Insiders/Outsiders
The Trip to NYC
Where did the rumor that people in New York are nasty and rude? Everyone I’ve met has been friendly and warm. The only exception would be the hostess at the snooty restaurant Aquavit. While the owner of the Italian restaurant in the neighborhood we visited the first night, came outside to offer his help and assure me he had a ramp he could easily reach, the hostess at Aquavit sighed “you’re not going to need a ramp are you?”
Our plane trip was wonderfully uneventful. The taxi ride from the airport to Tor’s sister-in-law’s apartment was fun and full of new sights for me; parking lots full of crazy contraptions that stack the cars on top of each other, indoor car washes, bridges in every direction. I was the country mouse in the big city.
Once we arrived at the apartment, Tor discovered that she had the wrong set of keys and we were locked out of the apartment. The difference in sibling order, and being the baby sister, was demonstrated when Tor had a new set of keys delivered to her. I expected to just head off to a hotel for the night, but thanks to Liza (Tor’s sister-in-law), and her willingness to schlep across town late at night, we slept in style.
Sex in the City
Where else do you find an apartment with a doorman and an elevator? I must be in a made for TV movie or an episode of Sex and the City. Liza’s apartment was worth the trip. Great art, comfortable bed, spectacular linens, and a fridge stocked with goodies and wine. I could have happily spent the weekend up in the apartment, enjoying the sounds of NY with a good book.
Chock Full of Nuts
Our first morning started with a failed attempt at coffee and resulted in a counter covered with Chock-full-of-nuts grounds and coffee everywhere. What a mess. I managed to clean the kitchen before the others woke up, but for the rest of the trip I worried I’d missed a coffee drip.
Some days you wake and
Immediately start to worry.
Nothing in particular is wrong,
It’s just the suspicion that
Forces are aligning quietly
And there will be trouble.
- Jenny Holzer
I was the only one in our group (the others being Tor, Catherine and Jacqui) who had not been to NY. I’m also the only one who doesn’t think the best thing to do on a glorious, sunny day is visit a crowded museum or go to a Broadway show. As a result our first stop was MOMA, I saved what I thought would be my favorite section (3rd floor - photography and architecture) for last.
An hour into the museum Tor got a call from her friend Coco and the new plan was to meet for lunch in 45 minutes. By this time we were separated from Catherine and Jacqui, so I was assigned the job of “being a sore thumb” and sitting next to a post in the center of the lobby. 20 minutes into my job I attempted to go to a slightly warmer, but still very visible spot in the lobby. I was quickly corrected and sent back to the post. It was less than fun to sit for an hour, in a wheelchair, looking quite out of place, and colder than heck, while only a few feet from me there was sun streaming into the lobby. I knew there was warmth close by; I just wasn’t allowed to have any. I had the important job of “sore thumb”. I wished I had Katie’s mother’s Hawaiian shirt and fanny pack. At least I would have fit in.
Once we found Catherine and Jacqui we walked over to Aquavit where I had the worst “salad” I have ever experienced. $12.00 for a bowl of over-ripe, cherry tomatoes. Nasty.
We took a taxi home and my attempt at generosity and participation by paying the taxi driver was met with derisive sneers. It was obvious to EVERYONE that the driver had “taken us for a ride”. By my calculations we were ripped off for a whole $3.00 (including tip). Wow! I say skip a latté next time we're at Starbuck's and call it even. But who am I? Not a returned native, that’s for sure.
Back at the apartment Tor took a nap and Catherine and Jacqui read while I rested and dreaded dinner with Tor’s brother Greg and his wife Liza. I was tired, crabby, still cold, and achy. But we got dressed and jumped in a cab to meet Greg and Liza at The River Café. During the ride we got stuck in traffic that turned out to be caused by a woman who had lost consciousness while driving. Tor called 911 and got an ambulance on the way.
By the time we arrived at the restaurant my sour mood had passed and the heater in the cab had warmed my feet. Our table looked out onto the bay and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Watching the sun set over the NY skyline was amazing.
Liza and Greg were funny, nice, gracious and much easier to be with than I had expected. I was dreading a night of nerves, and was welcomed with warmth and fun.
The Park
I told Tor that I couldn’t spend another day indoors and suggested that we head to Central Park on Sunday instead of doing a Broadway play. I was happily surprised when she happily agreed. We called Tor’s friend Coco who met us in the park with a blanket and a copy of the Sunday NY Times. Reading, napping, talking, laughing and people watching in Central Park was a great way to spend Sunday.
For dinner we went to a restaurant within walking distance from the apartment. It was good, but it was no River Cafe.
Gotta Go Now
The trip to the airport was one of the low points of the trip, if not my life. Within minutes of getting into the cab, I realized I had to pee. Now. Right now. I’m not sure how long it takes to get from Manhattan to the airport, but it was too long. By the time we arrived urine was gushing from my eyes. People thought I was crying, but I’m sure that couldn’t have been true. Jacqui promised to give the driver a nice tip for me and I bailed from the cab and into the airport bathroom as soon as we slowed for the curb. Misery.
A thankfully uneventful trip home thanks to Jet Blue. I dreaded the week to come. Four hours of sleep, then a 2 hour trip to Sacto to take my mother to her angiogram appointment. Ugh!
Trip highpoints – dinner with Tor, Greg and Liza, relaxing in the park with Tor, the first sight of Liza's apartment
Trip lowpoints – the MOMA, Aquavit, taxi ride to the airport
posted by Laurie @ 10:46 AM
