Today was a good, good time. It was my temple day so we spent the majority of it there, which was really cool. Stephanie came to the temple and we got to do some things together and she got to meet all my friends so that was fun. :) We left at about 4:00 and bummed around while we decided what to do. We couldn't go home though because, cool me, I had totally misplaced my keys. Right when i was out the door this morning, I realized they were nowhere to be found and after a few minutes of frantic searching, we gave up and i had to go. So it was either, wait for Sean near his work and go home with him, or wait for Sean near his work and meet him for dinner and THEN go home with him.
So we went to the Time Warner mall with all the fancy shops and 100 bucks-a-plate restaurants, talked about our disdain for consumerism (don't even get me started) and then decided to get over to the east side. The temple and where we were at is on the west side, just at the lower tip of Central Park. I wasn't aware of any subway lines that really go crosstown, except for maybe the E, but I was reluctant to take the subway just because I don't like it.
I know this much: 0, about the Manhattan bus system but knew there had to be some that went crosstown so I asked a bus driver if his did and he said "No, go to 57th street" so we did. While we were waiting for our bus, we decided to sit on this little ledge of a nonseat (it was about 5 inches wide) and rest our booted feet. While we were doing that, chatting about something or other, 3 older gentlemen walked by and one of them asked, "what's this? Having a meeting?" "Yep!" we said. "Want to join us?" So they did. They were uber-friendly and chatty and had some good accents, a couple of New York ones and one Italian. He was a little man who owned a pizza shop around the corner. They asked us where we were from, learned that we were Mormon, and asked "So, are you preaching to everyone?" Stephanie said, "Nope, but we could if you want!" They learned we have 8 kids in our family and were astonished until both of them realized their wives came from families of 10, so it's not really that big of deal. The small Italian man and one of them sitting on the ledge had a friendly bicker moment and the man on the ledge said, "Shh! We're in a meeting. You're not part of it." They were total characters and such fun times. I told the Italian man my last name (Morello--as if anyone who i don't know reads this) was Italian and he was pleased with that. One of the men had been an agent in the entertainment industry in his earlier years and represented Steve Martin, etc, (so he says). He said he loved it and it made him heaps of money but now he's retired. We also chatted about why New York is so great and ugh, I live in Brooklyn? And why on Earth wouldn't Stephanie want to live here, and what's holding her back? Also, Utah and New York--no comparison. It's way more fun here and lively, was what they said. This was fun because I had been talking to Steph moments before about the mega-New York pride people have here.
Well, by this time, our bus arrived and we had to say goodbye. We shook hands, waved, and as we parted the little Italian man said, "Ciao, Morello!" in his excellent Italian accent. And then we got on the smelly, over-crowded bus.
Our plan was to meet at Pain Quotidien, a cute French bakery/sandwich/pastry place where you sit at long big wooden tables on benches and they bring you tasty, very pretty open-faced sandwiches on marble slabs. I got roast beef and Steph got the turkey. They are so fun to eat. I love it! Sean was supposed to meet us there but he was chained at work and couldn't get out until we were ready to pay the check. Poor guy. Our server had an interesting accent and we guessed where he was from. We weren't sure and ended up asking him. Where? Poland, which is actually the center of Europe-geographically, if anyone wants to know. I'd better check that out, me being the geography wiz that I am. So that was just delightful. Good first day.
Tomorrow is Shopping Day part I. Whether or not there will be any future days is inconclusive. We might have to take things back and whatnot. But it will most likely be an adventure. Better get my comfy shoes on, and take some kind of stimulant, which I of course have lying around the house--who doesn't?
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