Traveling to Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida

These days I'll take whatever travel I can get.  Tampa, Florida isn't new for me, but  I was there for the Annual International Downtown Association conference and that meant looking at it from a totally different lens. Me and my work colleagues explored the city, riding the street car and ferries and walked around seeing their many streetscape and public realm innovations. We also got to geek out on urban planning successes of cities all over during COVID and beyond. And it was extra fun to spend so much quality and quantity time with my New York colleagues. The pandemic was hard on all of us and this conference gave us time to appreciate all we have accomplished and remind me what a great job I have and how great the people I work with are.

My mom always told me to tack on a few days at the beach to any trip, so I headed to St. Petersburg with my friend Christy. We enjoyed an afternoon downtown checking out their new totally cool waterfront pier and their amazing farmers market, which had a little bit of everything.  St. Pete definitely has some little bits of creative and quirky charms, so I can see why its growing so fast.  Then of course, the beach was very enjoyable even if resort travel isn't exactly my style. But as the saying goes, when in Rome. And when in Florida... you certainly stay in big hotels and slide down giant water slides!

Lastly, I'm not gonna lie. It was nice to be in a place that didn't feel as stressed about covid. Strange but good.  Mind you, it definitely didn't feel normal at all. Covid is affecting everywhere.

Barcelona, Spain in the time of Covid

I love travel because it gives me a chance to fully engage my curious mind and to get out of my daily rhythm and dive into to learning about somewhere else. On this trip I was observing another city and trying to experience travel itself during covid to see how another place was coping. I took advantage of cheap airfares and spent a long weekend walking all over the city. As for why now, I have never been to Barcelona, because I have always heard there were too many tourists. Well, as soon as covid hit and I saw pictures on the news of empty sites in Europe, I thought this was my chance to visit Barcelona and boy was I right. There were enough tourists for places to feel lively but not desperate, and so many that I couldn't see the amazing sites without fighting a crowd.

I mostly went to Barcelona to look at architecture. During the Pandemic long long walks outside are the safe thing to do and Barcelona buildings are a real spectacle. I could always see some ornate building in the distance that tempted me to walk and walk. It's interesting to see a much longer span of historical building styles than we have in the US. We are such a young country and Europe’s long life span always inspires me.While

Travel in the Time of Covid

 

My Brooklyn Staycation

My Brooklyn 5th Ave Staycation was great. One avenue with so much to see. Mind you, I have spent plenty of time in all these areas before but it was really fun to bring a fresh eye and focus. I will definitely do something like this again soon! Friday I stayed and started in Sunset Park, walking the avenue with the BID Director and enjoying learning a little more about the Mexican enclave. Then I headed down to Bay Ridge for their monthly Open Street which has an entirely different feel, between the Yemeni, Palestinian, Irish and Italian communities. Saturday started with a visit to my parents cemetery plot in beautiful Green-Wood Cemetery, my little piece of BK just off of 5th Avenue. Then off to lunch at Japan Village in Industry City which is off 3rd Ave, but I was in the neighborhood… Then finally up to a birthday party on the Park Slope 5th Ave Open Street, which is packed every Saturday with wonderful outdoor dining options. Thanks for the fun Brooklyn!

Visiting South Dakota on for July 4th

Life in the time of covid means domestic travel to avoid the need for covid tests and the fear of travel lock downs and quarantines. I have both been missing the adventure of travel and the chance to spend long quality hours with travel companions soaking up and discussing what we're experiencing. Since my travel bucket list is long and varied, this seemed like the perfect time to finally visit a travel friend who I had met on tours of Palestine and Iran.  Next stop, Rapid City, South Dakota timing to coincide with July 4th and the Black Hills Roundup, a small town rodeo that has been occurring for 102 years.  My friend grew up on a ranch and seemed like the perfect person to learn the local traditions from.

I had been to South Dakota once before when I drove across country after college. I remembered it fondly. Flat land melting into the Badlands and then the dramatic Black Hills with Mount Rushmore. I figured another trip years later was worth it and surely there was more to see. Man, was I right. I had a jam packed trip of picturesque things! Animals, landscapes, tourist kitsch, dinosaurs, dancing, abandoned towns and buildings, and a lot of food for thought about some of the many things that make up America.

Photos from South Dakota - 2021

 

Click HERE to see more photos from my trip to South Dakota

 I love this quote!  

"I didn't start walking because I was fearless – but rather because I was terrified. I was more afraid of not following my heart than I was of losing everything I owned and loved."

Link to the this article

NYC Pandemic Re-Awakening - April to Present

 May 21

Finally checked out the Lincoln Center Green, their re-imagined public plaza. It was a lovely place to chill on a beautiful day. A soft bed of turf is so much nicer than the usual cement and stone.

May 19

One covid silver lining is that attending long community board meetings for work is much more comfortable!

May 14

As I continue to mark the moments of re-awakening I want to note that I AM WEARING LIPSTICK! As the CDC loosens mask requirements and I am able to show off my face again, I am ready to bring out my best! #itsthelittlethings

Making Real Connections in Queens - Happy to have you in my life Bela and Sofia

One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been getting to know the huge extended family who volunteer every week to keep the Manos Que Dan, food pantry running. My favorite new friends are Bela and Sofia who have helped me laugh and play even in the darkest days. Well, yesterday they solidified our connection by asking me to be their god mother and attend their first communion services. I hope I will be able to help guide them into a bright future.

Pandemic Life - February to March

March 27th

A year has passed and NY is re-awakening but these are a few more photos from February and March that I want added to my official pandemic 1st year record. At this point I get daily Facebook memories reminding me the craziness that was happening a year ago. It’s definitely helping me reflect on what we have been through and the changes we have made. Wow! Now just keep wearing a mask and being careful and we will pull past this!

March 9

Covid means smaller birthday gatherings spread over multiple nights! That means lots of safe in-person fun! So happy to be hanging tonight with my BID colleagues, without whom I never would have survived this pandemic! And doing it at Fanelli Cafe, which had offered us a place for cold beverages and fun all along the way, adapting as time went on. Yay NoHo and SoHo and surviving this thing!

March 6

Thank you for all the birthday greetings. I love hearing from everyone, especially this year, where our virtual connections are more important than ever. I spent my Saturday birthday volunteering at the Manos Que Dan, Reciben Bendiciones food pantry like I always do. After 8 months, the people there have become my covid family and yesterday they rose up and surprised me with a cake and some delicious Ecuadorian aguardiente. One covid silver lining for me has been befriending all these folks while working hard each week with them to serve our community during these especially dark times.

March 5

Oh how times have changed in a year! We sure didn’t know what was coming!! This year we had to take a few more precautions at my birthday drinks. #maintainyourdistance #wearamask #alcoholkillsthegerms

February 17

11 months... Ugh, remember when we thought we were just going home for two weeks... then two months... Now it seems silly to plan for the future, since I don’t know what that will look like. So I double mask and continue to live my new normal and hope that the vaccine will finally arrive in meaningful numbers and that enough people will take it. February in NYC is never great. Covid doesn’t help. But the blanket of snow that keeps falling a little more every couple of days sure is pretty and listening to kids play and laugh in it feels healing. And indoor dining opened up to 25% again this past weekend, so hopefully that will help restaurants survive. I don’t want to eat inside, but apparently others do. Meanwhile I still like the adventure of bundling up and eating and drinking outside. Stay healthy everyone. We’ll get through this!

February 12

With so many public celebrations being turned virtual, I was so happy that my favorite Chinese New Year tradition, when lions and drummers come out to bless the businesses in Manhattan Chinatown, still happened today. There definitely was a smaller crowd, but there still plenty of celebration in the air. Happy Year of the Ox!

February 11

Multi-tasking during a work Zoom... And now my Valentine’s Day mask is ready! Let the celebrations begin!

Vaccinated!!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 was my last day on the office pre-pandemic.  I sure had no idea what was coming. Now, today, exactly one year later, I went to Javits to get my first vaccine shot. It’s just so incredible to contemplate how much has changed during this year.  I hope today marks the beginning of the end and I’ll see you all in person somewhere soon.

Covid Tourism - Charleston 2021

Curiosity about how other areas were getting through the Pandemic and a desire to find a new place to take long solo walks with some sun in the forecast, prompted me to hop a flight to Charleston, SC. Yes, maybe it was risky, but I decided to #doublemaskandcarryon and after 14 days and covid tests before, during and after, I didn’t get sick. The sunshine felt great. The historic architecture was beautiful. The food was YUM!!! And I got to visit an old friend and get a peak into his life. Not bad for a weekend during these crazy times.

Check out my Photos from Charleston on Facebook

2020 - A Never Ending Year

 

Ahh, 2020, what do I even say? Such a tsunami of interruption and worldwide discomfort. A pandemic. An American President who got more exasperating with every passing day and still does. 

My year started as I watched the ball drop in Times Square while dancing with pure passion to “New York, New York.” Perhaps preparing me up for the year ahead?

I managed to get a few adventures in before Covid-19 arrived. The highlight was participating in Carnival in Trinidad, an incredible celebration and a full on cross cultural deep dive! Plus I  went to Iowa for the Caucuses. 2020 has been such a crazy election year. I wanted Warren with her fresh clear ideas, but alas, America is way too sexist to let a woman be President. I’m happy to watch Kamala as VP and hope it helps ease the way to the top eventually. And I hope Biden can help calm the country and begin some much needed healing. I also got to spend a week in Maine and Massachusetts and got to see family and friends and experience the Pandemic through a different lens.

Mostly though, this year, faced with a pandemic that made my home neighborhood the “Epicenter of the Epicenter” in March and an economic crush that made my work supporting businesses at the NoHo Business Improvement District much more purposeful than before, I focused on NYC. With so much devastation everywhere from economic and human pain, I’ve just been trying to take every day at a time and process along the way. For months I have been taking long walks and trying to notice all the changes and sharing photos for all to see on Facebook. NY life is more complicated than can be covered with a photo or two in the news. I hope I’ve been able to show our resilient and community caring. To be honest, although I have no idea how bad the economic pain will turn out, I feel incredibly bullish on NYC’s future. We keep showing our strength and our creative spirit is seeping out everywhere. 

I’m an extrovert and sitting at home alone doesn’t suit me! Luckily I’ve been going to the office on most days since May and have a wonderful co-worker to power through this with. My job is to keep an eye on NoHo and that means being out on the streets seeing what’s happening.  I have really appreciated seeing how my networks have come together. Jackson Heights has an active, caring community that continues to work together to meet the challenges as they hit. The BID Community has been incredible. We are in constant contact working together to support NYC. We have weekly happy hours where we hammer through tough problems and also laugh uncontrollably. Zoom has become a wonderful life line. While I would much rather hang in person, I appreciate all the connections that continue. I also love all the new outdoor dining options and have enjoyed drinks al fresco, even as the temps drop. 

I have taken my energy and focused on helping people. It seems like the only way to push out the dystopian feelings floating everywhere. I volunteer at a food pantry every week, where we serve about 1000 families. I've helped them with raising money, getting diapers donated and social media. I do little things like stocking food in a local community fridge, picking up garbage on our new Open Street, giving blood, because it takes a village! I also listen to the pain and stress of NoHo business owners and try to help in any way I can. There are no concrete ideas about what the future will bring, but I’m just trying to stay engaged and moving with the changes. 

We still have a lot more trouble to come before this is over. I shudder about the uneven economic pain and how we are going to build up those who have suffered the most in our society. We are all going to have to work together to right our American ship on so many levels!  

I personally am hoping to get my vaccine in time to be able to get my travel plans back on track and get to the Tokyo Olympics. A year later, my friend is still waiting to show me around. Fingers crossed. But until then, NYC I’m here to serve you and help guide you towards a bright future!

May 2021 bring a fresh new energy to propel us forward!

❤️

Cordelia

Also, for more pictures of New York facing the Pandemic this year, scroll through the blog or check out my Facebook albums.

Facebook Covid Album 1 - March to September

Facebook Covid Album 2 - October to December

Covid Christmas in NYC

COVID can’t kill the Christmas spirit in NYC. The beauty of Christmas windows and other festive decorations are they are outside and look great with all my new holiday masks! Click HERE to see more pictures in my Facebook Holiday Album.

Pandemic on Facebook - December

December 29

With all the holiday activities, I forgot to update my pandemic album. Here are a few highlights from December. The numbers say we should be worried. They keep ticking up... But December was pretty bustling. My office building and subway rides got busier. NoHo stores definitely felt like they had shoppers. NYC did a good just dressing up for the holidays and powering through in the new normal. This rollercoaster never ends.

Reaffirming America's Founding Values

Watching Trump’s support around the country and his policies for the last 4 years have really made me question what America stands for, so this Thanksgiving weekend I set out for a tutorial with a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. My America welcomes immigrants and is stronger as we blend our differences into a better joint society. Listening to all the immigrants tell stories about arriving into NY Harbor warmed my heart. It was fun to think about how each of the 12 million people who arrived through Ellis Island landed on our shores and made a home here.

 

Pandemic Facebook Update - End of October - November 27

November 27

Happy to report the most important part of my Thanksgiving tradition went great! Leftovers. Had a delicious turkey sandwich will all the fixings for breakfast and there is plenty left for the whole weekend. The pandemic can’t stop me! #lifeinthetimeofcorona

November 26

2020 Pandemic Thanksgiving. Dinner for one and yet not alone at all. Two family zooms as well as champagne outdoors with friends/neighbors and a meal of my traditional favorites. I’ll call it making lemonade with the lemons I was given. I’m thankful I’m resilient and able to take all this change in stride. I hope others found nice ways to celebrate. Happy Thanksgiving. #lifeonthetimeofcovid

Somehow I’m watching the National Dog Show and loving the audience and clapping soundtrack. Pandemic life is strange, but I have really enjoyed watching how everyone adapts to it.

November 24

New season, new opportunity to accessorize and face masks only add to the fun! What’s everyone whining about? #wearamask

Open House New York 5 Borough Scavenger Hunt

 Yesterday my friend Leigh Montville and I participated in an Open House New York Scavenger Hunt. We were given a set of clues, did our research, learning some interesting NY facts, and then set off to visit sites all over the city. I loved going from neighborhood to neighborhood and seeing just how different each part of New York is. Highlights included a hot dog and a walk on the Coney Island Boardwalk (and bumping into friends there, because NY is that small. 😍), seeing the Verrazano Bridge from the Staten Island waterfront, watching the sheer joy of folks in BedStuy as they roller discoed around the new Black Lives Matter Open Street, and participating in an art/democracy project in front of Brooklyn Public Library. I really ❤️ you, New York. #ALLInNYC

Pandemic Facebook Update - June - Mid October

October 14

Just a few pictures from the last two weeks. Winter is approaching and restaurants are trying to winterize their outside spaces a little. Indoor eating is now allowed at 25%, but customers are slow to do it. Luckily it’s still warm enough outside to enjoy all the dining options. I keep being reminded that this is a little smoke in mirrors. The restaurants look vibrant, but no one is paying rent. There just isn’t enough revenue. The food pantry I volunteer at has had record numbers of people for the last two weeks. We are headed into a rough winter. But look at all the pics. I added two at the end that are sure to make you smile. 😘

October 13

Masks are warm and cozy on cold drab days.

October 12

The seemingly spontaneous creativity on the streets these days is pretty exciting. I had the pleasure of bumping into street performances of Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse Lautrec, for the third time and this time I was able to follow along for a bit. The actors and musicians take viewers on a tour along the streets of Greenwich Village simulating the streets of bohemian Paris.

October 10

So happy Covid didn’t stop the music. Porch   Stomp, an Americana and folk festival, usually held in June finally was able to happen due to a lot of persistence and hard work by its founders, Theo Boguszewski and Nicholas Horner and others. Redesigning the event in a socially distant fashion, where not too many people gathered in any one place, was an impressive feat. Musicians played all over the grounds of Governor’s Island in what many said were their first performances to live audiences since March. Their joy was palpable. Thank goodness Covid isn’t killing the creativity within. Bravo! Can’t wait till next year!

October 4

Saturday in NoHo, the East Village and Washington Square felt so creative and dynamic that my heart swelled even more for NY. 💓 So far re-opening still doesn’t include theaters or performance spaces and currently the City isn’t giving permits for outdoor events, but that isn’t stopping creativity from exploding all over our streets.

October 2

6 1/2 months of COVID-19. Trump having Covid kind of fits a rather depressing week in the Pandemic. More chaos in a stew of dark data points. A new spike in case numbers in certain communities is threatening NYC’s good behavior. I already was beginning to dread cold weather and the end of outdoor fun. The hard part was last week felt almost normal. I went to a museum. Went out with friends 5 nights in a row. I’ve been spending as much in person quality time as I can before cold or a lockdown end it. Indoor dining starts again at 25%, but as far as I can see, no one is doing it. Zooms with business owners seem so glum. We are running out of time to help them and still no help from Washington. ☹️#lifeonarollercoaster

Pandemic Summer Vacation: Maine and Massachusetts

Beautiful Maine. Walks in the woods. Lobster rolls everyday. Cute roadside statues. Beaches. Time with family and friends. And a little politics added in. 🤩 You all know me. I can’t help myself.

Massachusetts; Boston, Lexington and Marblehead: thanks for stirring my patriotic heart. So many things made me think about our nations founding in comparison to where we stand today. Monuments, the nautical coastland and beautiful old buildings made for beautiful eye candy on this trip.

And now why I really went. Sure cool temps and walks in the woods are alluring, but the real reason I went was because LaGuardia opened a new terminal during the pandemic and I wanted to see it and experience flying in these crazy times. I also was curious to see how different states are handling Covid. In general most people were wearing masks everywhere I went. It was fun to see more outdoor eating setups, especially the ones on big front lawns and parking lots. Both MA and ME have limited capacity indoor eating and on my last day I ate inside, albeit alone.  I continue to hope the legacy of the pandemic is much more outdoor dining. It really livens up all streets. All in all, I had successful hopefully virus free trip, pumped a little money into the tourist economy, got to experience travel during Covid times and got to eat a lot of lobster rolls. Good times.

If you want to see more pictures from my trip, click HERE.