After work on Friday, I met an old friend for lunch at John's Pizza. It's always nice to catch up with friends and John's Pizza is always tasty, so we had a very pleasant leisurely lunch. We definitely need to make it a more regular thing - I'm pretty sure the last time we had lunch, his daughter had just been born. Now she's three. Where does the time go?!?!
After lunch, I hopped on a 1 train to Cathedral Parkway so I could get a look at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I've never been inside the church, but I pass it every year during the AIDS Walk. And every year I say to myself, "I'm going to look at that church someday soon." Well, someday was Friday. : ) While I was on the train, a group of approximately 900 children got on as well - they were tiny little kids and some of them looked terrified to be on the subway. They were wearing matching shirts, so maybe they were all camp kids or something, but I felt badly for them. I got up and gave a couple little girls my seat as did other grandmotherly ladies. The men? They stayed put. Someday, I'm going to do a sociological study on why most (not all) men remain in their subway seats. I was a tad worried that all 900 children would be touring St John the Divine with me, but whew. They didn't get off when I did.
I took so many pictures, I'll never get them all on here. I'll put a few more of them at the bottom. First I stopped at the cathedral school on the corner and looked around. Then I got some photos in the little park behind the church - the photo at right is an arty shot I took for my Instagram page (follow me on Instagram!). It was very sunny and I forgot a hat, so I decided to hustle on into the church. They are doing so much construction of the facade and the inside, there are blocked entrances everywhere you look, but I finally found an accessible door in the front.
St. John the Divine is a glorious cathedral and much larger than I anticipated. I mean, I knew it was big, but I didn't know there were so many chapels inside. Each chapel was gorgeous in its own right. There were a few tourists inside, but not many, so wandering around was very easy. It was extremely hot inside, though, so I would periodically have to sit down near a fan to cool off. Other people did too, so I wasn't the only wimp in town. The light was beautiful coming in through the stained glass windows. I wish I had a fancier camera so I could've really captured the beauty of the stained glass. But my little camera phone did an ok job. I was probably there for an hour or so - I would've stayed longer, but I was feeling too hot. Next time, I'll take a bottle of water with me.
After I finished touring, I stopped inside the Hungarian Pastry Shop across the street for a little treat and a sit-down. I really enjoyed my Black Forest cake and iced coffee. I lingered for awhile, like everyone else seemed to, and enjoyed the afternoon. After my snack, I decided to head back home. I saw a bus stop across the avenue and took a look at the map - the bus went across the park and down Fifth Avenue to my subway stop. Hmmm, I thought. I could take this bus and not have to change subway trains. That could work. I'm not in a hurry - it could almost be like a tour bus. So that's what I did. I took the M4 and went from 110th and Cathedral Parkway to Fifth Avenue in the 70s. It was a quiet ride and I enjoyed it. The bus driver was very kind - he let a few tourists get on and ride for free to Penn Station, which I thought was very generous. I got off a little before my subway stop so I could enjoy a brief walk along Fifth Avenue before heading home and I saw a bridal party come out of the Pierre Hotel. It wouldn't be the only bridal party I got to enjoy over the weekend... 
I had planned on going to Smorgasburg in Brooklyn on Saturday - I've been dying to go there for so long, I just finally said I'M GOING! And then it rained most of the day. Blech. So I cleaned the apartment on Saturday, adjusted my plans, and went to Smorgasburg on Sunday, when they are located in Dumbo, which I just looked up on Wikipedia and discovered means Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. OK. I actually recognized the neighborhood - when my family was in town one summer, we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and had ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Which is in Dumbo. Who knew?!
Smorgasburg is a fun food market with tons of specialty food vendors. On Saturdays, they're in Williamsburg at the East River State Park, and on Sunday they're in Dumbo at the old Tobacco Warehouse. It is a beautifully picturesque spot and I took another ton of photos, which I'll have to put at the bottom. It took me almost an hour, and three subway trains to get there. I could've done two trains, but it worked out that three were easier to do. Go figure.
There was so much to see (and eat!) that it was overwhelming! It was crowded, but not crazy. I had a good time just wandering around and deciding which food to sample. But it was also rather warm and even though I remembered a hat, I didn't want to overheat my digestive system by eating too much in the sun. So I mainly stuck with yummy beverages and had some delicious coconut sticky rice from a booth staffed by two adorable gents. Not that that's why I chose to have sticky rice. Anyway, thumbs up on the sticky rice. After making a few more loops around, I took my sticky rice and found a little shade behind the warehouse. It was lovely with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the river. I had a nice conversation with a family from Rego Park and just enjoyed my afternoon.
After a bit, I wandered over to Jane's Carousel, which is also just right there. I took a brief video since I love the music from a carousel, and sat down on some steps to relax a little more. Then another bridal party approached! They were going to have some wedding photos taken by the carousel! Very cool. The bride looked a little harried, but very pretty, and I loved the bouquets. Making your bridesmaids wear black in August seems a little mean, though. The tiniest bridesmaid was DONE and I caught her just before a full-blown meltdown, which was my cue to leave...
Having spent a couple of hours in the sun, I decided it was time to saunter home. I toyed with the idea of crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, but decided against it. I also thought about taking one of the water taxis back, but I'm in extreme budget mode at the moment, so I just went back to the subway. But there was a little park just across the street from the subway stop, so I sat there for a while longer, enjoying the sunny day and the happy quiet I was feeling within. Of course, as I sat there, I got an annoying work e-mail which riled me up, so it was time to go home. And when I changed trains at 42nd Street, I enjoyed the song stylings of Annette, Soul Queen of the Subway, who was performing on the platform. I should've gotten a video of her, but my phone battery ran out, darn it. That's what I get for taking so many photos. But summer Fridays demand documentation. What will I take too many photos of next time...
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