It's beginning to feel...

..a lot lilke Christmas!

I had decided that I wouldn't post a Christmas-related photo of the day until December, but I relented yesterday.  The decorations were just too overwhelming to pass by and when I scanned through the photographs I'd taken yesterday one stood out from the rest. 

We're here in New York this weekend, enjoying the city and joining in the fun of the post-Thanksgiving shopping spree.

The city never disappoints and when the sky is blue and the air is crisp, a jet-lagged early morning walk lifts the spirits and excitement levels soar.  Add to that scenario a real NY breakfast of corned beef hash and a couple of eggs sunny-side up, or raisin-cinnamon French toast with maple syrup and you get the picture.

Happy.

  

So, we stepped out yesterday morning along with everyone else, along Sixth Avenue and down to Macy's where the decorations this year are truly magnificent.  Having bagged a couple of bargains - the discounts here are generous and when the price is marked down by 50%, added 20% "early morning reduction" and then another 10% because we're British, it's hard to resist.  So, I paid my $50 for a new coat (real price getting on for $200) and the fun began.

We dropped off a couple of bags back at our hotel before heading uptown on the West Side to meet Jordi.  Fewer tourists here of course, more families going about their Saturday afternoon shopping and enjoying the sunshine.  Zabar's was busy as ever and the Christmas tree sellers on the street corners were doing their best to shelter from the chill westerly wind which blew up every cross street from the Hudson River.

The food markets along Broadway were piled high with citrus fruit.  In one store, someone had enjoyed making some beautiful arrangements which make a fun Picasa collage

We met Jordi in Barnes and Noble where I feel sure I'd never tire of browsing the shelves, however crowded it is, and excitedly talked our way back downtown.

Jordi had secured a booking for dinner at the Union Square Cafe.  Not an easy feat!

Suffice to say that Mark's Pan-Seared Scallops, Roasted Autumn Vegetables, Guanciale, Currants, Pine Nuts and Vincotto  were exactly as he could have wished and that the Grilled Duck Breast with Chestnut-Fall Squash Farrotto and Huckleberry Gastrique  that Jordi and I chose was simply delicious.  And yes, of course I had to ask what everything was (except for the duck!)

With full tummies we decided to enjoy a walk back to the hotel, past our favourite Flatiron building and up Fifth Avenue, taking a short peek inside the newly refurbished Empire State Building lobby. 

We lingered by the most stunning shop window displays before reminding ourselves of arrangements for tomorrow, saying goodnight to Jordi and collapsing into the most heavenly bed.

What a wonderful day.

Tomorrow, I'll share some more of those glorious windows.

start of another fun packed day

What do you reckon?

Time to go home

A couple of fun days here is a real treat and we always want to maximise our time.  So, the morning of our flight home is a last opportunity to get out there and soak up the last bit of Californian goodness to keep us going till the next time.

 

This morning, we took a walk along Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, admiring the lush grassy verge, so well tended and setting this elegant street aside from the others.  Until Mark spotted the joins in the astroturf...

We smiled at the sign outside this store - apologies for the reflection.

Next stop was WildFiber, one of the best knitting stores I know and one where there is always a buzz of activity.  This morning was no exception!

Last stop - as seems to be our habit - is Century City, an outdoor shopping mall with distractions such as Apple, Eileen Fisher and the like, which keep us entertained until it's time to hit the freeway to LAX.

Once there, we had a fun surprise.  Virgin Atlantic share the lounge with Air New Zealand so we were able to enjoy a can of L&P ("World Famous in New Zealand") as we waited.  A short nine and a half hours flight, during which we slept, and we were home.

Though after all those 100F days, it was a bit cruel to find our central heating had broken...ho hum!

Sunny days

As we used an ATM this morning, I was amused by the sign on the door, wondering what response it would get from a Geordie reader?!  But it's nicely worded, isn't it? (I didn't really mind waiting outside, either)

We enjoy staying out here on the coast, where it's some ten degrees cooler but where the "marine layer" (sorry, been watching The Weather Channel too much) results in a little early morning and evening mist.  I'd refer to this as "sea roke" and if we hung around Santa Monica long enough in the morning, we'd see it burn off fairly quickly.  But as we walked a few blocks early this morning, in search of breakfast, I remembered to look up and appreciate some of the fine details on the buildings on Third Street.  There's usually way too much going on at street level to distract me from the quieter features of the city!

Come to think of it, perhaps the Geordies have been influencing life here a little more than we thought.  This billboard has amused us each time we've driven along Wilshire Blvd.  We headed that way again this morning, towards Mary who lives in the Hollywood Hills.

This morning, we sat at the traffic lights at the junction of Fairfax and Sunset, looking towards this house and asked ourselves the same question as we've always done: "who lives in a home like that?" even though we're only mildly curious and not really interested in any form of star spotting.  A car journey here is never boring, for there is always something interesting to see, to watch, to notice.

Of course, there's plenty of evidence concerning the new boy in town, too.  I imagine next weekend will be wall-to-wall Gustavo and would love to be there at the concert in the Hollywood Bowl or the Disney Concert Hall to hear some magic happen!  We hear that tickets went like hot cakes and in spite of energetic efforts none of our friends have managed to get one.

To Pasadena today, then, "where the grass is greener" .  Can't really say about that, but it's certainly a favourite of ours with a walkable city centre, some of our favourite haunts in the shopping category and some fine buildings with character too.  We pottered around the shops, had a spot of lunch in Jakes and fulfilled our supermarket wishlist (Googone, ziplock bags, press'n'seal, Altoids), Trader Joes and Vroman's books before returning to Mary's in the late afternoon.

An early dinner at Mozza, followed by an evening of Dancing with the Stars chez Mary (where was Len this week?) and our day was complete.  We said our goodbyes - Mary has to teach tomorrow - and headed back west, out to the coast where the marine layer had descended once again and where a comfy bed was waiting!

Too sleepy to blog

But I had to post about our yummy dinner tonight, because at least one reader will know the identity of the chef in whose restaurant we ate when I say how much we enjoyed the olive oil gelato...