8 July, Early AM
It wasn’t too bad getting into town. Took the Airtrain to NJ Transit commuter rail into Penn Station. 40 minutes. Nice. Beats the subway from JFK. Faster, cleaner, less stops, place for baggage.
Subways are not designed for baggage.
The station turnstiles and gates are also not designed for baggage. Try going through these with a roller and a backpack!
Got an early check-in at the Helmsley Windsor. It’s on W58th @ 6th Avenue. Very nice location. Central Park is a block away, the Madison and 5th Avenue shopping districts are close. And the F line (subway) is across the street from the hotel. The hotel is a bit worn, but for $85/night, I’ll deal with it.
Went puttering with one of my friends who escaped San Francisco. She likes it here but misses her home in Southern California. Can’t blame her, but she IS in a better place than San Francisco.
We met at the Popover Cafe where they serve popovers with strawberry butter. Yummy place. Stuffed animals all over the place. Kinda cutsey. Stayed there for two + hours because of the heat and my need to recover from my flight. Lots of coffee…
Madison Avenue has all the chi chi shops and we puttered up and down the strip. Dunhill moved here from Park Ave and they have a very spiffy new humidor. I think we stopped at or poked into every fancy haute couture boutique before we split up. She went back to Hell’s Kitchen (where she and her husband reside) and I went down to Nat Sherman’s to pick up some supplies…