Ben and I have been looking forward to our alone day since starting this trip, not because we wanted to get rid of each other, but because we had a couple things we wanted to do that the other wasn’t interested in.  Ben toodled off before I did to head to his TV and Movie sites bus tour.  He saw some cool sites, but was overall disappointed with the bus tour.

 

I Took the E train to the Museum of Modern Art, which was an incredible experience.  Debbie, my guide, described pictures, Matisse cutouts, and walked me through the sculpture gallery, where we could, with surgical gloves, touch sculptures by many artists, and learn about some art history.  I am not well-versed in art, and probably won’t be much more educated in it, but it was a lovely experience, and Debbie’s descriptions were spot-on.  We went to one exhibit where you could touch some of the canvases; one of them was like a patchwork with different squares of canvas put together, some with charcoal, others with oil, and you could feel all the contrasts!  Jenny even got in on the action – laying down on the canvas!  She also was photographed as much as the artwork – something I didn’t find out until Debbie asked if I often got people taking pictures of my dog.  Thankfully, Jenny handled it all with the utmost professionalism.

 

 

After that, I went back to the train station, where I headed to the Dunkin Donuts for a coffee and donut.  Soon as I walked in the door, the lady behind the counter yelled “No dogs!”  Another customer said that it was a service dog, and that I could not be refused.  Another employee, probably a manager, said from the back that service dogs were allowed.  This all happened in the span of about 5 seconds, before I could even think to interject and say anything for myself.  Thankfully it got squared away quickly and I didn’t have to.

 

We took the E train back to within a few blocks from our B&B, and relaxed for an hour or so before taking off again.  At this point, I realized that I had misplaced my Metro card, but Ben and I talked to a transit officer who let us take the 1 train to Christopher St – advising me to call 511 to report the lost card – and walked down to Washington Square Park.  There’s a fenced dog run there, and Jenny had a blast running around, picking up other dogs’ balls, and generally meeting other dogs and being a goofy pup.  We bought a water bottle from a vender and filled Jenny’s water dish, which prompted nearly every other dog to come by for a drink!

 

After the park, we went back to the Subway station, where I purchased another 7-day Metro card – there is a reason we carried emergency cash  – and headed back to the B&B, where we got ourselves gussied up for a night on the town.

 

I found a groupon for Bill’s Food and Drink, and from the time we walked in to the restaurant 20 minutes ahead of our reservation, to being led to our table and being asked if they could set out water for Jenny, to the minute we walked out the door, the staff was attentive, service was prompt, and the food was terrific – they earned their tip, and then some.  We split an Amstel Lite beer in celebration – toasting Henny (Jenny’s trainer), New York, each other, Jenny, and whatever else we could think of.  Ben had an appetizer of roasted beets, and I had curried cauliflower soup, and we each had the pork chop, and chocolate cake for dessert.  It was a terrific place, from the food to the service to the ambiance; we would go back!  Cool fact about this place: they have real silver dollars embedded in their floor!

 

Jenny was exhausted after leaving the restaurant; she really slowed down.  She was SO tired that she completely ignored another dog that came on the E train with us usually – at the very least she looks up!

 

Tomorrow, we head off to a Food on Foot tour, have a blank slate for the afternoon, and then it’s BROADWAY!!!!!