Monday, July 2, 2012

2,643 Miles Traveled - First Stop, NYC

After a two week hiatus from my blog, and after traveling 2,643 miles by car (yes by car), I can honestly say I am glad we made the trip but happy to be home.  As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home.

The first leg of the trip was New York City where our son, daughter in love, and grandson reside.  We left Nashville on Monday morning with said daughter in love and grandson, who had been in Nashville for the weekend, and arrived in the city on Tuesday afternoon.  We have made at least a dozen trips to New York to visit our children through the years.  Our oldest daughter moved to The Big Apple after graduating college, followed by her sister and brother.  They have all exited and returned on different occasions.  Now, our oldest son is there.  He has been performing in The Million Dollar Quartet as the understudy for Johnny Cash and Sam Phillips.  He also understudied Elvis in Chicago.  We made it in time to see him perform Johnny Cash on a New York Stage before the show closed after 3 years.  John was in the Chicago cast for 2 years and the New York cast for the last year.

New York City is an amazing place to visit, but I know that I have absolutely no desire to live there.  Maybe if I was much, much younger and a lot more adventurous, it would be a fantastic place to live, but it's just not for me.  It's too crowded, too noisy, the traffic is horrendous,  and I don't like subways.  On the other hand, there is no other place quite like it.  

We spent most of our time in Astoria and not in Manhattan which was just fine with me.  The one thing about New York neighborhoods is they each have their own personalities which I find interesting.   The neighborhood the kids live in is predominantly Greek and we did have some awesome food while we were there.  We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Taverna Kyclades which is at 33-07 Ditmars Boulevard and operated by Chef Ardian Skenderi who works in the restaurant everyday preparing some of the BEST seafood I have ever eaten.

This is our grandson Roman outside the restaurant.  Isn't he adorable?  The restaurant does have patio seating which is nice for warm summer evenings.  It has a blue and white theme which replicates the Greek flag.  And the food?  Oh my!  If you live in NYC or are visiting, make every effort to visit Taverna Kyclades.  It is affordably wonderful food and so fresh you might think you are on a Greek island (except for all the traffic).

We started our meal with a Greek peasant salad that had the best feta cheese I have ever eaten.  I am not a fan of feta, but our son assured me I would like the cheese the Chef has imported for his restaurant from Greece.  He was absolutely right!  The cheese was creamy, almost like a farmer's cheese, not the sharp, tangy stuff you usually get here in the states.  I could eat that feta cheese every day and wish I knew how to get some of it - it was that good.

Then we had fried calamari to die for.  You say you don't like calamari?  It's because you have never had it like this.  Tender, crisp, delicious - nothing rubbery about it.  Wish I had a plate full right now.

We also had clams stuffed with crab and dolmades that were outstanding.
For our entree, we had grilled sea bass and John and Jessy had filet of sole stuffed with crab.  I mean, what's not to love about that?  You will just have to try it to understand.  It's worth a trip to Astoria to enjoy food from a restaurant that has a Michelin rating.
On Wednesday, we went into Manhattan to see The Million Dollar Quartet.  John was playing Johnny Cash.  We had seen the show in Chicago several times and it was interesting to see the New York Cast.  It's such a great show and if the touring company comes your way, go see it!  If you are within Chicago range, make the trip.   It's Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash (actors you know) playing live music and will make you stomp your feet and clap your hands begging for more when it's over.  They were all poor boys who launched rock and roll - you know, that music that would never last.
This is our son John standing in front of the billboard just inside the theater doors.  Sorry, it was dark and the picture isn't great.
Proud Momma and Dad standing outside the theater with John.  It was fun to see people asking for his autograph.  : )

Later in the day, we went to Astoria Park where I took these pictures of  the East River and two of the bridges that span it.  There are some beautiful sights in New York.  You can see the skyline behind the bridge.

We enjoyed our last evening in New York with our son and family and then headed out the next morning for York Beach, Maine.  Bye bye NYC, its been great but there are so many more miles to travel.  We'll be back.

Everyday Donna


Things to Remember:

Traffic signals in New York are just rough guidelines.
David Letterman