When weather isn’t perfect…one might say it is miserable actually…compensate. Our way? Food. We took the subway from our hotel near the Holland tunnel into midtown Manhattan. First stop was Bryant Park Grill. Beautiful venue and great food. After a hot bowl of soup, I enjoyed crab cake and Papa had lamb with a roasted pepper, which he ate and “felt” for awhile. An hour or so later, after trudging through the rain, we stopped for cheesecake (we are in New York) and hot coffee. We lingered at that counter in a busy Broadway diner, enjoying the hot coffee almost as much as the huge slice of cheesecake. Meanwhile our rain jackets left puddles of rain water behind. The servers were nearly as busy serving as they were mopping up after all the soggy patrons.
We did see a lot despite the weather. Like Philadelphia, we hit the highlights and skipped several. We walked up 5th Avenue by the library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral as mass was ending, and The Plaza Hotel. We ventured into Central Park to the Bow Bridge. No one enjoying the lake today! From the bridge, the midtown buildings are shrouded in fog.
We walked down Broadway to see several marquees lit up with names of famous plays. Past the historic Ed Sullivan theater and, of course, Times Square.
As cold and soaked as we were, only in NYC would we see not one but several brides in skimpy yet beautiful gowns and stilettos posing under umbrellas in the pouring rain.
Visibility 0%. We saw nothing from the Empire State Building observation deck. But we. were. there. And it was still wonderful, thanks to no crowds, so we could take in everything else surrounding the experience. Papa had a nice conversation with one of the construction workers. Wait? (Two days later, our clothes are almost dry but shoes and socks are still wet!)
In 1989, we climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty and peered through the windows in her crown. Since, we have been to the World Trade Center, before and after 9-11. Two places we have not experienced: the Empire State Building and Ellis Island. Again, with crowds light, we were able to walk through Ellis almost alone, in eery silence, imaging the rooms packed with exhausted travelers in far more depleted states than we are.
Thanks to Ophelia, we are soaked to the bone, literally. We are cold. But we saw what we came to see. And we’re thrilled to cross the George Washington Bridge as we leave The City and head northward.
What a whirlwind couple weeks of Road Trip #4. We started with lots of hiking and enjoying scenic, historic
places. Then a few days of urban adventures in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Mid-town Manhattan. This completes the second leg of our road trip. Check back tomorrow to see where BetsyB takes us next.
