Gotta say, I love New York City. I love the people and the bustle and the energy. Could there be anywhere in the city more buzzing than Times Square?

However, yesterday I was only passing through, on my way to Longacre Theatre to do the impossible – exchange a ticket to Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstat for another performance. Right on the ticket it says: “No refunds or exchanges except as required by law” and I strongly suspected that getting confused and picking the wrong performance would not qualify as “required by law.”

But the impossible happened! The young woman in the box office at the theatre didn’t bat an eye. She found me the same seat one row behind and one day earlier. She refunded my mistake including the service charge, and sold me a ticket with no fee, so I even came out ahead. Hurrah for NYC!

Today I passed through Times Square again on my way to Grand Central Terminal. The busker in the subway should have been on stage, not underground!

Grand Central Terminal, built in the 1910s by Cornelius Vanderbilt, is a throw back to a glamorous age of travel. Sweeping hallways and an enormous main concourse speak to the railway fortune that financed it.

This afternoon Shirley and I visited the American Museum of Natural History. The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation is in a new addition to the Museum, one the architects designed “to spark your curiosity.” (AMNH website)

Built on four levels, there are few straight walls, few corners and lots of space for studying exhibits and relaxing.

We spent qutie some time watching the ants and wandering in the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium. The header of this post is a photo of the Museum’s photo. The entire place felt as busy as bees!

Shirley and ended the day witih a remarkable meal at the Santa Fe restaurant on West 71st Street. I must work on my food photography – my images were not worth posting. We started with a margarita, guacamole and chips, and both had enchiladas with verde sauce for mains. Sooo delcious! I wish you could have been there!