New York City

The weekend of June 21st through June 23rd, 2019 I took a “Red Eye New York City” trip through AAA. We left Friday at 6:30 pm by bus from Worthington’s AAA, got into NYC about 6:30 am (and were dropped off at Rockefeller Center). We met the bus at 8:30 pm a block from the Empire State Building and got back Sunday at 8:00 am.
Saturday was an absolute beautiful day and I think EVERYONE in New York City was FINALLY getting to enjoy a stunning day outside. It was crowded but there was still plenty of room for me.
Because nothing was open at 6:30 am (they say NYC never sleeps but I can attest on a Saturday morning it is moving pretty slowly) I walked by the New York Public library, walked through Bryant Park adjacent to it, then headed to Grand Central Station. After I finished gapping at its lobby I had breakfast in the food court on the lower level of GCS, bought a metro ticket and took the subway up to the Guggenheim Museum. By then it was 9:00 am and the museum didn’t open until 10 am so I spent that hour in Central Park.
Central Park was holding some kind of health fair and I felt a little guilty, though not much, watching thousands of people walking, running or cycling around the Jackie Kennedy lake/reservoir. I found a shady spot to read and watch NYC go by. After a little shock at what seemed to be a huge baby boom I figured out that at least 25% of the people walking babies were actually walking their DOGS in the baby carriages!
I finally got in to the Guggenheim (details on it to be posted separately) and spent several hours. Then I walked across Central Park and south to Columbus Circle to visit the Folk Art Museum. I was disappointed in it. What was there was interesting but it was small (but free – definitely worth the price). I had an awesome lunch at an Italian place nearby (mozzarella, tomato, basil, greens, grilled chicken with very good olive oil as a simple dressing – YUMMY – with a table by an open window). There is a lot to see right there at Columbus Circle.
I drifted over to and down 5th Avenue. Early in the day I had bought a metro pass to cover 3 rides but was so enjoying the walking I never used the final two. Riding home on the bus my legs complained to me it was NOT a good idea to do all that walking but there is no better way to see the City than to get into it. I was not really impressed with 5th Ave. or maybe I was not in “THE” area for shopping it. The only shop I went into was Zara. They were having a 60% off sale and it was a zoo so I left quickly.
I ended up again at the Public Library and Bryant Park. I sat near the Carousel in Bryant Park for at least an hour. It was so vibrant. Nearby were tables of people playing Chess, Uno, Checkers and many other games. The park had games to loan out. An advertisement suggested movies at dusk in the park but I wouldn’t get to stay that long.
I walked over to Macy’s to kill some time. They were open until 10:00 and had restrooms and A/C, of course, so my plan was to hang there until I needed to go to the bus meet-up but they were just too crowded to enjoy browsing and I could do that at home on an ugly day.
I found the bus meet-up place, found a bus stop seat around the corner from it and read my book about Nelly Bly (an early female reporter) going around the world trying to beat Phileas Fogg’s’ 80 day record (this was in 1889) and of course, watched people on the streets. The bus was right on time. All the people on the tour were right on time and home we went. A great day!!