On the Contrary

Sunday:  Well we finished Saturday simply by staying in the Mercer and having a simple snack in the lobby with my daughter Serena and then about 11:30 pm we went to an exclusive club in the Mercer called the Sub-Mercer.  Obviously I am not the clientele they would normally let in down there, but when you are the general manager’s father, you can pretend you are special.  At 11:30 it was empty.  By 12:30 it was packed.  This is definitely a crowd I would not be running with, but it was a fun experience.

It is Amazing What You Can Do with A Paint Brush - MOMA

Now I am sitting at the JFK airport trying to gather my final thoughts.  Candace and I had a simple breakfast at Starbucks, and then hiked to Little Italy and the Chinese District.  I found Little Italy somewhat dirty and so loaded with tourists that it was a relief to get out of there.  The area I was in in the Chinese District was similar, with many people on the street hawking their wares.  So we decided to hop a cab uptown to the Museum of Modern Art.  Little did we know that the Colombians would be having a parade to celebrate Columbus Day.  But we finally got there and really enjoyed about 2 hours of touring through the Museum before we decide to head back to Greenwich Village and get a late lunch before we caught a cab to the airport.  We ate in a delightful little sidewalk Italian place whose Italian pasta was excellent.  You can always tell if they are packed, it is usually good. Then it was back to hotel to pickup our bags, some last minute wine with Serena and now I am siting at the airport awaiting my flight.  Here are my impressions.  The weather was stunning, low 70’s every day.  The Mercer is phenomenal. The Food and Wine Festival was wonderful and our trip to both museums is not to be missed.  But for this country boy I am ready for some space.  Everywhere you turn, it is crowded.  If there is a downturn in the economy one would never know by the shopping crowds.

Serena at the Mercer

The noise outside is non-stop.  So after about four days you are ready for some space and peace, and you don’t want to have to go inside to get it.  I can see why Central Park is so popular.  People here try to be very chic, but some are so chic they are un-chic.  Some of the outfits deny description.  It is a place to enjoy life or be seen and in the later category I think there is a lot of pushing and shoving.  I never ran into one person who was rude and everyone was extremely friendly and polite. It is no Paris and I think that is because there are gardens and parks everywhere while in New York you are kind of land locked among the skyscrapers. It was a very enjoyable trip, but I think 4 days is plenty and now I am ready to re-engage with politics until we know our future.  I loved seeing my daughter and, of course, spending wonderful time in the city with my best friend Candace, but now both of us are ready to be home and hunker down to see what the future brings.