I had been planning to take it easy today, but it ended up being quite busy. After a late breakfast at a small café near our accommodation, four of us took the subway down to Fifth Ave, where we then parted ways.

I wandered down to Grand Central Station and took another train out to Lower Manhattan where I proceeded to get very lost when the store I was looking for was literally right opposite the subway entrance. Grand Central is indeed very grand, and I could see the top of the Empire State Building from the entrance. I was a bit too tired today to go see it up close, but I’m sure I’ll find time before the end of this week.

Back in Midtown I met up with one of the other Scholars and we took a wander through Times Square. It was very busy and very bright, but not quite as spectacular as I had been expecting. We took some selfies and spent some time sitting and people watching, and then took the subway back towards our accommodation on Broadway.

On our way home we stopped in at a little restaurant to eat ramen and drink bubble tea, and had a good giggle over our different taste in movies (my faves make her cringe, and vice versa).

Then it was time to part ways again and climb into bed with my newest bookish purchase (I can’t help myself!)—Good Bye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York, a collection of personal essays edited by Sari Botton.

After walking around New York in the daylight I can say that it isn’t quite as awful as I thought when I first saw it last night, but it’s still definitely not my cup of tea. I’m looking forward to my academic meetings this week, but the courses will have to be pretty darn good to tempt me to stay in this city for any length of time.

I can see myself spending a lot of time in Central Park for the remainder of our time here.