Fri 24 May - New York City, NY

Hans felt like having a time-out day today, so he stayed at home all day doing... Very little. Reading and sleeping and chilling... Very nice and relaxing.

Hence, the rest of today's blog, including all photography, is proudly brought to you by Di as she left Hans at home and wandered the streets of Manhattan...

OK, one down side to this is that Di forgets to take photos... so there are just a couple of photos to go with todays's story.

Indoor activities are a good idea with gloomy skies and intermittent rain. Di started by getting some cash from Wells Fargo ATM at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 58th Street. Then a quick coffee break and then off to Bloomingdales...

Perhaps not the best idea with a supply of cash... And stores like these.

Prada darling...no prices shown (Di went in to check)

It is basically a cross between David Jones and a designer store mall. Some labels have a store front and others just a portion of a floor space dedicated to say sportswear, evening dress etc.

Di knows that this is the place to buy a replacement bra. Sorry, no photos. The "intimates" section on the 4th floor had all the favourite brands, la Perla, Simone Perele and others never seen before. With help from a "fitting specialist" Di got to try on about 8 lovely bras before buying just one - an Elle McPherson! Seems odd to buy an Aussie design here but it was the best fit and price. In fact the price was a surprise - $58.50, which is cheap (believe it or not).

If you wander the cosmetic/perfume section before long someone will give you something to try of suggest a demo. Di got roped into a skin moisturizer and foundation session with Laura Mercier. Nice, but walked away not buying a thing.

Back on the street and its easy to browse in and out of various stores around Lexington, Park Avenue and 5th Avenue. A fantastic cookware store drew you in by having a pan of "Veal Demi-Glaze" simmering on a stove at the back. Smelled great. Di showed great restraint...

Down Park Avenue and this church caught Di's attention.

It is called St Bart's and has been here since 1872. The church is huge with lovely features - see some photos following.

After a few quiet moments of enjoying the surroundings and being away from street noise, Di hit the street looking for a light lunch. Perfect - a bowl of pea and ham soup worked great on a rainy day.

The main agenda item for today is a free lecture on "Sinister Reading" in the New York Public Library, given by their Humanities Bibliographer, Robert Armitage. No information was given on content or length, just the title and that it started at 2.15pm in the "basement" Auditorium of the NYPL.

Di being the eager beaver got there about 20 minutes early, which turned out very well as to keep the crowd amused the lecturer played movie clips from some of Di's favorites...Basil Rathbone in the "Hounds of the Baskervilles"

and Humphrey Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon",

finishing with a snippet from Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train". The authors of these stories all got mentioned in the lecture, which was about the history and development of crime and detective fiction writing. Who would have known that Edgar Allan Poe is credited with being the father of the detective story? Fantastic talk, with lots of quotes from books and mentions of authors that Di will have to track down for future reading.

Apologies, no photos. Too caught up in the discussion.

Back on the good old F train home around 4pm, a little grocery shopping and home to find Hans relaxing as promised.

Home cooked dinner (after last night's dismal effort eating out) - can't beat Malaysian Chicken Curry with Roti on a cold rainy night.

We can't believe the change in weather - from hot and humid two days ago and high 20's to 17 degrees and rain. Tomorrow's forecast is even cooler, 8 to a 12 degrees as maximum. Brrrr...

Time to tuck up with a glass of wine and a good crime story! Good night.

 

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