I left town for the annual Romance Writers of America conference. This year it was held in New York City. I landed in Hartford, CT to spend time with my friend, Toni Andrews, who got me into this whole writing thing in the first place. I spent the first few days hanging out at her cottage on a lake. It’s a marvelous place and the lake is pristine.
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| The Red Line |
We took the train from New Haven into New York City, checked into the hotel and then went to eat at a tiny Chinese restaurant off of Time Square. Our waiter advised us against the fried food because we “Americans” we’re picky about our fried foods. I simply looked at him and asked, “Does it look like I am picky about my fried foods?” His response was an inscrutable face. I decided then and there not to play poker against this guy. We took his advice, ordered the dumplings and a pancake thing, and by the end of our eating frenzy, we were all friends.
The next day I had nothing scheduled until 5:00 p.m. I went to the Subway station on 42nd street, bought a week metro pass, and planned to head uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I looked at the map on the wall and the worthless map from the hotel in my hand which showed me the city, but not the subway lines. I figured it out and entered the bowels of NYC. If you want to spend a hot moment in NYC, then you definitely need to head down into the subway stations. Probably a great place to be in the winter, but it was the end of June.
I will admit that I had to go back and forth to the map a couple of times before I figured out that there was a shuttle directly to Grand Central where I could then transfer to the 4, 5 or 6 lines to get uptown. It was simple and fun. The only advice I have to anyone visiting NYC is get an MTA pass; ride all over the city on the subways and buses. I headed uptown. I got off at the 77th Street station, walked over to Central Park and then up to the museum.
I come from a family that loves museums and this is a great one, but that isn’t why I had to visit it. I had to come to this museum because of the book From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It was one of my favorite books as a kid. Right up there with Harriet the Spy. The museum did not disappoint. I wandered all over; skipped the Alexander McQueen exhibit (45 minute to an hour wait –ugh!); got up to the roof top and the spectacular view and ended the trip by meandering through the Rooms with a View exhibit.
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| Belvedere Castle Tower |
I wandered into Central Park because I had to see Belvedere Castle. Little did I know that Central Park would be my Bermuda Triangle of NYC. I easily got to the castle. I left the castle and had a couple of more hours until I had to get back to the hotel and my volunteer gig at the Literacy signing. I decided that I’d walk down Central Park toward mid-town and then head back out to the east side of the park and figure out what bus or subway to catch. I got a hot dog and some water from a vendor in the park and began my meandering.
It was a beautiful walk. After about an hour, I decided that I needed to head out of the park. Only I couldn’t figure out exactly where I was or how to get out. I finally found a sign, “Shakespeare Garden.” For those of you who know Central Park, I can hear you laughing. For everyone else, I was pretty much where I had started except a little further west. I’d walked for an hour, gone no where and enjoyed the trip. I quickly headed out of the park and back to the 77th St. station.
My first impression of NYC: it is one of the best cities in the world and the people are friendly. I can’t wait to go back because I haven’t even come close to eating my way through the five boroughs and a woman has to have a dream.
"One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as five years."~ Thomas Wolfe
