Charlotte Canda was a young high society debutante in the 1840’s. On February 3rd, 1845 while coming back from her 17th birthday bash, she was flipped from the horse carriage and died. Her death, and its circumstances shook New York. Charlotte herself designed some of the features of her own tomb in Green-Wood. Her father, who served under Napoleon, utilized some of Charlotte’s elements from the memorial of her aunt which Charlotte helped design a year earlier. Her grave is 17 feet high, 17 feet long, and her statue wearing 17 rose petals circling her head. Her fiance (I know, 17) Charles Albert Jarrett de la Marie killed himself a year later, and buried a few feet away. Not as close as he’d like because it was a suicide.
It’s one of the many stories that visitors came to see at Green-Wood around that time. I hesitate to write “cemetery” because this doesn’t feel like one. But the more I learn about this place the more I understand why it was once NYC’s number one attraction for over 100 years. Before NYC was a tourist friendly city, people came to see destinations like Niagara Falls, and Green-Wood. It was our first major park that inspired the creation of Central and Prospect Park.
Yep, its now officially the strangest food blog in the world. And my Brooklyn tour where we spend about 45 minutes in the cemetery is the oddest food tour out of 206 in NYC (rank #7 but who’s counting). NOLA did this! If you’ve been with me since the beginning, you’d understand my obsession with cemeteries. Important cemeteries around the world like Zagreb, Genoa, Arlington, and even tiny ones like in Getaria, Spain are a good way to connect to local culture, and history. Just like food in a way.
Out of all the famous cemeteries I’ve seen, Green-Wood is still the most striking, and approachable. While its hilly, and massive, it doesnt require a great effort especially if you have a vehicle. But yet, many New Yorkers still havent been or dont even know about it. When I was a kid living in Brooklyn, no one took me there or told me about it. Today its lost in the shuffle of the many attractions NYC has to offer. Considering the lack of crowds, its arguably NYC greatest hidden gem, and the best free museum.
Some of the notable sights at Green-Wood:
Battle Hill – Highest natural point in Brooklyn with striking views, Leonard Bernstein’s grave, and Minerva the roman goddess waving to her cousin Libertas (Statue of Liberty)
Inventors like Steinway, Peter Cooper, Elias Howe (Sewing Machine), Samuel Morse (Telegraph, Morse code), and perhaps the most important inventor of them all, Charles Feltman (Hot Dog)
Controversial statues like Civic Virtue, and James Marion Sims (currently in storage) – gynecology pioneer who experimented on slaves. Green-Wood is where unwelcomed statues go to die.
Henry Chadwick – “Father of Baseball”. Grave adorned with a baseball theme
Statue of 12 yo Drummer Boy – first Brooklyn casualty in the Civil War
Artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Louis Comfort Tiffany. I toured with Tiffany’s relatives once.
Bill the Butcher and William Tweed (Gangs of New York)
Notable pets like the infamous Rex and Fannie Howe. Read about them before visiting.
The grand Nicholas Cage-like Van Ness-Parsons Pyramid. Nick Cage has a similar tomb in Saint Louis Cemetery in New Orleans. As of this writing, he’s still alive.
The odd looking bear sitting on top William Beard who painted the famous Bulls and Bears in The Market.
DeWitt Clinton grave and statue that once served as the main advertisement for Green-Wood when it stood in front of City Hall.
Four lakes including the mesmerizing Sylvan that make you forget you are in a cemetery.
The church and dramatic main entrance. The nest on top of the gate is home to Argentinian Monk Parrots. One of many bird species residing in Green-Wood.
Charlotte Canda
Click anywhere below to see the images
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to write posts like this considering everything that’s going on in the world today. Fires in Australia, mayhem in Iran, Hong Kong, impeachment, and this dude is writing about some beach in Anguilla. But this is a place worth writing about. And as I get older and wiser its becoming more and more clear that in this fragile world, a beach and even looking at pictures of a beach (which I dont do enough) has crazy healing powers. Numerous recent studies 
Rendezvous Bay (special shutout to the person who invented copy and paste) simply put is the perfect beach. Just like most such beaches, you may not find it at its best behavior when you first see it. The winds can get too strong, and sometimes it may feel deserted for a reason. When we first saw it four years ago we werent impressed. But after spending a week at what looks like its best side, we understood. It’s one of the most walkable, most swimmable, and most perfect size beaches we’ve seen. But most of all, its almost empty! From my vantage point, best seat in the theater, one person walking by every 20 minutes. It’s one of the best sheer beauty to people ratio in the Caribbean.
One of the cool things about this bay is the lack of hotels. You got CuisinArt in the west as the lone major resort, and a few boutique hotels. One of which is the reason for the post. 
Its that time of the year. The time we look back, reflect, and look forward. The time we argue about the spelling of Hanukkah, and wonder how impeachment works exactly. The time we look back at the wonderful things we ate during the year all over the world. The time to call your mom, and watch vacation pictures. In that order. Yes, call you mom, and buy her something meaningful this time. A puppy, a food tour, a trip to Anguilla. Something that will change her life.
When I was watching the Washington Nationals beat the Astros for their first title in the modern era (post iPhone), I never imagined that two days later we would be trapped on Constitution Ave, trying desperately to swim out of the Red Sea (parade crowd). We spent roughly 24 hours, which was also the amount it took me to plan for this last minute getaway. Arlington and Indian – that was pretty much my base, the starting point for this trip. I’ve never been to Arlington, and I got sick and tired of hearing the praises of Rasika.
3:48 PM – We peep out like Meerkats and it looks safe to come out and walk outside. After a Starbucks emergency (for Coffee…), we are off to walk the 2.6 miles National Mall, arguably the greatest outdoor museum and memorial in the world. The plan was to check out the National Museum of the American Indian (Free), but long lines and… jet lag kicks in. It was a 3.5 hour drive after all. From the outside the museum resembles something that belongs in Bilbao. Thats a good thing.
1:30 PM: We have important unfinished business in other states, so bye for now
This is it folks! The moment none of you have been waiting for you. Fresh, off the boat, Cinque Terre pictures that look the same or worse than the millions of CT pictures out there. It took me 8 trips or so to finally see the famous five villages – Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza, Rick Steves, Monterosso. Its not official yet, but as you can see, there’s a strong push to rename one, so I’m just one step ahead.
Ahhh, Genoa! The name that triggers no emotion, confusion, and even anger sometimes. Why is this guy writing about Genoa now. What happened to Venice, Rome, and that Cinqua Terras place that he supposedly visited and only wrote about 
Instead of boring you with the usual Best of Umbria this or that, or random tips on Umbria, I will bore you with an award ceremony.
The Milton Snavely Hershey Award. Given to the best Chocolate – Urbani truffled truffles in the Urbani museum
Another incomplete North America National Park visit in the books. Still, no bears. Just like with the elusive sea turtle after hundreds of snorkeling sessions (ok, more like 15), this is starting to feel personal. We even got stuck on two “Bear Jams” between Yosemite and Banff and nada. A Bear Jam is when traffic builds up on a road because bears were spotted. Its the National Park version of a NYC accident on the other side of the highway.
Tuscany is a wildly misunderstood region. You hear about it. You read about it. You finally decide to go. But unless you plan carefully, you may just miss it. Its large, very diverse, and it includes some of the most photogenic corners in Europe. But finding these corners requires time, patience, and a Fiat.
I tell ya. There are some beautiful places on this planet. Some of which look like belong to another planet. I can think of some parts in south Utah like Lake Powell, and Horseshoe Bend in Arizona that look like something you may see in science fiction movies. The common theme is usually color. And if you come at the right time to this part of Umbria you might just see every color imaginable. If you come at the wrong time as we did, its spectacular, still.
