The New York trip

[rivka]

Yesterday was our insane one-day trip to New York.

We woke up at six, showered in our sleep, threw a few essentials into our backpacks (guidebook, paperbacks in case we didn't sleep on the bus, water, Advil, minimal snacks, camera and film, Spanish-English dictionary), and stumbled out the door around seven. The Chinatown Bus was late, and slow to load, and uncomfortable as hell, but all was temporarily forgiven when we first saw the New York City skyline through the window.

They dropped us off around 11 or 11:30. We bought all-day subway passes from impressively easy-to-use kiosks, and then promptly got on the wrong train to South Ferry. (In our defense, apparently that train usually goes to South Ferry - it was just temporarily following a different route. I think.) We trudged down a very crowded street in the very hot sun to another station, and then everything went smoothly. We rode the Staten Island Ferry round-trip, mostly for the photo ops of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. I think Maria was a little disappointed that we didn't get closer to the Statue. Maybe we should've taken the actual Statue ferry to Loberty Island, but (a) that wouldn't have been free, and (b) the lines would've been longer. Eh. The Staten Island Ferry was fun, and she got lots of pictures.

Then we went to Ground Zero. It hadn't been part of the original itinerary, because curiousangel and I didn't particularly want to go, but Maria asked if we could. It's, well, it's a big hole in the ground with a high fence around it. They've put some understated photo-and-text displays on the fence, as well as a list of the names of the dead. Also, the cross formed by broken girders is on display.

curiousangel and I cried a little. I don't know what Maria thought.

We ate at a deli close by the WTC site. I had the second-best sandwich I've had all year. (Yes, curiousangel, yesterday I said it was the best - but I'd forgotten my first soft-shell crab sandwich of the year.) Smoked turkey, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, and tomato on foccacia. And unsweetened bottled iced oolong tea, which was awfully good. We felt much more stable and alert after lunch.

We headed back uptown to the Empire State Building. I had never seen it before, and was impressed that, in addition to being tall, it's actually pretty. We didn't go in, which might have been a mistake - there didn't seem to be huge lines, so we might've been able to go up to the top without spending hours waiting. But instead we went to a souvenir shop so that Maria could load up on postcards and keychains, and to the Compleat Strategist for curiousangel's sake.

Next stop: Grand Central Station, where we met cattitude under the clock. It was time for the long-walk-and-lots-of-sights portion of the day. From Grand Central Station, we walked up 42nd Street to the New York Public Library to admire the lions and the reading rooms, sat in Bryant Park for a while drinking water and resting our feet, walked on to Times Square, from there to Rockefeller Center, and then past St. Patrick's Cathedral to admire the facade. (We didn't go in, because I didn't want to get arrested for spitting at the Cardinal.) I know that I'm supposed to deplore the way the city has Disneyfied Times Square, but in fact I thought it was really cool. Maria particularly loved Times Square and Rockefeller Center - she just had to call her mother from a pay phone to say "I'm in New York!", which I thought was very sweet. She took tons of pictures of everything.

We had decided, somewhere in there, that attempting the Metropolitan Museum of Art would be sheer madness. So instead we finished the day with a leisurely stroll through the south end of Central Park. At that point, all of us were tired (except cattitude, I think), and stuffed pretty full of sights. It was nice to spend some time in a quiet and peaceful place. Maria got a kick out of the horse carriages, and we all enjoyed our encounter with some regrettably small dogs.

We met redbird, roadnotes, and baldanders for dinner at an Italian restaurant somewhere in the Village. (I think.) The place was crowded, but the hostess managed to find us a table on the sidewalk almost immediately, and we spent a very pleasant couple of hours talking, eating, and drinking. I liked the antipasto we all shared best of all - lots of grilled vegetables, some marinated mushrooms, and a delicious fresh mozzarella cheese - but my entree, penne with bay scallops and escarole, was also pretty good. And the house Pinot Grigio was delicious. This was the first time I'd met roadnotes and baldanders - but it was way too much fun to let it be the last time.

cattitude and redbird escorted us back to the corner of Broadway and West 32nd, where we were supposed to catch the bus. Fortunately, this time the bus arrived promptly when we expected it, at 11pm. Unfortunately, the air conditioning wasn't working, and the seats were even more uncomfortable after we'd spent a long day of walking around. It was a long, long trip home. Maria, lucky - and flexible - soul that she is, slept like a rock. curiousangel and I weren't so lucky. We were dropped off in Baltimore at 3am, drove home, and slept until 1:00 this afternoon.

It was a lot of fun. In fact, I enjoyed it much more than I expected. I'm really grateful to cattitude for shepherding us around, and to redbird for organizing such a lovely dinner. We'll have to do this again sometime, weighing more heavily on socializing and less on frenetic tourism.