Woke up a bit later today, after a busy night...
Breakfast then packing... We all did quite a bit of shopping and everybody is busy trying to fit their belongings into suitcases and bags, Nicolas and Aurélie amazed me as to how a little stuff they brought with them compared to Marie and I... I managed to fit everything neatly, protected the few fragile things I got, good news I still got room for some more, so I might be able to fulfill the order I got from my dear sister.
11am time to check out and pay for the hotel ouch, we can only pay by cards, I saved some cash for the hotel and it just got upgraded to "buy more stuff, here" with the help of Marie, oh well... Luggages are staying here for the day and we expect an additional bag from Charlotte, books or so we heard...
After leaving the hotel, MTA, we're buying tickets with coins 5c, 10c and 25c coins, I had a lot of spare coins from previous trips to the US and it seemed I had more than $8 in that form so we're on our way to Soho. (MTA tickets are $2 each...)
Back in Soho for more shopping, I've got to find 2 pairs of jeans for Yann (my brother in law) and Blandine (my big sis) and a pair of funky Converse. A few calls and assistants later at Levi's, I've got the Jean's!!! Quite a mission... As I left the cashier, no one was in sight, thanks... Got out of the store, hopefully Nicolas was waiting for me... We found Marie and Aurélie in the shoe store next door, Marie is trying some sandals, hesitating between 2 pairs... yeah both look great on you dear, ok take both...
Next the Converse, lots of choice but hopefully the girls helped me to find the right pair or so we hope. Marie already stood up as a backup in case they don't fit/please, girls, girls, girls...
Right so I got a present for most of the family now, my bag will be very full, time to stop...
Next we rested ourselves at a little cafe for some drinks and onion rings, brunch is not until 2pm and we need a break from all this action as Aurélie is too tempted to go back to Armani Exchange so we have to stop now before she burns her Visa even more...
Sun is out, no torrential rain, we're meeting with Charlotte for brunch. Charlotte knows all the good places in NYC and we should have taken her with us the whole trip and she proves herself yet again today. We ended up in Double Crown at 316 Bowery in Noho. As you can see from the picture a very original and stylish place. But to celebrate my return to the old country I'm going for the traditional English Breakfast, with a more NYC lychee cocktail... A few more talks and pictures... feels alreay like the end.
After brunch we decided to walk back to the hotel to pick up our luggages via Washington Square Park and 5th Avenue, this park is very famous in NY and you may have seen it in a couple of movies like the recent "I am Legend" it's got an arch like the "Arc de Triomphe" in Paris but today it does have something else on display... About 20 Korean women trapped in a transparent box which is supposed to represent the condition and suffering of women in North Korean, noble 'cause, not sure we understand everything but I guess it had to be done...
5th Avenue was a great walk with more oddities like trees wrapped in plastic bottles in a little square of grass !!!??? A fallout shelter !!! The atmosphere on a Saturday is a little bit more relaxed than during the weekend, but still it's a very busy City all week round.
Back to the hotel, more packing hopefully I had just the space needed in my bag, we also got Charlotte's bag that weighs a ton ;-) The cabbie is already there waiting for us with a massive SUV only americans know how to build. A few last words, goodbyes and waves to Charlotte and we're on our way to JFK.
Smooth ride, no problem, I think we might be in luck today.
Well hold on a minutes, first we couldn't do Aurélie, quick checkin as she still has her maiden name on her passport but not on her ticket but that got resolved quickly. Second the plane had a problem in Charles De Gaulle so they had to change it from a 747 to a 777 meaning less seats arrgghhh!!!
Well, fortunately we arrived very early so no problems for us we're confirmed, although since the flight is overbooked they proposed us €300 plus free hotel night to take the next day plane, but since most of us want/had to go home we passed. A good move anyway since my Eurostar ticket for Sunday is everything but flexible.
So we're confirmed on the flight but they can't give us seats yet!!! So we can't go to security or to our gate until 25 minutes before the flight... It's 6:30pm, almost 2 hours to wait with limited attractions around... Personally I was very doubtful we would have our plane on time but Air France really impressed me on this one. Around 8:15 pm and a few drinks later, we got our seats, but not together doh! Security checks were really quick and we boarded the plane almost on time.
Quick seat re-arrangement and we're seating in pairs but at different places in the plane, oh well could have been worse... Good news though wind is poor so we'll arrive sooner in Paris!!!
The girls are a bit nervous about the flight, especially Marie who doesn't like flying at all, every little noise and rattle makes her jump and since we are seating next to the wings there's quite a few of them... So I had to use all my powers to calm her down before and during the flight, hopefully they were some games on our screens that seemed to the trick, lots of turbulences, average food, but a few glass of champagne and wine later she was relaxed and ready to sleep.
Lights are fading, movie is not so interesting, I'm starting to drift into sleep, lots of good memories in my head, a long day tomorrow, some loud music on my ipod. Day 10 and holidays are over...
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