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Published: April 4th 2023
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How can it only be 9 am and how can it only be Sunday? Our check-in is 4 pm and while the early check-in was offered, an extra $100 for an inferior room did not appeal. We also have to stay awake to avoid jetlag and being anywhere need a pillow would be irresistible.
Even on a Sunday, the city is in your face. It's skyscrapers beyond high-rises. The steam rises out of the drains and manhole covers and the smell of the city gets right into your nostrils. A quick bite at a patisserie and we make our way to Grand Central station. From The Untouchables to Gossip Girl, we all have film references to the impressive main concourse of Grand Central Station. We keep moving and stroll past the New York Public Library and through Bryant Park. The air is crisp but the sun is shining. New Yorkers enjoy their parks in the spring sunshine.
Time Square is another familiar landmark and the tourist trap of tourist traps. Flashing lights and pumping with visitors from all over the world, we are regularly approached/accosted by smooth talking scammers trying to sell you something, give you something, get a
photo with you and pressure you for a "tip" / payment. The best of them catch your eye, shake your hand, charm you with chat and before you know it you've got an autographed Rap CD and they're asking you for a small gratuity/tip. We thank them politely and continue along the crowded streets.
We resist the tower of M&Ms at the M&M store. They've extracted enough of my money over the years and I'll only buy them on special!
Macy's isn't far and we enjoy the distraction of the colour and activity in this old department store filled with tourists and fashionable locals out for a shop. We also duck into Target for some refreshments and the clientele at Target is a little more varied than the folks at Macy's. Footlocker NYC is just like any other footlocker of JD sports and Sephora NYC feels like Sephora BNE. Plus they don't even have in stock what Jules and Milla are hunting!
Jules suggests we carry-on down Broadway St to the FlatIron buiding and we enjoy the stroll pointing out the variety of the architecture. So grateful for Jules grasp on the city and her sense of
direction. Whichever way I think we should turn, it's the other one. What's going on? Is it exhaustion? Is it Northern hemisphere messing with me? I could be looking at the map and I still have no idea which way we're supposed to be going. Even when I turn the map around I still have no idea! I'm in a sleepless daze and at this stage I'm giving up.
We find a park bench in Maddison Square Park and soak up some people (and dog) watching. Fun to observe an obvious Sunday ritual for the locals and a chance for us to rest without the risk of our eyes shutting. The locals pass us by and hearing the snippets of the loud Americans talking to each other has us amused. All the people have a certain style about them. Maybe it's the cooler climate and that they all wear coats, but everyone just seems stylish. Perhaps it's a bit of a fashion parade. A chance to get out of the apartment and to show-off the dogs. So many dogs crammed into a tiny off-leash park. The girls even get to see a larger dog do a poop on the
head of a curious French Bulldog. Very amusing.
We walk back downtown, or uptown (I really don't know at this stage) to our hotel. We're all hankering for some New York Slice and plan an early dinner at a local Italian restaurant. We're back in the room barely 15 minutes and both the kids have passed out on their beds. This is not looking good for the jetlag prevention. We rouse them and walk a couple of blocks to Libretto Pizza. Maybe it's the exhaustion, maybe it's the 12 kms we walked today, maybe it is just the best damned Margarita pizza we've ever had but we make our way back to the hotel tired but happy.
It's barely 8pm but the sun has set and we're all going to bed. The view of the Chrysler Building from our toilet is a nice surprise.
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