We have now been in New York for 8 weeks. How time flies! So how do we feel about our adventure? Last week, we got up way too early and flew back to Vancouver for four days. As we left our Casa New York, we tried to decide whether this trip was “going home” or another excursion from our Big Apple home. While we know that this adventure will end on January 12, for the time being we feel so much at home here. Life is very different that it would be in Vancouver but we have loved seeking out all that is New York.
The trip home was exciting because we were returning to see the completed renovation in the condo for the first time live. And we were not disappointed.

The kitchen and bathroom are a little different than what we set out to do but we adjusted our ideas as we went along and are blown away by how beautifully it all came together. Most decisions had been made before we left – one the day before we left – but only 60% of the work was completed. We had seen pictures as the work progressed, so we knew the “look” but standing in the finished product was amazing. Who knew we could get to this end? I wanted to cook something in the new oven and convection microwave but our visit was so short it didn’t make sense to provision the place. We are looking forward to showing it off when we get home.
We were also getting the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends and we did as much of that as possible. We had dinner at our favourite Commercial Drive restaurant. We visited Lauren and Peter and our beautiful granddaughter Rachel. The Friday Night Dinner Club – with a few additions – celebrated Patricia’s birthday. Penny went to the gym for her workout and to reconnect with her “gym bags”. I chased FedEx all over Vancouver trying to get the Coldplay tickets that had to be sent to Vancouver rather than our New York address. It rained!

Oh yah, did a mentioned it rained?

But when Sunday morning arrived – again way too early – we were excited about returning to Casa New York. Our adventure continues after a little break and we couldn’t be happier. It will end too soon. We have seven weeks left to walk, talk, experience and enjoy this great city. We have done and seen a lot but we have only scratched the surface.

We have left most of the great museums for bad weather days that have not yet arrived. So there will be days at the Met, the Frick, the MoMA, the Guggenheim and others. We have tickets to see Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden, Chris Botti at the Blue Note Jazz Club, Coldplay at the Barclay Centre and the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. There are still neighbourhoods to wander, restaurants to try, incredible landmarks to see. And we have resisted going to Staten Island and Coney Island because of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy: they are on our list. Too much for the time we have.

Christmas in New York is also in full swing. When Santa’s sleigh crossed the finish line at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, the season officially began. The most spectacular sites are at Rockefeller Centre with the famous Christmas tree where tens of thousands of people travel daily to have their pictures taken and Radio City Music Hall all decked out for the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.

Store windows are decorated including elaborate displays at Lord and Taylor and the Lego Store. And the Christmas sales are in full swing. There are Christmas Tree stands on the sidewalks in most neighbourhoods and wreaths and lights are appearing in stores and apartment lobbies. The outdoor Christmas markets at Bryant Park and Union Park are in full swing along with the indoor market at Grand Central Station.

And of course the outdoor rinks in Central Park, Bryant Park and Rockefeller Centre are waiting for us to lace up the skates. There is Christmas music everywhere. And Trader Joe’s will soon have Gingerbread Pancake mix on the shelves. New York is full of the Christmas spirit!

The only thing that has not co-operated is the weather. Since we returned, the sun has shone and the temperatures have been near 60 degrees – shirtsleeve weather not wool jackets and scarves. Hopefully it will cool off a bit in the next few days so it will feel like December. And we wouldn’t even complain about a New York snow storm!

So it was great to be home for a few days but we were happy to return to our “home” here for the next seven weeks. We love this City and look forward to continuing the adventure. It will be great to have Lindsay here for the holidays and to connect with our families who are here for the holidays. If only we could slow down the clock a little because the time is going too fast!