First Day in NYC: April 8th

Weyburnites, I had to start the New York City blog with the above, remarkable photo. The stuff in the glass is called water! It's clear and it comes from a tap and you can drink it. Perhaps someday all of you will be able to experience clear, drinkable tap water!

We've had a really great start to our trip other than the fact that our plane arrived a half hour early ...ahem, Vanessa, as opposed to 24 hours late... so we had to circle the airport for quite awhile. That circling was bumpier than I wished.

From the airport we took a shuttle to the Port Authority and then walked the five blocks to our hotel. On that walk we came across two pumpjacks which made us wonder if Cenovus was making as much money in NYC as in southeastern SK. A corner plaque told us that it was an art installation.

On the same walk, we saw this great parking garage. So much of Manhattan is vertical so why not the parking garages.

The lobby of the Hotel Edison has these fantastically large spring arrangements which smell heavenly. I'm not sure what plant the branches are.

Once we dropped our bags, we headed the ten seconds to Times Square. This gigantic billboard particularly appealed to me because I could picture a proud mama somewhere saying, "that's my 16 storey son!"

We went for a walk and found Amy's Bread on 9th Street. Can you see the bread that has rabbit ears? So cute! I'll have to make my Easter bread like that next year ... that's if I fulfill my retirement goal of learning to make bread - a goal that, so far, I have deferred.

Elizabeth sent us on a quest to find a particular blue M&M mug ... her dad didn't let her down. The store was frantically, crazy busy so Elizabeth has to double love us for the rest of her life for us shopping there for her.

My dog-training pal Valerie grew up in Manhattan so Bob and I checked out the corner of 10th and 51st to see where she lived. Here's that highrise.

Over in that area, which local government calls Clinton, but locals stick to the old name Hell's Kitchen, we found this grocery store. It's not as famous as Zabar's but it should be. Inside it's all slanty, splintery wood floors, and there is just about no end to cheeses, mushrooms, olives, and other good stuff.

Here's a small sampling of the olives. Bob is to remind me to return there on our last day to buy cheeses to bring home.

Lots of the delis and corner shops have flowers for sale.

Who needs them, though, when there are flowers blooming in parks and in pots on people's stoops.

Barb H., does this building appeal to you?

If it does, you can check out the website to see if it is affordable. We were talking to a young woman over in the East Village today and she told us one bedroom apartments there easily go for over $2000 a month, more closer to subway stops. This particular building is in Hell's Kitchen one block off Restaurant Row.

We were on that street to see the play "Black Angels over Tuskegee." Elizabeth, the venue held about 100 people and it was 1/2 full. The program made it sound like a co-op so you can identify with all that. But there are some things you won't identify with. Only 1/5th of the audience was white. The show has been running 3 years and the people involved hope it will make Broadway in the future. The show is performed in a synagogue with amazing stained glass.

After the show, we headed to the Top of the Rock. If I would spend more on a camera, I would be able to take better photos. However, here is what I have. The Empire State Building was lit in yellow, green, and pink to celebrate Easter.

Whew! After a shakey start with the internet here, it is now cooperating miraculously... long may that last.