Thursday, September 10 - Day 6

Oh my God, I'm still full from last night's Carnegie Deli experience. I am going to have to do boot camp diet when we get back. We just get coffee this morning - not ready for food yet.

First thing we do after coffee is walk to the Cathedral of St. Patrick on 5th Avenue. We had seen it from the outside but we both wanted to go inside. Lots of history. We get there just as Mass is starting and we decide to stay. To my surprise, even though I don't go very often, it all comes back and I still know all the words. Wow. That's a surprise. Today's reading and sermon are about the Love Thy Neighbour theme - turning the other cheek, doing unto others, giving without expecting anything in return, getting beyond the natural instinct to hate the enemy and so forth. A very timely theme considering tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11. It's a spoken Mass but there is a singer who comes out and sings some of the passages (Holy Holy Holy, etc). It's pretty amazing to sit in on a Mass in this beautiful cathedral. Before we leave I light a couple of candles and we check out the various statues, gaze at the huge gothic spires, and marvel at this huge sanctuary in the middle of such a cosmopolitan centre. It's an amazing experience.

Our next mission is to find the Plaza Hotel - couldn't find it listed in our NYC for Dummies book, which we found strange, but had looked it up online so we know where to go. On the way we pass all kinds of high end stores and places such as Trump Tower and Tiffany. Then we arrive at the south entrance to Central Park, where there is another gorgeous fountain, all the horses and buggies lined up, and tons of people. We had been recommended to take a carriage ride through Central Park but we already have a pretty full agenda planned so we take a pass on that for now.

The Plaza Hotel is elegant, with lots of marble, gilt embellishments, chandeliers, flowers, a Rose theme in the lobby bar, Eloise stuff, high end shops, etc. Tonight is the big fashion night in NYC and everywhere you look there are signs about Fashion Night - some big event here at the Plaza. Although we feel somewhat under-dressed considering it's such a fashion kind of day but we see many many other stylistically-challenged people just like us on the street today so we don't feel out of place.

It's mid-afternoon and we have finally recovered from last night's Carnegie Deli feeding frenzy so we decide to go to Serendipity for lunch - this is a place Emily had recommended and it's pretty close to where we are. It is a cute little shop / restaurant, very ornate, with lots of selection and a huge dessert menu. Everyone seems to be drinking their famous 'frozen hot chocolate' (isn't that an oxymoron?) Anyway, the most important thing is to save room for dessert so we do... and we notice that our trip has quickly turned into the NYC ice cream tasting tour! We've had ice cream every day. So, today's choice is the sundae with both hot fudge and peanut butter toppings. which spill over the edge of the parfait bowl onto the saucer - wait til you see the photo of this one. What's another 45 weeks on LA Weight Loss when I get back!!! It's huge - whip cream, cherry, the whole nine yards - and yummy.

We waddle out of there and decide it's time for a big walk so we head off for the UN building and get there just in time for the last tour of the day. This has turned out to be a very thoughtful day, starting with the Mass, and now with the tour of the UN. We learn about the objectives of the UN, see the displays about world hunger, warzones, and so forth and we see the General Assembly. Our tour guide makes us promise to play Free Rice on-line - a fundraising initiative to eliminate world hunger. Very worthwhile - glad we took that tour - thanks for the tip, Brenda!

After a wee hotel break, we set off for tonight's play - God of Carnage - starring Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden. Wow! This is great theatre - so well-cast, sharp, funny, provocative. What a great night. My favourite line is when Marcia Gay Harden, who is very intense in the play, says: "I have no sense of humour and I have no intention of acquiring one." Fuh-nee. This is the kind of night that makes you remember why you went in to this business in the first place. So glad we got to see this!

We make a little stop at Scotty's on the way home and I think I will try to post my blog but the internet is down so I have to wait until tomorrow night. Sheesh.

Except for that minor glitch, we're calling Day 6 another fantastic NYC day. We're so thankful to be here. G'night.