New York

Tuesday 13 May 2008

Woke up today to blue skies and mild weather. So THIS was the New York I had come to see. And see it I did! Jill and I started out together as we both wanted to see Central Park. It is only a few blocks away from our hotel and a perfect day to see it. Even the street heading towards Central Park was pleasant and tree lined, although the footpaths had seen better days – the pros and cons of tree lined streets, I guess. And when you’re pushing a wheelchair, you have to be mindful of every bump (nearly tipped Jill out a couple of times) and even the slightest incline can be a bit of a challenge. I’m hoping all these little ‘workouts’ are helping me combat the lunches and dinners I’ve been enjoying.

When we reached Central Park, we had a vague notion that we should head south but signage was not exactly abundant or helpful. A good old “You are here” on any of the few park maps we came across would have been wonderful. So we just wandered around looking at all the green, lush parkland and soaking in the feel of the place. We must have looked liked we knew something because one couple asked us the way to somewhere or other. This has happened to us a few times since we arrived, making it seem that there are more visitors than locals.

After about half an hour of this, Jill indicated that she wanted to strike out in search of the Museum of Natural History, so off she went. (More about that in “Jill’s Jottings”, I would imagine.) I continued to meander until I came across a little kiosk in an area called “Sheep’s Meadow” where I bought a cup of tea and sat down for a while. I then overheard a conversation regarding directions to the “Boathouse” and, as I had seen it in a couple of movies, I decided to check it out. It looks very pleasant and I’m thinking of suggesting it for our next lunch meeting tomorrow. Apparently, the good weather isn’t forecast to last, so we may as well make the best of it. Mind you, a burger costs around $19.00, but it should all be awfully civilized . . . I decided to start making my way out of the park, past a band of jazz musicians, the ubiquitous groups of school children, and nannies with their charges.

As I reached the exit, a gust of wind caused a flurry of some kind of blossom or floaty seed pod to rain down on the street. It was quite something, but clearly the cause of so many sneezes and nose blowings going on around me. I had passed numerous vendors selling large, warm ‘bread’ pretzels (as opposed to the snacks you get in packets), so I bought one to see what they were like. Not too bad, as it turns out, but I couldn’t finish it all.

Dozens of tourist buses had been passing me by and I finally came to a corner where I could buy a ticket for a tour of ‘Downtown’. This tour took us around Greenwich Village, Times Square, Empire State Building, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village, Rockefeller Center, the World Trade Centre, Wall Street, the Theatre District, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, and past the Ground Zero site. In Greenwich Village there is a chain mail fence mounted with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of small tiles that have been made by school children all over the USA as a memorial to the 9-11 tragedy.

The only stop I got off at was “Macy’s” to see what all the fuss was about. Well it’s big, and it’s a store, and it’s got lots and lots of stuff to buy. Within a short space of time, I was overwhelmed by it all and decided to have lunch (earlier pretzel notwithstanding). They sold an interesting selection of salads by the ½ pound, so quite reasonable. Apparently, you used to be able to get a free canvass ‘tote’ bag if you went to Macy’s Visitor’s Centre on Floor 1 ½ (strange but true) but this is no longer the case – I tried. So I just made a bee-line for the exit and hopped back onto the next bus.

I left the bus somewhere ‘Midtown’ not far from Broadway and walked for about 50 minutes back to the hotel – which is also on Broadway but ‘Uptown’. Checked on Jill, who had her own adventures to report, and bought something for dinner from the Thai restaurant next door. A good night to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow we’ll be meeting with Susan Fish, a Physical Therapist who has had quite a bit to do with polio survivors.