Busy week!

Last week was a whirlwind busy week. We had cousins in from Paris, so I took the week off to be tour guide (they have been to the city several times before, but appreciated a guide). We went to the MoMA, the Met, the Guggenheim, Ralph Lauren in the Vanderbilt Mansion on Madison, and a number of other places. One of my favorites was a place we went for lunch. Angelo's Coal Oven Pizzeria, 117 W. 57th (just east of 5th), is much more than a pizzeria, and the food is always wonderful. The value is excellent for the city, too. If you are planning to visit the city and places like the MoMA, Trump Tower, FAO Schwarz and other places along 5th Ave are on your list, then you're in the area of Angelo's and you should definitely make the stop.

It had been several years since my last visit there, since I don't get to that area of the city often, but the food was as wonderful as I remembered. The cousins had salads, one a Caesar, one a "Mista", both delicious. I had fettucine carbonara, and it was spectacular. I ate every bit of it, and that's not usually me with a pasta dish, since my digestion doesn't handle starch well. But I couldn't resist the deliciousness.

The MoMA has increased its collection since its remodeling, and was a lot of fun. I am always surprised to see some paintings classified as "modern", since they don't always strike me as that. "Christina's World," for instance, didn't strike me as "modern", but it was groundbreaking in its depiction of a handicapped girl. There was a terrific selection of Georges Braque juxtaposed with Pablo Picasso, Kandinsky, Cezanne, and a small but nice group of Pollock works.

The Met's Japanese exhibit, which was our reason for visiting, was closed for the week, but we toured the Asian Wing anyway, and it was very interesting. The Met is always a good bet, and you can't see it all in a day. We also toured the 19th Century Paintings and were enthralled with all the Impressionist works and Rodin sculpture. I have been to this area of the Met at least 6 times, and even though I have seen most of the works in it, I never get bored with it.

Friday was also a busy afternoon, with a meal at 105 Harbor, one of my favorite Island spots. The food is always terrific. They seated us by a window for the terrific view of Cold Spring Harbor, but the afternoon sun was beating in on the north-facing windows, making it unbearably hot. The ceiling fans in that cooled the center of the room were not effective near the windows due to a soffit that blocked the airflow there. So the meal was wonderful, but I couldn't wait to get out of there. Ugh.

Later that night, we served as judges at LIGALY's "Out Idol", where contestant Vicky blew the others away with performances of Jewel's Foolish Game and Donna Summer's Last Dance. She will have the opportunity to perform at Long Island's Pride Parade as well as several LIGALY events. She won $300 and a master class with a local promoter. It has been a fun season for this contest. This is Jess' and my second season to judge this competition, which is in its fifth year.

Saturday was a barbeque at Jess' brother's house upstate, so that was a busy day as well, with a stop back by Deidre and G's beautiful Nyack apartment overlooking the Hudson and the Tappan Zee Bridge. Spectacular.

Sunday, we went for a bike ride at Cedar Creek Park in Wantagh, and it was very enjoyable. We finished our ride just before the rain from the hurricane started. There was a nice breeze the entire ride. But this morning, when I awakened, I was greeted by an unfriendly surprise: apparently I managed to pick up a tick on my clothing while on the ride, and this morning, the tick had crawled up the closet door and was just sitting there in the middle of the door. I freaked out. I was worried about Jess, the dogs, and me...what if there were others? I immediately gave the dogs' Advantage treatment for the month, and began checking myself for ticks. Shiver.

All in all, a nice week, but not nearly long enough.