Day two (8th Oct., 2008) of our trip was a sidewalk trip up 5th Ave, a stroll around Rockefeller Center, lunch and a play in the theater district, drinks in an Irish pub, and culminating in a taste of French cuisine at "Les Halles" with Aris. All in all, a pretty full day with a few stories and a myriad of photos.

Last evening I set about doing a post to share this excursion with any and all who may happen by for a look under the microscope. After much effort and many pics, I inadvertently erased the entire post, thinking I was just deleting one misplaced photo. Voila!!! the whole post gone like it never existed.. If you don't think that pissed me off, you'd be mistaken.

The serendipity? It was too long for a single post.

We started this and every morning that we were in NYC with breakfast at Cafe 28. Just as an aside; We ate healthier in NY than we would have at home. The sheer variety of fresh fruits and veggies available would boggle one's mind. Breakfast for me every morning was: fresh blueberries, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, granola, mixed with yogurt. Also a fresh pain au chocolate, and a coffee. From our perch beside the window overlooking 5th ave, we had the perfect spot to people watch; both the workers scurrying to work each morn and the patrons who rushed in for breakfast to go, or to pick up something for their morning break or even something for lunch later.

For those of you who ascribe to the belief that French women are thinner and women in the USA are more zoftig, let me assure you that that was not the case for three days in October, on NYC's 5th Ave..

Inside Cafe 28. The Korean girl behind the counter to the right of the photo could do math faster than her cash register.

To make what could easily be a long post shorter, I'll share a couple of stories about the start of this day; one an immediate and one a reminiscence.

If you read the preceding post, you may have noticed where I mentioned the paucity of side walk vendors on the street of new NY. We did come upon one vendor on the corner of 29th street and 5th Ave., who was selling political pins and buttons for the upcoming presidential election. We stopped to peruse his wares and soon became aware of the overwhelming dominance of Sen. Obama paraphernalia. The vendor, a larger than zoftig ( i didn't say I didn't see any large men) man of mixed heritage, points out one that he said was a particular popular seller. It was a solo shot of the Senator that showed off his ears magnificently. Now I have huge ears but I know someone now who has bigger ones. ;) Anyway, I proceeded to tell the man that I thought his choice was good, but that I, however was voting for the other candidate. Quick as a wink he directed my gaze to the lower left hand corner of the display where I caught sight of a few buttons with the likenesses of Senator McCain and his running mate, Gov. Palin.

"Aha" says I. I'll take this one:

Looking up 5th Avenue.

Crossing 29th street and looking cross corners we espied a picturesque little church an the opposite corner. Being a church building afficionado we took a moment to investigate this edifice which is called: Marble Collegiate Church.

The Marble Collegiate Church on 29th St. and 5th Ave. NYC.

Upon further investigation we discovered that this church was pastored for 52 years (1932-1984) by the world famous , Norman Vincent Peale. And there in lies my second story.
When we lived in NYC for my junior year of nursing school, 1967-68, I was an officer in the student government and was selected to attend the national meeting for student nurses in Dallas Texas. Even though I'd flown all over the world, or at least to the far east, I disliked flying immensely. But riding my bike to Texas was out of the question, my car wouldn't make it that far and the train took too long, so I was going to have to fly from LaGuardia to Dallas. As the fateful day approached there appeared in the national news an item detailing the horrific accident that had happened when a commercial airplane had been struck by lightening during a storm as it flew over Texas. All on board perished. I was crapping my drawers!

Being a book lover of long standing, I knew my sanity lie in finding a book to read on my flight that could completely capture my attention so as to keep me from dwelling on my fears.

To make the story all the more poignant, I must tell you that my flight to Dallas took place at night during a thunder and lightning storm. This is the book I read, cover to cover during that otherwise uneventful plane ride: