Travel Recap

Empire State Building
Originally uploaded by suzipaw

I'm home and happy to be here. I returned Thursday night and had a Friday at work that I thought would be short and relaxed but was instead the opposite. But a lovely Saturday made up for it--M and I cleaned house for a few hours then met friends for dinner in Petaluma and were asleep by 9:30 p.m. This morning was a few more chores and my resolve to work this afternoon is fading--there's so much knitting to do (M gave me Vogue Knitting for my birthday, and I'm all fired up to get on to the next felting project, though I should probably finish the lining for my last felt project before moving ont…)

After the first few warm and muggy days in NY, at lunch on Saturday with my cousins, the sky opened and it got really humid. The rain washed everything and on Sunday the air was clear, crisp--definitely the beginning of fall, on its official start date, one of my favorite times of year in Manhattan.

My NY Saturday, in no particular order:

Walking to meet my cousins, passing people on their way to Yom Kippur services, dressed in their Sabbath best.

The young woman walking up Park Avenue sobbing "Why? Why?" into her cell phone.

Yes it's wet and humid, but it's also so very green and moist here, a relief from the parch of California.

Playing chase and tickle with my cousin Nicky and his sister Laura wanting to hold my hand as we made our way to the bus.

Delicious dosa, ohmigod!

Incredibly unfriendly service at the NYU Bookstore (well, since I barely seemed to register on the cashier's consciousness, I guess I didn't even really rate at that level). And, not even very good school swag.

Warm-toned whites, fur, and whimsical rubber boots seem to be the fall fashion trends.

Wandering around downtown was a little sad for me. Soho is just a big mall now. Kate's Paperie is gone, M&T Trimmings is gone. I know people have been lamenting gentrification, but I'm really feeling it for myself now. (M, when I asked if a Trader Joe's had move into NY, Chan said it had, replacing Julian's pool hall, sigh…)

My second day of NY walkabout was similar--I met my friend Cathleen for breakfast and then wandered over to get sunburned while watching Chiara play soccer. I headed downtown, passing a barricaded crowd protesting the capuchin monks, and again found that many of my favorite haunts were ghosts themselves, particularly the former speakeasy Chumley's--that discovery made me resolve to just be a tourist next time, forget trying to connect to the past. It was such a beautiful day, and in lower Manhattan the pier parks were crammed with sunbathers, which seemed so odd. I had a farewell cocktail at my cousins' and then went on a successful search for sesame noodles for my final NY meal.

The train to Boston the next morning was comfortable, though I had forgotten just how bustling Penn Station is--it was a little disconcerting, though I tried to view it as an exercise in feeling more comfortable with chaos. I got to my meeting on time, had a pleasant dinner with a colleague in Davis Square (more dosa!), and tried to catch up on some work.

The next day was the Women in Technology Workshop, and I missed a very important piece of info: the start time. I thought it was 8:30 a.m., but it was actually 11:00--so I ended up wandering around Beacon Hill for a couple of hours. It could've been worse, but I felt restless and unproductive.

I worked at my hotel in the morning last Wednesday, and my cousin picked me up. We had lunch in Lexington and hung out all afternoon with the family, which was great, just relaxing and catching up--in strange, 90+-degree weather. And then Thursday was all about traveling home.

I think the cats have finally forgiven my absence. It's good to be home again.

*****

This month marks three whole years of blogging; this post is my 345th. Thanks to all of you for reading along with my life!