warm days, a cafe visit and a card game

after the few chilly nights last weekend and the chilly autumn air of monday, this week it's been back to warm and humid summertime weather. the cats and i have felt quite soporific again (and it was a little difficult sleeping at night - no cool breeze!).

i did manage to walk cross town to visit with my friend sacha at cafe abraço. (it was such a nice visit and we caught up on all our news.) (i checked for chestnut honey at the health food store and at raffetto's, but neither place had it - here's hoping they replenish the supply soon!).

i walked home along houston street to see what was happening with the feast of san gennaro . . everyone was busy setting up for the grand opening which was this evening. greg and i hope to visit sometime next week.

michaelmas daisies at the garden on la guardia and houston . . 

it's a special garden as it was created in homage to the lost forests of manhattan by environmental artist alan sonfist.

this placard explains his concept titled "time landscape."

it was so warm this evening that i didn't feel like cooking . . so we just had sandwiches . . 

we're up to round four in our "may i" game. so far i've been in the lead . . here's hoping i can maintain this streak!

dog walking and at the feast again

 

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greg and i also visited the feast of san gennaro again, in search of sausage and pepper sandwiches . . it wasn't as crowded as on the weekend which made buying food much easier . . 

we bought our sandwiches from "cuzzin vinnie's" truck . . 

and ate them in a nearby park . . 

and then went in search of zeppoles for dessert . . 

and passed a marching band . . 

i couldn't understand what they were saying about how much the zeppoles were . . we ended up with quite a large bagful for ten dollars. the leftovers came home with us along with half of my sausage and pepper sandwich which i'll have another day.

time to head home . . 

the lights were so pretty and everyone was out enjoying the beautiful evening.

feast of san gennaro

 
greg and i went for a walk at 4 pm to see the feast of san gennaro which began this past thursday.

last night greg's alma mater, florida state university, played boston college and won, 31 to 29. today he wore his hat and t-shirt and a few people called out to him, one of which i caught on this video:

"i like your shirt! i like your shirt!"

"all right! thank you! we just barely survived!"

"one hundred percent!"

mulberry street was so packed with people that we slipped out and walked around the block to mott street and then to grand street, and came upon a grandstand with the ricky tinelli band . . 

(what is cute in this video is that halfway through, the grand marshal pulls her mom away from talking to a friend to sit down with her as the show was about to start.)

this video gives the introduction of the grand marshal for 2023, kathrine narducci, an actress known for her roles in the the sopranos, a bronx tale, godfather of harlem, bad education, and other shows. i've actually never seen her in any of these, but i really enjoyed her heartfelt speech today, and could tell she was having a wonderful time.

the ricky tinelli band sings "i've got the world on a string."

one more song . . louis prima's hey marie . .

more scenes of the carnival games, and greg says he's starting to get weak from hunger . . 

this guy hits the bell twice . . 

the little girl wanted a mermaid doll, which her mom was able to get by ringing one of the lower bells - which happened just prior to me filming this video.

and the ferris wheel . . looking pretty with its neon rainbow lights . . (and greg decided he couldn't handle waiting in one of the very long lines for sausage and peppers - so we began walking home and stopped along the way at a restaurant called the dutch to share fried chicken and broccoli rabe).