2014 Trip - Day 3 - The day of unforced errors!

What a day.  What. A. Day.  If yesterday went by relatively without incident, today sure made up for it!
 

Allow me to begin by getting my days toilet incidences out of the way. (I have got NO idea why such a task which I have been doing successfully multiple times daily for 47 years should be fraught with hazards every time I step out of Australia)

1.   Just when I thought I had mastered the automatic toilets (and by that I mean I can recognise them now as soon as I walk in; and know not to lean too far forward mid-tinkle in order to pick up my dropped mobile phone as this sets off the automatic flush…etc…etc) they apparently felt the need to have the last laugh.  I visited the ladies room on the 3^rd floor of the hotel I am staying which was where we were having breakfast.  I walked in, recognised that it was an automatic loo, thought “ha! I've got your number covered” and started the necessary preparation required in order to relieve myself.  I would have said “dropped my dacks” but that would have seemed somewhat crass.    As I went to sit down, the bottom on my jeans somehow got caught on the edge of the jacket of was wearing and I had to jiggle a little to release it.  (I know that the mental picture may have you feeling a little ill) As I did so, it must have triggered the sensor on the automatic loo…and as I went to sit on the toilet seat, the toilet flushed.  Now these automatic flushing loo’s have an enormous growl (imagine Shrek passing wind underneath water) which gives the unsuspecting a bit of a fright.  To have that happen when your derrière has all but connected with the seat….well that’s just downright terrifying.  This fright came second only to my experience with a bidet in Seoul last year however the end result was the same.  I smacked my head on the ceiling and almost missed the loo on the way back down again.  The moral of the story?  Never jiggle violently in front of an automatic loo.

2.     I went to use the restrooms in Time Warner Shopping Centre at lunch time.  These are relatively small toilets made even tinier by the layers of clothing that need to be worn in the Northern winter. It’s a tad hard to negotiate going about your business and it really is a relief to actually get out of the bathrooms.  I was in more of a hurry given that there was a homeless lady in there going through the bins (yes….the bins in the ladies room!  Blerck, gross, cack) and another who appeared to have barricaded herself in another stall and was reciting something which I could not understand (a prayer maybe?).   The Time Warner Shopping Centre is quite obviously for the affluent (which makes me wonder why two homeless ladies and myself were using the toilet facilities) so was relatively clean however I wanted to make a quick getaway given that the other ladies were making me feel uncomfortable.  After I did my business I quickly drew up my drawers and was out of there.  Fortunately for me, the lady going through the bins made eye contact with me.  Worried that I would be hit up for money (I had nothing on me) I turned my head to avoid her stare and looked straight into a bathroom mirror.  I am fairly familiar with looking at myself in the mirror and being horrified however this was something new.  I had apparently grown a tail.  Looking around, my eyes followed the line of toilet paper running from my jeans back to the stall which I had just walked out of.  Needless to say, I sent a silent apology  to every person I have laughed at for doing the exact same thing. 

Despite today being freezing with an expected maximum of minus 2, the sun being out made for a very different outlook.  The snow shovelers had the pathways clear for pedestrians and were now digging cars out of the large snow drifts.   We decided we would head to Central Park in order to visit Strawberry Fields.  This is directly across the road from The Dakota.  For those that do not know, this is where John Lennon lived…and where he died at the hands of Mark David Chapman. Strawberry Fields is a memorial to John Lennon, and his beloved wife Yoko still lives across the road in The Dakota.

The Bear and I figured that we had a lot of walking to do today, so would cut this down a little by getting the metro/subway from 7^th Avenue and hope off two or three stops later at 72^nd Street.  This would have us exactly where we wanted to be at the Dakota.   We purchased our one way tickets ($3 each for those who are interested) and worked our way down into the subway to wait for our train.  We got on board a very crowded carriage which was full of commuters starting their day.    The majority of people had got off the train in the first stop or two, which only a handful of African Americans left.  This allowed the Bear and I to sit down briefly waiting for our stop at 72^nd Street.   On the metro there are no announcements as to what the next stops are, so I had my eyes peeled waiting for the station to become apparent.   And apparent it was…..as we clean sailed through it.  No words were required.  The raised eyebrow said it all.   That was ok we said.  We would just get off at the next stop and get the next metro back to 72^nd.  Except we sailed through that as well…..and the next….and the next….and so on.  
 

 

 I cannot tell you how hard it is for a couple of white honkies trying to look cool when we had no frickin’ idea where we were going or when the damned trained would stop.  In fact….we made a point of making it look as though we were deliberately going to where ever we were apparently going to get off at!  I should not have been surprised at me choosing this inopportune time to feel the effects of a very full bladder.  I had already decided that when we DID get to stop, I would not be using the facilities at whichever station we arrived at.  There are not many things that I will point blank refuse to do, but using the toilets in the New York Subway is one of them.

Our train finally stopped at 125^th Street.  That wasn’t too bad I thought.  We only over shot our mark by 50 odd streets.  As it turned out, this was Harlem.  Nothing like an unplanned trip to see the Globetrotters!  The Bear and I stuck out like the proverbial as we scrambled to change platforms in order to get a NON EXPRESS train back to 72^nd.

When we finally reached our correct destination, I was absolutely blown over by the sheer beauty of a crisp, white Central Park.  I was overwhelmed to be in a place that John Lennon held so dear, and even more so once we were at the “Imagine” memorial in Strawberry Fields. This is in direct eye sight of the Dakota where John and Yoko lived.  I tried to imagine the absolute horror of this great man being murdered here (he was shot four times) however the beauty of it completely over rode this.

 

 

 

The Bear and I set off to walk through Central Park.  We had been here about 18 months earlier during the fall of 2012.  At that time the leaves changing created the most beautiful array of colours which were completely stunning, however this was something again.   Just magnificent.  It is so hard to describe something so beautiful that lies within the concrete jungle.   Squirrels were abundant; horses and carriages cantered; a lot of little birds flittered about.   I was disappointed to see that “The Tavern on the Green”  (The quaint restaurant from Mr Poppers Penguins) was surrounded by scaffolding and fencing as it is undergoing a renovation.  We still got a little bit of a look however and it is just gorgeous.  

 

We decided that we would make our way to a frozen lake within the park.  I was very apprehensive about walking on the snow which had gone to ice.  As I was carrying my camera, I didn’t want to fall.  My camera is almost my pulse when we are travelling.  Also, as I already have a back injury, the thought of falling and hurting myself just does not warrant thinking about.  I could see that the pathway to the frozen lake had a large amount of ice on it.  I told the Bear that I was being careful as I could feel myself slipping and that there was no way that I wanted to fall.  The Bear pointed out that his joggers had him situated very firmly on the pathway and there was no hint of slipping what so ever.  Apparently he then felt the need to demonstrate this through interpretive dance.  I am very appreciative of the arts however felt that I had interpreted this incorrectly.  I could have sworn his moves were saying that “the pathway is slippery.  In fact there is a lot of black ice.  I think I might just take a seat on the ground right here.  This dance is brought to you today by the letter “V”.  Make of that what you will.

Tonight we went to the musical “Motown” which is the story of Berry Gordy who founded Motown.  Some of you that know me will remember that I am a HUGE fan of Motown.   We had managed to score seats in the very front row which was so many levels of awesome.  This musical would have to be the best thing that I have ever seen.  The singers and dancers in this were somewhere way beyond fantastic and I found it hard to remember that we were not watching the stars themselves.  Their presentation of the likes of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder etc were an absolute credit to them and I would find it hard to believe that those stars would not be very humbled by their portrayal.   This took entertainment to a new level and I would not hesitate to pay ten times the amount to experience such enjoyment again.

After the theatre we chose to walk the 6 or so blocks back through Times Square to our hotel.  It was cold, it was busy, and it smelled horrendous (there is some stench that comes up through the smokey vents in the road which is just disgusting) however I have learned that this is all part of the New York experience.  We stopped at a late night store to pick up some pastries to demolish before bed.   As I did so I reflected on the day that was.  Despite the hiccups, it was a very good day. J

 

Tomorrow we shall visit the Intrepid and the World Trade Centre Memorial!