We spent a whirlwind weekend celebrating the Bar Mitzvah of a friend’s son in suburban Washington, visiting friends, hanging out with family and generally having a good time. Monday morning, FKGuy headed home while I boarded a train for 24 hours in New York. After a balmy 60 degrees, and an enjoyable stroll over to see a friend, it was a bit of a shock to be standing outside on a train platform in 20 degree weather. Wearing FKGuy’s hat (I lost my headband), a not-meant-for-cold-weather scarf, and a windproof North Face jacket, I was off.
The train was on time, and I arrived at Penn Station just in time to grab lunch with my friend, Sara. Nothing says cold weather quite like a nice plate of sushi for lunch. (Whatever. The restaurant had heat.) The afternoon was a bit of running around preparing for the evening event, which honored my friend Bill (Sara’s husband) for the work he
has done with Matan, an organization committed to bringing Jewish education to children with special needs. The outstanding event was celebrated at the Harvard Club, with an array of yummy food and plenty of time for socializing.
By the end of the evening, after several wardrobe changes and avoiding the outside as much as possible, I was asleep. After all, the next day I had all of 6 hours of awake time before I had to go to the airport.
When other friends agreed to meet me for breakfast at The National (excellent croissants) before work, I was delights to be able to spend an hour with them. I arrived to find out they had brought their too-cute-for-words 19 month old son with them, and it made my day. Really, there is very little better than starting your day with a small child shoving large hunks of bagel in his mouth while flinging toy cars across the table. (I know, you think that was sarcastic. It was not.) Then, I get to leave, his parents go to work, and the small child gets to be cranky with the nanny. All is right with the world. Meanwhile, I still have the image of his tiny, cream cheese covered face, to make me laugh.
After breakfast I made my way to Starbucks, mostly because it was warm and I needed someplace to sit and return client calls before meeting back up with Sara for a jaunt around Bloomingdale’s and lunch. None of my usual favorites are in midtown east, so we opted for David Burke at Bloomingdale’s, and it was delightful. Cheddar popovers, tuna tartare, and an Aperol Spritz really did fortify me for the flight home.
It was a quick trip, and I did not get to see many of my friends, but hopefully I will be back soon to eat (of course), relax (seems unlikely) and see friends (undoubtedly).
