April was a busy personal travel month, May ended up being a busy business travel month. Even though I was gone in Europe for two weeks we still got to enjoy the beautiful spring in New York.

We arrived home from Buenos Aires on the last day of April and were back at work the next day. I’ll never forget walking to work that first day and being reminded of how beautiful this city is in spring. The trees were turning green and it was almost time to put the jackets away for good.

A few days later we went to our first and only ballet of the season, Balanchine & Robbins I. I know absolutely nothing about what makes good versus great ballet, but there was something about this performance that moved both Jenn and I. I always tell Jenn after a good broadway show that we need to book more shows, and I had the same reaction after this ballet. We are going to see more ballets next season.

The following day (after spending a couple grand on repairs) we piled into the Mercedes and drove the 2.5 hours to South Hampton for our annual beach drive. Frasier almost seemingly knew exactly where we were going and by the time we parked and took off his seatbelt we all made a bee-line for the beach. We lay on the perfectly sunny beach for the next two hours with only a few people around. We brought a ball for Frasier, played fetch, and took him on a few long walks and runs through the water. It was the perfect morning, exactly what we had hoped for. On our way home we stopped at Duckwalk Vineyards for a few wine tastings on their outdoor patio with live music before making the very long drive home.

We closed out our weekend with starting to settle Jenn into her brand new office that she now has in Lincoln Square through work. It’s a beautiful small office with a window overlooking Columbus Ave that of course Jenn wanted to redecorate. We brought over some monitors we already had along with a new rug and wallpaper that Jenn purchased and for a few hours on a Sunday morning began setting up her new space. The plan is for her to use the office a few days a week to have a little more variety in her week working from home.

The next weekend was all about various performances. On Friday night we saw the incredibly touching play Primary Trust which Jenn and I adored. On Saturday morning we went to the newly opened movie theater (taking the spot of the old Landmark that closed during the pandemic) Look Cinemas around the corner from us and saw the very disappointing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. We closed out the weekend on Sunday by watching Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window a beautiful albeit long play that showed off both of their acting chops.

Unfortunately, the next week brought my first work trip in two months. After a beautiful night of jazz at Dizzy’s I grabbed an afternoon flight on Saturday to Paris. I arrived after a 7-hour flight on Delta to Paris at 9 AM and had Sunday to enjoy the city of lights before starting a week of work the next day. After dropping off my bags at the Hyatt Paris Madeline I made my normal walk to the Eiffel Tower, stopped for lunch at a small cafe called Le Chat Blanc where I had a beer and burger, and then made my way to my hotel. I guess for how often I stay at the hotel I was upgraded to their walk-down suite which came with Rose and a few small snacks. After unpacking, ironing my clothes, and getting some work done, I returned to the Louvre area for dinner at Le Comptoir des Petits Champs where I had a very nice three-course dinner. I started with the salmon, had duck confit for my main, and a chocolate cake for dessert. The night was still young so I made the long walk to Notre Dame before walking back to my hotel to call it an evening.

I spent the next day in the Paris office before taking the Eurostar the following morning to London where I spent the rest of the week. On my last evening in London, I walked to Smith & Wollensky for dinner and then made my way to St. James Park to enjoy the rest of the evening. On Friday morning I took a Virgin Atlantic flight home to JFK where I had only a few days to enjoy being back stateside before having to go back to London on Monday.

The end of the month came with me back in London for a few more days back at the Andaz and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It was tough being away from Jenn and Frasier this much but fortunately, we will be traveling together in a few days.

TV WE WATCHED

With all of the travel and work, we watched a lot less TV in May. The highlight of the month was wrapping up one of the best shows of the year Jury Duty. I still cannot believe they pulled off this show. Before I went back to London the second time we watched the series finales of both Succession and Better Call Saul, two of the best shows of all time. They both ended well although we bought thought Succession had a near-perfect end for the show. What a great month of TV.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

I read three books in the month but This Tender Land was by far the best of the three. It reminded me of a modern-day take on Tom Sawyer. Beautifully written at the turn of the 20th century, a book about growing up and the decisions we make in our youth that impact the rest of our lives. A beautifully written book that I really liked.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

Three of the four movies I watched on planes this month. I really enjoyed Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto (a book I loved many years ago) and Air. But the movie that really that I will be thinking about for a while was the beautifully made documentary Still about Michael J Fox’s life.

THEATER WE SAW

Three great Broadway shows this month. Primary Trust was probably my favorite followed by Fat Ham and then The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. However, I loved all three of them.