Eighty Six Thousand Steps……

Gail Armstrong
Aug 23, 2017 · 6 min read

Still waking up at a very early hour, but that could be due to being shattered by the time we get back to the hotel in the evening and having difficulty staying awake past 8.30!. Today, (Tuesday I think), hubby and I left LD asleep with a note and went for a walk along the Avenue to Grand Central Terminal so I could take more photos and also have a look around the little shops that are hidden away down ‘passages’. It was around 8.30am so busy, but not as busy as I thought it would be.

What a fantastic building.. It was full of people but seemed quiet.. calm.. The light changed as the sun came out but only heightened the sense of warmth – not like our stations that are cold even on hottest days in summer. It was the kind of place I could very easily sit and work all day.

There is also a huge Apple Store. Not a blaring you in the face Apple Store, but a OMG that’s an Apple Store up there on the balcony kind of place. Those who know me, know I’m a bit of a fan of Apple and although there is nothing at all I want or need, I still had to go and look. I could mention the massive genius bar, the long tables of products, little corner room where the accessories were, space to sit and work, but I’ll not bore you with my enthusiasm.

The main concourse is spectacular, but so are the little passages and arched entrances to hotels, shops and subway. Scattered around are what we would call ‘Barrows’ with artwork, gifts and other things you might want to buy. Big name shops are found along passages. I particularly wanted to visit the Moleskine store..we don’t have many in the UK and so being a fan of their notebooks, I had to go and see what they had. I found myself drooling and touching the beautiful covers. I wanted so many things, but being an adult had to restrain myself from having a tantrum and came away with just a couple of photos…I did then go away and check the price of a large notebook on Amazon and got it for half the price.

From Grand Central we walked along Lexington Ave to have a look in Bloomingdales. It was hot and very humid and the forecast was 32 degrees. Dripping with sweat is not a good look and I wondered how some of the business men and women managed to look normal as they strode around the city.

We reached the Bloomingdale area and of course none of the shops were open until 10am so we walked around some more and ended up in Starbucks just to sit down, somewhere cool with a drink. Just before 10.00 we joined the small crowd by the entrance and were granted permission to step into the inner aircon area between the street and the store by a tall, regal man in a suit, who reminded me of someone from those black and white 50's films. Had he used a gold pocket watch and not the one on his wrist to check the time every thirty seconds or so I wouldn’t have been at all surprised. He kept us updated with a countdown..”three minutes to go folks’…”like waiting for the eclipse isn’t it..”

A woman in her thirties came in and moved to the front. “Where’s the make-up?” She asked him abruptly. When he gave her the answer there was no acknowledgement, no thank you or anything. We have commented on this a lot while here. People demand information here, not request it. I have been to the same Starbucks every morning so far, the same staff are there. I cheerfully say please, thank you and bye every time. In return I get my change silently dropped into my hand, my drink pushed onto the bar and nothing in the way of a thank you, you’re welcome or friendly eye contact. I’m on a mission to break them down though with my 6am British politeness!

Anyway, back to Bloomingdales..and the opening countdown..it was like New Years Eve in Times Square..no, not really. The make-up woman pushed through and strode off to find Chanel while we thanked the man for holding the door open, pleased to see some courtesy and then stood there deciding where to go first. As is often the case these days, it was the restrooms.

I’ve never been a department store shopper. I find shopping tedious unless you actually want something. Hubby is better at it than me and so I’m usually the one dragging my feet and looking for somewhere to sit down. The visit to Bloomingdales lasted around 15 minutes including the restroom visit. This was approximately 30 minutes less than the visit to Macy’s. But we’ve been there.

Then..on the next block, I saw ‘The Container Store’. My eyes lit up as i realised that it was heaven on earth for people who like little boxes, and things to organise themselves.. two floors of it for the whole house!!! Not for the first time today was I having to tell myself there is nothing I need…despite wanting lots. I did come away empty handed due to hubby commenting that I just wanted to buy something for the sake of it.

Around this time we got a call from LD who had woken up and wanted to know how long we’d be. We had planned to go to Coney Island, but due to an attack of grumpiness plans changed and we decided to go to Central Park for a bike ride instead and set off to walk there. It was really quite uncomfortable walking in the heat by now and LD struggles with it. We got to Central Park only to find that the bike hire was down 6th Ave which was blocked off by police due to someone jumping from a building..meaning we had to walk a detour to get there. By this time, we were all hot, tired and irritable and fettles were stretched. The other option of the Tour Bus Ride was preferable until we discovered that it stopped at 5pm which didn’t leave us enough time to do what we wanted. So we ended up going back to the hotel.

After another shower and cool down, we got pizza for LD who said he just wanted to stay in and watch a couple of films, while we went for a drink and bite to eat. The plan was to just go somewhere local..I specifically told hubby I didn’t want to walk halfway across New York again today. We found a bar round the corner and had a Bud Lite. We then walked to find somewhere to eat/drink…and ended up at Bloomingdales again!

I’m quite good with getting around the grid system and knew where we were heading, but my whining and foot dragging fell on deaf ears and it wasn’t long before we ended up at Central Park again…It was still 30 degrees and all I wanted to do was sit in a cool place and have something to eat/drink. Eventually I steered us back towards Lexington Ave and you know what? We ended up having a 99c slice of pizza and a bottle of water from Walgreens!

Oh and the steps? Yesterday we walked 26,625 steps and probably sweated half our bodyweight!

In total since leaving home last Friday we have walked 86,758 steps…so much for wanting to relax a bit.

)

Gail Armstrong

Written by

Every experience in my life has brought me here. Finally following my dream. "when I grow up I want to be an artist & writer" Gail Wilkes, age 13.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade