Macy's / beads

On our last day in NY, it finally felt like May. The sun was shining bright and it was even hot. I had to buy emergency short-sleeve T-shirts last night because I didn't bring any. When Seattle was only 14 degrees and the NY forecast was all rainy and cold, who would have thought I need any? But I'm glad we had some sunny days despite huge fluctuations and tough to adjust. Even tougher for me when my cold wouldn't leave.

Last chance for the Empire State Building. Security line up was hopelessly long. Just like us, everybody must have been waiting for a sunny day. With A being allergic to lineups, we gave it up and left for Macy's. When you only have a few hours left, it makes no sense to just stand there despite wasting the last City Pass ticket. Macy's antique wooden escalators were amazing... As far as I counted, there were at least 3 sets (all to and from the cellar) and they were soooo old, yet still work! They make noises and feel like a theme park ride in antique land! OK... movie-set would be a better word, but these are real.

Lunch in cellar "food court". It has a name like a restaurant and people who pick up trays and clean the tables dressed like chefs. The setup is still like a cafeteria, though. The touristy NY tin can chocolate A bought yesterday for $17 at Walgreens is only $10 here! What a rip off! Not to mention, it scanned as $20 and we had to go through customer service for a refund. They did not say anything, though. Meaning... they know about that??? Evil!

We took a break at a random cafe called Andrew's Cafe for a piece of cheese cake. We were trying to do the cafeteria style: buy at the cashier and sit down at the counter. But the staff (especially a very stern waitress) insisted that we sat down at the tables. Of course this is how they scam for tips. Seeing part of their ceiling panel was opened and something was being worked on, I wanted the counter. But that waitress sealed my escape route by taking us to a table near the counter. Sigh... Not to mention she wasn't exactly friendly. She acted like we were the scammers. Grrrrrr! It wasn't cheap either. A piece of cheese cake and a glass of coke cost close to $10. However, the cheese cake was excellent. I'm sure it was 90% fat. (This is how I gain weight traveling.)

Thanks A for taking me bead shopping after Macy's, and helping me search for the links and caps. Although no luck on the specific ones I've been looking for, I found some other good stuff. Sorry I got carried away and wasted some time.

We made it back to the hotel just in time, but the luggage took a while to be fetched. The black "hired car" the hotel booked for us was there already. They said it would be $80 flat rate to the airport. (Was tip included???) However, we wanted to go to the other hotel located just on the other side of the airport. The driver asked for $100. That felt too much but no choice.

Checked in. Since I booked this one, I paid. (Felt very sorry that A had to pay so much for the other hotel and transit and most of the food... Hey I did buy some of the food and some other items.) Took the hotel shuttle to Jessey Garden mall "across the street". I'd say, it would still be a good 20-minute walk. That mall is very big and seems to cater to travelers. Plenty of deals, even some outlet style store. Saw some 4 for $20 bras, but as expected, cheap bras like those don't fit well. Wasted a lot of time trying them on. Ended up in a shoe store nearby. The walking shoes I wanted was sold out in reasonable colours. (No Barbie pink for me!) Ended up buying a pair of casual yet dressy sandals instead. A bought a wallet to replace his breaking one. Took shuttle back to hotel. It came a little late which had us worried, but it came.

Tomorrow will be an early day for a mid-morning flight. The bed was firmer than Candlewood's but still couldn't sleep. My bed-time cough got slightly better, though.