It’s been a busy couple of days. And now I’ve come down with a cold. I’m not a happy camper. Here are some shots of buildings around the city – just a milli-smidgeon of the wealth of wonderful architecture in Manhattan.

Some of the detail on the Woolworth Building – one of my favorite buildings in the city. Try as I mght, I can’t get a good shot of the whole building, with its gorgeous green roof.

City Hall  – the municipal buildings, including police headquarters, the courts, etc. are all in my neighborhood.

I’ve walked through Union Square countless times, but this is the first time I noticed the statue of Gandhi – in a little garden.

Oh, and look who I ran into yesterday:

Don had an audition and we got to see each other for all of 30 minutes. I wish it had been longer. I’m a wee bit homesick. 2 more days.

I’m off to continue the search for shoes or boots to wear on opening night. I want something I can wear again, on sale, black and in my size. Is that asking too much? Apparently it is.

Shall we walk across the Brooklyn Bridge? I’ve always wanted to. Since my hotel is only about a 10 minute walk from the bridge, this seemed to be the perfect time. Here we go:

Lots of people on the walkway – there’s a lane for walkers and a lane for bikes.

A photo shoot. Don’t you think that model was cold? It was extremely windy up there, so windy that it was sometimes hard to hold my camera steady. On the way back, the model was still there but she had on a white parka.

The Empire State Building on the left and over to the right, my favorite, The Chrysler Building.

All in all, it took about 50 minutes, but I was walking at a brisk pace. It really is a magnificent experience. The views are incredible.

I hopped on the subway and traveled to the Upper East Side to visit this shop:

It is full of wonderful miniatures – some very, very, very expensive. I didn’t buy anything but I sure loved looking. Back down to Union Square for lunch at one of our (Don and I) favorite restaurants, Zen Palate.

I stopped at the Barnes and Noble and checked out the magazines:

There it is!

The show is in really good shape. We’ve had 2 preview audiences and the response has been wonderful. 3 more previews and then Opening Night on Saturday. I have to find some shoes to go with my dress – basic black, of course.

Knowing that I was soon to be in need of another book to read, I headed to my favorite bookstore in the world, The Strand.

The Strand is an independent bookseller – a rarity nowadays. It’s slogan is “18 Miles of Books.” I believe it. There are books everywhere, on every subject, on 3 floors. Some are new, many are gently used and the prices are great. I could spend all day in there.

This is just part of the gardening section. Excuse the dark photo – this section is in the basement.

I found some books and I found this:

The Strand has all sorts of wonderfully designed book bags, but when I saw this the deal was done.

The Strand isn’t far from Union Square so I walked north, stopping here and there and then I landed at The City Bakery, which is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary. Why did I stop there? Because they are known for their incredible hot chocolate (which I first had a few years back.)

Hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows.

I’d forgotten how rich it is! It was almost too much. But I finished it. While sitting there I had a conversation with two guys about cupcakes. We each offered our picks for the Top Cupcake in NYC.

Look what I saw in a store window on the same block:

Do you know how much I would love that turquoise stove? Let’s not even mention that it’s sitting right next to a pink Smeg refrigerator. Sigh.

More walking and more walking and I ended up here:

Yes, it’s magical magnetic powers drew me to this corner in the Village. See earlier conversation about cupcakes.

Yummy. By the way, Blogger is very troublesome at the moment, every time I try to load a photo it gets jumpy and annoying. I may have to go back to the old Editor. (I did, temporarily.)

Anyway, more walking – wearing a coat that was too heavy for the unseasonably warm weather, carrying a shoulder bag that was too heavy, so I ended up at Whole Foods and brought some food back to the hotel for dinner.

Along the way (in the Village) I passed this place:

I love the name and description of this establishment. Do you see the skeletons on the roof? Fabulous.

I hope you’re enjoying these little excursions. The number of comments seems to be down for the last few posts. Not sure why.

Anyway, I hope you like these peeks at NYC. I’ll be bringing you more during the week. Tomorrow, I have a day of rehearsal and and evening performance.