Nothing like getting off the subway after work, turning on the tv, and seeing a credible threat has been made to the NYC subway. I'm hoping this threat doesn't extend to the NJ PATH system - this could be the one case where it pays to have everyone forget your're here. I went to the NYC Mass Transit Authority website looking for info and of course it had none, but you can read all about Ms. Subways 2004. Good Grief. I'd hate to see the losing essays.

Kerry was in town on Tuesday, so G, Kerry and I spent a whirlwind day in the city. First stop was the American Folk Art Museum. What a gorgeous building. The Obsessive Drawing show was stunning. They had a few Henry Darger pieces too.

Next stop, Serafina for lunch, then all the way to lower Manhattan to "New York's Best Kept Secret", but alas it was closed for Rosh Hashanah. So we hoofed over to South Street Seaport hoping to find a plaque to Tanya Abei, who sailed around the world by herself at age 18, starting from South Street Seaport, but no luck. So we rested our dogs for a bit, then it was up to 8th Street for some shoe shopping. At one point some blinged-out lady walked in with an entourage - she had on big furry boots that looked like woodchucks had attached themselves to her shins. I took note briefly, but went back to obsessing over the dowdy Anne Taylor loafers I was trying on (they WERE dowdy, but in a Prada-y way, I kept trying to convince myself). Apparently the clerks had been freaking out because the blinged-out lady was someone named Trina (launch e-card at own risk!).

Kerry is a total celebrity magnet when she visits! Not only did we see Trina, but at Serafina G and Kerry saw that women from "Crossing Jordan," and somewhere in Greenwich Village we strolled past Ethan Hawke, whom we saw last time Kerry was here. Weird. And G and I are convinced we saw Amanda Lepore at Commerce Bank on 14th St., although she doesn't seem like the kind of gal that does her own banking, does she?

Oh, I forget to mention, after lunch we went into La Maison du Chocolat. Holy, Holy crap. I have never smelled anything like this in my life, an odor so delicious you could swear you were tasting chocolate with every breath. Truffles that cost hundreds of dollars! A box of two tiny chocolates the size of your thumbnail cost $6. G treated us to some, and I felt like Charlie Bucket running outside and ripping the wrapper off.

Our last stop was dinner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Planet Thailand. The L train needs a shampoo donation drop box, I swear to god. Unfortunately I had to pass up a post-dinner trip to Barcade, but with Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale on tap, I better get there before autumn is over! So overall, a long, exhausting, extremely fun day - I can't wait for Ms. K's next trip out here!