I’m a bit sluggish this morning and definitely bleary-eyed as we spent a whirlwind weekend in the city so Chris could run in the 2007 NYC Marathon. I guess many think of this as the epitome of marathons – the largest in terms of both entrants (38,000+) and spectators – I can’t even fathom a guess but would go into the millions without reserve. I heard somewhere that the city makes something like 220 million dollars from this event alone (and if the line in Starbucks was any indication – where the bathroom line was actually longer than the double mocha, soy, decaf, extra shot grande machiatto line), I’d say that makes sense.
We arrived in the city Saturday morning, taking the path train in from Newark as our hotel was across the street from the path (and therefore ground zero). Every time that train emerges in the pit I feel as if there should be a moment of silence. It would heeb may out way too much to commute that way every day, but what would be worse, I think, would have the heeby jeebies stop when you arrive there. Maybe it will be better once a building actually covers the sore but who knows.
We carried our bags up and out of the station, listening to some random guy recount the events of 9-11 in a bellowing voice that echoed through the cavern as he gave his minute by minute playback. I think I’ve seen/heard him there before and now I’m wondering if he’s there all the time, and why.
Across the street from GZ, we popped into the Milenium Hilton hotel, where our room wasn’t ready (it was only like 11am), so we dropped our bags, and hit the E-train to Penn station where we hoofed it through some seriously windy weather to the Javets Center, the site of the marathon expo.
Talk about feeling like herded sheep. I do not like crowds – to me it’s like a form of claustrophobia, only it’s not tight spaces that make me crazy but people packed tight against me. So while Chris got his chip, bib, and all other goodies, I managed to get my anxiety level good and raised. We did manage to snag brochures for potential future marathons (Venice, Rome, Florence, Disney and San Diego among them), purchased some souvenirs (matching beer glasses, a Christmas ornament, and a deck of cards for the girls), and try some tasty morsels (Organic Valley Chocolate milk, and Snickers marathon bars), before I had enough and we headed back out into the cold air.
From there, we snagged a cab and went down to 6th Avenue and 21st street to visit Markt for lunch. Chris and I had an amazing lunch there last year of mussels and bear on a glorious early fall day, and have since wanted to return. There was a thirty-minute wait, so we snagged a beeper and went across the street to check out Barnes and Noble while we waited. A couple of book purchases later (for Becky), they beeped us and we returned, seated in the back and had some lunch.
Sammi opted for a simple bagel and cream cheese, while Becky and Chris both had omelets (ham and cheese for him, cheese only for Becky), and I enjoyed a croque madam. Several rounds of fries and beers later, I felt somewhat rejuvinated and we headed out. The food was good, but I think I’d probably only return to do the musells again.
I think I mentioned to you earlier, it was a bit of a cold and blistery day, and there Sammi was (well, Becky too) without a winter coat. Becky had at least had the forethought to bring a heavy sweatshirt and several layers, but Sammi, who grows like a weed, had nothing that fit, so we were on imperative to get her a coat. Originally, we planned to check out Century 21 (something I dreaded only because of the crowds) but Becky spied a Burlington Coat Factory so we popped in.
I won’t bore you will all the gorey details of shopping with Sammi (which is my worst nightmare) only to say at one point, when she started calling some of the coats too “ghetto” a term that means something in our school district but I have yet to really figure out what, while we shopped amongst mostly African American shoppers, made my heart lurch, Becky finally found a jacket suitable to Sammi, so $110 bucks later, we were outta there and she was warm.
Subway back downtown, and some hang time in the room, where we had free HBO and took advantage of it by watching John Tucker Must Die.
Later, it was off to Pepolino for dinner, which was about a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel, not bad really. Though crowded, we had some pretty decent Italian food for dinner. We started with a plate of assorted antipasti (meats, olives and cheeses), and ribolitta for me (so thick, they give you a fork to eat it). Then Chris had Paccheri alla Buttera (aka large rigatoni with sausages, sweet green peas, & tomato that he proclaimed one of the best pasta dishes he ever had), while I had the lasagna special – good (though not heated consistently through). Becky surprised us all when she ordered the Malfatti burro e salvia (ricotta and spinach gnocchi) and enjoyed it. Sammi, I’m pretty sure, had a plate of plain spaghetti.
I know we had dessert, and I remember being torn about getting biscotti or something else, and they brought us a side of biscotti for the table, so I must have had the “something else” but for the life of me now, I do not remember what it was. I’m pretty sure Becky had creme brulee and Sammi had Fiore de Latte gelato. Oh, and with dinner, we got a cheap read, the Antinori Santa Cristina I bleieve, because Chris only had one glass since he was running the next day, and it worked out cheaper by ordering that bottle than glasses or something like that.
There was some confusion with our bill, as two bottles of wine enjoyed by the table next to us, ended up on our bill, but they removed them with minimal fuss (though it took two trips back to the register to get it correct). The bill came to around $217 with tip.
Back to the hotel, to sleep, a restless one for all concerned.
The next morning, the alarm went off at 5:45, and Chris, being the quiet individual that he is, woke us all, so while he left at 6:00 to catch the ferry over to Staten Island, we hung out in the room, watching the news and some marathon coverage until about 8:30 when we headed over to the Dunkin Donuts on Church Street. No seating there, so we brought our bounty back to the hotel lobby before catching the two train to Brooklyn.
