Miles's blog

Today was a beautiful day in New York, so I took advantage of maybe the last warm day of the year to go to Central Park. I love Central Park. There is a reason it is iconic. Not only is it massive, several miles from north to south, but it is filled with different sections, each with its own personality. The park was crowded today, despite it being a weekday. There are so many people in New York and lots of them either don’t work (like me) or work shifts other than 8-5 Monday through Friday, so that even on weekdays everything is busy.

I spent a long time at my favorite place in the park, the Bethesda Terrace. I have blogged about this spot before, but the combination of the lake, the heavily-wooded Ramble beyond, and the fountain make this a very relaxing spot. It is very popular with tourists, and there was a steady stream of people the entire time I sat there. Lots of boats were on the lake, and the trees which had not been damaged by last week’s storm were brightly colored.

The unusual weather for November led to the incongruous circumstance that on my way to basking in the sun by the fountain, I passed the skating rink. It is always funny to see people ice skating in t-shirts. Not many were on the ice today, more chose to enjoy the last vestiges of summer, rather than the precursor of winter. Soon enough Central Park will be mostly empty, crowds gathering only near the skating rink, the zoo, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the interior given over to snow and ice.

The effects of the October blizzard were still visible. Tree trimmers worked on removing some of the damaged branches, as the sounds of chain saws competed with the musicians who use Central Park as their workspace. One woman by the lake played her harp. I don’t mean a little lyre like you see in Greek statues, I mean a full-sized harp. How she got it all the way onto the Bethesda Terrace is beyond me. Even on wheels the thing would be unwieldy. I am no harp fan so I did not contribute any money, but I was impressed with her effort. Nearby an off-key singer wailed away with his guitar, while in the famous tunnel under the street where the acoustics are supposed to be so great, a group sang Christmas carols. Far superior I thought was the saxophone player a few hundred yards away.

I met Meg for lunch at Whole Foods where we had eaten some excellent sushi previously. This time I was not favorably impressed. The sushi was fair, although that is perhaps the nicest Whole Foods I have ever seen. They serve a great deal of prepared food, in a hot bar, a salad bar, and a dessert bar, and to order. In addition the store is huge and well-stocked.

After lunch Meg and I went to a place for dessert which I had found in one of my New York guidebooks. It was a short walk from Whole Foods into Soho. I had a delicious pastry called a bombolini filled with vanilla crème (no comments on the health thing) and Meg had what she described as an excellent apple fritter. Best of all, these were by New York standards inexpensive. I was pleased to have found a new place. That is part of my plan for living in New York; to explore the city in ways I never would as a tourist. I am pulling out my guidebooks to plan excursions. Meg and I are going to spend a day next week doing something we have never done before. New York I am sure has many interesting and surprising places, and I want to check them out.

If you have any ideas for me, please let me know. I will keep everyone up to date through my blogs.