A FEW HOURS IN MANHATTAN.

Our room at the Ludlow Hotel in the Lower East Side. It was lovely and a "cool" place to stay...and they let US in! Haha. Jamey made arrangements for our night here and on Fire Island...actually she did everything except dress us and hand feed us. She thought of everything from where to stay and where to go that she knew we would like & be comfortable. THANKS JAMEY FOR TREATING US LIKE QUEENIES!

It's 2 a.m. and Jamey and Little Michelle are discussing what USED to be where the hotel is now...and the rest of the block. Their favorite bars, stores and restaurants are disappearing fast.

Kay and I were exhausted upon arrival to Manhattan and knew we wouldn't last long. BUT WE DID! 2a.m. is pretty good for us. Actually everywhere we went was so pretty & exciting I hated to sleep at ALL! We met Jamey's friends a really cute and yummy Italian place called Lil' Frankie's. I loved it...can't describe it's vibe. Fun friends, food and good service.

Jamey is showing us the community garden she belongs to...she volunteers and has a key to the gate.

She says that there are about 40 community gardens in the East Village and they are exclusive to that area. No other place in Manhattan has them.

A HUGE mural. I like it. There's alot to look at in this painting!

Famous Katz's Deli was just catty corner to our hotel. Established in 1888. Seen it on the TeeeeVeee with Anthony Bourdain. The sand

wiches look like they weigh about 5 lbs. I just popped in there in the morning to buy coffee...it's way cool and old school inside. Each week they sell: 10,000 lbs. of pastrami, 5,000 lbs. of corned beef, 2,000 lbs. of salami and 12,000 hot dogs. It's rated the 2nd best deli in NYC. Real deli's are quickly disappearing from the city.

Back at Jamey's garden.

A little seating spot at the garden.

Having these gardens in the busy city are so special! There's alot blooming in the Spring and the pond has turtles and fish.

This building makes up one side of the garden. I siad "Wow...look at that! I could live there!" Jamey replied "No, Mom...it's like a halfway house." Uh...never mind then.

Kay in a spice shop in the East Village. A SPICE SHOP! How cool is that?

Jamey's apartment. 4th floor...on the right. Rusty James is sleepin' in there.

The Ludlow Hotel. The bar was REALLY hoppin' during happy hour...playing 80's music and lots of chic people in there. We didn't go. I remember in the late 90's there WERE no hotels in lower Manhattan. Not even in Soho or Chelsea. Now, it's off to the airport. We weren't there very long...but a taste of the city is better than no taste at all.