Plans for NYC Day 2

 

Saturday, April 14, 2012 – Plans for NYC Day 2

8:30 a.m., keys in hand, I was out on the streets of the LES.  It was a mild morning on Rivington, and very quiet.  Pigeons and parking police were on patrol.  I passed a few elderly Chinese couples out for a stroll, some workmen, a jogger or two – certainly nothing like last night’s very young crowd with their short skirts and high heels.  There was more traffic when I reached Essex, where I turned to enter the Essex Street Market.  Inside there are stalls selling produce, fish, meat, cheese, groceries, Japanese gourmet items, etc.  Just starting to stir, the market will be bustling within a couple of hours.  I had come to pick up some fairly ordinary items – bananas, Cheerios, yogurt, hummus – to bring back to the apartment.  Elisa had warned me about prices so it wasn’t a shock.  The weather was so lovely that I thought about eating breakfast on the balconette.  However, it turns out the balconette is standing room only.

I’m surprised I feel so wide awake, considering that we didn’t get back from Rafina until 11:45 last night.  The Greek food was marvelous, and I had no trouble at all staying up until past midnight.  We took a bus back from the restaurant and then walked along several blocks of Houston, Clinton, and Rivington, so I could observe how lively the neighborhood became on Friday nights.  And Elisa and Christian assured me that midnight was considered early.  

On the agenda for today:  coffee somewhere nearby, a return trip to the Essex Street Market once more of the stalls are open, a one-dollar slice of pizza, more walking, lunch someplace interesting (to be determined), a ride uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, meet Audrey (friend from childhood) at the Frick Collection (also on the upper East Side), a walk through Central Park to the West Side, casual dinner at Le Pain Quotidien, New York Philharmonic concert at Lincoln Center, then back to the LES to check out the Saturday night crowd.  I’m on my way!