Coney Island

On our second day in NYC, my friend Polly took me to another place

I have been dying to to visit, Coney Island.

It was everything I had imagined. A very quirky, off beat part of Brooklyn. 

I even got to ride the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel!

Didn't make it to the freak show but I liked the signs.

It would be fun to come back at Halloween.

Below is the former Childs Restaurant building.

You can read about the history here.

You see this Coney Island "Tillie" face everywhere.

The old parachute jump ride. Looks scary!

As we were walking out to the end of a pier, a guy waved us over and said he would 'make our day'.

I had no idea whatsoever he would point down into the water at two sting rays swimming by. Another fisherman said he had never seen that before, so we did get a treat!

 They were holding fins.

Amazing view of Manhattan from the Wonder Wheel, built in 1920.

After Coney, we went to Di Fara Pizza on J Street in Brooklyn.

Below is owner and pizza master Domenico DeMarco. He opened his pizza shop in the mid 60's after coming here from Italy. He hand cuts fresh basil over top of every pizza. It was the best pizza I have ever eaten (reportedly the best in all of NYC and possibly the world).

Here is a great article about Di Fara's, you can even see how he makes each pie. I was very grateful he let me take his photograph.

"I use only the freshest ingredients, the bufala mozzarella from the town I grew up in, the oregano and basil from Israel, tomatoes from Salerno, flour from Italy. That's the secret recipe."

~Domenico DeMarco (Epicurious interview)

 "What I love about Brooklyn is there are more wonderful little joints than anywhere."~Arthur Schwartz

The Cloisters - NYC

I just came home from an amazing mini vacation with my friend Polly in New York City.

Our first stop was The Cloisters which is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to art and architectural elements from the 12th - 15th century. I have been wanting to go for years so this was a very special visit.

Amazing carved faces, dragons, animals, devils, everywhere you looked.

A carving of Clovis, first Catholic King of Gaul (France) below.

The Spanish crucifix above is from around 1150 AD.

Beautiful fountain in the cloister garden above.

Below are reliquaries. These head sculptures were made to hold the skulls of saints.

You can see the lady on the right also has a round pendant that would hold some other bone

The painting above is part of the Annunciation Triptych and was created in The Netherlands around 1427AD. I can't get over how vibrant the colors are after so many hundreds of years.

The painting below depicts the Archangel Michael stabbing the Antichrist.

I have never seen the devil portrayed in a creepier way.

I finally got to see "The Unicorn in Captivity".

It was so amazing in person, you can't believe the detail.

This famous tapestry inspired my Painted Pony, The Unicorn's Garden.

Poor unicorn...

I love the shot below of my friend Polly. A true friend, she held my camera bag the whole time while I was photographing all I could.

A view of the George Washington Bridge from our parking space.

A young robin outside of The Cloisters.

Please Drive Leisurely

We decided to take a little mini vacation to Oneonta, NY this week to visit my friend Hope and her family. I've known Hope for 25 years, we were neighbors growing up and good friends in school. Her husband teaches at nearby Hartwick College and also has an Etsy shop. We packed a lot of activities into our 3 days there with walks downtown, a day spent around Cooperstown hiking at Glimmerglass State Park, snacking and buying yummy food at Fly Creek Cider Mill, exploring Howe Caverns, hanging with critters at the Popp Butterfly Conservatory, and enjoying great cave aged beer and cheese while catching up with good friends.
Here are a few photos...


Downtown Oneonta, "City of the Hills". I just love old ads on buildings.


A gorgeous electric blue Honeycreeper at the butterfly house.

Beautiful butterfly. Wish I could have gotten a photo of the button quail that were scurrying about.


Hyde Hall at Glimmerglass Park. We just walked around it and then hiked up the mountain behind the mansion.


Lots of gulls and even a swimming beach at this park.


I love thistles. There were so many wildflowers where ever we went in NY.


A gaggle of geese at Fly Creek. A great place to stop and get a bite to eat!


I love the colors in this photo!


The first time I've ever ventured into a cave. Howe Cavern's was such a neat place. You travel down 15 stories in an elevator and the tour is over an hour, including a boat ride.


This sign cracked me up. I think it summed up our little vacation!