ABC Wednesday—T is for "tiles"

This beautiful floor belongs to
Veniero's Pasticceria, which is not in Italy
(though you might think so), but rather on the
Lower East Side of Manhattan. I told 
you all about it last month.

[To see more ABC posts for the letter T, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Happy Valentine's Day!
(I found these red satin candy boxes at
Economy Candy down on the Lower East Side. 
This shop has been run by the Cohen family since 1937.)

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

New York at Night 16

It's a NYC institution—serving up great
deli food since 1888!  I went there recently
for the first time in a long time. My friend had
their world-famous pastrami sandwich and I enjoyed
what Gourmet magazine called "the best hot dog
in New York."  By the way, this is where Nora Ephron
 filmed the famous "I'll have what she's having"
scene in When Harry Met Sally.

[Today is Ruby Tuesday. To see more, go here.]

Orchard Street

This is the heart of the Lower East Side,

home to 1st-generation immigrants since the 

mid-1800s. New Yorkers have been bargain-hunting 

down here for about that long too. But see the

picture that doesn't seem to go with the others? 

 That art gallery is the face of the gentrification that's 

going on in this area. Guess it was inevitable.

[See more local color at That's My World Tuesday, here.]

That's My World Tuesday

A while ago, I showed you this, but I obviously

had no idea what it really meant. (There was no sign on

 it as there are on the two I saw recently—

near the UN and down on the Lower East Side.)

So clearly that was neither art nor vandalism, but 

some poor soul who got very unlucky

while riding their bike in Manhattan traffic

(and maybe wasn't wearing the requisite helmet).

Either way, I feel bad.

[Find more photos from That's My World Tuesday here.]

photo Hunter — "average"

So is this the average cost of a 3-tiered cake?

Some 20 years ago, I had such a cake custom

made for a party I had for my parents' 

50th anniversary—mine was both tasteful and

tasty, and it cost exactly a tenth of this ugly 

concoction.  $650?  Seriously??  

That's 470 euros . . . 737 Australian dollars . . .

58,551 Japanese yen . . . 64,703 Albanian

leke . . . or 12,002,250 Vietnam dong!!

I don't think so.

[Find more "average" photos here.]