A Perfect Day in New York

Is there such a thing as a perfect day in New York; a day so perfect that I can still taste it later? Can New York dish up the kind of day that makes me want to sing and dance in Grand Central Station? Can it make me forget full taxis flying by, when I thought my feet would fall off? Can the splendid flower kiosks, stunning public parks, soaring majestic buildings, and endless delicious little restaurants make me overlook strange street smells, homeless people sleeping on grates, and a nearly naked lady playing guitar in Times Square? Can a city where it has rained ashes and bodies make me believe in mankind? Can it make me happy? I believe it can.

Is there such a thing as a perfect day in New York? Personally, I’ve had good ones and bad ones. I’ve felt trapped like a bird in a cage, vowing I’d never return, when I couldn’t leave to chase an angel whispering goodbye elsewhere. I’ve braced myself against bitter winds, bending forward, head bowed against the raging winter. I’ve dodged rain drops, chilling rain, and enormous dark puddles reflecting ubiquitous sirens. I’ve been stuck on the subway. I’ve been honked at and yelled at.

But, I’ve also been helped. Doors have been held open and people have smiled and waved. I have lingered under the European plane trees in Bryant Park at a wrought iron table enjoying the late afternoon summer sun as it filtered through the leaves. I’ve dawdled about on the monumental steps of the Public Library and at the edge of a pond in Central Park. I’ve been swept up in lost, joyous, crazy crowds at Times Square. I’ve walked long boulevards and avenues, where horse-drawn carriages once travelled, catching snippets of conversations and languages and dialects and accents and humanity.

In New York, a complete stranger told me I looked nice then scurried away. When people’s eyes meet, no-one looks away. They share jokes. They hear your thoughts. They agree. They disagree. They laugh. They leave. They turn. They connect. They intersect like a mad science experiment. No-one is from there; they’re all lost, asking for directions and unfolding maps. The energy is intoxicating, but it might be exhausting.

So, is there such a thing as a perfect day in New York? Yes, yes, there is! You start at the Museum of Modern Art, where you and your friends float through rooms filled with masterpieces and strange colours and clever designs. Then, you chance upon a tiny Italian restaurant next door to the theatre you’ll be attending later that afternoon. The restaurant is authentic: the waiters speak Italian or heavily-accented English and it smells like a garden, so you’ll reminisce about visiting Umbria once long ago.

Now, for a perfect day in New York, you and your friends will go to a Broadway show after your lovely omelette and salad and wine. The theatre district is bustling. There are actors and singers and stage managers wearing canvas bags over black t-shirts advertising current hits, sliding effortlessly through crowds of tourists reading billboards and lining up at ticket counters. Your perfect day should include – as mine did – a brand new play that’s just opened. “Relatively Speaking” is a show with three one-act plays, written by well-known comedians (including Woody Allen), and loaded with famous actors whose CVs would fill a book.

After the show, which might make you cry and will for sure make you laugh and shake your head in awe at the talent, you and your friends should be pampered at a Danny Meyer restaurant. Danny Meyer is the CEO of a company that owns and operates several wonderful restaurants in New York mostly around Union Square. We ate at Grammercy Tavern, a very popular restaurant known for its seamless but relaxed service, interesting wine list and, above all, absolutely delicious food. I started my perfect dinner on my perfect day with the “open ravioli”. I chose the ravioli because I’d been lucky enough to be treated to lunch the day before at Maialino, the latest in the Danny Meyer collection, where I ate the most heavenly ravioli ever – the pasta was as thin as tissue paper, and bulged with a rich ricotta mixture, all of it steeping in a brown butter, lemon and sage sauce.

After dinner, during which the staff will have effortlessly made you feel right at home, you will hail a taxi. Since it is a perfect day in New York, the first taxi on the scene will stop as soon as you raise your hand to hail it. The driver will kindly drop you right in front of the theatre where you’re going for the next Broadway show, even though it’s so crowded he can hardly get through the street. You will see a musical – ah the musical! There’s nothing like the singing and dancing! The costumes, the Cole Porter tunes, the innocent love! The show, “Anything Goes”, which has won a Tony for best revival, delivered on every count. The star, Sutton Foster, who plays feisty Reno Sweeny, is exactly the kind of confident, glamorous gal who can steal a show and drag everyone with her to bring a top performance every time. Her sense of fun and perfect timing were infectious; she just lit up the stage!

Oh, have I mentioned that it was sunny and warm, too?