New York, je t'aime

I'm really lucky to live in New England. We're never more than a few hours' drive from a beach, a city, a coastal island (though with those, a boat or plane is also involved), the mountains, and even another country that speaks a different language. We're even close to New York City, our destination this weekend.

It's a semi-spontaneous trip. (Recall that I don't do real spontaneity.) B has to go there at some point in the next few weeks for work, and my work schedule and vacation time have aligned so that now would be the perfect time for me to get away for a few days and be a tagalong on his trip (though I'd do my own thing while he worked - I'm not proposing that we invent a new "Take your wife to work" day).

However, the meeting at which his travel dates will be decided has been postponed several times, and I'm getting antsy and worried that I won't be able to go along when the trip is scheduled. Heartbreak! After another postponement today, I decided to carpe diem and proposed to B that we go for a night, even if it's on our own dime. B, who is more amenable to spontaneity, agreed in a second. I booked the nonrefundable hotel today--the trip is on.

B and I both spent time in NYC after college (separately), so we've done many of the touristy activities and are most interested in walking around the city. I'd also like to pop into a few of the stores that were beyond my means at 23. To prepare for what I hoped was an inevitable NYC trip, I bought a city travel guide recently. The book features 24 walking tours, and I've identified the 6-8 tours that I would most like to follow. We plan to visit Brooklyn Heights (never been), Greenwich Village, the West Village, the Upper East Side (to take a walk in Blair Waldorf's shoes), and Central Park (where, according to my book, we can rent a boat in the pond--whee!).

And of course we're going to visit the Cinghiale statue that wikipedia promises is in one of the parks in the city. Number 4, here we come!