Bike Lane

The mayor's office has recently designated sections of the streets into bike lanes all over in the city . Cyclists are ecstatic about the change; automobile drivers, not so much. As for me, I don't drive nor bike so I'll reserve my judgment until later.

One thing I will have to do now is watch out for speeding bicycles as they careen down the street. They are not as easily noticeable as cars, that's for sure. But they do less damage than a car coming at you at 45 mph.

Personally, I rather hike than bike. What about you?

8th and 22nd

This is 22nd Street looking east from 8th Avenue. It is one of a number of tree-lined streets in Chelsea, which is fairly rare in Manhattan because of over-development due to industrial zoning in the neighborhood. The buildings down this street are mostly residential so the trees were spared.

Notice the cars parked on both sides of the street? You will have to be a pretty good at parallel parking to get into those tight spots. I'm glad I don't own a car because (when I did own one many years ago), I was a lousy parallel parker.

How good is your driving skill?

Vintage Adult Pulp Fictions

These adult pulp fictions (early porn?) were on a table filled with vintage books, magazines and records on a stretch 0f 8th Avenue between 21st and 22nd Street in Chelsea. I'm sure they were considered risque back when John McCain was a kid but these images look pretty tame by today's standard.

As a 12-year old boy, I've heard of these adult novels from classmates but could never get my hands on one. The books that I did manage to find (and read) were mostly Jackie Collins novels that I checked out from the public library (unbeknownst to my parents, of course).

Nowadays, I prefer to read (less risque but just as entertaining) travel essays like A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, and humorous fictions like Me Talk Pretty One Day and Alec Baldwin Doesn't Love Me Anymore.

So what is your reading genre of choice?

Bagel & Cream Cheese

I was in Chelsea to meet my accountant last week and after the meeting, I stopped by Murray's Bagel in the neighborhood for a bite to eat. As you can see, I ordered the sasame bagel with green onion cream cheese and a big cup of coffee. That was my breakfast and lunch.

So have your filed your taxes yet?

New Apple Store in Chelsea

This photo was taken at the new and third Apple Store in New York City. Located in Chelsea, on 14th Street and 10th Avenue just north of the Meatpacking District, the store is one of the many new arrivals in this recently gentrified neighborhood. The staircase structure is made of plexiglass (I think) giving it that floating imagary as shoppers navigate from the one floor to another.

So what are you doing this weekend?

Chelsea Flower Market

This painting outside the Chelsea Market Building is what was left of the old wholesale flower market in the city. Now the building has been taken over and made into a television studio for The Food Network and NY1, a 24-hour local news channel. There are also numerous gourmet bakeries and grocery stores in the building.

So what is your favorite flower?

Chelsea Townhouse

These townhouses on 22nd Street, near 9th Avenue, are some of the more attractive homes in Chelsea. The area is not known for its beauty because it was an industrial/manufacturing district in the early 1900s. Now, it is populated mostly by warehouse size clubs, bars and galleries.

I had problems with blogger last night because it won't load the photos. Does anyone else ever have the same problem?

BFF - Best Friend Forever

I was walking through Chelsea last weekend when I saw this vacant retail store. You can see part of a quickly written vacancy sign on the bottom left. Either the realtor had a couple giant plush toys lying around or this used to be a toy store. Nonetheless, I thought this was an excellent display of friendship, even if they were merely toys.

So who is your best friend(s) and how long have you known him/her/them?

Tapa Bar @ Boqueria

Small plate cuisines have taken over the New York City culinary scene. None is as original as the Spanish tapas which are extremely popular here. This photo, taken at Boqueria in Chelsea, shows a tapa chef preparing various dishes in front of the hungry diners.

So have you ever tried the Spanish tapas?

Hiro @ the Maritime Hotel

There are photos taken at Hiro, a dance club in the Maritime Hotel in Chelsea. My friend, Brien took these photos three weeks ago. I was not able to go because I was on the plane floating somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic on my way home to NYC. I love the colors in the photos.

When was the last time you dance in public? Dancing around the house on your own doesn't count. :-)

Theme Photo: The Color Red

This is a photo of a french restaurant in Chelsea called La Belle Vie on 8th Avenue between 19th and 20th Street.

July 1st is Theme Photo Day and this month, the theme is The Color Red. One hundred (100) bloggers are participating in the theme photo today: Shanghai, China - Mumbai, India - New York City (NY), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Hamburg, Germany - Stayton (OR), USA - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Hyde, UK - Oslo, Norway - Brookville (OH), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Joplin (MO), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Selma (AL), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Seattle (WA), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Evry, France - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Grenoble, France - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Hilo (HI), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - La Antigua, Guatemala - Brisbane (QLD), Australia - Singapore, Singapore - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hong Kong, China - Sequim (WA), USA - Paderborn, Germany - Saarbrücken, Germany - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Tenerife, Spain - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Sydney, Australia - Naples (FL), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Mainz, Germany - Toruń, Poland - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - North Bay (ON), Canada - Jakarta, Indonesia - Montréal (QC), Canada - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Baziège, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - New York (NY), USA - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Sharon (CT), USA - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Villigen, Switzerland - Chicago (IL), USA - Torquay, UK - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Paris, France - Seoul, Korea - Manila, Philippines - Milano, Italy - Austin (TX), USA - Chennai, India - Madrid, Spain - Seoul, South Korea - Wailea (HI), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Ajaccio, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Budapest, Hungary - Moscow, Russia - Auckland, New Zealand - Torino, Italy

Pottery Class @ Chelsea Ceramic Guild

The Chelsea Ceramic Guild , on 19th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue, is a pottery studio and school for amateur ceramists and potters. Opened in 1989, the non-profit organization offers beginners, intermediate and advanced classes on pottery, glazing and firing, as well as a retail space for supplies and students' art work.

In the photo, the girl in red pants just finished her pottery (a vase) and covered it with a plastic bag (at bottom left corner). She left to wash her hands and later moved the case onto one of the shelves on the right for air drying. I did not stay around long enough to see what happened after that.

Le Pain Quotidien

Le Pain Quotidien is a chain of french style bakery that originated from Brussels, Belgium, where the first store opened in 1990. Today Le Pain Quotidien is found all over Europe, the Middle East and United States (New York City and Los Angeles).

The name, Le Pain Quotidien means The Daily Bread in French. The philosophy of the bakery is to provide good, wholesome and healthy bread (and other baked goods) to the customers.

This photo, taken outside the Chelsea branch on 7th Avenue between 17th and 18th Street, showcased the desserts section of the bakery. Clockwise from top left are the raspberry tart, mini mousse dome, mix berry tart, lemon tart, french cream donut, large lemon tart, apple pie, chocolate mousse cake and large mixed berry tart.

You can see the delicious french baguettes on the top left corner. The bakery also sells those beautiful round sourdough breads that are commonly found in Parisian bakeries. Click here to see the display of sourdough breads at the store.