New York - Day 4

Saturday, November 7, 2009

This was the day for the horse race Breeders' Cup, which is very important to Jalil. Some of his friends had already called him about it. He wanted to go to Aqueduct Race Track. I did not. So we agreed to do different things. I love Phantom of the Opera and Jalil did not want to see it. We took the bus into town together and Jalil went on a very convoluted subway ride as the subway was under construction. He had to take a bus through a poor neighborhood. It took him 2.5 hours to reach the track. On the way back he figured out a better way.

I went to the red stairs to stand in line at the tckts for a ticket to the Phantom. I have seen it many times. The woman next to me also wanted to see it and she had seen it three times. I got my ticket.

When we were at Keyvan's and Talieh's the other day, they were talking about meeting us in Central Park at a museum to see butterflies. So I called to say I could meet them. But they had made other plans. Maybe I was too slow in answering them but we had to figure out Jalil's plans.

While I was at Times Square I looked for the ball that falls on New Year's Eve and I found it. We used to look at it when we celebrated New Year's Eve at Roy and Carol's a hundred years ago.

I asked a policeman how to get to the Guggenheim Museum and he very nicely told me which subway to take. Then my stomach felt queasy and I lost interest. Decided to walk around and take pictures instead. Saw St. Patrick's Cathedral - one of the largest churches in the US. It can seat 2,400 persons! Also, checked out the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. I walked by Radio City Music Hall where I saw the Rockettes in 1966! I had taken the train across the country from San Francisco on my way back to Sweden. Stayed with a coworker who had moved back to New York. Later went to Washington, DC, where I stayed with two sisters from Stocksund - Ulla and Ann-Charlotte Strom. In Washington I met up with Bettina Bergmann, who was about 14 at the time. She and I flew to Sweden together. She later continued to her family in Germany.

Suddenly, I realized that I needed to eat something before the show. Kept looking at different options but nothing appealed to me. I did remember that Roxy (?) near the red stairs, where we had cheesecake the night before, had cheese blintzes and that sounded good. I asked if they could serve me quickly. "You will be done for the 2 o'clock show". I ordered while still standing up. The blintzes were good, served with fresh fruit not the usual jam and cream. And I made it to the theater in time.
I had a great ticket just a few rows from the stage. The man sitting next to me was also alone. He wanted to know how much I had paid for my ticket. They are normally $120, he told me. He had also seen the Phantom many times. I think it was the first time I went to the theater alone. It was OK and I enjoyed myself. My mother would often drive into the city and see a play by herself, as my father traveled much in his work.

On my way from the theater, I took the long way to the Port Authority, as I really enjoyed just being in the city! Stopped and bought some whole wheat bagels on the way. Suddenly it felt so good to just walk in this mass of people. It was Saturday night and very crowded. Earlier I had not liked the crowd.

I found my bus and asked, as usual, if it would go to the Super8 motel and would she, please let me know when we were there. But I also watched like a hawk when the bus crossed the busy street earlier than normal. The driver crossed the street I noticed so I walked up to the driver and asked where the Super8 stop was. "Oh, I drive a different way", she said. She turned and stopped further away than normal and pointed me in the right direction. At the usual stop, there were people who now did not get picked up. Strange! Once in my room, I called Jalil to warn him of this and to make sure he watched where the bus was going. I am lucky that I was vigilant or I would have ended up somewhere I did not want to be. Jalil arrived tired, hungry and irritable with a head ache, a lot later, but the driver had dropped him off properly.

This was our last day in New York and there is so much we have not even smelled yet.