A Saturday in the City

          Not only is this country mouse learning to live in the BIG city, but she is also learning to live like a college student.  I am traditionally (I come by it naturally) an early riser and an early to bed type person.  While I have been here, I am going to bed, at the earliest, 11 but usually after 12 and not getting up until late (like 8 a.m.)  So on Saturday, we didn't even get up and out of the apartment until around 1 (in the afternoon).   I had been wanting to go to Fishs Eddy to see all their dishes.  This is a store absolutely full of all types of dishes, a lot of which are "old" restaurant type dishes.  I really like their story of when they were getting started 25 years ago, that they were out driving aimlessly looking for finds when they came upon a barn that had been in a fire.  It was filled with tons of restaurant dishes from a nearby manufacturer.  The dishes were all intact just covered with soot.  They asked the owner, who they make a point of saying was actually wearing overalls (sounds normal to me), to buy a few pieces and he said "take it all."  Does this owner sound at all familar?
          Next was lunch at Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop, a New York tradition, whose motto is "Raising New York's Cholesterol  Since 1929."  This is supposedly a favorite of the cabbies, and it doesn't seem to have changed much since 1929.  The shop is a long, narrow building composed of a counter with stools and a row of two-seater tables.  We enjoyed egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches on toasted rye bread.  Even though we didn't try it, we did get to see them make their famous Egg Cream, a drink composed of milk, chocolate and soda water.
          On our walk back, we discovered my favorite, to date, resale/vintage clothing store called The Thrifty Hog. Not only do the proceeds here go to help homeless mothers and children, but the shop also provides job training for these struggling women.  Everything in here was cleaned, organized and displayed so attractively you could have been in an upscale boutique.  And as an added bonus, there was a picturesque church next door for me to take pictures of.
          As is normal everywhere, our sandwiches were huge, and we should have just shared one.  So it was back to the apartment for a short power nap before heading downtown to Century 21, which is a very large department store that sells designer goods at discounted prices.  Kelsey loved the HUGE selection of clothes.  We stayed until a few minutes before closing time.  This store is right across the street from one of the new towers, and we got a really great picture of it as the sky was beginning to darken.
          Kelsey thought it was a good night for walking so we started out with the intention to walk home.  We made it a ways but ran into a large area of homeless people, and I became a little concerned so we headed down to the subway to ride back.  The people didn't bother us at all, I think it was just me being uncomfortable with their situation rather than there being any danger.
          Saturday turned out to be a very relaxed day for this country mouse in the city -- so relaxed, in fact, that I have gotten behind in writing about my adventures.

Eisenberg's Outside (above) and Inside (below)

The Commodore Criterion is a manufacturer of Christmas decorations.  This building was the flagship store of the A. C. Gilbert Company, a toy company that made the Erector set and American Flyer model trains.

The church next to The Thrifty Hog shop