Christmas Eve Eve in NYC - Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

 

 

23.12.2008

Started the morning early, 7.30. Quick call home to check they knew I'd arrived safely. Called the Big Apple Greeter I was scheduled to meet and arranged to meet at 10.00. HOURS AWAY! Made it to 96th and away we went. Toured the area, he pointed out interesting things. He was Jewish, so a few Jewish supermarkets and the like were highlighted. A highlight was the Central Bank Building, on I think 73rd Street. The Apple Bank operates out of it now. It was just so impressive. The Dakota Building, the Imagine Memorial, Strawberryfields, Bethesda Fountain, and another I can't remember the name he said it had. Central Park was covered in snow, had fallen the day before and the before that, so it was rather pretty! Eventually was left to my own devices along 5th Avenue at the bottom of Central Park. Wandered up 5th Avenue, checked out all the pretty shops and windows! Through Bryant Park, on to Times Square. Yikes!!! As anyone that has been can imagine, that greater area took many hours! Called Ben, they had just bought Spamalot tickets, so they grabbed one for I as well, then we arranged to meet once they were back to their hotel. So soon enough, I was in the company of someone I KNEW! Wow! Had been a few weeks! Was great to see Ben. We had some dinner, then Belinda finished calling home and joined us, and off we went for an evening of Monty Python. After the show, we decided to go to the Rockerfeller Centre and up "The Top of the Rock"... Pretty impressive to see the city vista by night. So bloody cold and windy... it was an open deck - well, a bit of glass around it... I expected it to be an enclosed room! When we finished up - when they booted us out because everything was closing, I tried making some comments to gauge whether Belinda knew about the ballet or not, but came to the conclusion she was fully aware, and lacking much enthusiasm. I was to later discover that she didn't have a clue!!!!!