Thanks, Andrew. But today is the day to spend with "real" people. :-)

Friday - Today my free stay at LQ ends and I head up to my "Priceline home away from home" - the Hilton at 6th and 54th. I'm no fool so I take a taxi and try to check in early. My room isn't ready, so I check my bags. My niece (another one) drives down to spend the day with me. She HATES the city. I can't comprehend that. She has to come in to the city for business and hates it. She's 45 minutes away. I'd be there every weekend. She hates it. Her DH wants to bring her down for a Broadway weekend. She hates it. Auntie gives her a scolding for that one! :-)

I have RAVED about the foodsofny.com Greenwich Village walking and tasting tour. I took it on the coldest day of the year several years ago (4 degrees F). I LOVED the tour. We all did. This time I booked the Central Village/ Soho tour. I didn't love it. I'll be kind. I really didn't enjoy it 1/2 as much as the other tour. The guide was "okay". Niece wasn't blown away. It was a real disappointment, to tell the truth. I wish I could put my finger on what was "wrong" - but it wasn't in the same category as the other tour. I didn't tip the guide (very unusual for me).

We had taken a cab down but took the subway back. Enjoyed walking around the Rock Center area until it was our time for the Top of the Rock. Enjoyed the airconditioned shops :-) Bought batteries for the camera. Niece wanted Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Then, it was our turn to go up.

When we get there, niece flinches and moves toward the interior wall. WHAT?!?! I had no idea she was scared of heights! How could I NOT know this? Why didn't she tell me? Why did I buy a ticket for something she would not enjoy?!?! What a day! :-(

I did get some nice shots and we enjoyed time just sitting on a bench and talking. Two disappointments during her day in NYC with me - but we still had a good day. Back to the Hilton to get her keys out of my checked bags. I quickly check into the room, put on GREEN CROCS "just for fun" and head over the GTG already in progress.

The GTG - there have been a couple of threads about it so I won't say too much. The location choice was fabulous - kudos to those who picked it. Thanks to bellastar (who I missed) for snagging the table. The orange balloons were a great idea! I'm so glad Doug came - although I missed the goodies. I don't need an orange bag but I LOVED the subway map. I could actually SEE the darn thing. Ellenem was nice and gave me hers.

It was such a pleasure meeting CentralParkGirl. I enjoyed our conversation very much. Steelygirl and Andrew8 are a precious couple. When I read Andrew's posts sometimes I just want to pinch his cheeks. IMO he is such a sweet man and I loved watching them as a couple. He's an awfully big man for me to go around pinching his cheek though :-) I'm so glad y'all enjoyed the Cloister last week. I'm also glad you went before the weather got really hot. Travelbuff is a hoot and I wish I could have had more time with her and could make a BBQ in her backyard. It was nice meeting Rhea and M/M owlwoman and Lee and Patrick - and just watching cherrybomb talk! What a great group of people. I wish we had more time together and could have talked more.

Ellenem was very nice to walk with me down 8th to try to find the Jacobs Theatre. She shared her Fodors subway map with me and we made plans to meet on Sunday morning for church.

A great GTG!

The Country Girl - I bought tix before it opened, because of the cast.
Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher.
The reviews have not been great and I agree. But, I enjoyed the cast very much.

I had great seats and enjoyed visiting with my seatmates - a grandmother and two grandsons from Myrtle Beach, SC. The 14 yo next to me was so excited to see Morgan Freeman. It was his first Broadway play - and the only one they were seeing. Grandpa stayed behind at the hotel. At the end of the first act, they were very happy with their choice and I was very glad for them.

During the intermission stretch at the back of the theatre I talked with the other seatmates, a nice couple from Nova Scotia. We "talked travel" for a while and then returned to our seats. My legs were really bothering me so I changed seats to the end of the row so I could stretch out. Again, the show wasn't "great" but I am glad I saw all three of those actors on stage.

Walked back to the hotel and stopped by SNY's windows to watch the sportsanchors kill time between clips - all dressed up from the waist up and wearing shorts and casual shoes from the waist down.

Today is the day that Tim Russert died and I watche

The Country Girl - I bought tix before it opened, because of the cast.
Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher.
The reviews have not been great and I agree. But, I enjoyed the cast very much.

I had great seats and enjoyed visiting with my seatmates - a grandmother and two grandsons from Myrtle Beach, SC. The 14 yo next to me was so excited to see Morgan Freeman. It was his first Broadway play - and the only one they were seeing. Grandpa stayed behind at the hotel. At the end of the first act, they were very happy with their choice and I was very glad for them.

During the intermission stretch at the back of the theatre I talked with the other seatmates, a nice couple from Nova Scotia. We "talked travel" for a while and then returned to our seats. My legs were really bothering me so I changed seats to the end of the row so I could stretch out. Again, the show wasn't "great" but I am glad I saw all three of those actors on stage.

Walked back to the hotel and stopped by SNY's windows to watch the sportsanchors kill time between clips - all dressed up from the waist up and wearing shorts and casual shoes from the waist down.

Today is the day that Tim Russert died and I watched hours of coverage. I adored the man and from what I've seen in the last few days he was even more decent, more giving, more caring and a better person than I imagined him to be. He lived a life well-lived. I can't imagine the rest of this presidential election season without him. I learned so much from that man and respected him so much. What a sad day.

sorry for the double post -
and no mushrooms were involved this time :-)

Saturday - another day with "real" people :-)

Here she goes again. Back to Wicked. Actually, back to the theatre for "Behind the Emerald Curtain".

http://www.emeraldcurtain.com/

Loved it. LOVED it! Original stage manager and a cast member (now in Mary Poppins) gives the backstory of the musical and the production. Very well done and I enjoyed it very much. I learned a lot and enjoyed every second of it. (I'm getting tired and won't say a lot more about it - aren't you glad? :-D )

Near the end of the tour, my phone rang and it was my friend D who had just arrived from home. D and his daughter E were in for a "NYC day" before an extended family cruise to Bermuda. We made plans to meet for lunch and I made my way over to their hotel room.

They were staying the Renaissance and I'm really glad to be staying a few blocks off Broadway. It IS nicer to be a little further away from the craziness. The hotel was lovely though and 8 yo E excitedly showed me the features of the room. She especially liked the TV speaker in the bathroom.

We wandered over to the closest deli - The Roxy - because we all were very hungry. E was very tired. She curled up next to dad in the banquette and almost fell asleep. We called home to talk to another friend - as big as a Wicked fan as I - and then enjoyed our lunch. Back to their hotel to drop off leftovers and on to... The American Girl store.

I very much wanted to see this place but really wasn't excited about going to it by my adult self. How wonderful to "borrow" an 8 yo to experience it with! We had a great time - but the place had to be overwhelming for most kids. We "shopped" from first floor to top floor and E still wanted the first thing she saw. Dad tried to talk her out of it, but at the end it was what she still wanted. (It would have been my choice too).

I said my goodbyes to head back to the hotel for a bit before heading off to see old friends. The 8yo clearly needed a nap - and I think I needed one as much as she did. So, off I went back "home" walking pretty much in a fog.

All of a sudden I realized I smelled incense. Looked up. There was St. Patrick's. Yep, LowCountry was right. Lots of scaffolding. I almost missed it. I went inside to be still, be quiet, to pray. How nice to be back in that gorgeous cathedral.

Back to the room. Set the alarm. Time for a nap. Slept through the alarm. Housekeeping woke me up at the door. Thank goodness! It was time to be at my friends' house. I'm going to be really late - but I really needed that nap. I called to let them know my status.

Next, a NY family -

starrs--Glad the subway map has been so helpful to you!

starrsy....

I <i>know</i> that you <i>know</i> that I <i>know</i> you luuuuuv me.
&gt;:D&lt; :-X

Apologies for ragging on you after your accident tho. :)&gt;-

Sounds like a very good trip all things considered.

The excitement of your behind the scenes tour of Wicked sounds like the same excitement we got on our Tour of Yankee Stadium a few years ago.

&quot;recruiter&quot;???? Did B'man talk you into enlisting??? =-O

Were you wearing your green Crocs when you fell of your bike?!!!! See? Evil shoes.

Seriously, glad you were OK and you sure were a trooper. I probably would have sat there bawling something like &quot;ow, ow, it hurts, make it stop...I don't want to do this anymore&quot; BWAH!!!!!!! :D

&quot;NYers don't laugh - I realize they aren't very big hills&quot;

Are you kidding? When I was younger, I had to walk my bike up one of them! Hey, we do the best we can. I'm just glad that you didn't sustain bad injuries - any fall on pavement can do plenty of damage.

Can't wait to hear the rest about the NY family and I sure do hope you made your flight (I think it was today).

I am SO glad LuPone was wearing isotoners and not crocs on stage this past week.

Glad you had a wonderful trip.

Starrs...what is the name of the company that did the bike tour? My family will be in NYC from Wed~Sun this week and a bike tour sound like fun!

Gosh Starrs, I'm away from the computer for a day, and all kinds of things are happening to you in NyC!!
Glad the fall didn't result in anything more serious- two Fodorites with scary stories happening in NYC!Must be some kind of record.
I'm enjoying the experiences vicariously- would love to see &quot;Behind the Emerald Curtain&quot;, since I loved Wicked the book, and Wicked the Musical!
And, in November, my daughter and I are taking her two chidren, age 9 and 12 to NYC for the first time. Of course, American Girl is on the agenda,so it was fun to read your take.
keep it coming- getting all sorts of good ideas for that trip!
Pattie

I'm enjoying your trip report. I've never been to New York, so it's fun to live vicariously through you. Thanks for sharing. :)

Oh, CentralParkGirl, you make me feel so much better about the hill. I was sure folks were going to be laughing at how pitiful I was. I almost didn't post about the fall - but it WAS a part of the trip so should be in the trip report :-)

I feel very lucky that I didn't hurt something. My BFF feel off a scooter in a similar way and shattered her elbow and damaged her shoulder. I ended up with only a sore knee, one bad bruise and an ankle I've been &quot;babying&quot; for the rest of the trip.

Dukey, you are right! I forgot to post about that! At the beginning of the play the announcer shared that Ms. LuPone had injured her foot and would perform the play in Isotoners. &quot;So far, the injury hasn't affected her voice.&quot; It made for a good laugh. She should perform in Isotoners for the rest of her life if THAT has anything to do with her performance.

No green Crocs on the bike, crefloors! LOL! I wore them to the GTG (no one noticed) and one day on the trip and in the hotel room. I have them on now in the airport.

I am a firm believer that one should pack THREE pairs of walking shoes on a walking trip. I don't know how I would have survived without rotating between them. (Mephisto sandals, lightweight tennis shoes and Crocs).

ellenem, the map was a godsend. I can read it! And, it has the section that I need. Thanks for sharing your &quot;Fodors goodie&quot; with me! :-)

nolefan, here are my tours - in order of preference. I booked all but the bike tour on zerve.com.

http://www.asliceofbrooklyn.com/pizza.html

http://www.zerve.com/OnLocation/SATC

http://www.centralparkbiketour.com/manhattan.htm

http://www.foodsofny.com/village-soho.php
(I loved their original tour. This one was a disappointment).

Time with friends on the UWS - or
Starrs' fix for puppy kisses for the week :-)

When I wake up, it's in the midst of a horrible storm (again). Sigh. I get ready and head downstairs - to a taxi line that is &quot;forever&quot; long. I wait for what seems to be an eternity. I am just so glad I am waiting undercover in front of a large hotel. I can't imagine trying to catch one on the streets.

When I finally get in I relax a bit to just enjoy the ride. Then, the driver starts to make a right on 9th and barely misses a pedicab. Ummmm... helloooo!!! I see it before he does, but thank goodness traffic is stopped at a light upstreet. This fool turned the wrong way on a one way street! He quickly makes a U and heads on to 10th. No relaxing for me now! I see folks standing on Amsterdam trying to flag down a cab and one more woman has walked out to the curb several feet ahead of the ones huddled under cover and is totally drenched. There is no telling how long she'll stand there before an empty cab heads that way.

I do arrive safely at my friends' apartment - and a wonderful surprise awaits me. Not only have they replace the pup who died last year, but they have a brand new addition to the family - a precious, precious puppy. Starrs is in &quot;puppy kisses heaven&quot;.

Big pup had gone for a walk and kids in the building heard about the new pup. So, the babysitter and three delightful kids came in (along with their pup) to play and pose with the new puppy. What could be better? Lots of kids and lots of pups! :-)

It's so good to be here. I haven't seen the little one since he was a 3 year old, walking around patting the top of his head as a sign that his wanted to watch Thomas the Tank (that was his sign for Sir Topham Hatt). He's now a big boy of 8 and just a delightful kid. What a day! An 8 yo girl for the American Girl store and now a boy to hang out with in the evening.

I was pretty sure that take-out would be the evening's plans. This was where I first experienced Thai food (YEARS ago) - and quickly fell in love with it. But, instead we had wave after wave of appetizers and shrimp and Italian ices - and hours of talking and catching up. Stories of school and vacations and golf (and Tiger doing amazing things on the telly as background) - and it was a wonderful evening in Manhattan.

The doorman tried his best to wave a taxi down - with no luck, so I walked in light rain to Broadway and was lucky almost immediately.

I love the hustle and bustle of Times Square and Midtown, but I understand what NYers mean when they talk about the neighborhoods in the city. I'm so glad I got to experience both.

Sunday morning -
I had posted about possibly going to St. Patricks and ellenem invited me to her church. I took her up on the offer and headed down to the East Village.

I was late - I waited (what seemed to be forever) for the train, but had a nice time chatting with an Aussie gentleman. He was headed back downtown to pick up his &quot;moBILE&quot; that he had left in a restaurant, and although it was hot waiting for the subway train, it was a pleasant wait.

I found the church easily, and was about to slip in a pew when ellenem rushed up and directed me to a seat she had saved for me. I LOVED this church! It is the equivalent of my church in Midtown Atlanta (and I'm going to tell all of my friends to visit when they are in the city). Loved it! Amazingly friendly people - passing the peace took about 10 minutes (no, I'm not exaggerating). Incredible organ. Beautiful sanctuary. Wonderful, welcoming congregation. I had hoped ellenem could join me for lunch but she had to &quot;count the money&quot;, so I headed out. Again, a slight rain.

I had passed several places between the subway and the church and was about to head for Thai, but Candela caught my attention. I liked the looks of it, particularly the lace curtains (isn't it funny what draws up in?). My head had been tucked down on the walk to the church but I had noticed basil planted in window boxes and after I was seated I realized it was Candela's window boxes.

My brunch was great. $11.95 bought me eggs served with roasted potatoes and greens, my choice of a mimosa, bellini or bloody mary, and a cup of delicious coffee. What a deal - and everything was delicious. The music was lovely. The decor was very appealing to me. I thought it looked French, but learned that it is a Cuban restaurant. Here's their website -

http://www.candelacandela.com/

I had picked up a free newspaper in case I felt &quot;alone&quot; but really enjoyed sitting there and watching the parade go by. Lots of pups, kids and people of all shapes, sized and ethnicities. Most of the folks looked liked &quot;normal&quot; folks wearing &quot;normal&quot; clothes. I saw only one &quot;beautiful couple&quot;, gorgeous and gorgeously dressed with a little tot in the orange carriage (What IS that orange baby carriage?) I saw a very large man with a long scraggly beard walking down the streets in overalls. (If you were in Atlanta, you'd think he's come straight from Stereotype Central Casting answering a call for &quot;Bubba&quot;. He was walking with his petite African American woman and their gorgeous son riding on his shoulders. I was in People Watching Heaven.

While I dined, the rain stopped - perfect timing - so I headed on to the subway. If it were hot before, it was stifling now. Sweat was POURING down my face. POURING.

I ask a question of a gentleman and both he and his accent were absolutely gorgeous. Tall, dark and handsome. Make that Tall, Dark and Handsome Prince from Central Casting. As he warmed off, he slid off his suit jacket and tossed it over his shoulder. Gorgeous blue shirt. Not a drop of sweat on his brow. He had to be an illusion. :-) We chatted. I commented on his accent. He is Mexican, studied in England, has lived in the East Village for 7 years - and was just delightful. Did I mention he was gorgeous. I finally asked a question about the subway stop - and he smiles and tell me... I'm on the wrong platform! Good grief! I rush up and over and down and by the time I get to the other side the Tall, Dark and Handsome Prince has ridden off in his...subway car :-D.

I have a bit of time so I head back to the hotel. THIS is the reason to stay in the city. You can go back to the hotel for a variety of reasons. Take a nap. Cool off. Go to the bathroom. Take another bath. Just relax. I can't imagine commuting into the city. SPLURGE FOLKS AND STAY IN THE CITY (yeah, I know, I know. My &quot;splurge&quot; was $120, but still....)

Oh, I forgot something. This morning, I was amazed to step out of the hotel and find a street fair in front of the hotel. 6th Avenue was closed for a huge street fair. Someone told me later it was an International Food Fair. I don't know if that was right or not, but it was fun to stroll down the middle of 6th and smell the onions frying and watching the vendors show their wares.

So, in early afternoon, I head out again and make my way to the Pulitzer fountain next to the Plaza (formerly Hotel and now condos) to meet up for my next tour - The Sex and the City tour.

<b><i>Footwear of New York

</i></b> When the pics are ready, now's the time to show the footwear montage.

On my first day I was AMAZED to see all the flip flops and completely flat sandals.

Amazed because of:
1) feet that close to the ground in the streets of NYC
2) and (young) feet in shoes with absolutely no support

The first three days I would say the majority of feet were in completely heel-less sandals.

As the rain started, I saw more tennies and other footwear, but I decided to photograph the styles at the right time and place.

Waiting in line for the next event was the perfect time and place. The photos will be a record of what was worn at Central Park South on a warm June afternoon.

:-)

Okay. Time for pure silliness.

http://www.screentours.com/tour.php/satc/

The Sex and the City tour

I planned to do this long ago and the new movie just spurred me on. I love &quot;different&quot; tours and love seeing different parts of the city. This tour was perfect. Fun. Froth. I'll stop there with the F words.

50 (?) women load up in a bus and are driven around while an animated guide dishes and tells tales and conducts trivia quizzes and shows clips of the show while we drive past locations used in the show. Pure fun. Completely light-hearted fun.

We stop three times.

About 15 minutes to shop in the Village and Magnolias cupcakes await us as we regroup.
http://www.magnoliacupcakes.com/

Cosmos at the location used for the Scout bar

And, yes, a sex toy shop featuring Charlotte's rabbits. Amazing things inside - and lots of giggling too.

As we waiting outside the shop, I watched men crouching and hiding behind cars holding cameras with giant lenses. I started shooting the paparazzi. The subject was the guy who played Stifler in American Pie. He and a lady friend - and a precious yellow lab puppy - were eating outside of a restaurant. More paps ride up on bikes. I'm snapping THEM while they snap the actor. One of them asks ME who the guy is. I share what someone else had told me. He nods and takes more pics. I ask him &quot;What a minute! You're going to make money on this? What do I get?&quot; He smiles, leans over and plants a wet one on my cheek. :-)

Having fun in NYC!

Back on the bus, but they drop us off at a different location. I'm beat, so walk to the nearest busy street and hail a cab. It's $5 back to the hotel.

I make a slight detour and go to &quot;my&quot; little deli/ grocery on 53rd next to the Hilton. I love this place. I pick up dinner and breakfast for $12 and head back up to my room to tuck in and watch the Tonys and play predictions with Andrew. A perfect Sunday night in NYC for a tired tourist :-)