It Illegal. Follow Me.

Would you believe that the New York City subway system was harder to navigate than the Paris metro system that is in another language?  It's true.  The directions might say to take the L train to Union Square, but as we waited for it to arrive, the R, Q, and W train pull up and everybody got on those.  It took us a while to realize that many trains make the same stops.  Once we realized that, we decided to hop on a different train assuming it would stop where we were going.  That worked almost every time.  On the last day, though, we had to force the automatic doors open to get off the train when we figured out that it wasn't the right one.  We barely made it.  

To get the full effect, imagine screeching metal-on-metal sounds and a stinch so bad that you have to throw away your half-full $4 cafe au lait.

One of our last subway rides was redirected because of a "customer injury and police investigation."  The man sitting next to me said 16 people had jumped in front of a train in the last month.  I would imagine the economy might have something to do with this, but I think the city's main threat is anonymity.  A subway car full of fifty people is totally silent because nobody knows anybody else, and they don't care enough to make small talk.  Don't get me wrong - every local we encountered was nothing but kind and helpful, but everyone riding the subway and walking down the street appeared to be isolated and alone. 

As if we hadn't walked enough, our next stop was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  All I could remember was the mass of people who walked, well many ran across this bridge to get out of Manhattan on September 11th.  

Our feet didn't even make it halfway across the bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge sure does give a nice backdrop for a picture!

I don't have any pictures of our adventures in China Town because we were on a mission.  Apparently the city has cracked down on the black market since we were there last, and things have changed quite a bit.  They still sell purses on the street, but the best quality ones are hidden, and the vendors have to take you to them.  When we stepped onto the street from the subway station, we were immediately accosted by numerous Chinese women showing pictures of purses and saying "Gucci, Prada, Coach" repeatedly.  One offered to take us to see them, and as I was following her Mom said, "Now, my book said sometimes they will take you to dark alleys that you shouldn't go down."  WHAT?!?!?  I politely told the woman "No thanks" and hightailed it in the other direction.  It's definitely not worth that.

Well, maybe.  All three of us discussed it and decided we would go for it!  We were all together, so nothing too bad could happen, right?  I approached a different lady this time, and I couldn't understand anything she was saying.  Finally, she looked at me and said, "It illegal.  Follow me."  And we did exactly that!  She led us through a trap door into a tiny room full of handbags.  I found one for my sister-in-law Melissa, but nothing else there interested me.  All of that mess and I ended up just buying one out in the open right on the street.  They package your purchases in big black garbage bags, and I became quite nervous as I walked by the NYPD with my not too subtle bags!  They must not care too much.

We stumbled upon the St. Patrick's Day Parade on 5th avenue.  The bagpipes were awesome.

While Rachel headed to the UN Building, Mom and I went to the public library.  This beautiful building covers an entire block.

Can you imagine coming here to check out books?  I would never leave.

This reading room gives the Powell library just a little competition.

The sun finally came out Tuesday so Mom and I enjoyed our last bites from Le Pain in Bryant Park.

Four days in this city is the perfect vacation.  Just enough time to see what you want to see without getting too overwhelmed by city life.  I don't think my feet could have taken one more day.  And is it just me or did Powell look about five shades brighter when we returned?