New York

March 2022

Hector was invited to speak at a language conference in Pittsburgh in March, so of course we turned it into a trip to New York and I went along for the ride. We still have a nephew, Carlos, living and working in the city and, coincidentally, our best travel buds Tere and Martin were there to celebrate Martin’s birthday (50th!)

We got our day-before covid test (antigen 35€) here in Malaga, then hopped on the train to spend the night in Madrid at the Aloft hotel (free night certificate from Bonvoy Visa!) Next day we caught our flight to JFK after a few hours of preventive relaxation in the Iberia lounge.

Since we are wringing out the last few drops of Hector’s pre-retirement travel status, we got a friendly upgrade on AA from economy to premium economy and what a difference it is. We paid under $400 each for the coach round trip Madrid-NYC. In premium economy the seats are larger, more leg room, they drop back more and the food is better (relatively speaking.) Also, I got up during the flight to trudge to the restroom way in the back and I was shocked at the difference. The aisle was so narrow I had to turn sideways to avoid the sprawling teenagers, wandering luggage, and other flight detritus to get to the back. It was like dragging myself through Calcutta.

But arriving in New York was magical, like it always is. We checked into the Springhill Suites Midtown (25 W. 37th), a cheaper alternative to our former NY Hotel, since we’re retired now, but the location can’t be beat. It’s just around the corner from Bryant Park, and an easy walk to Central Park, MOMA, and Grand Central Station.

We met Carlos and girlfriend, Cienna, for dinner at Let’s Meat, Korean BBQ on Fifth Ave. It’s far too popular so we put our names on a list and then wandered for a couple of hours, until they sent an alarming text saying we had 5 minutes to get our asses back there. The food was fantastic and it’s all you can eat in 90 minutes. No wonder it’s so popular. That area is now referred to as Koreatown, I don’t know what it was called in the 1980’s when I worked briefly at 40th St/ Fifth.

On Sunday we took the A Train up to 175th Street, to see their apartment in Washington Heights. It’s a comfortable, tiny NY apartment, but with a sliver of a view of the George Washington Bridge and the neighborhood is very busy and West Side Story-ish. Lots of Dominicans. We had brunch at Terravita, then they walked us around for all the local color.

Tere and Martin arrived toward the end of our stay, and we strolled with them around Chelsea Market and the Hi Line. Saw Little Island at Pier 55, new buildings the Shed and The Vessel. Later we all went to have dinner at ATLA, a fantastic Mexican restaurant in Noho, 372 Lafayette St. It’s a creation of Enrique Olvera, the head chef at Pujol in Mexico City, and this is not the Mexican Food you had at your last office party. I had the Chicken Soup, Birria Tortillas and several killer margaritas. Here’s what New York Magazine says: “There may be no such thing as a perfect restaurant, but in the number of modern-day culinary needs it fulfills — and fulfills extraordinarily well — Enrique Olvera’s and Daniela Soto-Innes’s Noho canteen comes close.” So there you are. Argue with that.

Hector and I visited the Reading Room at the NY Public Library, a space made famous in many movies, and it’s just as cinematic as I had hoped. It’s such an emblem of old New York, with students and researchers spread out among the long, wooden tables and librarians still shushing people. I had hoped to return for a second visit but time, as it always does, ran out.

We had a good mix of crazy weather while there. Fog, sunshine, then rain and cold. There were quite a few tourists, planted on the corner with their iPhones in the air, demanding directions from Siri as the New Yorkers elbowed past. Central Park was glorious on the day we walked through it, then we walked up to the Metropolitan Museum just to eat a hot dog out front. It was just what you want a trip to New York to be.

Easy flight back home, no upgrades but we snagged the bulkhead and slept a lot. Arrived in Madrid, caught the high speed train to Malaga, where preparations are already underway for Semana Santa, the first Holy Week celebration in 2 years and it promises to be a blowout so get your Easter bonnets ready!