New York City and Fairfield, Connecticut: Grand Central Station, the Apple Store, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library

Monday, September 28, 2026

New York City and Fairfield, Connecticut: Grand Central Station, the Apple Store, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library

It was curious to wake in our neighbors’ apartment—the Homs’—with our own home in view across the fence. But there was no time to linger in bed: we had plenty to do!

Breakfast with the Pintos:

So after washing, showering and getting dressed, our former GP Dr. Ed Pinto and his wife, Dr. Marguerite Pinto (also close family friends of ours) came to pick us up from our driveway and off we went with them to the Southport Diner. This too has become something of a ritual for us (as we have done this for the past couple of years too). Because I decided that I was going to eat healthy, I deprived myself of my usual much-longed-for breakfast: waffles with strawberry compote and whipped cream. Instead, I ordered a sedate two-egg omlette and an Americano and with Llew giving me some of the hash browns that he had ordered, I had a handsome breakfast. Of course, it is always fun to catch up with the Pintos and apprise them of what is happening with our own state of health as well as talk about our family members (they particularly enjoy talking about their three brilliant grandsons). Time flew and after a very lovely couple of hours together, we had to leave. They dropped us off to Southport Station and we were able to begin our day.

Off to New York City:

We had dedicated this day to New York City as we had a huge priority that needed to be addressed immediately. I needed to buy a new laptop as my current one had started to play up. So, after we purchased Senior Discounted tickets for the Metro-North train from the vending machine, we spent some in the station itself. Of course, it brought back old memories for me of commuting to work via this station, and I recalled those early mornings when I would be at the platform awaiting my train. Yes, it did come soon enough, and we enjoyed the ride into the city as we took in the beautiful landscapes and seascapes of Connecticut (with some color already on the trees) and then the beginnings of the skyscrapers that make up the city’s skyline.

Buying my New Laptop:

It is at Grand Central Station itself—that fabulous monument for which I have a special place in my heart—that the Apple store is located. Of course, service is excellent when they know you have come to buy a new computer. We had very efficient guys walk us through the process. We told them that we wanted to trade in my current laptop (which was certainly possible, they said) and they informed us that I was entitled to an educational discount (which was great). And so, before you could say Jack Robinson, I had bought and paid for a new laptop—they pretty much had in stock exactly the model I wanted with the same storage capacity I needed, etc. A credit card changed hands and they told me that they would transfer all my data from my old computer to the new one and give me a call after two days when it would be ready. That big errand carried out, we were ready for the next item on our agenda.

Lunch with Llew’s Colleague, Amy:

Llew had made plans to meet his former colleague, Amy, at Grand Central itself (as she still worked nearby). She was there at 1.00 pm, as planned, at the clock. While Llew awaited her arrival, I browsed around Grand Central as I took in all the new stores that have popped up in the arcades leading in and out of the station’s precincts including Grand Central Market where I always used to find a few sample nibbles before I boarded my train (in days gone by)!

Amy and the two of us decided to go down to ‘Shake Shack’ (one of my favorite places in the world to eat) but because we’d had big breakfasts that still sat heavy in our tummies, we all settled on Chocolate Milk Shakes and that was what we sipped as Llew and Amy caught up by talking shop. It was an enjoyable time and by the time, she was ready to return to work, we were ready to move on.

The ‘Costume Art’ Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Of course, I cannot leave New York City without paying a visit to my favorite place of them all—the Met—which is like my second home in the city. This gave us the opportunity to ride the subway and, of course, this brought back tons of memories too for me. On entering the museum after walking along Madison Avenue—always a joy (for free, I might add, since I have my Emerita Docent ID card), we discovered that there is a special exhibition on ‘Costume Art’ which combines art and fashion—two of the things I love best! So, of course, we made a beeline for it and discovered that it was an attempt to bring together the various sections of the museum’s collection with famous designers who were invited to create clothing that was in some way related to an item in-house. It was a very clever idea indeed and it brought out the creativity of a number of designers from people one had never heard of (aspiring designers, perhaps) to big names like Dior, Alexander McQueen and Ralph Lauren who interpreted the work of artists such as Winthursthaler, Seurat, Van Gogh, Picasso and Kusama. It was all quite fascinating if very extensive and time-consuming but with this done, we had the time only to browse through the various galleries on the main floor. I was struck by the number of spatial changes that have taken place at the museum over the past one year—entire sections have been moved, new ones added, etc. The Medieval Hall, for instance, is filled with sculptures that have been brought over from the Cloisters in the Bronx—they are clustered together quite strikingly in the Hall and bring an understanding of the kind of clothing that people wore in the Middle Ages. Yes, I did have a chance to look at some of the objects that used to be on the Highlights Tour that I used to give (the Dogon Couple from Mali, the Kouros, the Asmat Bis Poles, etc,) before I took a picture at the main Information Desk. Truly, the sense of belonging I feel when I am at the Met cannot be described in words. I am very pleased to say that on the ground floor gift shop, through which we browsed, I found a beautiful silk scarf in a variety of colors and Llew promptly bought it for me. I was very pleased to have a little souvenir of our visit to the Met.

Taking a Bus to the New York Public Library:

After our visit to the Met, we decided that the best was to see the city would be to take a bus downtown (instead of the subway from which you see nothing except dark tunnels). We were also happy to note that our OMNI Seniors cards worked beautifully, and we were very proud of this Seniors perk! Once we arrived along Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, we realized that we still had some time to kill as our next appointment was only at 8.00 pm in Fairfield, Connecticut. Hence, we made the completely impulsive decision to visit the New York Public Library on 42nd Street.

‘Treasures’ Exhibition at the New York Public Library:

Inside, we discovered was a special exhibition on ‘Treasures” of the Library, curated to coincide with the 250th Anniversary of America’s Independence. Of course, we simply had to see it and inside we were. There, in two spacious galleries, we saw such a variety of fascinating items, including the original copy of the Declaration of Independence with the signatures of all the statesmen who were present to sign it in 1776. It really was a wonderful way for us to mark the 250th birthday of our country and I felt very proud to able to see this. Among the items that were on display that caught my eye are: Charles Dickens’ desk, chair and oil lamp (these have traveled from his home in Gad’s Hill in Kent, UK); Arturo Toscanini’s special shoes, ordered from Sak’s Fifth Avenue that were custom-made to be slip-resistant (so that he would not fall off the podium while wearing them and conducting); the entire collection of Christopher Robbins’ stuffed animals (soft toys) that he owned and that had inspired his father A.A. Milne to create the ‘Winne the Pooh’ stories with those of his animal friends; the original work of Audubon (a massive tome containing his illustrations and his notes—with a stained glass window right behind featuring one of his artistic works); the First Folio of Shakespeare’s Works dating from 1623; and a drawing by Albrecht Durer featuring the ‘Triumphal Arch” commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian I. It was a thoroughly enjoyable exhibition, and I have to say that we both enjoyed every minute of it as well as our little tour of the library itself which is an imposing Neo-Classical building with loads of interesting interior features that caught my eye including dentil crown molding.

I have to say that walking along the streets and avenues of Manhattan again was a lovely experience and I felt like a bit of a tourist as I took it all in.

Traveling Back to Southport, Connecticut, with Amy:

We had made plans to meet our friend, another Amy (Tobin) at Grand Central Station’s clock as she intended to travel to Connecticut with us on the train. She too would be attending the Book Club Meeting as she too was once a member of the same book club. In fact, I was extremely grateful to Amy who had especially traveled from her second home in Florida to her Manhattan home in order to make sure she would meet me.

We traveled on the commuter train together and used the hour-long journey to chat nineteen-to-the-dozen and catch up. Then, we walked from Southport Station to the Homs’ home along Pequot Avenue, passing by all the shops in the village that I had once frequented and enjoyed the crackle of dry leaves underfoot as Fall is well and truly with us. And of course, when we passed our own home at the end of Pequot, we had to take a picture. Not much later, our friend Amy de Lannoy came to the Homs’ place to pick us up and off we went with her to the home of our friend, Mary-Lauren off Bronson Road.

The Joys of Attending a Book Club Meeting:

Needless to say, attending my Book Club Meeting again after exactly a year, was truly the highlight of this day. It was brilliant to see the six current members (most of whom, except Helene, Amy and I have known for at least 30 years). Mary-Lauren, whom we both love dearly, welcomed us warmly at her door and, as always, was a terrific hostess. We were all assembled around her kitchen island as we laughed and joked. Yes, there was wine (and other potables) and nibbles and as each member entered, there was the uproarious lovely to see you again whoops.

Mary Lauren served us a delicious dinner and a crumble for dessert and, of course, we did full justice to it. Before we knew it, it had turned very late at night—Amy was spending the night at Mary-Lauren’s (who sent me home with a huge packet of tea bags—and boy, was it generous of her!). Then, with Bonnie giving me a lift back to the Homs’ place, I was able to call it a night. I must add that Llew had joined the spouses of all these friends at Boys Night Out (which has also become part of the traditional ritual of the guys). They go out for pizza and beer and this night, they had chosen ‘Brew Port’, a popular place in Fairfield. Llew was already home when

I reached and on the happy note of having spent a really wonderfully productive and fun day, we fell asleep.

Until tomorrow, see ya’…