The pre-pictures post about NY

No, I didn't attend Kevin Spacey's play. I found this ticket in the bathroom of the bar next to the theater. The ticket was for 2:00 and it was 3:30, so I figured it was okay to keep it as a souvenir. I couldn't help wondering what happened to the person who left their ticket in the bathroom, though. Do you suppose they were able to get in?

My plane was late getting in on Friday and the driver was not waiting for me. He may have gone out to smoke. Meanwhile the car service and my husband were freaking out thinking I was lost. I never felt lost. When I didn't see my driver, I simply walked over to my luggage carousel, went out for a smoke then came back in to the place where the drivers hang out. And then he was there.

It was rush hour so the normally short ride to the hotel was not that. I didn't mind. I liked the scenery, but I really did want a cold beer. Once I finally got to the hotel I had about 15 minutes to get ready for dinner, so a shower was out, but there was beer on ice in the room (YAY!). I put on my new clothes, freshened my face and tried to make my hair presentable. We went down to the bar to wait for Kevin and his date and after a drink realized they may not know to meet us in the bar. Sure enough the phone rang and they were waiting outside. We went to Mulberry Street (best known as Little Italy) for dinner. The street is closed off on the weekends so walking around was easy. We went to Angelo's and got a little table outdoors. Kevin pulled out all the stops so we had all sorts of stuff from appetizers to desert and of course a bottle of wine. I had some buffalo mozzarella (awesome!) and then for my main course I had a baked stuffed artichoke. Kevin's friend Diana was a real joy. She was very cute and animated and reminded us of Holly Hunter. Those were the best hours of the whole trip. We could not have been in better company. After a LONG time at Angelo's we went to our rooms for a few minutes and changed into jeans and met again and walked to the Broome Street Bar, where we continued our loud laughing and talking party. I was sad when the night came to a close, but we were all tired.

Saturday started out nice. I think Robert F. Wagner Jr. park must be the best-kept secret in NY. If I had had time I could have spent hours there. The harbor view was breathtaking. There were day cruises passing by alongside yachts and sailboats. And The Lady was out there in full view. We had lunch al fresco and again it was a great meal. My meal included tempura battered red pepper strips and I think they should be a staple at all restaurants that serve fried finger foods. They came with my fish and chips. The Jewish museum was closed, which makes sense because Saturday is their Sabbath. We took a cab from there to Times Square and sometime shortly thereafter My Sweetie decided without warning to apply for a name change to: My Boring Stick-In-The Mud Husband That I Was Stuck With for the Rest of the Afternoon. Example: Me, "Oh here's a nice bar, I'm going to stop in for a beer and rest my feet." He, "(Siiiiiiggggghhhhhh) What time is it?" I pretty much decided to ignore him after a few of those lovely exchanges and just amuse myself. We went by the Atinson Theater, where I posed with a poster of Mr. Spacey. Then we ran across a fire station (or ladder company as they're called there) and picked up a T-shirt for my brother-in-law the firefighter that just had brain surgery. Hello Deli was closed but we took some pictures and the CBS store was next to it so I got a Letterman Show T-shirt. We caught a cab to the Boathouse in Central Park and it was the only time I had to stand in line for a bathroom, the whole visit. I grabbed a beer at the bar to drink while I waited in the long line. Then I ambled over to the piano player and had him play "Unforgettable," while I finished my beer. That's my "Dad Song," and I teared up a bit because I missed my Dad and MBSITMH was irritating the hell out of me. We walked from there to the Met.

I had no idea the Met was going to be that big (and SO LOUD). It was HUGE (or as Donald Trump would say, "Yooge!"). After a long while visiting ancient Egypt, I decided to head for the rooftop bar. That Man I Was With decided to visit Greece and Rome and meet up with me later, which was FINE with me. When I got up there the view was so spectacular my first thought was to call him and tell him what he was missing, but then I remembered I was mad at him and decided it would bring me evil pleasure to tell him about it at some far distant point in the future. Well oddly enough he showed up about 4 minutes after I got there. He may have sensed at this point that if we split up, he might not see me again for 6 hours. And I HAD thought about it. After my beers and smokes I headed to my favorite section which is old European portraiture. I LOVE that stuff. After staring into the faces of old dead people for a couple of hours, which doesn't sound as good on paper as it actually was, I decided it was time to head back to the room, change clothes and find some dinner. We did have a long talk after dinner and I told him how he sucked the joy right out of my day. He had a million different explanations, but the most important part is that he was sincerely contrite.

Sunday was just about getting ready and going to the airport. The weather could not have been better the whole weekend. I was never chilly or hot. Being outside at home today in the hot muggy Texas weather made me realize how great the weather had been there. I had a good time, but I'll always wish I had had a better time. At least I have Friday night and the great art and spectacular views to remember. I'm glad I'm home though. I'll have all my pictures Wednesday night. I took almost two rolls.