New York, New York

hello comrades!

Guess who went on a mini vacation?

Guess where the mini vacation was?

(that one's pretty easy, considering my post title!)

you got it...

 NEW YORK CITY, baby!

Where the city never sleeps
and the taxis mean business.

We had never been to New York,

and it was sort of a last minute thing.

All because of this guy:

ROBERT. PLANT.

Lead singer of Lez Zeppelin...

O.M.G. (insert fainting here)

Our 18 year old son loves him as much as we do, 

so when we found out he was playing

at the beautiful Brooklyn Academy of Music,

we just had to get tickets.

And need I tell you

what a fabulous time it was?

No, i didn't think so. 

It's fucking Robert Plant.

Anyone who thinks this guy is done

should think again.

Incredible voice & energy for someone who's 66.

I wanna be like him when I grow up.

We tried to do as much as we could
in five short days there.
We actually stayed in Brooklyn
in one of the Jewish communities.
Loved it.
Stay tuned for small stories. ;-) 

Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge a few times.
and each time, these love locks
made me smile.

People from all around the world

leave these locks all across the bridge,

wanting to leave their mark in NYC. 

Spent some time at Grand Central Station,

a most beautiful place to hang out

and people watch.

Ground zero
the 9-11 memorial.
A beautiful and somber place.

I had seen it on TV,

but the size of it was overwhelming in person.

There is still such a sadness here,
even after so many years.
I suspect there always will be.

one of the many high rises in NYC

Central Park.

Such a beautiful place.

There were musicians all over the park

and this guy was playing the most beautiful

classical guitar.

The sound here under these columns
and the beauty around me
made me wanna cry.

Our son... pondering the meaning of life. ;-)

John Lennon's strawberry fields...

Alex, feeding a squirrel in the park.

I love how the squirrels tiny hand

is touching Alex's finger.

the gates of John Lennon's home,
where he was shot in 1980,
and where Yoko Ono still lives.

I have so many more things to say about New York,

and I suspect you'll be hearing about them

in the next few blog posts.

A city of contrasts.

A city of kindness.

A city of cultures weaving themselves together

like patches on a quilt.

The stretch limos driving past the homeless people.

I always struggle with things like that.

My son asked me at one point

why there could be so many homeless people

in a place that had so many empty buildings.

I don't know why.

It shouldn't be, but it is.