Jane had a business meeting with a prospective client in New York City, so we decided to make a long weekend out of her trip.
Since we hadn't been to the city since 9/11, our first stop was Ground Zero. There is now so much construction going
on that it is hard to get a sense of how things were in the days and months after the attack. There is a Visitors' Center at
the site and the pictures, artifacts and stories there were much more evocative (to me) than seeing a large construction site.
We did quite a bit of walking on the way back to the hotel. Passed through City Hall Park and Grand Central.
We had planned to do a U.N. tour, but the line for tickets was long and as slow-moving as the U.N. itself. Since I was battling a sore throat,
we decided to try for a tour later in the trip (we didn't make it).
Our hotel, The Club Quarters, was located across the street from
Rockefeller Center and right down the street
from Radio City Music Hall at one end and St. Patrick's at the other. I had hoped to go skating in Rockefeller Center but, due to my cold, decided to postpone
that for another trip. All I got was pictures of other people skating. One of the restaurants under the GE Building
in Rock Center actually had muffin tops. If you're a Seinfeld fan, you'll remember the muffin top episode. Pretty funny
to actually see someone selling them!
We spent the rest of the weekend walking Soho, Times Square, Central Park, South Street Seaport,
and (partially) the Brooklyn Bridge. I just about wore out a subway map, having to constantly check to see which station and
route we wanted. Sunday in Central Park there was a walk supporting breast cancer research and we were amazed at the huge throng
that was walking.
We managed to catch two Broadway shows, The Times They Are A Changin' featuring the music of Bob Dylan and the
choreography of Twyla Tharp and Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! which stars ventriloquist Jay Johnson.
We saw the latter show with friends Patricia and David who live on the Upper East Side.
Sunday afternoon there was a parade from St. Patrick's down 51st St past our hotel. We were told that it was a Peruvian
religious celebration of some sort. The air was filled with incense and music as the parade moved slowly down the street.
I took a short movie if you want to see what
it was all about. There was also a street fair along 6th Avenue, so plenty of happenings right around us.
The extended weekend was over quickly and we headed back to JFK for the flight home. We used a car service on the way in
and tried the subway on the way out. Non-stop service from Austin via jetBlue makes for a much nicer trip. We hope to get
back every year or two.
Personal Observations:
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