"Start spreading the news..."

An interesting four days were spent in New York with my cousin Judy. Her Manhattan apartment is very comfortable and she is a wonderful, gracious hostess. We ate dinner in her apartment every night but one; and enjoyed afternoon tea or evening hot chocolate. Lots of conversation about everything from the photos we were sorting through and memories they brought back, to current events; movies and books.

Judy and I traveled through the city by subway and bus. Having never been on a subway before I was quite excited to try out this transportation. It was amazingly easy, especially having her to guide me. You've got to be quick though - those doors close quickly and the seats fill up fast!

We saw an afternoon matinee of "Cinderella" on Broadway. The staging was fantastic and the music was beautiful. We went to a show in Greenwich Village that was thoroughly entertaining; especially the guy in the bathtub! We shopped for groceries at a local store; and visited a larger market. The Manhattan Fruit Exchange has more fresh fruits and vegetables than I've seen in any of our summer farmer's markets. We toured the New York Stock Exchange and a couple of churches near ground zero. On the last day we visited Chinatown and for dinner had Chinese dumplings; hot & sour soup; beef & broccoli and sweet & sour chicken...very tasty!  

A few surprises...

• REAL Christmas trees are abundant in New York. I was amazed by how many "real" Christmas trees were on the sidewalks waiting for the sanitation department to pick up.
• There are a LOT of dogs in New York. I never went outside without seeing someone walking one. For the most part the owners clean up after them; at least I didn't step in anything.
• GREEN plants outdoors in January - even in freezing temperatures.  Not everything dies off in New York. I saw many green plants outdoors; even a flowering plant!  Must be the extreme humidity or something.
• The HUDSON River does freeze afterall.
• HORNS are made to be heard.  New Yorkers like to honk!