Have had a very full New York day of it…
Absolutely shattered tonight.  Will find a pizza place early on. Feed and then sleeeeep in advance of my journey tomorrow.

Walked east from the hotel first and stopped outside Rita’s old place.  Took a photo or two there.  Counted the floors up to PHC.  Brought back many memories. Round the corner opposite the UN building I stopped to look for Ferdi’s where they used to hang out  a lot and where I think the picture was taken that I have with me of Rita and Harry.  But it wasn’t there anymore.

Back to Grand Central station.  What a place!  Monumental in every sense, just vast.  Used my Metro card for the first time.  Subway noisy, cramped much like the Tube in London!  But very quick and efficient. Went downtown first to City Hall and wandered over to where the World Trade Center used to be.  Stopped first in St Paul’s Chapel on Vesey Street – tiny chrch that was just opposite but was unscathed.


 Here was the hub of the clearing up operation afterwards.  And a place where people gathered just to get over it.  Exhausted and traumatized emergency workers, grieving relatives everyone came here.  It’s got lots of displays of memorabilia, very poignant and atmospheric.  One of the 9/11 widows started up a self-help group after the attacks and she was one of those killed in the air crash last week in Buffalo.  Her picture, and that of her husband who died in the trade center are at the bottom of the memorial altar below. One of many shrines in the chapel.

In the graveyard all the names of those buried there in the last century were erased, blasted off by the dust when the buildings fell I guess.  Carried on to the actual WTC tribute center – again very low key, non-profit making –place to come and share memories.  Families tell their own stories here regularly.  The scale of it is well told.  And there’s a good short little video of the place before it fell which made me think of 1976 and 1978 when I stood on top of it.
Lots of building work now at Ground Zero as the new building goes up…

Wandered in the financial district.  Had a burger and fries in a small place on John Street!  Full of local people, some students from PACE University, some office workers.  Plain food but lovely and freshly made.  Have resisted all the chains so far esp Wendyburgers ad Macdonalds!


Walked from there to the subway and took a train over the water to Brooklyn…walked back over the bridge into Manhattan. 


What a view, stunning on both sides but especially looking back south towards the downtown area and seeing a tiny statue of liberty out there in the water…
Back on the subway – this time an express all the way back up north to the W 86th Street stop.  Wandered – almost – onto a film set. Didn’t recognise any of the actors but they were out on the sidewalk doing a scene – huge crew and lots of catering.  Police everywhere (although they could have been actors in it I guess).

Into Central Park, wandered right round the outside of the Metropolitan Museum and then went in.  Vast, monumental – largest art gallery in America!  Only had about two hours of opening time left.  But desperate by this stage for a coffee…stopped and had one – took stock of the scene.  Decided to focus on a few things – some beautiful Vermeer paintings, Degas ballet dancers (really reminded me of Alice’s work),

Monet’s Rouen cathedral with the light still shining from the stone façade from more than a hundred years ago, Van Gogh wheat field, a beautiful Goya portrait of a child…was all very beautiful…

Wandered down through the park as dusk was falling.  So quiet in there, even with cars traversing in the cut our roads an tunnels…joggers, children, jugglers, two old guys frisbeeing away, down to the southern exits near Wollman rink, thinking of the number of times I’d seen this in the movies and of the Joni Mitchell song lyric (from Hejira).  A stunning and surreal sight.  A mini hockey game going on dwn there with the skyscrapers n the background…

Walked back down to the hotel…
Missing everyone…so many things to share

Yes I don't think it's actually day 2 because there hasn't been a night's sleep in between times…

Anyway, flight was good even if I really didn't want to watch Beverly HIlls Chihuaha…landed an hour early and was allowed in after fingerprinting etc…

Got into the city via a scary "Iicensed" shuttle service run by some nice hustling sort of gentlemen and full of very scared fellow travellers from all over the world.  I have seen the traffic in Rome and driven in Lisbon and Bilbao.  But this was something else.  Lanes?  Who needs em?
Had forgotten how awful JFK was though -  sort of like Heathrow but not as good.  And that is saying something.
Anyways, as soon as we came out of the midtown tunnel – all breath was well and truly taken.
What a city.  I remember why this space is so special.  The scale, the sights, the sounds.
It turns out I am right next door to the famous Algonquin where Dorothy Parker and James Thurber and other people used to be witty to each other all the time!  My room is small but neat and perfect for me on my ownsome.


Had strange lucid dreaming two hour catch up sleep. Then had a serendipitous stroll in the surrounding environment which led me to the 70th floor of rockefeller building when the light was going duskish but not quite sunset.


Have decided it's better than the empire state building because you have the best view of the empire state building and everything else as well
I have met lovely people in shops, fellow tourists, travellign on your own you sort of drifft in and out of conversations and lives and then you keep going.  Talked briefly to a young couple travelling from Henley with their six month old.
Into Times Square – a mad, bright, shiny hub – like Shibuya in Tokyo – bright lights, projections, crazy colours, mad but totally different to how I remember it which was mad but also seedy and a bit scary –It’s not like that anymore…


Now off to meet up with cousin Ann Marie after thirty years