Get in the Holiday Spirit at Bryant Park
What could be better to get in a holiday mood than watching the ice skaters at
Rockefeller Center? Watching the skaters (or joining them) at the newly opened
Pond at Bryant Park. The Three Tomatoes spent an incredible balmy November evening sitting rink side watching the skaters
while drinking wine and eating Brie at the week old Ice Café. By our third class
of wine we were tempted to hit the ice and show off our perfect figure eights,
double salchows, and inside axels to wow and amaze the crowd. But we opted instead
for another class of wine.
It wasn’t that long ago (in tomato time) when passing through Bryant Park in
the daytime was considered risky business; with drug deals going down all around
the park and just breathing the air could make you high. And no one without a
criminal record ever entered at night. Well over the years, Bryant Park along
with many of the city’s other smaller parks, have been totally transformed into
mini oasis’s in the heart of the City, each with its own merits. Nestled behind
the NYC public library, Bryant Park has several unique distinctions -- free Wi-fi access, so it’s become a great
place to hang out with your laptop when you need a break from the office; a beautiful
old carousel, and free classic movies played on a giant screen on summer evenings.
You can bring your deli lunch or dine in style at Bryant Park Grill and Café.
And of course, the Park is also home to New York’s Fashion Week. And now it’s
got its very own skating rink. Sponsored by Citi, the “Pond” offers free skating
and some very fun shops in the tents around the rink. These will be augmented
with The Holiday Shops opening on November 25 th through January 1 st. Every year The Holiday Shops transform Bryant Park into an old-fashioned
market styled in the European holiday tradition. The market features over 125
artisans, boutiques, cultural institutions, designers, food merchants, and gift
shops from around the world, and is a great fun way to shop for the holidays.
And don’t forget the holiday markets at Union Square and Grand Central (a good
bet on really cold days.) Don’t you just love New York?
And another thing or two about air travel
The Three Tomatoes were on a bit of a rant last week about airline travel. We’re clearly not alone.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported on the 2005 Zagat’s survey of frequent fliers. We love some of the
comments like “Good service translates to ‘we won’t bother you if you don’t bother
us’” and “we need air marshals to protect passengers from crew.” Can anyone
say Greyhound bus?
‘til next week.
©Copyright 2005. The Three Tomatoes. All rights reserved.
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You know you’re a tomato if…you grew up in an era when kids grabbed their ice skates in the winter time,
said so long to Mom, and headed to the nearest frozen pond or lake and stayed
there ‘til the sun went down. And nobody worried.
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Did you know?
That the land that is now Bryant Park was first designated as public property in 1686. The area was still wilderness,
and the hunting grounds of Native Americans. In 1853-54, New York’s first “world’s
fair,” the Crystal Palace Exhibition, took place on the site of Bryant Park. The
remarkable iron and glass structure erected to house the fair remained standing
until 1858, when it burned down. The exhibition set off one of the first major
tourism booms in New York, and many hotels were built to handle the influx of
one million visitors. Now aren't you glad you have The Three Tomatoes to give you your history lessons?
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Tomatoes are still holiday shopping up til the last minute!
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