Because Obama is at the UN all week, the Upper East side is gridlocked. 1st avenue is CLOSED along with the FDR drive and all cross town streets from 42nd to 50th. Sidewalks are more packed than seems possible. Pulling my suitcase was a dodgeball game! Everyone driving a car is angry and leans on their horn to let you know it. It was mayhem on the streets. Private cars ought to be forbidden in downtown and mid-town Manhattan or charged a fee to drive through these areas like they do in Singapore.
I left E. 74th street @ 1:30pm thinking it would take me 3 or 4 hours to get to the airport. I wound up waiting over 4 hours at JFK - which was not so bad. The new Delta terminal is airy and light and there is a Peet's coffee, but no yoga room as there is at SFO.
I was the only stand-by for the one un-sold seat on the flight to Amsterdam. We arrived 15 minutes early but there was no open gate for us to debark so we sat on the tarmac and waited half an hour. Getting out of Schipol is quick and easy. The express train to Centraal Station is fast.
A 6 day unlimited pass for the trams and buses cost 29 euros (@ $35 or $6/day = Good Deal!) Short pleasant ride to my friend Alicia's near Westerpark. She arrived home for lunch a minute before I knocked on the door, our timing was perfect!
Now we are waiting at Casa Migrante (where Alicia is a volunteer) to get the password for their internet connection. Housed in an elegant repurposed building Casa Migrante's mission is to help latino immigrants. Alicia is Argentine and chats with everyone who comes in. Its a busy night as there is a workshop and dozens of eager young people are streaming through.
Somewhat overwhelmed by the energy and brightness after a looong day of travel, I escaped to Alicia's cozy apartment across the street. The walls are painted warm colors, soft couches and pillows are covered with colorful patterned fabrics, making a dim dark space charming. There are high ceilings, glass paneled doors between the rooms, a beautiful old glass chandelier, a carved mantel and a sweet mossy garden.
Alicia lives half the year in Buenos Aires and is insightful about the cultural and the political differences. She does not eat raw foods so I am cooking fuji apples in ginger tea, my new favorite comfort food, hoping she will like it.
Went to the nearby library and got a dozen fliers on events this week. This is a city with plenty to do and see. I meet friendly, sophisticated, educated people engaged in the world around them. No one sits around whining about their life while doing nothing to improve themselves or their situation, behavior that I see too often in San Francisco.
This is urban bliss.
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