to New York

We went to New York City to see our cousins; it had been three years since we visited with them.  The weather Sunday was nothing like last time - so warm and humid - it was rough. (for me, at least)

We met up at Grand Central and hurried over to St Patrick's for Mass; Cardinal Dolan was the celebrant.

There is a vibrancy in the atmosphere there. They have an excellent choir, and many people on hand to keep everything orderly; a massive operation.  The last time we went, as we were going into the church I asked there whereabouts of the restrooms. "Down the street and around the corner", so Yoko and I took off, which resulted in having to sit in folding chairs near some scaffolding when we got back to the cathedral, separated from the others. This time I was determined to avoid that, so I used the ladies' room at the train station, even though my brother assured me all the work had been completed in time for Pope Francis' visit last fall. Well, wouldn't you know, someone in our party asked for the bathrooms on our way out of church. Where were they?  "Down the street and around the corner".  Can it be St. Patrick's has no bathrooms at all?  Anyway, there were actually three places we could go to nearby, so we chose Saks.

After initially hopping on an elevator which zipped us right up to the eighth floor (shoes! only shoes!), we came back down and got to the second floor via the escalators.  We passed some mannequins dressed in sundresses - they were lovely!

The salesgirls were watching, but they didn't seem to mind if we touched. This one had a sleeping cat

(photo swiped from Saks Fifth Avenue website)

These dresses were charming!  Dolce and Gabbana - I confess I've never paid any attention to their designs, but I loved these. Only two or three thousand apiece!

There was also this -

a Marie-Antoinette-ish, modern day ballgown or whatever. I did like the colors: lime green and a warmish pink. There's a velvet belt on there - take my word for it - and a cloth doll attached to the right hip. It won an award. of course. 

We walked all over the place: Times Square, Chelsea Market, and all along the High Line. That was a disappointment - there was almost nothing blooming up there, and it was so hot. 

We passed by the police department - I absolutely love this sign!  But I'd never suspect the mighty NYPD to have a sign of this sort, would you?  Doesn't seem to fit in with the tough image you get from the TV shows .

We ate at the Spice Market, a place with delicious food, imaginative casbah-like decor and a unique array of dishware; also loud, thumping music, the lights down so low I was unable to read the menu (also partly because I need stronger magnifiers, ahem); but a wait staff who were so attentive, that I was able to down eight glasses of water in a very short time. Yeah, I guess I was dehydrated, but that was the place to be - they were right there every time I downed my glass!

Anyway, we had a good time and decided we should do this every two years. I'm already looking at guide books from the library for some indoor things to see, as well as outdoor.

On the train home, the fellow who took our tickets looked just like Cardinal Dolan - hmm. He gets around.