The accidental tourist

This past weekend I found myself on the East side of town wandering about aimlessly. It was a drizzly day that slowly slipped into a damp and foggy evening. The streets were slick with rain that reflected the rainbow of city lights. A misty haze hung over me like a soft blanket settling halfway between the heavens and earth.

I found myself in front of Blooming.dales and decided to make a sharp left onto 60th Street heading towards 2nd Avenue. A crowd was gathered in front of a small shop about halfway up the block. Turns out they were waiting to dine at the world reknown Serendipity. I ventured farther up the block to discover the Roosevelt Island tram. I always wondered where it was and what it might be like to suspend precariously over the city. Although the weather wasn't ideal for sightseeing, it was still quite a thrill to be whisked up over the city and carried high above the Queensboro bridge.

Directly across the street from the tram is the Tramway Diner that is your typical New York greasy spoon but other than that there isn't much else up in that direction.

After the quick ride to and from Roosevelt Island I wandered down 59th Street and discovered a number of stores that I didn't know were in the area. There is a Home De.pot, a Williams-Son.oma, Pot.tery Barn, and a Crate and Barr.el in the area. There was a furrier that had the hottest pink fur in the window display including this leopard print wrap with satiny pink lining.

As I moved further down 59th the luxurious Plaza Hotel came into view and stood regally on the corner of 5th Avenue and 59th Street. The horse drawn carriages stood across the street with sad looking horses and impatient looking drivers queued up. As I approached Columbus Circle the monolithic structure of the new Time Warner/AOL building overshadowed the lower entrance of Central Park. This is where my tour ended as I hopped a train to take me back to the upper end of this grand city that I am trapped within the confine of -- at least for the moment.