A Visitor Comes and Shows Me New York. Day 1.

A friend came to visit me and gave me a fresh perspective of the city. For one thing, she found a $15 shuttle service from LGA whereas I always get a $30 cab. (Of note, this same shuttle took her back to LGA on her return and actually parked and came inside to let her know -- sure beats flagging down a taxi!)

As we enjoyed our first meal together in NY at Cinema, we kept watching this van parked near our window. The driver was parked in that spot a long time and various people came and went, some talking outside the van, some getting inside to talk, but nothing was ever taken out of or loaded into the van itself. We suspected something strange was going on. It was parked in front of this phone booth that had a book on top of it. We thought it might be some sort of signal. Verrrry strange.

Taxi! Town Car! Anything!

Last night I had to meet my husband for dinner in Times Square and I was running late. It is most frustrating that between the hours of 6 and 8 p.m., when people need it the most, an available taxi can NOT be found! Eight blocks later I finally saw a black town car at the curb and even though I knew they cost more, I got in.

When we arrived I got out my credit card. Guess what? Some New York town cars don't take credit cards--this was one on of those town cars. So I asked the driver how we were going to handle this situation. Oh, did I mention that I had left my phone in the apartment, so I couldn't even call my husband to come out and give me some cash?

So the driver tells me with confidence that there is an ATM inside this nearby restaurant. I knew there wouldn't be one there, but I checked anyway after he parked nearby. When I told him there was none there, he suggested I try inside the Marriott. The Marriott people told me there was one on the second floor, but a closer one was just outside, around the corner. I walked outside and could NOT see any bank. I walked back to the driver and insisted he give me his address and I would mail him the money. While we argued, a woman walking by heard us and says to me she can show me to the nearest ATM. And she did. And I paid. And I was only 20 minutes late.

Picture window is better than art on the wall.

This is the view from my daughter's Arizona apartment, the Santa Catalina Mountains. What a beautiful world we live in! Zoning laws in parts of this state require that the colors of local commercial establishments  compliment the landscape. They also prohibit a lot of lighting you would expect along the roadways--so the stars are visible at night. Good idea, except my future son-in-law says it's hard to see the old people wondering around.

Cirque du soleil Zarcana on Broadway

I saw Zarcana, this crazy acrobatic rock opera, at Radio City Music Hall with my hubby and my friend Laura. Zarcana is a Cirque du soleil production which had my face in a perpetual jaw-drop the entire performance! I had no idea what the story line was. It didn't matter. The visual delight was enough! Now, I love me some good hard rock music--and the score of this show did not disappoint. Every scene was a surprise. Every act shockingly beautiful or brilliantly horrible! For anyone who saw it and was as clueless as me about the plot, here's a video link that explains what you just saw: Zarkana. It's next stop is Madrid, then Moscow, then back to New York in 2012.

You Won't See This in New York.

Once again, I just have to post this funny picture unrelated to New York living that my brother took of these wild turkeys roaming his property! There are fifteen of them. He sent an email to friends and family that included the pictures with the subject line: Now Taking Orders.

People taking pictures of other people at the Statue of Liberty:

When Laura visited, we took the ferry to Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty on a rainy day in September. We couldn't buy tickets to go into the statue and climb to the top because those were sold out the day I purchased ours--about a week earlier. But we did opt for the audio tour headsets. I prefer this type of touring when I am alone, but it kept me from commenting with Laura along the way. Even so we came away with a better understanding of what people went through to get to America, and it was humbling.