The children were both going away to camps so I very tentatively asked A if I could accompany him to New York and he said,"yes". But he warned me that he will be working and I have to entertain myself. Me ? I had four days to discover New York. Easy! The weather was very kind (if a little too hot). As you can guess, the immigration officer let me in.
On the first day, I walked up from 26th St up to 100th to find Michaels. But there were many stops along the way, mainly beads and trimming shops but noteably, for a coffee and a slice of heavenly NY cheesecake. And couldn't resist a self portrait in Times Square ( though I must say, I need longer arms to avoid that big chin/neck look! ).
I also encountered a group in front of the Lincoln Center waiting for Dan (Radcliffe). Some of them were holding up posters and one even said,"Harry Potter saved me from illiteracy". One girl claimed,"First in line and I've been here 6 days".LOL. I didn't stay...Michaels was calling me.
On my second day (and the hottest day of the week ) I headed out to the Bronx to visit New York Botanical Garden. The best part is the area around the Conservatory which was right next to the entrance (for train!). I should have made my way here straight away, instead, I took the land train, got off when I saw the rose garden and then couldn't figure out a quick way to get to anywhere interesting. I felt a bit lost and very, very hot walking in the forest.
The conservatory ( or very large glass house ) houses all the usual tropical and arid plants and the area around has many herbaceous borders. My favourite! Elsewhere they have a rose garden and many collections of tree. Honestly, it is more an arboretum with magnolia, rhodos, lilac, cherries...best visited in the spring.
Next day, I headed south to Katz's Deli. This place was heaving and slightly intimidating with their ticketing...I didn't know what I have to do. In the end, I just sat down and waited for waiter service. And I was worried when the waiter took and kept my ticket. There were signs saying I have to pay a min $50 penalty if I don't have the ticket to give up on exit. Eek. But he returned it when I was ready to go.
Can't imagine them clearing out the place to film "When Harry met Sally".
I didn't have any plans for my last day. I just ambled around the Fashion district, discovered some cool shops and the Fashion Institute museum. I love the Tinsel Trading Company. They sell a lot of vintage cool items...most probably over priced but that's New York for you. At around 3, A finished work so it was time to head out of New York for a long weekend. I'll tell you about that later.
Today, H is home from camp. It is now ten and he is still in bed. J arrives home from Glasgow later this afternoon. Both boys will have a lot of sleep to catch up on.
