals in super-close proximity than any neighborhood I’ve ever visited. They are of every size and subject and painted by highly skilled hands. Every corner brought a new delight!

Hey there, and happy Friday!

Look at all of the light: the brilliant, almost white, bleaching stately apartments on the Upper West Side and one of the most handsome subway stations, ever, to the low light of shade and the moody brilliance of night time. New York, you are gorgeous!

We had a second sidewalk lunch made fancy with beer for the hubster and a pretty cocktail for me. I went out on a limb and ordered a cold soup, which I normally think of as an upmarket euphemism for vegetable juice. To the chefs at the DB Bistro, I’ve been schooled! That beautiful bowl of sunshine was an absolutely delicious surprise.

We splurged, along with what seemed to be half of the tourists populating the streets of Manhattan, on a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center. Hundreds of us ogled its beautiful interior before we jammed through security, and at least one of us, ahem, yours truly, got taken out of line for forgetting to remove a Swiss Army Knife from our belongings. I just about cried when I thought I would have to discard it, having bought it in Switzerland on my honeymoon and carted it practically everywhere for the past twenty-three years. Thankfully the kind security officer gave me (and us) the option of coming back, as long as I promised not to stash it in a planter box on site. My solution, while definitely not on the premises or on my person, was probably just as illegal, but it was there when I returned. A hearty huzzah and a fine lesson learned!

How about that view? I chose the Top of the Rock because the top of the Empire State Building doesn’t have a view of itself, and what a great loss that would be for the Colleen Sohn photo archives. I don’t know the names of the majority of the buildings pictured, and am too lazy to look them up, but dang, they are a sight! The Chrysler Building, my absolute favorite in the Manhattan skyline, is not nearly as visible as I would have liked, all weird angles or obscured by glass, so we walked (surprise!) until it was photo ready and, a fine bonus, got a shot of Grand Central Station decked out in it’s late night splendor. At that hour it is a near ghost town, too. Another great day!