Keeping Secrets from Bob & Liz

I scurried around today and you have to keep this a secret from Bob & Liz, but I hit some thrift stores.  No treasures small enough to take home were found, but it was fun to look.

Almost as good as thrift shops is the Strand book store.

The book I wanted was on the top shelf.  There was no clerk around and there was a step ladder right there, so up I went.  I never thought of taking a selfie at the top.  When I got down, I saw the book was half price so it was worth the climb.

Old stores have old washrooms worth checking out.  The Strand has marble sinks and vintage tiles.

New Yorkers love their dogs.  And some New Yorkers hire dog walkers.  Here four walkers have 23 dogs.

The Neue Gallery was a huge disappointment.  It's housed in an old mansion, but you get to see very little of it as the museum is small.  The third floor was closed for a new installation and the first floor has only a restaurant and book store so there was only one floor to see and it housed exactly seven Klimt works including The Woman in Gold.  That was the one I wanted to see as I love the movie by the same name.  The painting is not as large as I imagined it, but it is incredibly beautiful.

Another thing I didn't like about the gallery was the snootiness of the workers.  The suggested admission is $20, but you can pay what you want.  I passed over a fifty dollar bill thinking I would pay twenty dollars.  The cashier snootily said, "are you wanting change?"  Just as snootily I said, "yes, I'll take forty in change, please."  I was happy I hadn't paid twenty when I saw how little there was in the gallery.

I went back to Mood fabrics and was once again overwhelmed by the quantity of fabric.  The tweed section alone went on forever.  I am going to stick with stitching the Harris Tweeds I salvage from jackets at thrift stores.

See this fellow?

See this fellow's portrait? 

 

The dog is Swatch and he is a resident of the store.  I may not have seen Tim Gunn or any of the Project Runway alumni, but I did tickle Swatch's ears.

While in the Garment District, I stopped in at M&J.

The problem is that the amount of product is overwhelming so without having something specific to look for, I fled the store.

Bob & Liz had lunch at Veselka's where Bob and the boss of the place had a chat about Ukrainian food.

We ate supper at the tip of Manhattan.  I wanted to eat here because I saw it at the top of a list of best fish and chips in the city.  It's also known for its many prize winning cocktails.  The doorman made it perfectly clear that you were to order cocktails, not just food.

Our sample cocktail was carefully disguised in demi-tasse cups.

 

Even Bob could live without the mushy peas, but we all agreed the rest was delicious.

Rob, this store proves we love you very much.  I was within four buildings of it yesterday without realizing it.  Today your dear sister retraced my steps.

Here's why we needed to visit the place.  Do you recognize anything in the photo?

Do you need a closer look?

Non-family members, we have to tell you that these Finnish mints were discovered by our family decades ago and we go great ends to have them (usually at Christmas).  This year we couldn't find them ... until now.  This Scandinavian candy store is the only store in New York City that sells them.  

If you want to try them, don't come to our house.  We will deny knowing anything about them.  Yes, we hoard them.  We admit it.

Tonight's show was Chicago.  Mel B, whose earliest claim to fame was being a Spice Girl, brought back memories for Elizabeth as she and her friends in elementary school were big fans.

This next picture shows how we are winding down.  We have pushed  hard for seven days and, yes, we are playing out.