Another rainy day in NYC

Actually, there was more rain today than yesterday. Over night a storm came through dumping 4-5+ inches in the area and we woke up to the news of places flooding and some of the subway lines closed due to high water. We are Oregonians, however, so we just carried on with most of the planned events. Since we could not get into the UN building on Wednesday, we chose to go today and not until it opened at 10:00. Therefore, we slept in a bit and delayed departure, which was a good thing because of the rain.

We took a cab to the UN and did not have to wait very long before our tour started. It was a nice guided tour and we were issued headsets so we could hear the guide without standing close. As you many have followed, the General Assembly has been in session this week but not today. We were able to see that room which was interesting. The tour took over 45 minutes. Good thing I took the pictures of the various countrys' flags on Wednesday because they were not out today.

It was getting close to noon when we finished at the UN and it was still raining. We took a cab to Columbus Circle which is at the south-west corner of Central Park, or W 59th and 8th Ave/Broadway for those of you who know NY. We are learning. At this point Fran chose to walk back to the hotel and Ira gave us a guided walk through the southern part of the park, ending at E 72nd and 5th Ave. on the east side of the park. This was on Ira's schedule of things to do, but with it still raining, it probably wasn't the best choice to stick with. However, it is a beautiful park and we did get a feel for it. Surprisingly, people were taking carriage rides but some of them, and especially the poor horses. looked drenched.

By then it was about 2:00 and a little past the best time to eat so we took a cab back to the "Hell's Kitchen" section where there are so many restaurants on 9th Ave. and had a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant. It felt good to be seated, dry and fed. From there Paul walked to Time Square and Ira and I came back to the hotel.

We are staying at the Staybridge Suites on 40th between 8th and 9th. We look out our 15th floor windows down onto the top parking lot of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. We can also see the Hudson River. In the picture our hotel is the lightest color. There is a very small one to the right, the red hotel is the Fairmont Suites by Marriott, and the dark one on the left is the Four Point Hotel, all are very nice and recently renovated.

Tonight we walked to Rockefeller Center where we had some dinner and then Fran's nephew showed us around the NBC and MSNBC Studios where he works. He explained what he does in the production of one of the shows, which was fascinating. The then showed us around various floors where we saw the sets for some of the shows and even were in the area as Rachel Maddow was on the air live. It was after 10:00 when we got back to the Staybridge.

Another good thing was that the weather has cleared up and it was really a lovely night. Tomorrow we are going to get a personalized tour of Greenwich Village by some other relatives of Fran. Then also a tour of the Tenement Museum. I think I'll get some laundry done in the morning.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul