ON OUR WAY TO ITALY

First Stop New York

It was time to travel again. This time our destination was Italy and on our way took the opportunity to stop in Manhattan to stay in the Best Western Hotel President. We had stayed there before on our honeymoon trip to Paris because we liked the location near Times Square not that far from the Lincoln Center where the opera house is.


New York is exciting, full of a palpable energy, which, since I had been to New York before, was learning to enjoy. After a morning stroll through the remarkable Times Square, we lunched at the landmark Carnegie Deli on 7th Avenue at 55th Street. It amazed me that, although it was very crowded and there was a line outside waiting to get in, we didn’t have to wait very long to get a table or to place our order. For me, being here was the embodiment of the New York experience. While we waited for our Rueben sandwich (where else but in New York can you get a $25.00 sandwich, but they are sandwiches like no other. They are huge. That is why we split one) we munched on pickles, people watched, and observed the “walls of fame” filled with photographs of celebrities, dignitaries, and athletes. The Carnegie Deli is also famous for its home made cheesecake, but we were full. Maybe next time.


Next stop was Guggenheim museum which is Frank Lloyd Wright's last major work. The building is distinctive and from the street looks like a white ribbon curled into a cylindrical stack, slightly wider at the top than the bottom. Inside, the viewing gallery forms a gentle helical spiral from the main level up to the top of the building. Paintings are displayed along the walls of the spiral and also in exhibition space found at annex levels along the way. The rotunda is lit by a beautiful skylight.


That evening we dined before the opera at restaurant called Rosa’s Mexicano near Lincoln center and Metropolitan Opera House. Rosa’s was the most upscale Mexican restaurant that I had been to and as quoted on their website: “When we opened the first Rosa Mexicano in 1984, New York Magazine applauded us for introducing New Yorkers to a “hitherto unfamiliar, elevated version of Mexican cuisine.” After the appetizer of chips and guacamole made to order at the table we decided this would be sufficient refreshment, accompanied by a pitcher of sangria which was delicious!


This year’s opera was an Italian one; Bellini’s La Sonnambula. This opera, originally based on a ballet, was light and romantic and tells the story whose heroine Amina who gets herself into all sorts of trouble by ending up in a stranger’s bed. You can imagine all the twists and turns of the plot. The music was lovely.


After the performance we strolled to a nearby café called Pigale where we enjoyed a nightcap of absinthe. Absinthe is a flavored distilled liquor emerald green in color that tastes strongly of licorice. Known also as the Green Fairy, it is said to be the favorite beverage of artists and writers such as Van Gogh, Monet, Oscar Wilde and Earnest Hemmingway. There was a procedure that went along with the serving of this drink. The waiter brought a water container with a spigot on each side. This served to drip water over a sugar cube which was placed on a special slotted spoon which is held over the glass. It was an especially entertaining way to end the first segment of our journey.