I put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walk the two miles to the train station and from the platform I stand facing the beautiful Hudson River. It’s the 5th of October and sweat can already be seen on the faces of people. No one is wearing a jacket. How nice it would be, I think, if we could all leap into the glistening water before us. And how funny that would be at the same time. Don’t you wish life could be that way every so often? You say to yourself, and perhaps to a few people standing next to you on the platform, “I’m not going to take the train today. Instead I’m going to strip down to my underwear, leave everything by the riverfront and swim today. What about you?” Hmm!
The train is ten minutes late (something about the tracks). Ahh, we arrive at grand Grand Central Terminal, and I walk-flitting between pedestrians-to my dentist’s office across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. After that easy appointment I take a 5th Avenue bus to 23rd Street, get off the bus and walk west between 5th and 6th Avenues to Universal News and its big selection of magazines. Wonderful decisions to be made at this shop. With three magazines in hand, I walk over to 18th Street and Fifth Avenue then a little west to City Bakery. It’s packed, and one never knows how much food is left after lunch hour has come and gone. I head for the back area and see an assortment of nicely sauteed foods. Ahh, yes, there’s still enough left to fill a plate with all the delicious vegetables and fruits from the Farmers’ Market. I eat upstairs. Emi arrives. Her big purchase is a bottle of water. We wait at the check-out counter with its usually long line and where all the goodies are on display. Always there’s a dialogue here with oneself that goes like this, “No. you don’t need that. But, I’ve not really had any dessert lately. No? What about that chocolate bar two days ago? You know how you’ll feel after eating that baker’s muffin, or that enormous melted chocolate cookie. We’ve had this discussion before. Now stop it. Look at something else.”
www.grandcentralterminal.com
www.saintpatrickscathedral.org
www.unionsquarejournal.com/greenmarket.htm
We leave the goodies behind and walk to Union Square and hop on a train to Chinatown to see our much appreciated herbalist/acupuncturist. Again we happily leave with a bag of herbs tucked into a tote bag, and meander along the streets. The crowds in Chinatown can sometimes take your breath away. We don’t stay. It’s easy to slip into Little Italy from Chinatown. We marvel at the line already formed waiting to get into Ferrara’s on Grand Street, and we wander into DiPaola admiring its fresh cheeses and sausages, breads, pasta, bottles of olive oil, and much more. The temptation to buy is great, but schlepping it around is another matter. It seems just walking is the order of the day-to Mott Street, sometimes Mulberry Street, finally arriving at Dean and DeLuca at 560 Broadway to purchase a bar of soap for laundry and two bottles of water (we’re the last of the big spenders). That done we walk east then north looking at all the small fashionable shops, going in and out to survey the merchandise. < www.ferraracafe.com www.deandeluca.com
Conversation begins to center on where to have dinner. We walk up and down the most interesting streets and somehow arrive at good ole reliable Veselka on 9th Street and 2nd Avenue. It’s very casual; we were thinking Italian but Ukranian is fine too. The food is good and dependable. As we leave we notice it’s an absolutely beautiful evening in Manhattan; people are out walking in full force. We continue onward toward 42nd Street and Park Avenue. Emi is heading in another direction, but not before we listen to a gathering of musicians perched on the steps. Their music fills Grand Central Terminal and many people have come to a full stop, standing, enjoying the music. A most unusual and delightful sight at GCT. Good night, Emi. It was a beautiful day. www.veselka.com
On the train I take out Ode Magazine and read about what’s happening in other countries. In between pages I have to say a silent thank you for the lovely day I had.
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