And just why DO they call it the Big Apple? First person to e-mail the answer will be acknowledged…somehow. The “big news” of the day on all the stations here is George Steinbrenner’s afternoon news conference to announce plans to build a NEW Yankee Stadiium, turning the "House That Ruth Built" into a Yankee museum of sorts. This plan presumably will generate more than enough controversy to keep talk radio callers busy in the months to come. WABC's Warner Wolf (remember him?) is outraged, by the sound of his rant.
Our first decision of the day was, do we or do we not rent this room for another night so we have somewhere to hang into the late afternoon after going into the City and before heading for the airport? We do and did, and the decision is paying off as this is written in mid-afternoon.
New York may be big, but it hasn’t lost its small-town charm. Motorists are forever honking their horn at friends they see along the way. A considerable portion of the Manhattan visit was spent in cross-town traffic on the way to Times Square. Next stop, Starbucks, then 5th Avenue strolling and money changing along the way, then a turn-away by the doorman of the closed-for-renovation Plaza Hotel (confirming a report heard on NPR), then a terrific lunch at Bottega Del Vino, 7 East 59th (also in Verona, Italy). Food and service both were excellent.
Lennie says she now is keenly aware of the meaning of "a New York minute" after watching pedestrians risking life and limb to progress 20 feet across the street. They do operate at warp speed around here.
Today’s photos are pure schmaltz, which probably won’t surprise either one of the visitors to this journal. Next, JFK International for the overnight flight to Zurich and a cross-Switzerland drive to Megeve, France. Au revoir.
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