Day Twelve, a year to shelve

The final day of 2011 was another early one for me. I took myself off to the gym for the first time in ages and admittedly I didn't do very well. According to my training calendar, I'm supposed to be clocking up 4-5 mile jogs but I just wasn't up to it yesterday. I did last for a little over 2 miles on the treadmill before giving up, cursing my ankles for feeling sore. As penance I did about 6 more miles on the exercise bike, but I still felt a bit disappointed in myself afterwards. Have I already forgotten just how far I walked in Washington?! Crazy.

Setting off from my place on foot, we walked to my favourite Eataly for a proper Italian coffee. It is crazy how amazing that place looks and smells. Sliced meats, fresh cheeses, and the pastries?! Oh man.

We continued the gourmet adventure by heading up to Zabar's and again, we loved the sights and smells. We even loved the ancient men and women, pushing their trollies around the aisles to buy their delicious produce. Perhaps it was best that we weren't heading back home straight away, otherwise I think we would have loaded up our arms with outrageous quantities of epicurean delights. Instead we restricted ourselves to a couple of pre-made sandwiches, some tasty chocolate rugelach and some fresh fruit for our lunch. And we walked a couple of blocks south to Central Park and enjoyed our meal in the sunshine at Bethesda Terrace. So good.

Watching the outdoor skaters scoot around the iconic Wollman Rink, we then stopped by The Plaza Hotel, the sterling silver jewellery collection of Tiffany's and then tried to hide from the world (aka the tourists) at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I am sure God Himself was about to strike me dead for all the evil thoughts I was having about the other tourists in church yesterday. Why do people come into places like that if they refuse to be quiet or reverent in any way? Why do they think they're allowed to help themselves to devotional candles and not pay even a minimal donation? Why can't I give the death glare to people and not have it do any good? No fair.

Clearly I had hit an invisible wall by this point in the day, so the fact that a taxi showed up out the front of the Cathedral must have been a sign from the Almighty after all. The three of us headed straight to the cinema around the corner from my house, and we relaxed in the dark watching the new "Sherlock Holmes" movie, and then the latest offering from the "Mission Impossible" franchise. No life-changers there, but when we came home and ordered take-away Indian food, it capped off a beautiful evening and the perfect way to spend New Year's Eve when you're really not a NYE kind of person.

Continuing my fine tradition, my head hit the pillow at about four minutes past midnight and I didn't feel a thing. I must have been asleep or something :)