New York City Sunday

This time last Sunday I was on a northbound train, after spending the day wandering around one of my favorite places, New York City.

The rush of suburban parenthood so easily carries us away from the things we used take for granted - like aimlessly wandering & watching.

I hopped on the 7am Amtrak, camped out in the dining car so I could spread out my work, plugged in my laptop and put the train's WiFi to the test (a bit slow, but better than nothin'), checked my laptop bag in luggage storage at Penn Station, and was riding the subways by 11am.

77th Street was my stop, I climbed up the stairs to a one of those rare New York City days - blue skies, not too hot, not too cool, no humidity and no winds whipping thru the building canyons.

New Yorkers & tourists strolled the streets, dogs where walked, windows were shopped. Sidewalk vendors sold purses, paintings & pretzels, and street performers filled the air with music.

It was the kind of NYC day you usually only see in a Nora Ephron or Woody Allen film.

I wandered into the Park for a bit, snapped a few pix, then headed into the cool (but crowded) galleries of the MET. 

I had been wanting to check out the Steins Collection (works Gertrude Stein, her brothers & sister-in-law had collected during their years living in France), but had lost hope of making it before it moved on, so when my Oh So Pinteresting! pal, Cynthia, mentioned she & her Tech Whiz hubby, Rob, were arriving in NYC (from TX) on the 3rd (the last day of the exhibit!) I took it as a sign!

The Steins Collection was overwhelming - so many familiar, now-famous pieces, that The Steins bought for a few hundred francs and are now worth millions! It was wonderful and I'm so glad I caught it before it was sent packing.

Then I met up with Cynthia & Rob, we visited with the Impressionists, Rodin, medieval knights and Egypt princes before being shooed out of the museum at closing time.

A couple of cocktails at the Boathouse in Central Park and calamari & Chianti at Carmine's and lots of good conversation, then it was back on the train to Boston.

It was a wonderful whirlwind day, but after getting up at 5:15am on Sunday, finally dozing off to sleep around 2am Monday morning, then up at 7am to get the crew off for their work & school days left this housewife feeling like she was nursing a severe hangover - a lack of sleep hangover.

But a day in the City, taking in the glories of great art and meeting a bloggin' friend in person was a rare treat and well worth the slog thru Monday to bedtime.