Touring Steven's Old Stomping Grounds

As many of you know, Steven and I recently made the move from San Francisco, CA to Fairfield County, CT. And part of the reason why we chose Fairfield County, was due to its close proximity to New York City. Call this our attempt at a town and country lifestyle.

For our first trip to New York City as locals to the tristate area, we decided to take a trip to the Upper West Side in Manhattan, aka Steven’s old neighborhood from his days in undergrad.

Brunch at Le Monde

Our first stop that day was a restaurant that Steven used to visit with his father back in his college days. Le Monde is a French restaurant that makes a killer brunch. Steven enjoyed steak and eggs, while I had the Croque Monsieur. Both were delicious, but the real star of the meal was the plate of Belgian Waffles we shared, topped with whipped cream and carmelized bananas. The texture was light and crisp just the way I like them. The perfect way to start our walk around the neighborhood.

Le Monde
2885 Broadway
New York, NY 10025

A Tour of Columbia

We started off our walk at Steven’s alma mater, Columbia University. For about four and a half years, we have talked about him giving me a tour of the campus and the day finally arrived. And we happened to be walking around on a very special afternoon - graduation day for many students. While everyone did don face masks as they walked around, you could tell that the students were beaming underneath, as they paraded around in large groups of powder blue robes and caps.

And pandemic aside, it was the perfect day for a graduation. The sky was clear, the sun was beaming down and making for great photo ops.

It was great being able to see the campus where so many of Steven’s college stories took place. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to tour the buildings and the dorms. Perhaps one day!

Steven posing next to an icon of Broadway (Kidding.)

A Jaunt Around the Neighborhood

We then enjoyed a walk around Central Park. The neighborhood was fully in bloom this mid-April afternoon, and the sidewalks were all adorned with brightly-colored tulips - fittingly one of Steven’s favorite flowers.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of tulips are planted around the city on behalf of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation as well as private groups. But for some reason, many New Yorkers agree that this year, they seem to be more prominent than ever. Even Steven who lived in this city for years said that he never noticed them as much as this particular visit. There are many theories floating around as to why the tulips are so eye-catching this year in particular. Some speculate it’s due to the abundance of snow in February, while others wonder if after a years indoors, everyone is looking at the now-opening city with new eyes. I hate to be the realist, but I happen to believe the snow theory; However I like the concept of the flowers seeming more vibrant because we are looking forward to new beginnings!

The bright and vivid colors of the neighborhood persisted through some cherry blossom trees and a rainbow painted surrounding around a nearby school.

Atlas, girl…

Before leaving the city, we decided to drive through midtown. And while passing by Rockefeller Center, we couldn’t help but notice that Atlas was wearing the COVID mask. I understand the humor behind it, but it was a bit much for me. He’s outdoors, his face is already way more than 6 feet away form everyone, not to mention he’s made of bronze and has no respiratory system. I personally don’t love modern topical additions to landmarks or art-pieces, but to each their own!

Until we meet again!