A Typical Day During the 10 Year Plan (Part 1 of 3)

"So, how do you fill your days?  Don't you get bored?"

Those are typical questions we have heard since starting the 10 Year Plan.  

The reality is:  There is not enough time in the day.  NYC offers a lot to do every day.

Rather than drone on about the number and variety of things to do, sharing a typical day will probably best tell the story.

Wednesday:

Morning

Wake to the sound of truck horns, sirens and construction noise, the city's equivalent of chirping birds

Coffee, breakfast, New York Times

Errands and chores

Afternoon

Lunch

Amble approximately a mile to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the amble, walk by Bar Italia on Madison Avenue, Mario Batali's UES eatery for the well-heeled.  The place is packed with lunchers who are very well-dressed (hair, makeup, manicure, couture, plastic surgery).  We realize that our casual dress is only one reason why we will not be dining there today.  We amble on. 

Arrive at the Met to meet two friends and view two new exhibitions at the Met.  One exhibition is Manus x Machina, the Met's annual homage to fashion curated by the Costume Institute.  The dresses on display are truly works of art worth seeing.  Another exhibit is J.M.W. Turner's series of paintings about whaling, which supposedly inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

Stroll with our friends to the East River to see the Carl Schurz Park.  The park is a green oasis that actually sits on a platform built over the FDR Drive along the East River (only in NYC).

Dine early with our friends at Maz Mezcal, a Tex-Mex cantina and tequileria that we highly recommend.  The frozen margaritas look like ice cream sundaes.  They were tasty and fog-inducing.  From our sidewalk table, we were able to people-watch on the Upper East Side.

Evening

Streak downtown on the 6 and E trains to West 30th Street.

Watch a new dramatic play, The Block, the first in a series of five plays set in the five boroughs with a focus on the lives of working class people.  The Block, set in the Bronx, paints a realistic picture of the challenges faced by the people who call the Bronx home.  We have observed many of the same challenges during our volunteer work at the tax preparation clinic and the resume writing clinic.

Night

Return home and watch some television (home renovation shows on HGTV, Susan's guilty pleasure)

Turn in and fall asleep to sounds of truck horns, sirens and construction noise (yes, roadwork at night because the streets are less traveled).  

Dream about what tomorrow brings.

Next up:  Part 2, some photos from our typical day.