I woke up with the thought of going to mass. I quickly looked on Maps on my iPhone and found a Catholic Church, St. Peter’s, within .6 of a mile—a 15 minute walk. I found the times for mass and was set to go to the 11 a.m. service. It would feel good to start off the day in this manner. A few minutes later I received a text from Pierre and Grant to see if I would like to meet at the Plaza Hotel to take a walk through Central Park. With no hesitation I quickly changed gears, forgot about mass and I found myself getting ready to meet them at 11 a.m. It was a beautiful day and I decided to walk until I ran out of time and then take Uber the rest of the way. With my trusty iPhone and AirPods I started the trek. BTW, I have never appreciated those AirPods more! As I began my walk-over the bridge to get to the other side of the street from The Sonder, I saw a run down a main highway. One side was flanked with policemen and the other with firemen. I later found out it was a fundraiser for First Responders on 9/11. I was once again moved to tears.
Shortly after I realized I was passing through Tribeca, then SoHo, and then I began see signs for Washington Park. I remembered Pierre telling me on a previous trip that 5th Avenue began (or ended) at Washington Square. This is the area where NYU is located. So, now I was on 5th Avenue—my favorite street. It has, after all, the smell of money. What is there NOT to love??? It was so enjoyable to see some familiar sights. The walk was so amazing I decided to walk all the way. Realizing I would be about a half hour late if I walked the entire 5 miles, I phoned Pierre and gave him a heads up. When I met Pierre and Grant, we proceeded on to Central Park. This is where the park starts and it is what separates the West Side from the East Side. I saw parts of the park I had never seen before and realized this is a place to explore on a regular basis.
After some exploring we went to lunch at Crave Fishbar on the Upper West Side. I had a delicious sushi bowl and have thought about it ever since. That will definitely be a do-over. Afterwards we walked the West Side and ended up at Columbus Circle. This huge circular area is located just outside of Central Park. It is located at Broadway and 59th Street. It was here that Pierre, Grant and I parted ways.
Although there was threat of rain all day, it was still a beautiful Sunday afternoon so I decided to walk back home — but NOT all the way. I ended up on 5th Avenue again and at around 49th Street decided to call Lyft. Within two minutes of my getting in the car it started raining. Talk about perfect timing!?! I was on my way home and realized I had just experienced a quintessential Sunday afternoon in Manhattan… and it felt great!
Here is what I learned today: All avenues go north and south; all streets go east and west. Also, every street lamp in the park has a metal tag with numbers on it. The first two digits are the number of the street at which the lamp is located. Brilliant.