It just won\u2019t go away. Mardi wakes again feeling less than\nideal. It\u2019s our last full day in the Big Apple and she is determined to get\nout. Although we\u2019ve taken it reasonably easy the last 9 days or so, we\u2019ve\nramped up again over the last day or so. \nMardi has done a great job planning interesting walks for us, probably\nour favourite thing to do. We just pick an area and go. Along the way Mardi has\nmaps tagged with a host of interesting things we find during the year as we\nresearch our trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like yesterday where we found old manhole covers and\nweird carvings in buildings, today is another good day. We start at Tompkins\nSquare Park today. We find mosaic tiled street lights, Cooper Union buildings,\nchurches, a ting door, and statues along our walk. We walk down 2nd<\/sup>\nAvenue, St Marks Place, Bowery, and Bleecker St. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s icy cold today, about -2C for much of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our walk has been circling us to LaGuardia St and our\nfavourite place in NYC, Bosie. We arrive\nat around 2.45. Jessica our delightful host greets us with a hug and happy\nbirthday wishes for me. She seats us in our favourite spot and we settle in for\na relaxing afternoon. The place is buzzing with a large group, 16, near us.\nEvery other table is full. Jessica chats to us, it\u2019s a really busy Saturday. Great for business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after we\u2019ve ordered a small birthday cake arrives. We\u2019ve\nbeen coming to Bosie since 2013. We fell in love with the quaint little tea\nparlour on our first visit and just keep\ncoming back. We sit for a couple of hours and enjoy the quiet once the large\ngroup leaves. Bing Crosby\u2019s White Christmas plays as soft carols follow this\nall time favourite. We sit enjoying the quiet for a while and enjoy another pot\nof tea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I lose myself in my tea, a chocolate hazelnut blend and\nlisten to the quiet chatter, music and hum of the parlour. I spend a mindful\nminute enjoying, relishing the space, savouring the tea and the moment. My\ndarling wife opposite, a million miles from everywhere in one of the busiest\nplaces on earth. It\u2019s moments like these, fleeting in reality, that are the\nmost special. Time slows for me as I take another sip and close my eyes. The\nwhole experience washing over me making an indelible mark that will last. A\nmoment in time for one person unnoticed by anyone else. How a simple cup of tea\ncan be so transformative is remarkable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I look up and a group of four interestingly dressed folks\nare on their phones, their screens, scrolling away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I close my eyes again and think of a Douglas Adams quote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arthur blinked at the screens and felt he was missing\nsomething important. Suddenly he realized what it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Is there any tea on this spaceship?” he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I laugh to myself, thinking if only everyone replaced some\nof their screen time with some tea time how nicer a world would it be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom of my pot comes way too soon. We look at each\nother and decide against a third pot. We don our coats and with a warm hug and\nfond farewell say good-bye to Jessica and her team. We promise to return and\nbrace for the cold as we would towards Broadway in search of the MoMA shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We wander down West Broadway to Spring St and pop into a\ncouple of stores on the way. I buy Mardi a dress ring for Christmas. We arrive\nat MoMA and wander the store. It\u2019s always full of new and interesting gift\nideas, quirky items and curious technology. We pick up a few gifts and head home\non the subway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Later that night we grab Shake Shack for dinner as we do the final part of our packing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n