field trip friday

I am one lucky girl!  I toured Food Network!  There aren’t many things that would get me as excited.  Not since meeting Khaled Hosseini, has my heart beat so fast.  Even more exciting was that a friend and I were given a personal tour by a high school classmate who I would have enjoyed spending time with no matter where I was….the combination of the two sent my happiness through the roof :)  Adding to the excitement of the day…it was Fleet Week!  Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition – active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week.  On the walk to Food Network, we were able to witness the Parade of Ships that signaled the start of Fleet Week NYC 2012.  Check it out:

A picture taken while walking along the Hudson River on the way to Chelsea, we got a great view, even with the overcast day, of the Parade of Ships marking the start of Fleet Week – a tradition in New York City since the early 1980’s.

Another photo of the NYC Parade of Ships for Fleet Week 2012.

Watching the Parade of Ships signaling the start of Fleet Week creates such a patriotic spirit!

Three of the 6,000 men in uniform descending on NYC for Fleet Week. Does this remind you of a particular Sex and the City Episode :) ?

(See pleasureinsimplethings facebook page for more Fleet Week photos – click the facebook icon on the homepage)

How cool!  Now, off to Food Network!

A photo of a view of the Food Network set from ‘behind the scenes.’

I got the chance to not only see the inner workings of the network, but so much more.  My former classmate is a senior executive and his insight into, not only the Food Network (and some cool history about the buildings in Chelsea), but the industry and the future of media, was totally fascinating. The technical aspect of the station is overwhelming, the physical space is visually interesting, and the people that work at the network were all so fun to talk to…all happy to explain their roles and answer questions posed by a ‘groupie.’  I think that is probably what I am…a Food Network ‘groupie’ (some may say ‘junkie’)…or maybe they just call me crazy?

The Food Network kitchens sign really got me breathing heavy :)

A photo of the Food Network kitchens.

A photo of the Food Network set. Standing on this set, where so many I have admired have stood before, was definitely a highlight for me!

On the visit to Food Network, Melissa d’Arabian was filming a promo for Ten Dollar Dinners.

The Food Network is located above Chelsea Market, an enclosed urban food court and shopping mall located in the Chelsea neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City.

The Chelsea Market has so much history surrounding it – dating back to the 1890’s and the National Biscuit Company complex.

A photo of the salad I had for lunch in a little organic restaurant located in Chelsea Market.

After the walk TO Food Network from Grand Central Station and witnessing the ship parade, I never expected the walk BACK to be as interesting, but I was wrong – my Food Network friend suggested we check out The High Line as we were leaving the Network building and it ended up be a really cool walk back as well.  It was reminiscent of visiting a botanical garden.

The High Line is basically the recycling of the former elevated New York Central Railroad into an urban park. It was redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway.  It runs from three blocks below West 14^th Street in the Meatpacking District, up to 30^th Street, through the neighborhood of Chelsea to the West Side Yard, near the Javits Convention Center.

A photo taken on The High Line walk…notice the old train track in the lower left corner.

This was a tough post to edit.  I had so much I wanted to include.  Fleet Week, Food Network Tour, and  The High Line…what a fun day!