To Eataly Via the High Line

Picking up where I left off, at the end of Matthew and Christine's wedding weekend ... On the Monday after the big festivities, my parents and I joined my aunts Barbara and Ginny for a walk along the newest section of the High Line.

I've posted about this marvelous new park before, and now a whole new section of the old elevated railway has been renovated into parkland with spectacular views of the city ...

... lots of "wild" plantings, reminiscent of the days when the tracks laid abandoned ...

... and meticulously groomed lawns running between newly built, and recently renovated, high end apartments.

At the end of the newly opened section, the staircases that bring you back down to street level, drop you off at a food cart pod that reminded me of my time in Portland, OR. There was even an outdoor beer garden with microbrews from Brooklyn Brewery! Alas, we had other plans for our meal ...

After working up a powerful hunger and thirst, we made a visit to Eatlay, which I have also written about before. It was great to be able to share it with family as last time I was by myself - and Italian food, especially, is meant for family!

We enjoyed our meats and cheeses, and then went in search of pasta! After lunch we also explored the newly opened bar and restaurant atop the Eatlay building.

It seemed to have a fabulous and unique menu, and gave us yet another reason to make a return visit sometime soon!

Good Night Irene

Several friends have very kindly been inquiring about my family and how they survived Hurrican Irene. I'm happy to report that everyone is safe and sound and that they largely avoided even the minor inconveniences of power outages, downed tree limbs, and basement flooding.

That is not to say that Staten Island was unscathed. These pictures from The Staten Island Advance show that there was quite a bit of localized flooding, especially on our South Shore of the Island.

There were also any number of downed trees and power lines. Still, it seems that the worst case scenarios were thankfully avoided. Here in DC that is certainly the case. In Bethesda there were spotty power outages, but little to no flooding.

Let's hope that we can go a week or two without another natural calamity! And may the next weather event involve snow!!

Matthew & Christine's Wedding: The Wedding Day

On the morning of the wedding, Matthew's groomsmen gathered at our house for the finishing touches on their tuxes, and for the traditional photographs . . . 

. . . then it was up to Queen of Peace for the Wedding Mass.  Obviously, I don't have many pictures of that, as I was kind of busy - but it was a great privilege and joy to celebrate the Sacraments for Matthew and Christine, and to do so in the church that has meant so much to our family. Here, the happy couple are photographed outside the church with their wedding party . . .

The party then moved to New Jersey, not far from where Matthew and Christine met. The Eagle Oaks Country Club provided a lovely setting both outdoors and in. And although it was hot in the sun, it was a  really lovely day, especially considering what could have come our way that time of year. Waiting for the wedding party to arrive, there was time for cocktails and pictures with family . . .

And then we ate, drank, danced and laughed the night away . . .

It was especially fun for us all to celebrate with so many of the aunts, uncles, and cousins present, since it is so hard to bring us all together as everyone grows up and moves away. Here's to hoping there are lots more fun family functions in the months and years ahead!

Matthew & Christine's Wedding: The Rehearsal Dinner

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, so I've fallen behind on posts about my summer adventures.  The top adventure of the summer was, of course, my brother's wedding.  I had the honor and pleasure of marrying Matthew and Christine on July 30th at my home parish, Our Lady Queen of Peace.  A few nights earlier, we gathered for the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner . . .

. . . which was my first opportunity to spend time with Christine's family, especially her younger siblings - including Louis and Joseph, seen below. It was a great joy to spend time with the Ciceros and to think of the many family functions that will follow in the coming years.

The evening included several wonderful surprises.  The first was a cake that Christine had made for Matthew in the shape of a New York Police cruiser . . .

The second were the matching watches that Matthew and Christine gave as gifts to their parents, and to their presiding priest (me!). Here, Mr. Cicero employs his skills as a jeweler assisting dad with his watch.

It was very clear, even from the start of the rehearsal evening, that we were in for a terrifically fun wedding weekend . . .