8/15/10

The Country Mice visit the city (aka taxi drivers need a pilot license).



We left early Thursday morning, hoping to make it to the city by noon. The weekend in New York City would be the last hurrah before each daughter packed and left for college. Excitement walked hand in hand with a tinge of sadness, at least for this mother.

We arrived at my friend’s home in New Rochelle, and parked along a tree-lined street in a quiet, lovely neighborhood. I left my keys on her counter and called the taxi that would take us to the train station. He loaded our gear in the trunk, and the taxi made one more stop before depositing us at the station.

The woman who joined us in the cab smiled as she heard our reply to the driver’s inquiry about why we were heading into the city.

“Are you by any chance going to the BlogHer conference?” She asked with a smile.

I replied that we were, indeed, and with a laugh she indicated the same. Thankfully, she was skilled in the art of train ticket buying, and had us all ticketed and seated before we knew what was happening. (And thank God, because I would have totally screwed that up.) We had a wonderful conversation, and I am no longer shocked when I find myself engaged in an interesting and fascinating conversation with a stranger. The fact that we felt connected by our blogging experiences and similar blogging friends was not a shock, as I’ve learned that we are almost all connected in some interesting and magical way. (My daughter’s have long given up on their quest to SHUT ME UP, so they just ignore me, and allow me to be who I am. Mostly.)

We arrived at Grand Central- and on Sassy’s insistence, lugged our HUGE suitcases up three flights of steps and up a bazillion ramps to exit onto the steamy, humid, packed with people, fantastic streets of New York City.

After watching a brief video in the taxi about how the drivers do NOT talk on cell phones, we hung on for dear life as our driver (while chatting on the cell phone the whole way) flew like a jet down Sixth Avenue to the Hilton. By then I was not only soaked through and through, but reviewing the many near death experiences I had had that day.



We checked into our room, and I was instructed to see the concierge before heading up to the 28th floor. I was shocked to be given a gorgeous black bag, courtesy of this particular designer, and we opened it when we arrived in the room.

The designer’s team (who I can only mention over here) had included subway passes, gift cards to Magnolia Bakery, Top of the Rock, and other various items to make our stay in the city memorable. It was incredible!



At this point we left the hotel to meet up with my incredible intern from several years ago, who is not only a phenomenal teacher at a gifted and talented school in the city, but a seasoned city girl as well. In fact, it was at her parents home that we had left the car.

She was about to show the girls what a real shopping spree looked like.



Part Two tomorrow. Apparently I'm supposed to be CLEANING around here...


23 comments:

Rachel Cotterill said...

I'm so jealous. One day, I'll get over there....

Brian Miller said...

nice sounds like a good trip so far...a flying taxi and nice swag!

Joanie said...

Ah, well.... if I can't be IN New York City, I can enjoy it vicariously through your trip.

Bring on Part II!!

my word verification was RETAILEX. I thought that was apporpriate.

Notes From ABroad said...

Oh this has all the makings of a great story ! Can't wait to hear it all.
I went from NYC taxi drivers to BA taxi drivers.
I think the drivers here are worse than NY but they play great music and talk and laugh with you so I gotta choose the BA guys as my favorites.

Your daughters try to shut you up?
How about my son sends me scary articles describing the crimes committed against bloggers who reveal too much .. Scare tactics have now replaced disinterest :(

NadiaEcho said...

Aw man that sounds fun! Wish I could go...

Gigi said...

Totally jealous - I'd love to go to NY for any reason but especially to meet some of the folks I've met through blogging. Glad you had a great time and lived to tell the tale after your taxi ride!

Teresa Dawn said...

I'd love to visit NYC one day... Guess I better renew my passport so I can enter the states again haha!

Unknown said...

You sooo deserved all the spoiling
you got :)

Smiling for ya, girl

Rene

Missy said...

Don't clean, tell us more!!!
I need to be a New York Cab driver!

flutter said...

actually taxi drivers need psychotropics.

Liz Wilkey (a.k.a. A Mom on Spin) said...

so smart to leave the car out of the city.

Driving is way more stressful than being a passenger. . .

Cheryl D. said...

How fun! I wish I could have gone! I'm going to San Diego next year! For sure!

Christy said...

Wow that is a cool welcome gift! I was so happy that I got to run into you a few times again this year. Next year we should schedule drinks at the bar! Your daughters are ADORABLE and I can't wait to see the rest of your posts on the conference. I had a BLAST this year!!!

Mrs A said...

Hope you have a fab time in NYC, i am also one of the jealous ones, i live a million miles away so not so convenient, but one day. My son is in his final year of school so i will be sad when he leaves for college, look forward to part 2 of the trip,

Joanna Jenkins said...

I have BlogHer envy.
Sounds like a great trip so far!
Cheers, jj

Annabel Manners said...

That sounds like so much fun. Thanks for sharing some of the deets!

Pamela said...

Can't wait to hear more...

Carrieann said...

Noooooo!!!! You left me hanging!!!!

Unknown said...

NYC taxi drivers must be required to attend school to become who they are: fearless drivers, bartenders on wheels, GPS implants, and with a "I don't give a damn" attitude.

Have a great time!

Mimi Lenox said...

A shopping spree in New York City. What did you buy?!!
The taxi ride sounds awesome though.

SSP said...

oh, sounds like a GREAT first day. I look forward to hearing more about it from your hilarious perspective! and you can see my office building in the last photo of Times Square...the TGIFridays sign is on the Actors Equity Building

Jill said...

Looking forward to the next part of the story...

Sandy (Your life, organized) said...

Love the swag! What a fun Trip!


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