Downtown, midtown, uptown, leaving town.

On our final day in New York we walk eleven miles.  Not entirely out of choice.  This time I successfully get us to the Highline (highline.org) without having to double-back and we take an easy saunter down its length, beginning at west 30th and finishing at Gansevoort Street.  The highline seems to be a very popular Sunday morning walk and so we go with the flow, stopping from time to time to look at the sights we pass, taking photographs and chatting about our plans for the rest of the trip.  Our destination for brunch today is the Bakehouse Bistro and Cafe (bakehousenyc.com), another recommendation and which sits on a boulevard close to the water on the west side of the meat packing district.  After a hearty lunch - croque madame for me, house burger for Janet, we hit the street again planning to walk a couple of blocks east to union square, pick up a cab and to spend the afternoon exploring the upper east side - what's known as 'museum mile' - and to take in the Met museum, the Guggenheim and then to walk up to the top end of Central Park. In short, we want to get a sense of Woody Allen's Manhattan and visit some of the places that have featured in his films such as Annie Hall and Mighty Aphrodite.  We cannot, however, get a cab for love nor money.  So we walk, all the way up 5th avenue, through the shopping district, past the Rockefeller Center, past the horse drawn carriages at the SE corner of Central Park which, if they had not been so ridiculously expensive we may well have availed ourselves of. And we soldier on, past the zoo, taking in the expensive real estate to our right and noticing as we go that the heels on the shoes of the women we are passing are getting higher and the dogs they are carrying are getting smaller.  By this time Janet is limping and it is five o'clock.  Beyond the Met we divert into Central Park and sit down for a rest. Then onward we continue, across the park heading west, turning left on Central Park Road, past the New York Historical Society which is sadly closed by this point and then, at last find ourselves back at Columbus Circle named for Christopher Columbus and at the centre of which sits a statue dedicated to the great explorer.  I turn around and check on Janet.  The look on her face tells me she is in pain.  "Not far now" I say.  We are back on eighth avenue which is where our hotel is situated and this gives us both fresh motivation. We are desperate to get back to the relative tranquility and air conditioning of our hotel room.  Eighth avenue never seems to end as block after block we push our way through the crowds.  Thinking Janet desires a glass of wine for her stalwart and uncomplaining dedication to our day's objectives and knowing she will need something to numb the pain from her blisters I slip into a liquor store and tell her I will catch her up. Back on the street I walk quickly and then suddenly stop, not convinced, once again, I am going in the right direction. I start walking again hoping I will catch her up but still can't see her.  I think, for a moment, I might be lost and wonder whether to change direction and worry that Janet has thought the same thing.  As a stream of people push their way past me I look around and every direction seems to look the same.  I also remember that Janet has not been carrying her phone with her and wonder, if she gets lost, how I will find her.  I check my map and confirm to myself that I am on the right street.  Walking up to the next block I check that the street numbers that cross eighth are increasing and they are so I know that I am going in the right direction.  It's an awful lot further than I remember.  As I continue walking I spot Janet ahead of me and eventually catch her up.  "I thought for a minute I was on the wrong road" she says.  I nod.  "Me too".

We don't make it out on our last night. Back in the hotel we are both content to stay in and watch TV.  Janet shows me her blisters which are impressive. The first two weeks of our trip - LA, San Francisco, New York, has been less of a holiday and more of an endurance test.  We are both looking forward to the slower pace on Martha's Vineyard.