Nice people. . .

Yesterday, Paul was using his one Metro card for the two of us to get through the subway. On our way home, he passed the card through -- I went through, then he passed his card through for himself -- and it didn't take the card. He'd run out of money. So I waited on the other side of the heavy bars while he tried to put more money on the card on his side. Turns out none of the 3 machines were working! So he told me he'd go to the other side of the street and try the machines there, when a woman saw our predicament and let him use her card. Of course, Paul gave her $3 for the $2.50 it cost her even though she protested.

View from the top of the rock

You really get a feel for how large Manhattan is when you' re viewing it from this vantage point, on top of Rockefeller Center. On a map, getting from one point to another seems easy, but the numbered blocks are big and the distance between avenues even bigger.

This morning I took a 45-minute walk while Paul ran his planned 6 miles. I discovered that just 10 blocks south of our place is a movie theatre and a going-0ut-of-business Borders. Also, if we like, we can visit lots and lots of delis, coffee shops, or dry cleaners -- they're everywhere! Quite prevalent are psychic shops -- most of whom have their business on the 2nd floor above the aforementioned businesses. There are psychics on every block in our neighborhood! Who could have predicted that?

We hear you but we can't see you.

The most interesting thing Paul and I did yesterday was experience a tour of the artwork at Rockefeller Center. When I saw how small the group was going to be I was happy, because one can hardly hear your own thoughts on NY streets let alone the voice of a guide barking out data. But guess what, we were handed earphones that plugged into our own remote listening device which we hung onto our pockets. So it didn't matter if there were 5 other tour groups around us or 10 taxis honking, we heard every word our guide spoke! In fact, there were a few times when Paul and I lost him in the crowd as he was probably a half block ahead of us. But we didn't miss a word. It was great! The tour lasted 1 1/2 hours. Our guide was awesome and answered lots of questions off the cuff as if he'd just looked it up last night. Has anyone reading this ever taken this tour? What did you think?