Feelin’ Groovy in New York City

Feelin’ Groovy in New York City

NYC2014-WelcomeMy perception of the enormity, diversity, energy and intensity of New York had felt daunting all these years, so I had never gone. “Oh, I can’t just go to New York for a couple of days. How can I even begin to make a dent in seeing it?! Where do I start?  What are the “musts”? And all my life I had heard about the “danger” of the city and its subways so there was trepidation built up that prevented me from going. Somehow it was easier for me to move to a foreign country and speak a foreign language, than it was for me to make a trip to New York City.

Enough.

I’ve flown Seattle-to-New York-to-Milan several times, never having ventured out of the JFK airport. This time I decided to stop in New York for 3 days and “dip my big toe in the water” of the city. Kind friends, Alta and Jonah, offered to let me stay in their cozy home with them in Long Island City, Queens. (Alta and I met 2 years ago in Milan through Legacy of Letters.) And dear Richard, another friend, offered to lead me on a whirlwind walking tour of the city; working for the Transit Authority, he’s in a prime position to know some obscure ins and outs of NYC. (He and I met in Sicily 3 years ago.)

It took hours to juggle and finally book 2 separate round trip tickets, and make allowances for all of the added complexity that it would heap on my travel: 1 SEA-NYC-SEA, 1 NYC-MXP-NYC. It really threw a wrench in customs, immigration, baggage handling, security, transfers, etc., but I wanted to see something of New York once-and-for-all! So I gave myself lots of “padding” in the schedule, tried to anticipate the unknowns, and booked it.

The first night, Friday May 9, Alta, Jonah and I went to a neighborhood Mexican restaurant for a bite to eat, then walked to the waterfront Gantry Plaza State Park to look across the east river to the city’s nighttime skyline. Welcome to New York! Shimmering in the fog.


The next day, Saturday May 10, Alta had meetings in town, so we both hopped on the subway and then split up. I was amused as I realized that it was Milan and Paris that prepared me for New York. “Hey! I can do this. It’s familiar to me now!” I wandered, explored, walked, looked. First, I mistakenly went south to the financial district in lower Manhattan (Oops. but that’s how discoveries are made.) I then headed back up north to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” Show. It was so inspiring! I swooned… and ordered the 10 pound book, which awaits me at home.

From MoMA, I just followed my nose south down 5th Avenue, Madison Avenue, Park Avenue… the places I had always heard of. I walked the south edge of the Jackie O Reservoir in Central Park. Merely poked my head in and looked up into the Guggenheim. Found quirky things at streetside. Dodged occasional squalls by ducking into doorways. And came across a window display at Chanel that enchants me still.

I allowed myself to NOT “see all of New York”, which freed me to accept the days as they unfolded without pressure. This was a trip to break the ice.

By the end of the day, and with the sky growing gray, feet tired, ready to sit, ready to write, I was “feelin’ groovy” at the west end of the 59th Street Bridge and found a relaxed place to sit with an open window wall to the street and the storm. I had a bite to eat, a sip to drink and plenty of pages in my journal.


For the next day, Sunday, I had “signed up” for a brisk, whirlwind walking tour with Richard. He, his father and I had met at a B&B in Palermo, Sicily 3 years ago and had enjoyed exploring Palermo and Monreale together. I was finally taking him up on the offer he made then of a walking tour of New York City. We really beat feet! We started at The Highline in Chelsea, and leisurely walked from end to end. This had been a “must” on my list. (Seattle, take note of the Highline as the Viaduct comes down.) We also touched the West Village, the Abbottega Ristorante, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, the Caffè Roma for Gelato, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, Katz’s Deli, the Financial District, the Municipal Building and City Hall. Richard and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge as the afternoon waned, with plenty of time for photos, and ended in Carroll Gardens for a farewell dinner with Alta and Jonah.



Jan & Petula in Prague

Jan & Petula in Prague

 

After a time of their love wrapping halfway around the world, about 7 months ago Jan moved back to the Czech Republic to marry and be with his dear Petula.

Jan had become a much-loved “Burien Boy”, so I gathered mementoes from friends into a “juju bag” of good wishes and hopped a plane from Milano to Praha (Prague) to spend a few days with the two. (July 3 – 6, 2012)

I brought some Italian coffee and Grana Padano cheese for Jan and Petula.

I enjoyed the ultimate hospitality, good friendship and conversation, and a built-in translator, tour guide and driver!

Imagine celebrating the Fourth of July in the former-communist Czech Republic. Jan wore his red-white-and-blue plaid shirt in honor of the day, and we found many stars and stripes along our walking path.

“Thank you, America! On May 6, 1945 the city of Plzen was liberated by the U.S. Army.”

We saw the highlights of their home town, where Jan grew up, Plzen, and drank Pilsener beer. We enjoyed an afternoon looping stroll in Pizek, where they had been living. Drove through country roads and villages. Made a grand tour of Prague, (to my eye, more beautiful than Paris). We fed the ducks, then ducked for cover from a sudden drenching rain.

Jan and Petula saw each other for the first time in person along the John Lennon Wall in Prague. It was only fitting that we shoot a portrait of them there.

What a beautiful backdrop for a photo: the elaborately decorated front doorway of the Italian Consulate in Prague.

Starting a Journey… Again

Starting a Journey… Again

Backing up a bit, here are some journal excerpts from March 18, 2012, in Burien, WA, as I reflected on my then-imminent trip to Milan:

“I am now just under 8 weeks away from heading back to Italy. At the 10-week mark I felt ‘the shift.’ I am now straddling the globe, neither fully here nor fully there. I’ve notched up my energy and efforts, my focus, all in preparation for being away from here and returning to a life – my life – there. (When I returned at the end of June last year, I really ‘came back’, emotionally and psychologically. But the shift was palpable 2 weeks ago.)

“So I’m consumed with both preparations and completions, and this state is isolating. No one in my life has such a life pattern or makes such choices.

“From where I sit here in my living room, I look out to only tall firs, Puget Sound, Vashon Island, my bright green yard and rain drops hanging suspended from the Japanese maple. The Olympics are hidden by an early-Spring, leaden sky, but would otherwise define my horizon.

“In two months I will be on the third floor of a city apartment, just off the freeway exit, looking out to my neighbors’ balconies and the courtyard with the garbage bins. The sound of traffic will be ever-present and its grit will filter into my living space.

“The contrast between the two places is absolute. I dearly love my home and its location here. But spending city time in Milan brings something entirely different to my days and my experience. Living in Italy requires that I live closer to ‘the edge’ and that is good (though exhausting over time). It both develops and draws on my inner resources, forcing me to stretch. In the midst of and because of this, I feel exquisitely alive when in Italy.

“I sincerely attempt to have that sense of aliveness while here in Seattle (Burien) but am aware of how different it is. It’s a deeper, calmer sense here.

“I look forward to returning to Milan, to seeing now-dear friends and being back in my neighborhood. I like the life of being on foot, bike, subway or train for all my travels. Thought it is limiting, it is also quite freeing. I don’t mind walking 2 miles for a good loaf of bread, and absolutely swoon over riding my bike into the farmland for fresh ricotta.

“Truthfully, my life in Milan is not the typical Milanese life. They are not all going ‘Tra La La’ as they ride out for fresh cheese! But neither is my life typically American. OK. I seem to make it work and it is envied by many. But this choice excludes other choices I could make; they don’t see what I give up to have this.”

May 14, 2012 – Departure from Seattle, through London, to Milano.

Seatac Airport: One of the public art, tiled columns as I head toward the S Gates at the South Satellite. (With On-the-move smartphone blur.)

Awaiting departure from London to Milano.

"Welcome to Milano", the sign says as I briskly leave the plane and head out of the airport, Milano Malpensa.

Could this greeting be any more perfect as I was leaving the airport, heading for the train into Milano?!

 

You, too, can walk with us.

You, too, can walk with us.

We’re just a bunch of folks, of various ages and abilities and speeds, out for a nice walk together. We show up once a month, whomever wants to amble on two feet, and we go from here to there in Volksmarch fashion.

Today we walked from Burien’s Town Square westward into and around the Seahurst neighborhood. I grew up there. As a kid, when I wanted some peace-and-quiet away from a busy household (6 kids, Mom, Dad, Grandma, 1 dog, 1 cat), I took off for a walk into these same streets. Today we passed through the intersection where there had lived 36 kids, 40+ years ago. These were the streets that gave me calm… and they still do.

We had another Burien Walk-n-Talk today, with 23 human walkers and 5 canines. Woof woof. We took off walking and soon clustered according to speed and propensity. I like that people end up walking with those they’ve never spoken to before, and the conversations lasted the duration… about an hour and a half. (Whenever else is this opportunity?)

Our westernmost spot was the entrance to Eagle Landing Park. We arrived at precisely the moment when artist Galen Willis (right) and scout Sean Kent (left, Scout Troop 392) were working on the installation site of Galen’s cedar sculpture of an eagle. The sculpture is expected to be installed in the next month. (Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for announcements.)

These walks are scheduled for the first Sunday of every month. We meet up at the appointed place… walk… talk along the way… then bid adieu until the next month. On November 6, we’ll gather again and see where the conversation leads us. Care to join us?

Stayed tuned for details about our next Walk-n-Talk. The route may change. The group certainly will. Who KNOWS who you’ll have an opportunity to talk to!

Bike SaFaRis: Safe Family Rides

Bike SaFaRis: Safe Family Rides

Ignite an early enthusiasm for being on two wheels. Teach “bike sense” and street smarts to little ones. Gather people from the community for fun, conversation, fresh air and healthful exercise. These are the goals of Burien’s Bike “SaFaRis” – Safe Family Rides, launched by the enthusiastic, former Burien City Councilmember, Sue Blazak.

The first SaFaRi was yesterday, Sunday, August 21. One little one, still a babe-in-arms, rode in a bike trailer behind his Dad, while another little guy was in a bike seat behind his Dad. Other kids rode on “trailer bikes” connected to a parent’s bike, or they rode competently on their own knee-high cycles. In all, 19 people gathered at Gregory Heights School for a bicycle tour through the Seahurst neighborhood and around Lake Burien, including a swingset-break at Lake Burien Park. The whole ride lasted about an hour and was generally flat except for a few small hills near the lake.

You see new things on a bike! Along the route, we all noticed things that we just hadn’t seen through our car windshields, and we traveled on streets we’ve never traveled in all the time we’ve each lived here. Conversations were spontaneous and varied as the group  mixed along the way. New connections were made.

The group will meet Sundays at 3 p.m. through Sept. 25th. This is a FREE event, and all are welcome (either with kids or without). The group will make variations on a loop around Lake Burien each week, between 2-5 miles. Participants will meet in front of Gregory Heights Elementary, on the 16th Ave SW side, at 16201 16th Ave SW in Burien. ALL participants must wear bicycle helmets (parents included), and riders are taught to follow safe cycling practices and the rules-of-the-road.

An e-mail list was started for staying in touch with interested riders, and notifying people of route changes. For more information, please contact:  design (at) RedRedCircle (dot) com. (Write it all out as a standard e-mail address.)

 

Burien’s Walk-n-Talk

Burien’s Walk-n-Talk

Burien’s Walk-n-Talk is being launched this coming Sunday, August 7 at 2:00!

Put on your comfy shoes and come for a casual Walk-n-Talk with friends and neighbors. On the first Sunday of every month, meet up at Burien Town Square with friends, old and new. Enjoy conversations and a walk through town. Grab a local coffee or snack before or after your stroll.

On the day of the recent Olde Burien Block Party, I had dinner with friends Rochelle and Shelley and we talked about the idea of starting a walk-n-talk… So I ran with it! (…or walked with it.)

Intentions for Burien’s Walk-n-Talk:

  • “Encourage active living to support physical and mental health.”
    (Part of Burien’s new “Vision”.)
  • Initiate conversation between friends and neighbors, new and old.
  • Nurture the idea of our Town Square as the “living room” of Burien,
    our center and gathering place.
  • Create our own little “volksmarch“, in the European tradition.
  • Support our local cafés and restaurants on Sunday afternoons.

Location: Burien Town Square
Who: Walkers of every level and ability
Date: First Sunday of every month
Time: Meet at 2:00 p.m. Start walking at 2:15 p.m.
Route: A 2.25 mile loop from Burien Town Square, around Lake Burien, and back to Town Square.

  • Begin at Burien Town Square.
  • Go west on SW 152nd Street.
  • Turn south on 21st Ave. SW.
  • Go east on SW 156th, 16th and 158th.
  • Zig-zag north on 12th, 156th, 11th,
  • 154th and 10th, and back to 152nd.
  • Turn east on 152nd back to Town Square.
Click on the map below for a larger view:

Burien’s Walk-n-Talk was inspired by my time recently living in Italy for over a year. In Italy, people walk a lot, not just to get from place to place but also for the social connection. In addition to daily commuting and errands, Italians have their traditional “Passeggiata” – the evening stroll. In the evenings, the main streets fill with people making walking tours through town. Not only is it exercise, but it’s also the social hour. Families walk together. Old folks push other old folks in wheelchairs. Sisters and girlfriends go arm-in-arm. Elder men gather and solve the city’s problems.

Additionally, in Italy, every city and town has a central church, in front of which is a large central plaza – the piazza. This piazza is the “living room of the city”, it’s the central gathering place, the place to hang out with friends in the evening, and to meet up before going on to other destinations. The piazza is where the city both celebrates and mourns.

Burien’s Walk-n-Talk is a means to encourage OUR stroll, and to affirm Burien Town Square as our central gathering place, “the living room of OUR city”. The announcement has been picked up by our B-Town Blog and by KOMO News, so it’s possible that we’ll have 50-100 people walking!