Walking the High-Line - Day 13

Monday, June 19, 2017
New York, New York, United States
This morning we left home and walked up 11th Avenue to the High-Line. This is an above ground old railway line, built in the 1930s to carry freight around the city. It is built up high and was left to rot and weeds grew wild. When it was considered for demolition, a committee got together and formed the attraction it is now. A path with gardens growing along is a wonderful way to see this part of the city, from the Hudson Yards to Chelsea. Apartment blocks are being built in the Hudson Yard area and the vista of the High-Line are sought after.
We enjoyed walking with nature, we could even hear birds at times, a novelty in this noisy city. The path is quite busy, but is an easy, relaxing stroll. We stopped off at the Underline Cafe for the best coffee we've had in the USA.
There are sun lounges built along the way. We stopped and admired the view, looking into the sky and seeing only trees, a novelty in this tall city. Well, it was peaceful and clear, apart from the helicopters and planes. It was relaxing to stop for a while.
Once we'd walked the length, 2.3kms, we doubled back and walked down the stairs to the Chelsea Markets. There were a few market type shops, a lot of jewellery and then a lot of food places. Restaraunts, bakeries, spice shops, chocolate shops and fresh produce. It all looked inviting, but we resisted and kept going.
Ken was keen to see the Flat Iron Building so we kept going in that direction. It was hot and muggy, there was a storm coming. The Flat Iron was pretty impressive and, while on the architecture walk, we kept going to see the State Empire Building up close. That was very impressive.
Ken decided to keep going to the MOMA and I consulted Google maps and saw there was a Bloomingdales close by. I walked and walked and checked and rechecked and finally consulted Google (not the map guy) and apparently it no longer exists in the Midtown.
In all my phone checking I managed to accidentally phone Clare (1am over there), she messaged back and reminded me it is my birthday (well, tomorrow here, but I'll take an extra 12 hours). I rewarded myself with a peanut butter shake from Shake Shack. If it's good enough for Barack, it's good enough for me. Though, I can't imagine he would have too many of these calorie-laden treats. It did taste pretty good. The line in the store was crazy, a very popular place.
I kept walking and walking, enjoying being in the city, listening to the conversations of people around me. There is no filter, just loud chatter.  It is very entertaining.
I finally ended up near MOMA, so called Ken and we met and began the long walk home together. Since it is now unofficially my birthday, we stopped for a drink at Rancho Tequileria. A nice mojito for me and a couple of beers for Ken. The storm was still threatening so we headed for home. I missed a call from Talia, 4am at home, so called her back. She really was up and getting ready for work! It was lovely to chat to her. She has actually read the blog, doesn't like the format! I've changed it a little, but need to keep it relatively chronological for my own benefit.
I received a dramatic sounding warning with a siren on my phone, warning of flooding in the area. The storm arrived, with strong winds and rain. We could see a group of young girls cowering on the street and we could certainly hear them screaming. There was debris being tossed around high into the sky. It seemed to settle quickly into steady rain.
We had a restaurant booked for dinner and decided we should Uber and avoid walking in the weather. As we arrived in the foyer of our building we could see that the area was taped off with danger tape. The wind gusts had been so bad that they smashed all three of the revolving doors, sending shattered glass throughout. Then the rain came in. They were mopping and the doors had been boarded up when we came downstairs.
Our Uber driver couldn't find the building and we had to go out and find him. He seemed a little weird and I don't think he would put too much effort into doing anything, which is why we were running around in the rain while he sat on the wrong corner deliberating about life.
We made it to Estella, a cosy and packed little restaurant on Houston (we say Hows-ton here not Hoos-ton). We ordered a lovely bottle of French champagne and set about studying the interesting and delicious sounding menu. It was suggested we order 5 dishes to share. We started with Burrata, salsa verde and charred bread. The cheese was super creamy and we looked forward to the second, scallops with green olives, and champs. Another delight. Third was asparagus, coddled egg and bone marrow, yum. Next was lamb ribs with chermoula and honey, slightly spicy, slightly sweet, melt in the mouth with a crunchy outer. Good! Our final dish was ricotta dumplings with muhsroooms and pecorino sardo. Such delicious clouds of soft flavour.
Dessert looked a little dull on the menu in comparison, but we went for it anyway. Ken had pannacotta with honey and vinegar, rich and creamy with a surprising hit of sweetness  and acid. I had mango sorbet with a nori sauce. It was unusual to start, but the flavours went well together and I really enjoyed it. It was a fantastic dinner, great food and great service.
The rain had eased and we found ourselves on the street waving down a yellow cab. Home, much cheaper than the Uber, safe and sound.
Steps 22,582
Kms walked 18
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