I arrived in the Big Apple yesterday for a 24 hour whirlwind business trip. When all is said and done I will have spent 10 hours working, 6 hours sleeping, and 6 hours of downtime and 2 hours fighting U.N traffic.
Usually when I am in NY (and not getting all my hair cut off on a whim), I spend my downtime in my hotel room under the covers watching Seinfeld and Law and Order reruns. This is not recommended for anyone with a pulse. The following approach is much better:
Call a denizen. In my case, I called Leigh – one of those people who you meet professionally who turned out to be such a fun human being that you want to be friends for life. (Truth be told, I have also befriended Leigh because two short years ago she embarrassed me in front of Matt Lauer and I will continue to hang around with her until we come into contact with an equally famous person so I can return the favor. True story.)
Ask local dweller what to do. Leigh suggested meeting at the MoMA, where I have never been. Not only was this an incredible treat for me culturally but experiencing this with Leigh was particularly enjoyable. You see, both Leigh and I do not like to linger over art. We see it, we like it, we hate it, we move on. We power walked our way through the museum in an hour. Monet, Matisse, Pollock, Mondrian, Warhol. I was all like, I can’t believe this museum has so many originals! And I’m sure Leigh was all like, I can’t believe this Neanderthal keeps forgetting she’s in New York.
Be sure to do something that you can brag about to your spouse who is at home with the kids. The highlight was the Van Gogh exhibit which was in a quarantined area. As we enter the first exhibit space, there are several of VG’s original paintings on the wall. As I slow ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of one of these pieces, Leigh says, “Alrighty, c’mon, let’s just get to the good stuff.” Before I had a chance to gently suggest that..uh.. it’s Van Gogh and it’s pretty much all good stuff, we fell upon Starry, Starry Night. It truly took my breath away. It is so much more vibrant than in any of the reproductions. Wow. Cool.
Feel guilty that your kids are not with you. The next time the brothers come to NY, we are forgoing the Empire State Building, Toys R Us, and Mars 2112 to going straight to the MoMA. They’ll thank me for that someday.
Experience the local retail and entertainment options. The evening continued with spaghetti and meatballs, riding some sort of contraption at Hammacher Schlemmer, Dylan’s Candy, and a major chick flick.
Be sure to engender at least one inside joke per trip which you can use for life. After seeing “The Duchess”, Leigh promised to bow and call me “Your Grace” every time she sees me. But only because I asked her to.
Sometimes business travel is a total trip.
