Monday, August 27, 2012

We started the day with a small breakfast and then decided we'd go "uptown" to explore that part of the city. Central Park was our destination.  We ventured up Park Avenue toward 59th Street. The weather was sunny but not too hot, so it it made the walk a pleasure. As we got to 59th Street, I recalled there was an FAO Schwarz toy store there, so we took a look. Sure enough, it was still in the same place. The store, of course, is well known for its toy selection -- but maybe best  known because of the movie Big with Tom Hanks. It's the store in which Hanks and his boss played the piano by "foot". An interesting note is the Apple Store just outside the store. It was below ground, but a large glass cage surrounds the elevator and stairs to the store. The Apple Store was very crowded but we had a chance to walk around the "get on-line" for a little while.

We ventured into Central Park and met a tour guide with a horse and buggy across the street. We decided against the tour when we found it was $50 for 20 minutes. Maybe next time! We walked in the Park up to 76th Street looking for the family of Peregrine Falcons which had made their home in the eves of one of the buildings along Park Avenue. Unfortunately we didn't find them. By now it had started raining, so even the bird-watchers were not present.

As the rain increased in intensity, we chose to take a bus downtown and seek shelter in a movie theater. We saw a good movie called Premium Rush. The movie took place in New York City and we saw many of the sights we had just visited over the last few days. Great fun. After the movie, it was getting late by now, dinner time as a matter of fact, so we agreed that Italian food was our preference. But where to go?? But wait! This is New York, so we chose Little Italy as our destination. A quick ride downtown on the "N" train to Canal Street and we were comfortably seated in a nice Italian restaurant. We sat next to a couple from Germany and struck up a nice conversation with them. They were on a 3 week visit to the U.S. and are on their way to Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.As we finished dinner, and were leaving, we wished them well and a safe trip. Meeting people is always a highlight we like to experience when we travel.

So, today is our last day of our trip. Tomorrow morning we're off to Laguardia Airport and a ride home via Southwest Airlines. It's been an action filled month -- but we've enjoyed every minute of it.

What's next?? Oh, I don't know, but stay tuned.....