New York stories, part 2

Business at the jewelers concluded, we headed back downtown to the WTC. We hadn't had dessert at lunch, so we made a small detour to the landmark Ferrara's on Grand Street. This pasticceria has been there sincd 1892, although I will admit I don't remember back that far. However, it was always a treat to go there. It is elegant and European inside - but I didn't take pictures today, sorry. Marty treated himself to a large chocolate gelato and we brought home some pignoli cookies, a couple of biscotti, and my personal favorites - their sfoglietelle - two of which I am eating with a cup of tea as I write this saga. Ferrara's has the BEST sfoglietelle in th world (except maybe one that I had in Florence in 2000). They are so crisp and lemon-y, I could eat 100 of them. And I do not have a sweet tooth, so you can imagine!

But wait! While Marty was contemplating the pastries, I hot-footed it up the elegant, curving staircase to the ladies'. What did I find outside the door? Three women, waiting in LINE. A line at Ferrara's? At Starbucks, yes. Those restrooms are onesies. But Ferrara's has a real ladies' room, so there was no need to stand in the corridor. These women insisted the door was locked. Locked? Woman #1 had touched the door daintily and it did not move, so she assumed someone was in there. I said "PUSH! This door does not lock!" She pushed. It opened. Three empty stalls. Woman #3 turned and said "we're not from around here." Is that an excuse for not pushing the door open?? Apparently. They were from Dayton, OHIO and I guess the ladies' room doors open more easily there - LOL. I wished them a happy rest of their trip. According to Mapquest, our walk in each direction was about 3.6 miles - so we walked about 7 miles today. Enough to walk off the linguini and wine and the other stuff? Probably not. We left Ferrara's and headed through Chinatown, which has the most crowded sidewalks on the East coast. Everybody was shopping for tonight's dinner. The fruits and vegetables were gorgeous - and inexpensive. But we did not buy.

One last story. 4 or 5 women got on the PATH at the WTC, chattering delightedly. A man asked where they were from and they answered "everywhere!" They were staying in Jersey City, NJ (one PATH stop from NY) for some kind of convention or conference - one from Seattle, another from Texas, etc. and they'd been shopping in NY. They, in turn, asked the man whether he commuted every day and when he said yes, they all pulled out their Metrocards, each of which had $1.50 left (1 way on the PATH) and gave them to him. Random acts of kindness...a beautiful end to a beautiful day.