Hotel de Jaynes Guest Calendar

High Line

Last Friday, a group of coworkers went on a little excursion after work to the newly opened High Line. The elevated rail line was built in the 1930's and was used to keep hazardous freight off of the city streets. In 2006, renovation began to turn the high line into a public park. When completed, the park will be about a mile and a half and stretch 20-odd blocks. The first phase opened a month or so ago and runs about 12 or 13 street blocks.

I was quite impressed with the variety of plants and flowers incorporated, and almost wish that they had placemarkers so I would know what kind they were! I loved that the benches were designed in a way that they seemed to come out of the concrete. And of course, I appreciate that they kept some portions of the rail line and that some of the lounge chairs rested upon old wheels from the rail cars. There is a portion of the High Line that expands into a mini amphitheater, and is the perfect people-watching spot as you can sit and look down at 10th avenue (or is it 11th?), but also, in the opposite direction is a clear view of the Statue of Liberty in between the buildings. I recommend that you go check it out if you haven't yet.

New York Philharmonic

Every summer, the New York Philharmonic puts on free concerts in the City's parks. This past Wednesday we were lucky enough to be able to experience the Philharmonic playing in Prospect Park, very close to our apartment. We met up with a group of people, spread out blankets, had a little picnic, and enjoyed the music. It's amazing how many people were there, but how silent it was as soon as the music began.

Me, Chris, and Andrew, who is in the Cinema Studies program with Chris. Yes, I am wearing a sweatshirt in July...

All of the people waiting for the concert to begin.

Our neighbors Scott and Nicki

After the concert, there was a fireworks show that was just icing on the cake of a perfect evening in Brooklyn.

Sleepy Hollow

To celebrate the Fourth of July, we went to...Sleepy Hollow. I mean, that is a completely acceptable Independence Day vacation, right? Okay, so maybe it's better suited for Halloween, but one set of neighbors were out of town and had said that our other set of neighbors were welcome to use their car. So they decided to take a day trip out of the City and asked us to come along.

It was so nice to be able to spend the day out of the City, though very weird to be riding in a car! We spent a couple hours walking around the Sleepy Hollow cemetery, which really was quite beautiful. You can kind of tell from the picture that it was in a very natural setting and felt a little more like a park than a cemetery. There were no headless horseman sitings.

We then ate lunch in Tarrytown, which was adorable. I wish I had taken pictures of this cute little town, right on the Hudson river. We also got to see some fireworks from Nyack that night, right across the Hudson. Anway, it was a nice trip, and great to know that it is all just an hour's drive from the City.

The Test

On Sunday afternoons I like to catch up on people's blogs and see what interesting things have happened during the course of the week. Harrison had a link to another blog that I had to click on ...Do You Belong in NYC? Well, I took the test and must say that I failed miserably. I am definitely not an optimizer on most levels, I have never had the highest career ambition, and I would always choose to live a happy life as opposed to an interesting life.

I have thought about this notion of "where do I belong" recently as I spent a week at home preparing for my sister's wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding (she was a beautiful bride!) in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. It is funny how the first day back in the south feels strange, the second day a little less so, and then by the third day I am completely acclimated and ready to move back. I really miss being close to family and friends and nature. I miss the pace of life.

That being said, I'm so glad that Chris and I are currently living in Brooklyn. It has given me so many new perspectives on life and there are an abundance of opportunities that we would not have had otherwise. Also, I think it's great to live somewhere different and far away as newlyweds. It helps your marriage to grow even stronger.