A Perfect Weekend

Two weekends ago was literally the perfect weekend. I know perfection is a pretty lofty claim to make, but it was pretty fantastic. The week leading up to it was busy, busy, busy. I worked three workshops during the week, two of them back to back on the same day. I spent about 8 hours total on the subway commuting to all the schools we served that week. Needless to say, I was exhausted. I took Monday off as comp time/personal restoration time, and it was very much needed!

On Saturday I slept in. This is still a new-found joy ever since my last Family Learning Workshop. I woke up to a gorgeous, warm spring day. The weather was around 50 degrees, sunny and clear. I made a delicious brunch for myself, and enjoyed it on our patio with some housemates.

Later that afternoon, Leah, Marcel and I went to the Highline. For those of you who don’t know, the Highline is a park built on a restored freight-line on the West side of Manhattan. It is a 1.5 mile stretch of pathway with great views of the city. We walked the length of it twice, and then enjoyed a marvelous picnic of bread, cheese, and pumpkin bread.

Because it was the first beautiful Saturday in spring, lots of people were out. That made the people watching extra fun, even though it was a bit crowded :)

Here’s a picture to give you an idea of what the Highline looks like. I should add that photographs are not my strong-point. In fact, I would much rather enjoy living the moment than trying to document it. The picture you see below, and the picture from my blog post in Jersey, are not pictures I have taken. Thank you Google image search!

It's still winter, so the grass doesn't look this nice.
And the people were more bundled up...

It felt so good to have the sun shinning down, and to see the big, bright blue sky. After our picnic, we walked home by way of the West Village, and NYU Campus.

The West Village is beautiful. Walking around it, you don't feel like you are in the city anymore. You don't  hear traffic. The West Village is where the house front was filmed for the Cosby Show. Even though in the show the Huxtabuls live in Brooklyn, the physical front of house they show is in the West Village. See? I would love to live there. This is what the West Village looks like.

From about.com. The Huxtabul's House.

We had a lovely walk home looking at houses, pretending we could afford them...We even thought if Menno House would sell, we could buy a one bedroom in the West Village. Yes, accommodating 9 people would be difficult, but we can take turns. Everyone gets a shift. When you aren't at the apartment, you can volunteer permanently at a homeless shelter. They are always looking for more volunteers, this is a perfect solution!

...Yeah, Sara didn't buy it either.

We also stopped by a PUPPY store!! In the store window was a baby Zepplein doggy (a black dauschund puppy), and another fox-dog puppy. I think the fox-dog is called "Shiba Inu." They look like foxes, so I call them fox-dogs. Anyway, it is a miracle Marcel didn't disown Leah and I then and there. We literally went ga-ga over the dogs :)

Our last stop was NYU campus. They were having a folk festival of sorts, and there was a guy playing the banjo, drums, and singing folk songs. He had quite the gathering of observers, including back-up dancers. Ok, that is a bit extreme the dancers were toddlers and preschoolers movin', grovin' and expressing themselves to the beat. Adorable!

The next day was the much anticipated SPA DAY!! Leah, Naomi, Emily (all roommates, former roommates, or friends from church) and I had been planning this day of luxury and decadence since Thanksgiving. Ever since Leah and I went to the Russian, Turkish baths, we have been craving the relaxing, rejuvenating experience we longed for at the baths. Naomi suggested we check out Spa Castle. It is literally a castle of spas. So wonderful.

We spent five hours lounging in hot-tubs, saunas, heated pools, and relaxation (aka nap) rooms. We dinned on sushi. We bonded.

Spa Castle has four floors. I kid you not. The first floor is separated by gender, and is a nude only area. With hot tubs. Wonderful.

The most interesting thing about the nude hot tubs was how inter-generational it was. Grandmas, mothers, and daughters would hang out together. Kids as young as six would be swimming around. Completely comfortable in their bodies. It was great to see children unashamed of who they are. And, it was liberating to be with women of all walks of life, of all shapes and sizes, enjoying a nude hot tub paradise. I know it's not for everyone, but it was exactly what I needed that day!

Katie's friend Dani was visiting her all week-end, and on Monday I got to spend the day with them. We first went to our all-time favorite, Doughnut Plant. Home of the hazlenut doughnut, and coconut cream filled doughnut. Magical.

We then traversed China Town. Normally I have a steel stomach. I can handle seeing eels swimming in ginger. I can handle fish in tanks waiting to be eaten. I can't, for whatever reason, handle frogs in an ice bath. Waiting to jump out. It put me over the edge. Needless to say, I was glad when they were ready to move on to the Brooklyn Bridge.



This was the first time I had been to the Brooklyn Bridge. Yes, it's a tourist destination, but it's a great view of Manhattan, and it's free!

I was well rested, re-energized, and ready for the next week.