Old Lady Odyssey Day 2

[Please allow me to explain...I apologize for this more than 'slight' delay! In my own defense, I would like to say that I have had limited access to the internet the past several days . We are having our kitchen remodeled so we have temporarily taken up residence at my parent's house. My internet connections are therefore limited to the 1 or 2 times per day that I stop back at our house to grab more underwear. Plus, all my spare time (which I didn't even realize I had) has been taken up with finalizing flooring and wall tile selections. This is my excuse. Take it or leave it. I am trying to finish this up at work which is making me feel guilty! Also, I am realizing that my tenses are not consistent- sorry! And now for the continuation of my story...]

Old Lady Odyssey Day 2
Also known as Thursday, October 13th, or the Jewish Holiday, Yom Kippur.
We awoke to....rain! But this was not to spoil our plans. The night before we had decided that we really should have a genuine New York City bagel. We found a place in our guidebook called 'Ess-a-Bagel'. We wanted the real thing- not some fancified, giganticized semblance of a bagel but something much more authentic (i.e. Jewish). In passing, Carolyn mentioned that this WAS Yom Kippur. I stopped at the front desk of the hotel and asked, "Will the bagel places be open today since it is Yom Kippur?" "Of course!" says the concierge, "This is New York City!" [By now you may be sensing some foreshadowing, in which case, you are very perceptive.]

So, thusly reassured, we head right out the door towards 3rd Avenue. A few blocks south and a few blocks east. Not really that far. Except it was raining. Carolyn wisely stopped and bought an umbrella. I determined that it wasn't really raining that hard and I could always put my hood up. Off we go, trudge, trudge, splash, and now it is raining harder. After a few blocks I start to realize that over the course of several years I have successfully washed the water repellancy right out of my jacket. Now the shoulders of my shirt are wet. But that's ok- we're about to be someplace warm and have a tasty (and perhaps toasty) bagel and something warm to drink.

And now, looking past some scaffolding on a neighboring building, we finally see our destination. Oh, it looks so cozy! It has a an old wood storefront that looks very inviting. We made it to Ess-a-bagel! I'm so hungry! And here is a sign on the door- what does it say? "We will be closed on Thursday, October 13, in observance of Yom Kippur." IT'S EFFIN' CLOSED! (You knew that was coming, didn't you.) Well, we do finally get over our initial disappointment and grab a bite at the next decent place we find. It's a fine breakfast, in fact, but not very Jewish-y. Or even bagel-y.

Now we are fortified so we head to MoMA. Seeing MoMA in person has been a dream of mine ever since I was in junior high. Modern art is my favorite style. I love Matisse and Picasso and Klee and Kandinsky and Klimt and, well, the list goes on. I just KNEW this was the museum for me and boy was I right. [This is another aside...We waited quite a while out in the rain. We got even more wet. When we finally got inside they were handing out plastic bags for people's wet umbrellas. This seemed very civilized to me. I haven't even seen any art yet and am already impressed.] So, we check our coats and head upstairs. After warming ourselves up with hot drinks, we start on the 5th floor.

I am in this personal conflict of wanting to hurry through so I see as much as I can, and dwelling on pieces so I really see them. This place is just one masterpiece after another. It is overwhelming. My eyes can't take it all in and my brain cannot process it all. I look and look and look at the colors, the brush strokes, the forms and shapes, the textures, the details, and then I stand back and take the whole thing in. All I know is that I am going to have to come back here again and again and again. I can't believe there is such amazing art all in one place. Right in front of me are things I have only seen in books. Yowza. That's all I can say. We make it down to the fourth floor and then head to the Museum Store where I buy a book full of all the masterpieces I have seen (and a lot that I didn't have time to see). I am excited to have this giant compendium of my favorites. It's like a reassurance that I really did see these things.

We decide to stop back at the hotel before meeting Kip for supper. On the way we stop for a little snack at The Astro. [Carolyn ordered cheese sticks.] Then we rest for awhile (and change into dry clothes). We meet Kip at this fun little burger restaurant but I can't remember the name of it. It has this really cool little hamburger sign. Except we don't eat there. It is too crowded. [Carolyn tells Kip we had cheese sticks for a snack, thus implanting an insatiable craving in Kip's mind.] So, we head off to our next destination which was O' something...O'Flaherty's, O' Flannery's, O'Flairty's, O' I give up! This was our meeting place for the rest of the gang and we t ordered some stick-to-your-ribs-nice-and-warm Irish pub food there. Little by little, CT & Pete's friends started showing up and we started enjoying some drinks. [Kip finally talks someone (Willis?) into sharing some cheese sticks with him. Hooray!] Kristen and Adam, Willis and Lia, Hilary, Heidi, Pete & Carolyn, this friendly, gracious, & fun group made for a very cozy and wonderful evening! Their smiling faces made us feel very welcome. It was a perfect ending for a perfect day.

P.S. My spell checker says I should replace Yom Kippur with 'yon' and 'zipper'. Hello?

P.P.S. Photos coming soon. I mean it. Really.