I’m only a little waterlogged, and drying out quickly now that I’m back at my hostel.

I had a nice sleep-in until 8, then took the subway down to the top of Manhattan. There’s a free walking tour now, and it’s just like the ones in Europe. Tip-based and great. The guide is an American, and it was interesting to hear his presentation aimed at foreign visitors. I learned a lot about New York too.

After a sit-down, I went to the museum of American Indians. It’s free so you know I loved that. Gotta be honest…not crazy about it.

I hadn’t spent any time at the Grand Central Market since they fixed it up, so I swung by to get a treat. Lots of incredible gourmet food.

I had some time to kill after that and found a quiet place at the library to sit and Netflix a movie. Nice to have a place away from my hostel to be warm and dry.

Today’s main event was an opera at Lincoln Center, L’Elisir d’Amore. I’d never heard of it but the ticket counter guy said it was worth a gamble at 35 bucks (very comfortable seat in the nosebleed section). I liked it a lot. The character of the doctor was well performed.

Now my to-do’s are checked off and no plans loom for tomorrow. I’m guessing some coffee, some walking, and some pizza-eating will be involved.

Good night everybody

What an exhausting, invigorating, ridiculous city.

Had an intense visit at the September 11th memorial and museum. Very detailed, spent almost 3 hours there. Not much to say about it.

After some lunch, the Museum of Modern Art. Always so pleasant. It’s not as ridiculously big as the Met, and the exhibits are really modern sometimes. This time there was one that featured nudity, performance art, and dead plants. No joke, it was interesting.

It was such a pleasant evening I walked all the way back to my hostel, almost 3 miles through the park.

Tomorrow, a walking tour and an opera after dinner.

Night, all!

After a bit of a break, but now that I’m away from home for a few days I guess I’ll make an entry.

The hostel let me check in really early, and thank goodness because I was feeling monstrous. After a nap, I had a nice walk around the north end of Central Park. Then a group of us from the hostel all met up for lunch at this Caribbean restaurant. Pretty tasty.

Even though it was cold, I had another long walk along Broadway. The avenue intersects with lots of interesting shopping and scenic areas, including Times Square. What a nightmare. I can see why the locals hate it.

I’m having an early evening in bc of my trip to the 9-11 memorial tomorrow. It may be crowded and hectic, who knows?

Anyhoo, love to you all

Mary

I owe you an update, but haven’t been feeling well. So here goes….

What a year! I can’t believe that an *entire* year has gone by since my last day at BiMart on October 14, 2016. 

I went and did the traveling I’d dreamed of doing for so long, went and saw a lot of the things I’d wanted to see. And it was awesome.

But I missed some stuff too. A lot of you got married, went on honeymoons, got pregnant, had babies, lost jobs and loved ones, had crises and triumphs. I’m sorry I missed all that, the good and the bad.

And no, in this year I haven’t figured anything out; about myself or about the world. If I have any big revelations to share, ever, you’ll be the first to know. 

No small revelations to share, either. If anything, I’m a little more patient than before. A little.

On the road I met some amazing folks. It was remarkable, really. Every country, every place, I met people looking for a change in their lives, looking for something new, willing to go out there and get it. Fantastic.

What’s true for me now is what’s always been true:

• I’m profoundly grateful for the opportunities in my life.
• I’m thankful for my friends and family. Truly, without you life isn’t worth living.

So, thanks everyone, for going along with me and Froggy on our adventure. 

Enough hot air for now. See you around…

Mary