The day started early with a subway ride to Chinatown, where Leanne was taking a bus on a two-day Niagara Falls adventure. Surprisingly the subway was less crowded than I’d expected, even the return journey into midtown was not too busy, much less so than the equivalent time of day in Melbourne. Perhaps it’s just the more regular trains, who knows?

I jumped off at Bryant park, where I met Deb and E for a coffee (Deb that is, not E, we’re not that crazy) then we sat in the park for a while while E ran through the gravel and used up some energy. He is having so much fun just soaking it all in, it’s hard to know how much he will remember but it’s lovely to see so many smiles.

Finally we packed up and bid farewell to Times Square, heading for the saner climate of the upper west side. The craziness of it all was kind of fun, I shudder to think what New Year’s Eve would be like though. Apparently the room we were in goes for $8000 a night on New Year’s Eve, so it’s about $200 a square metre for the night. Ouch.

Our new hotel is substantially bigger, with room for a crib (😐) and better facilities all round. We are also only a short stroll from Central Park, so I can’t wait to try out the new running shoes.

After settling in we walked to the park. We are right near the Dakota building where John Lennon was shot in 1980, and a small industry of Lennon memorabilia was set up nearby. There was a decided uptick in the incidence of English accents too, likely morbid pilgrims come to pay homage. The Imagine mosaic on the ground was covered in photographers wielding selfie sticks, and I was somewhat concerned they might come to blows, maybe not the greatest way to remember Lennon’s ultimate message of peace and harmony. Still, the area was a lovely spot, and the acoustic Beatles medley from one of the buskers was actually pretty good. 

 We tucked into a nice salad for lunch, then we met Deb’s “pen friend” Salli and her daughter Dottie. Deb and Salli have been writing to each other for over 25 years, but have never met, so it was pretty special to finally meet face to face.  

 Dottie is about 12 months younger than E, but they were quite interested in each other and after sharing some cake, I think they decided to be friends. We sat in the park and chatted, enjoying the shade on a 34 degree day. A lovely way to spend a Monday afternoon.