Summer in the City

Last Thursday night was an awesome evening. It was a convergence of wonderful events I hadn't planned to have in one night, but you know how life works.

I heard about the Summer of Riesling from somewhere online and wanted to take part in the Riesling Crawl, an event that spanned a month and 12 bars offering various Rieslings. I couldn't make all the bars, as I wasn't planning any trips to Brooklyn (sorry, Brooklynites). However, that still left a bunch of bars in the City, but I wasn't planning any trips there either.

Then I read about a Buddhist event happening at the Symphony Space. It was a welcoming of Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, the 17-year-old reincarnation of the great Tibetan spiritual teacher Kyabye Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the Pema Tse Nyingtik Longevity Empowerment Ceremony. Got all that?

I remembered that Linda A. had just attended a Buddhist event so I asked her if she'd like to come along. She said sure, as long as I didn't mind her intruding on my crawl. How silly! The more the merrier! Slowly, the plan formed until it went something like this: Bar uptown, Buddhist event, Bar uptown, home.

I took the train from Port Authority to 79th St., where I spent an hour sitting in Central Park enjoying the beautiful weather. I love the subway; it is so cool and easy (once you get it) and I love Central Park, as well.

At the Tangled Vine, Linda and I had a 1992 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spatlese. Oh. My. God. Okay, so it was $22 a glass (available from Snooth.com for $37.99 a bottle (I may have to order one)), but it was amazingly refreshing and absolutely delicious.

Then it was off to the Longevity Empowerment Ceremony. I had no idea what to expect and there were moments when I felt completely out of place. Many (it seemed like all) of the people there were familiar with the Tibetan prayers and joined in, while I sat there taking it all in. After it was over, Linda brought up a very good point: I may not have known what was going on, but I was in that energy, absorbing the good vibes.

A side note here. Since the ceremony, my neck hasn't bothered me in the mornings and Friday I was buzzing from those good vibes.

Then Linda and I trained it down to Bar Boulud where we had another fantastic Riesling (this one more mineral than fruit flavored) and to-die-for desserts. Poached Blueberry Tart with a Watermelon Glaze and Watermelon Sherbert. It was fascinating how the sweet dessert changed the taste of the wine.

We agreed that next year we'd get a big crowd together and hit a few more bars. Any takers?

So a HUGE thank you to Linda A. for accompanying me and making Thursday evening a lot of fun.

Some times you don't know what you're experiencing or what you're getting from the experience until the next day and you feel it inside you and it makes you feel alive.


Peace,
Gary . . .