Walk This Way, Talk This Way

No alarm necessary this morning - some nearby disaster brought with it the lights & sirens of the NYPD so that was enough to get me out of bed fairly early today. Nothing that a strong coffee couldn't fix though.

I caught the subway up north to the Upper East Side today and walked along Fifth Avenue in the dappled sunshine along what is known as Museum Mile. It's not a very creative name when you think about it, given that the forty (or so) blocks are home to some of NY's most iconic arts and cultural institutions. In fact, during my walk I saw a flyer for the Museum Mile Festival in June 2011 and I have to go back and check that out. The whole area is a beautiful part of NYC - particularly in spring time with all the flowers in bloom and the weather putting on a fantastic show. Even with my horrible Lego hair and dirty sneakers, I was in a great mood. PS - I am totally fixing my awful hair next week - I have an appointment and everything. Phew!

Before long, I had walked from East 96th Street, all the way along Central Park and down to The Plaza Hotel at E58th-59th Streets. Not a bad walk at all. I sat in the shade at the Pulitzer Fountain and did a bit of reading and people watching. It was great to look across at the Apple Store and FAO Schwarz toy store and realise that I didn't have to be part of those crazy touristy crowds, unless I really wanted to be, of course. The pedestrian traffic on Fifth Avenue was pretty nuts today but everyone seemed to be in a good mood which I think really helps.

I got up and wandered the couple of blocks along Fifth Avenue into Tiffany & Co, just for a bit of a look. I headed straight up to the silver jewellery floor (much easier to blend in up there, than downstairs with all the blingy jewels). I didn't need the emotional uplift of the silver department but hey - who ever needs an excuse for Tiffany's?!

After getting my fix of shiny, pretty things I headed back out into the sunshine and over to the very cute Paris Theatre to see Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu in their new movie, "Potiche" (The Trophy Wife). From what I could tell there is only one cinema in the whole place and even that's not very big. There were not too many people in the theatre either, so it was quite nice to just lose a couple of hours in there.

Emerging from the darkness after the film, I walked home and now my legs are starting to feel the after-effects of all my exercise but I am really pleased I got out for the day.

Again, today was one of those days were I didn't have to be anywhere or do anything in particular. I could have quite easily detoured into some of the museums I walked past this morning, but in a way I'm glad I didn't. It just felt really nice to walk past them this time, confident that I will come back to them one day soon. I am starting to get a bit more oriented in the City and that is cheering me a great deal. I even gave some girls directions to Park Avenue today, and I was 100% sure that I was pointing them the right way (we were 2 blocks away, so it wasn't that hard). I still have a lot of this island to discover, I'm under no illusions about that, but while these weekend walks are aimless, I still feel like I'm getting somewhere.