Two B's out of 4 so Far

So, where were we? Ah yes, yesterday afternoon. After a brief recovery period from scraped knees and tired legs, we decided to hit Fifth Ave for the afternoon. Figured we'd hit at least 2 of the 4 B's (Barney's, Bergdorfs, Bloomingdales and Bendels. As much as we TRIED to part with some cash at Bloomies and Bendels, alas, nothing seemed to need to leave the stores with us, so we hit a few more shoe shops in between, stopped for a snack and drink, then headed to Tiffany, sure we would find a birthday bobble for Peg, but even Tiff's could not open our wallets. The store was crawling with people, which for a Monday afternoon seemed crazy, but I didn't notice too many little blue bags heading out the revolving door - so maybe we weren't the only ones feeling uninspired.

I have been quite taken of late with the Frank Gehry collection there, but even that seemed a bit tired now. We did enjoy exploring the unique and "out there" stuff at Henri Bendel but the price tags were beyond our budget. I nearly succumbed to a hard sell at the cosmetic counter after a buff young salesman insisted I try his magic wrinkle cream on my fine lines around my eyes. "Whatever do you mean?" I asked. "What fine lines?" With a bit more persuasion, he had my glasses off and was slathering my "fine lines" with a thick cream called Freeze 24/7. "Hmmm, with a name like that, why not just inject a little Botox?", I asked. "This is way better than Botox." he claimed. "Well, go ahead and after you're done, I will wander around the store and if I notice a difference by the time I am ready to leave, I may be willing to shell out $95 for an ounce of your miracle goo," I told him.

As we wandered from floor to floor trying on purses, hats, weird head pieces, fondled cashmere and silk, tested perfume and checked out the unique jewelry, I kept glancing in various mirrors along the way to see if I suddenly looked 35 again. "Peg, have a look - what do you think?" He had also put some on the inside of my palm so I could compare the difference there, but when I asked Peg to pick which hand he had applied his magic potion, she chose the wrong one, so I knew I would be keeping my $95 for something more substantial. Sorry - no sale.

Back to the hotel, empty handed, we chilled for awhile before it was time to head out for dinner. Something simple we mentioned to the concierge, maybe just a salad and pizza - so he sent us to a little joint called Angelo's at 55th and Second and it was fine, but not as good as our dinner the night before. Angelo may want to reconsider the decor and although he claims his pizza is authentic Italian, we have had better.

We were pretty tired out by now and although we know it is almost criminal to end the evening early while in New York, we did. But not tonight. Just got back from our morning walk in Central Park, grueling cross-fit work-out and hill-climbing torture (thanks Peg - I needed that) and are now preparing to head out to Canal Street for little knock-off shop and then over to the Village for the remainder of the afternoon. Still not sure if we will see a show tonight or go out for a later dinner - but we want to keep our plans loose and flexible in case something presents itself.

So, on that note, I'm off to the showers. It's a dirty sweaty town and I match it right now.

Later.