Wow, That Went Well!

Not only did I not have not have time to do my laundry, the upload really wasn't much slower than at the hotel in New York.     Speaking of which,  I want to write a bit about my last full day in the city.   It was of coarse bitter cold, the wind was howling off the Hudson, and I bundled up as for an arctic expedition--it's all about layers, and headed up to midtown.    New York City positively glitters during the holidays, and Rockefeller  Center is the heart of all.  I think it's the most beautiful assemblage of buildings anywhere.      I walked through to the skating rink and the tree, and then across 5th Ave to St Patrick's Cathedral, where High Mass was being celebrated by none other than the cardinal himself!       I stayed for the rest of it--glorious pipe organ music and choir singing christmas carols,  incense  and a nearly life size creche with a smiling camel!    It was beautiful!      Warmed up now,  back out on 5th Ave,  I looked at the great bronze central doors of the church.     One of the panels depicts Mother Cabrini,  who my mother always said her father drove up to the orphanage  she founded in the hills west of Denver.     By the time I thought that through I was already refrozen!     Walking up the Ave.,  I said to myself, I can go here or I can go there,  taking in the fantastic window displays along the way.      Well, I made it to the corner of 58th st ,where looms the Plaza Hotel in all it's glory!      I thought,   THE OAK BAR!   It's been seen in many movies and is a protected NYC landmark  (yes the interior-heaven forbid that Denver should ever extend it's preservation ordinance to include interiors-- I can hear the howls of protest from here in the middle of the Atlantic).     So I went in the hotel, found the bar and ended up spending the afternoon there!    Don't ask what the check ended up being, but it was worth every penny!    The bartender was super friendly. He was a fan of Denver, and wanted to know the cool hotel bars there, I told him the Cruise Room and the Ship Tavern.    Made us both wonder what's with the ship theme in landlocked Denver.     A really fun Australian gal sat next to me  (why are Australians always fun?)  and the afternoon flew by!   By the time I left it wasn't nearly so cold out!   Walked down to Times Square to visit Cafe Un Deux Trois, where I worked as a bartender for two years, in the mid 80s    Its a great place still.    Enjoy the photos to come!