Nothing beats being home.  We thoroughly enjoyed the people, the sites, the activities, the food, and the whole experience of New York City, but there is no sleep that is better than the sleep in your own bed.

 

Thursday morning, we finished up our packing and headed down for our last breakfast – the fritata with mushrooms, onions and chicken sausage, a ton of coffee, and a quick farewell to Kipp, to whom we gave Smarties (they don’t have them in the USA) and an Edmonton Pipes and Drums pin to commemorate our stay.

 

We wanted to pick up a patch for Jenny – she is such a traveler now that we wanted to get a badge from all the cities she’s visited and sew it onto a new blanket.  But the Firefighter Museum was closed because it was New Year’s Day, and the Police Museum was flooded during Hurricane Sandy and their temporary lease expired in October, so they were not open either.  Instead, we took the train to the 9/11 Memorial.  It was a surreal experience, being where two large towers once stood.  You could smell some of the burnt material even now, all these years later, from a block away.  It was not altogether unpleasant, but it was a sharp reminder of what took place on that site over 13 years ago.

 

Along one wall, there were bronzed carvings depicting the shapes of the towers burning and falling, as well as memorializing the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.  Where the towers once stood, there are fountains that fill the craters left behind, and along the railings around the fountains, there are etched the names of all those who lost their lives.  These names are three or four deep, and travel all around the fountains – the size of a building  – and it felt very surreal.  I knew where I was when I first heard the news of the towers collapsing, and on an intellectual level, I understood it, but actually being on the site was a moving experience I won’t soon forget.

 

From the memorial, we took the train to Christopher St, where Kipp recommended a little European-inspired restaurant where we could have lunch.  On our way there, we found another souvenir store, where we actually DID complete our souvenir shopping – including Jenny’s badge (bright pink that says “I heart NY”).  At the restaurant, one of the waitresses brought her kids with her to work, and explained to them that they couldn’t pet Jenny.  She asked a lot of questions about guide dog training, and made a comment about how she thought that guide dogs are perfect little beings that don’t make mistakes (Ben nearly spit out his water laughing).  The food was terrific, the ambiance was like a 60s style diner, and it was a fantastic place to spend our last meal in NYC.

 

We headed back to the B&B, grabbed our stuff, and caught our ride to the airport.  Because Jenny’s harness sets off the alarm, they had to pat both me and her down.  I told them that I would take the harness off and then they could go ahead, and they were OK with that.  Jenny got a chance to do cute little circles before getting security checked, and she laid down calmly while I got searched.  The whole process from checking in to finishing security took less than 10 minutes, and we made it to our gate in plenty of time to watch the first 2/3 of the Corner Gas movie on our portable DVD player.

 

Our flight to Chicago was delayed due to problems loading the luggage (including strollers).  We made pretty good time, but the flight was noisy and bumpy, and Jenny was unimpressed with the whole process.  Ben and I grabbed our GoPicnic lunches and snacked on them during the flight, and hoped and prayed that our flight to Edmonton would wait for us.

 

We landed at Chicago only 10 minutes later than scheduled, and were assisted through the WHOLE airport to get to our connecting flight to Edmonton.  Chicago O’Hare is a huge airport, but Ben says it is a nice-looking airport, very wide hallways, shops, restaurants… just very big!  Our flight took off nearly half an hour late because a cleaning crew had to clean up a mess involving potato chips and the landing of the previous flight.  The crew offered to move us to the bulkhead seats, which we accepted gladly, and made our way to Edmonton.  Our flight landed an hour later than scheduled, but the flight crew was courteous and professional, offering us warm wet towels at the end of the flight.  The crew was so impressed by Jenny that they gave me a little pin with pilots’ wings to clip on to a blanket or jacket; I just have to decide where to put it!

 

Our friend picked us up at the airport, driving through an incoming snowstorm to come and get us.  My worn-out shoes were no match for the piling-up snow, but we got into the van and made it home safely.  Ben is a bit disconcerted about the empty streets here, a sharp contrast to the insane traffic we had experienced the past nine days.  I told him that he should never ever ever complain about traffic again – and he said if he did, he would say that at least we weren’t in New York.

 

We hauled our duffel bag upstairs and nearly fell into bed, with Jenny squirming and wriggling to find a perfect position between us.  We are now settling back in, snug in our house, as snow swirls and blows around us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Thanks to Kipp, Margo and Sarah-Doe at the Canal Park Inn for hosting us and feeding us, Roam Mobility for keeping us in touch with friends and family back home, The New York Pass for giving us access to tours and sites we might not have seen otherwise, the restaurants, tour guides, tourists, MTA workers, locals, flight crews, and all the others who made our trip so special and unforgetable. This one’s for you.

 

This morning we had a quick breakfast downstairs, then booked it down to the Subway where we were to take our final walking tour of the trip: The High Line, Chelsea and Meatpacking District.  Unfortunately for me, I took us down the wrong route through the Subway, taking us several blocks out of our way, which resulted in us being slightly (2 minutes) late for the start of the tour.  The guide asked if we were the Lang party (“Who are late!”) and I had to admit that yes, we were, and it was my fault.  We did the walk of shame, got processed, and walked through Chelsea Market, a beautiful old building with many food stands.

 

 

 

 

We toured the High Line, which is a park built on the site of an elevated train, with views of the city, terrific hotels, and high buildings that you can actually walk beneath without feeling like you are beneath the buildings.  We saw some awesome historic buildings in the area, and heard how the Chelsea neighborhood was transformed from a run-down beat-up area to one of the most happening neighborhoods in new York City – rent here can run you $5000 a month, and that’s for a little studio apartment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenny did most of the guide work on this tour as well, and did a fantastic job!  She got lost once and tried to take me with the other tour group – our tour had taken a quick right turn that she didn’t see, so she did the only thing she could think of.  Our tour guide, Linda, got to say hi to her after the tour, which made her smile – she has a dog as well who lives with her daughter in the country because NYC is a bit too much for him.

 

 

 

By the end of the tour, we were very very cold, so we stepped into an old-style diner for terrific food – three-bean turkey chili for me, chicken fingers for Ben.  We planned out our afternoon, then – sufficiently warm – we walked to the Subway, where we caught the E train to Lexington and 53 St, and took an 8-block walk to Dylan’s Candy Bar.  This place was full of candy – like FULL! I think I read that it was three floors!  We kept it pretty simple, and I got some Reese’s peanut butter cups, gummy fruit salad, and mint Hershey kisses.  Jenny was a bit overwhelmed by all the smells, but did not scavenge or scrounge, even when our bag ripped and gummy fruit wound up on the floor.

 

From there, we left the sweet-smelling shop and took another 8-block walk to Carnegie Hall.  Along the way, we heard an actual copy-cat of two car horns – one would honk twice, so would the other; one would make a long honk, the other would follow suit.  This lasted for a full minute, and it made us smile as we walked the loooooong blocks to Carnegie Hall… where we found out they were closed until January 8!  I was so disappointed – I had wanted to see Carnegie Hall so badly (if you have ever played an instrument, you know that Carnegie Hall is one of The places that you want to perform).  I actually cried!

 

Dejected, we tried to do some shopping at Columbus Circle, but you couldn’t sneeze there without being charged $20 for the privilege.  So we headed back to the B&B, relaxed, and got started packing…

 

We booked a reservation for a place called Uncle Boon’s, which had three important qualities for a New Years Eve spot: It was relatively inexpensive compared to other choices, they were still taking reservations, and (I thought) they were close-ish to our B&B.  So we walked… and walked… and WALKED… a good 40-minute walk – not nearly as close as I thought.  Ben was pretty irritated that we were walking that far in the cold, but once we sat down in the little Thai restaurant, with Thai remakes of 60s music playing in the background, and the food started to arrive, I think his irritation lessened considerably.  We started off with lotus leaves wrapped around peanuts and sesame seeds, a coconut custard with lobster that packed a HUGE punch once it hit the back of your tongue, and tapioca dumplings… and there was MORE food…. and MORE food!  Ben thinks his favorite was the oyster soup (even though I got to eat his oyster(, which tasted like a lemon ginger broth with onions and mushrooms; mine was probably the pork belly (it tastes like a pork chop, but slightly greasier)… and we both adored the bourbon ice cream with rice and Pomegranate seeds.  The food was all terrific, though, and well worth the very long walk back, where we saw in the distance the Empire State Building all lit up in different colours.

 

It was 9:30 when we got back from Uncle Boon’s, so we stayed up late, relaxing, and watched the ball drop on TV.  reportedly, a million people were crammed into Times Square that night, and even though we couldn’t see them, we could hear the fireworks from Times Square.  it is a great place to be – NYC at New Year’s – but I do agree with those to stay away from Times Square to avoid the crowds.

 

Happy New Year!  My next entry will be from my own home, which – as much as I love it here – is calling me back with my own bed, my cozy house, and three kitties who will probably shun me on arrival.

Tuesday dawned cloudy and cold, so we bundled up and headed to Amelia’s for breakfast – Kipp and his daughter Sarah had prior commitments and could not provide us breakfast themselves, but treated us to breakfast at Amelia’s.  We walked down there for a delicious and somewhat filling breakfast, and Jenny walked the whole way flawlessly without her Halti!

 

After breakfast, we met up with Cory – our tour guide – at Penn Station for the Food on Foot Tour, which is unlike any other tour we have been on since arriving here.  The group was large, with attendees from Canada (Vancouver and Edmonton), USA, Australia, England, Germany, Scotland, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, and Costa Rica.  This tour was designed both to be an eating tour and a mingling tour, and we did much of both!  Cory was a bit of a drill sergeant, demanding a “New York pace”, describing how things were going to be, but under that gruff exterior was a man who loves his city and wants to share it with others.  He told us that the current Penn Station was a new building, but there was an old station that acted as a hub until it fell into disrepair, and then Pennsylvania Railroad company bought the air rights to where Penn Station now stands.  We even found a Tim Hortons at Penn Station!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started at a pizza place, where Ben and I split a slice of fresh mushroom pizza.  It was quite tasty, especially in comparison to generic pizzas back home.  While eating, we chatted with two travelers from Germany, who explained that from Munich, they could drive 3 hours, be through another country, and be halfway through Italy, while from Edmonton, we would still be in Alberta if we drove 3 hours in any direction.

 

After that, we headed to a Mexican grocery, where I enjoyed a fruit punch Mexican soda.  It was delicioso!  While waiting for the others’ tacos to arrive, we chatted with a couple from South Africa who happened to be at the Rangers game we were at earlier in the week.

 

 

Leaving that stop, we headed toward City Sandwich, where Ben and I split a “Todd”, which was like a BLT, except the Portuguese bacon was a bit thinner and not crispy, but it was so delicious.  We chatted with a couple from Scotland who were both teachers, and we stood outside shivering in the cold chatting about Scottish independence, traveling, and our love of NYC.

 

From there we went to a Greek bakery, where I went in and brought out an apple strudel for Ben and a honey cookie for me.  While I was inside, Jenny got to play Doggie for Mayor while hanging out outside with Ben, which made her and fellow travelers very happy.

 

After that point, we took a bit of a detour through a park, and then on to Papaya Go, where I enjoyed a kinesh (think fried potato cake) and Ben got a hot dog.  We ate outside while the line kept moving, but many other tourists – perhaps even us – found it very very cold!

 

Our last stop on this tour was the Little Pie Company, where I had (arguably) the best apple pie in the City – the sour cream apple walnut pie – and Ben had cheesecake.  We were both in foodie heaven, and believe it was the perfect way to end our tour.

 

Jenny did almost all of the guide work herself, in some places leaving Ben at the back of the group while heading up to the front, being only mildly distracted by other dogs, but loving the few minutes when she could say hi to the other travelers.  I was so impressed, and think that she has really grown during this trip.

 

We planned on going to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, but the lineup was so long that we decided that it wasn’t a make-or-break place to go during our trip.  We caught the Subway back to the B&B, then relaxed for a couple of hours and then headed back out toward the theater district.

 

Upon exiting the train station, we found a cute little souvenir stand where we nearly completed our souvenir shopping.  Then we tried to find a particular Italian restaurant, but were unable to locate it due to the crowds.  Instead, we found a pub where we ordered sandwiches – which we enjoyed – and ate them with a background of very loud music – which we did not.  Then we made our way to Broadway, where we located the Longacre Theater.

 

“You Can’t Take it With You” stars James Earl Jones, which brings out the inner nerd in Ben, and all the reviews say the play was supposed to be hilarious.  It lived up to all our expectations, and more!  Once we entered the theater, we were guided to our seats, and offered water for $5 a bottle (“Welcome to Broadway!” – we declined.  The usher was very polite once we were seated and asked other theater-goers to go around the long way so as not to disturb Jenny, but it was done in such a way as to be both respectful and discrete.

 

The play is hilarious; I do believe there’s a movie, but I can’t say if it models the play well.  We spent 80% of the play laughing at the antics of the characters, and the rest just smiling.  Jenny scrunched herself under my seat, and did fantastic with all scenes – including those with fireworks – except the end of the second act, where there was a mass explosion of fireworks, where she wriggled out and tried to sit up.  Thankfully, this was literally the last part of the act, so we were able to get up, stretch, resettle, and thoroughly enjoy the rest of the play.  If you are ever in New York and get a chance to see it, DO IT!  It was such a unique experience, where all of the cast fed off each other’s energy, performed extremely well, and – most importantly – engaged the audience.

 

Tomorrow is a busy day, because it is our last full day in New York.  We are doing a tour of the High Line, Chelsea and Meatpacking District, then visiting Carnegie Hall, and enjoying a lovely New Year’s Eve dinner.  Even as I love New York, home is calling me back; it will be nice to go home, but I feel like I have seen what I wanted to, and still will have more to see when we come back again – and make no mistake… we WILL be back!

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!!!!!

This morning – Saturday – started out late, as the sites we wanted to see weren’t open until 10:00 AM.  We lazed around a bit until we got some breakfast late downstairs.

 

After breakfast, I twisted my ankle quite badly off the step of the B&B – Jenny tried to avoid getting hit in the bum with the front door, walked too fast, and down I went!  It HUUUUUUURT!  But the show must go on, as they say, and we walked down to the New York Fire museum, where we looked at interesting stories about the history of the fire department, and Jenny and I even got to try on some gear!

 

After a quick trip back to the B&B, we took the Subway to Bowling Green, where we sat down amongst a small swarm of pigeons and other birds to enjoy a beautiful picnic lunch.  It has been unseasonably warm here in NYC; I think the city has taken pity on us poor Canadians and given us an extra week of autumn.  We’ve heard so many stories from other travelers – from Florida, Australia, and other warm climates – that they were disappointed not to see snow; we told them to come to Canada to visit us… THERE they would get snow!

 

After our lunch, we met up with the Slavery and Underground Railroad tour from Inside Out Tours.  Before the tour started, we met up with two tourists from Germany, who joked and laughed with us about life in general.  Oliver, one of the tourists, told Ben he owed him a beer on behalf of all Germans as an apology for a German-speaker who called him an a**hole one day while he was driving a bus.  We would’ve taken him up on it if we’d caught up with him again, but the tour was rather large, and we didn’t get the chance.  We also met up with the Australia couple who were on the Inside Broadway tour with us yesterday, giving proof to the idea that New York is, in effect, a small world.

The tour guide described many ideas that New York has traditionally held about slavery, Africans other races, and it was an incredibly eye-opening experience.  I had no idea that New York bought slaves until the early 1800s, but did not emancipate them all at once, but it was a gradual abolition of the institution.  We also saw pictures of what was done to slaves who ran away, or men and women in free states who passed themselves as white.  This also brought up the fascinating question of “passing”, and what that meant for people; many lost their families because they couldn’t acknowledge them due to their African ancestry, but this also enabled some to survive, and others to help free slaves.  We also passed many historic buildings, almost all of which were rebuilt after one fire or another, including taverns, churches, and homes.  At one point, we even saw some wooden spots in the road that are where the original wall of Wall Street stood.

 

 

 

At the end of the tour, we got insanely lost, taking the wrong Subway, then getting turned around on foot and having to walk at least 12 blocks to get back to the B&B.  My ankle was throbbing at this point, and many of the streets were aggravating the injury by being uneven.  When we got back, Ben wrapped my ankle in the tensor bandage from Jenny’s emergency kit (don’t judge me!), and that kept the ankle stabilized enough to heal.

 

We ordered in chicken strips for dinner through the same site that we ordered last night’s Chinese food.  I am constantly surprised by the number of restaurants in the city, and the number that will deliver through Seamless.  It is nearly overwhelming, the amount of choice here.

 

We packed up Jenny, put away our cameras, and took off to Madison Square Garden to watch the New York Rangers take on the New Jersey Devils.  If you know we’re from Edmonton, you will have heard about our hockey woes; if not, look them up, because they are fascinating (if depressing) reading. we purchased accessible seats so we could have room for Jenny, which turned out to be a great choice, since my ankle was NOT up to climbing up and down a ton of stairs to get to other seats.  The view was fantastic, and Ben could see the whole rink from where we were – we’re pretty sure there’s not a bad seat in the house!

 

The atmosphere (beyond chaotic) of the Garden is electric.  These fans love their team, get into the game, and it has been a long time since I have felt something that electric at a sports game.  Even the pre-game preamble was classy, polished, and engaging.  We got snacks for the game, including cotton candy that came with a free hat (or did the hat come with a free bag of cotton candy?)  We went on to see the Rangers beat the Devils 3-1, and it was the first time we ever saw a hat trick live!  It was fantastic!  At the end of the game, the fans gave the Rangers a standing ovation.

 

All this time, Jenny was… terrific.  The whole day, she walked calmly with Ben and I.  If we were in crowded areas or with walking tours, I put down the harness handle and held her leash; in less-crowded (though still crowded) areas, I walked with her harness.  She did nearly flawless guide work all day, ignoring an insane amount of dogs (I stopped counting at 6), walking at a steady pace, and moving through crowds like she’s done it for years.  She curled up at my feet during the hockey game, MuttMuffs in place, and handled herself with grace and professionalism.  I just want to pick her up, snuggle her, and tell her to keep do whatever she’s been doing.

 

Ben and I talked today about how much we love the city.  We thought we would hate the crowds, and while we have had moments of panic due to the sheer number of people, it has not been as crazy as we thought.  We have met some great people along the way – along with a group of MTA bus drivers while coming out of Madison Square Garden; one of them hit Jenny in the bum with a door, apologized profusely, and we got talking and found they were a group of bus drivers, many with more than 20 years on the job.  Ben gave one of them his ETS patch from his old parka, and the driver gave him an MTA calendar.  It was great to hear them swap war stories, laugh at their pronunciation of Newfoundland, and just enjoy some levity.

 

Tomorrow, we’re off to a NYC Gospel Music tour, the New York City Transit Museum, and whatever else we feel like doing.