Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Afternoon At Barnes & Noble

When the weather gets hot and humid like it has been the last couple of days -- "tropical like weather" as the weatherman called it last night -- where does one go to relax and cool off? The third floor of Barnes & Noble on 17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue is the place to be. I would pick up some interesting magazines, grab a seat at one of the tables and happily sip my iced tea from the cafe inside the store.

So what is your beverage of choice on a hot sunny day?

30 comments:

USelaine said...

Iced tea that was steeped with spearmint is my favorite - no sugar or lemon please.

I used to work at an independent bookstore for a couple of years, so when I see one of these mega-chains, I think of the movie "You've Got Mail". ;^)

pwh said...

I just subscribed to your blog's RSS. I used to live in Manhattan in the mid to late 1990s and really loved it there.

Your wonderful photos keep me abreast of this great city.

Chuck Pefley said...

Oddly enough, hot tea. With milk. British style. Or a cold beer. Sometimes I even resort to water :)

tigerfish said...

Tropical weather? Does it spell humidity? Yucks!

I would like anything cold on a hot day!

Gecko said...

This is a great photo of NY, it's exactly the image of it I have of it.
So what's on the other floors? Do you get in the elevator, and the first is a shop, the second is a business etc? or what? =S It's extremely different, and intriguing to what's here in the bush in Australia!!!

Olivier said...

la peinture murale est superbe dans ce café. Quand il fait chaud, j'aime bien un thé froid.

the mural is superb in this coffee. When it is hot, I like a cold tea.

Anonymous said...

An impressive spot in the heart of the city. I actually thought it was a school setting.

Patty and I will be celebrating 53 years of marriage on July 12th. Think of it as a long-term relationship.

I have invited bloggers to offer suggestions on a gift for me to give Patty and the list would not be complete without your ideas.

Abraham Lincoln
Brookville Daily Photo

Sharanya said...

I've FINALLY seen the inside of Barnes and Noble! Thank you SO much.

PS: Iced tea, always :) Preferably apple.

Anonymous said...

That mural is terrific. I recognised Orwell from a distance. Didn't get Nabokov. Think that Joyce was never that plump. No idea who the woman is. Can only see "...nell..." or something similar. None of them North American as yet ... ?

PeterParis said...

My answer is: Water!! You can get it free of charge from one of the many "Wallace fountains" here in Paris. (A beer would also do on a hot day, but generally I'm more a wine than a beer drinker.)

(I believe I can see James Joyce on the wall. I recently found his tomb in Zürich.)

GMG said...

Hi Ming! I was thinking I was the first commenting here when I realized that you must be sleeping, so the moderation has not allowed other comments to come first!
Love these bookstores where you may sit, drink, eat & read!!
Champagne is ok; if not, lemonade? :(
Meanwhile Blogtrotter has now posted my 401st post (on Ann Arbor, Michigan)!
Have a great week!

Just Roaming The Cities said...

I'm amazed at how Barnes and Noble allows people to just sit and read the books without buying them :) I do it occasionally myself. Our Downtown Minneapolis one is amazing. Otherwise, keeping cool for me is all about ice cream!

Knoxville Girl said...

Everyone looks so serious in this photo - totally engaged in their reading. The painting reminds me of WPA era work.
And on a hot day, you'll find me with either a sweet tea (iced, of course, this IS the South) or a beer, depending on time of day and situation.

Virginia said...

I'm an iced tea lover, and here in Alabama it's our year round beverage of choice. Having said that , in your honor I also like a "Long Island Tea" on occasion, and you sure can't get one at Barnes and Noble!

Ken Mac said...

Ming, I didn't know there was a B&N up there! Okay, I gotta match with the one at Union Square...:)

Anonymous said...

In the heat, I also grab a seat at Barnes and Noble or Borders. Both are near by and have reading areas with coffee shops. No murals like yours though.

I like iced coffee or frappuccino.

Doris

Dorothy said...

Ming...great shot of Barnes&Noble...one of my favorite places to hang out..my favorite drink on a hot day...iced tea!! When I sit in the cafe in Barnes & Noble...always Mocha Frap....:)

Anonymous said...

I have only heard about"Barnes
foundation",an educational art
institution in Philadelphia.
Please,is it a link? (because of the painting on the wall and the books in the room)
Thanks for your answer

Anonymous said...

I like iced coffee on a hot summer day.

I've been to that B&N before. They have five floors of books and the DVD's on the first floor. It's not bad. Sometimes someone gives a presentation on the fifth floor.

Ming the Merciless said...

Anon - Barnes & Noble is a giant book store in the US. They sell books, magazines, music, etc.

Bob Crowe said...

I think about half of the B&N stores have this same fake mural on the wall. The others have one in the exact same style with different writers. There's a post idea - crop out the writers' names from the bottom of the mural and challenge readers to name the people depicted.

I almost never go to B&N. I get everything from Amazon. A hot sunny day will find me either on the street with my camera and a tepid bottle of water, at my office with plain old cold water or - for special occasions - a glass of iced matte (a heresy to Argentines). When I get home, maybe a nice glass of malbec, speaking of Argentina.

Anonymous said...

I passed by B&N on Monday.

Paz

alice said...

I love the atmosphere on your photo! The last time we were in New York, we have had one day with a heavy rain from morning to evening and we spent some nice hours at Barnes and Noble on Union Square (on the north of the square, I don't know if ti's the same one than this one).
I don't even remember what is a hot sunny day, here it's raining and we have hardly 17°C... So I'll choose a cup of tea!

Neva said...

I like how your mind works....nothing better than a Barnes & Noble or Borders to sit on a hot afternoon....I like unsweetened Ice Tea as well......

Nathalie H.D. said...

Great atmosphere here. I'd have a Perrier, thanks.

Monika said...

I'd never leave this place again on a hot day. And I'd have a cold green tea with that.

NormanTheDoxie said...

That is a great shot, and I love the mural.

B & N is a great spot to cool off and relax on these hot summer days.... and their bathrooms are relatively clean.

sonia a. mascaro said...

That third floor of Barnes & Noble looks a very nice place! I really would like to be there!

Todd HellsKitchen said...

Yeah, these brick and mortar stores are always full of people looking at stuff and then buying at home on Amazon. Just the reality of the marketplace...

Ian France said...

I've been to that Barnes & Noble before and love the mural.