It was good to see everyone again! Thanks to Ely & Hilda who decided to accept Merle's invitation to go to New York City and watch the opera with her. So Merle thought of gathering classmates who live within the tri-state area & are within driving distance to the city.
Two days before the appointed date & time, the weatherman predicted possibility of a thunderstorm, heavy rains all day & high winds. Oh..uh.. Were we ready to venture in that kind weather? Texted Merle the day before. Well, she says, she already made the reservations at Kyma, a Greek Seafood restaurant. Ok, I said, we'll see what it would be like in the morning, as predictions are notoriously known to change. And silently prayed, it would. I so want to see Ed, Angie, Mandy & Chi. Manny & Alice came the week before to the opening of Godfrey's Society of Philippine American Artists exhibit at the Philippine Consulate. It would be nice to see Merle, Ely & Hilda again, even though all three were at the San Francisco Annual Grand Convention of UPMASA in the summer. Hoping that Linnie, Rene, Benjie and Clem would be there too.
True enough that Saturday morning, there were high gusts of winds and rain in New Jersey. Called Merle. Only a drizzle in Manhattan, she says. Ok, we'll brave the weather. God will protect us. And He did! By the time we reached New York, it was just a constant drizzle, occasional wind, but not as gusty as predicted.
So wonderful to see 11 of us come. We missed Linnie, Benjie, Rene & Clem. The food was excellent from the appetizers which we shared: grilled octopus, calamari stuffed with cheese, zucchini fritters, pita bread, chicken soup; the entrees: Tsipoura (choice of mediterranean fish, grilled) Tiger Prawns, Swordfish skewers; to the desserts that we all shared too: baklava* topped with pistachio ice cream, cheesecake & 2 other Greek desserts.
Amazed that everyone was health-conscious. It was quite evident that everybody looked fit. Nobody ordered meat, although it was offered in the menu: lamb chops, steaks, pork chop. Appetizers and dessert were shared among each other. We had very good service. The waiter was very friendly and accommodated our numerous requests to take our pictures from different cameras! LOL! He even offered to make me taste 2 different kinds of wine as I don't like dry wine at all. I'm not much of an alcohol drinker. I like Moscato, although I know it's a dessert wine. (All the connoisseurs looked askance at me). But I've had one before, during a meal that was not as sweet, and the alcohol did not make me sleepy. So he made me taste another wine, this time a Riesling. That was not bad at all. Godfrey thought I had a good deal - getting to taste what I would like. LOL! The when it came to choice of desserts, he announced I know what you all like: Turon-turon & Halo-halo! And everybody chimed in a YES! Of course he was kidding!
The conversation centered mostly on grandchildren's antics, and a show-off of their pictures - grandparenting tales that portray the stage of our lives we are in now, inspite of the fact that we all endeavor to look young by striving to hide the grey hairs, tucking-in that stomach bulge & smoothing the creases on our faces (which Mandy offers so generously to do). Of course, jokes and updates about Class 71's plans and "peace offerings" were part of the lively discourse that contributed to the camaraderie and great fellowship.
Then, since we were in the city, Godfrey was supposed to pick up his art piece from the Philippine Consulate, where the exhibit of the SPAA ( Society of Philippine American Artists) was held. So we all traipsed there. Fortunately, some of the paintings were still there to enjoy and another photo-op took place. One of the artists whose painting won an award was moonlighting as the guard during the weekend and he let us in. He richly deserved the award as he showed us more of his paintings on his iPad.
*Nans, is baklava related to bakla crab?
Photos Photoshopped a little bit kaya maganda lahat! Unlike Mandy's creation, this just took minutes, not hours, and no healing period required.
Vicente Velasco, Blogmeister
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