Adding my voice to the chorus of trusting Allyson.

Seattle is looking do-able, but there are logistical (and pouting) issues to work through.

Lee, I did get your email, but it's been nuts here. Sorry, sweetie. I'll be pinging back sometime today, hopefully, probably from my Gmail account. (That goes for Java cat, as well)

No rush on answering, Juliana. I know it's a hectic week for you.

Friday in New York (Nilly content: 50%)

Saturday in New York (Nilly content: 1%)

Saturday night in New York (Nilly content: 0.5%)

Sunday brunch in New York (Nilly content: 30%)

At the Met, msbelle and Jesse and Scola stayed outside to watch what Kate has deemed my "terrorist luggage." Inside the Met, Nilly was fascinated by the lobby. We probably could have left her in there all day.

Trudes took us through the Egyptian section, where Trudes and Kat ogled the gold jewelry. The thing about gold jewelry is it didn't deteriorate. There was "You'd wear that" after "You'd wear that." Nilly valiantly tried not to touch anything by making sure her hands were grabbing onto things on her person.

We saw the transplanted Temple of Dendur, complete with British graffiti. We wondered who took the time to chisel their damn name into a temple, and whether they had servants to do it for them. I would say Nilly was fascinated, but that's just to be understood. I had asked her if there was anything she didn't find impressive, and she claimed there was, but she couldn't come up with it. I said it'd be impressive for her to come up with something unimpressive.

Then Trudes had to leave, and Kat and Kate took a break, which left me with Nilly. This was the first time it was just Nilly and me, so the account you are about to get is a Sunil exclusive! For now, until Nilly writes about things.

Nilly said she liked impressionism, so I took her to the European gallery. As it turned out, she loved Renoir too, and for the same reason as I did, the warmth. "Look at this girl," she said. "I feel like I know her." I resolved to show her the awesome Renoirs I had seen on Friday, if I could find them. Our time seemed to be running out, however. We had to be out to say goodbye to Kate by four. Nilly could spend weeks in just this gallery, admiring the paintings. Luckily, I had already been there Friday, so I rushed around and told her the adjacent room had a bunch of Monets. She thanked me strongly, and thanked me again when I rushed off to find the Renoirs I wanted to show her. It's strange to be thanked for something partly selfish: I wanted her to see them because I loved them. I wanted to share them with her, whether she liked them or not. But Nilly is so gracious, so polite.

The Met is like a fucking maze. It took me forever to find them, and I even asked for directions a few times. Finally, I found them and then tried to figure out how to get back to Nilly. When I finally got back to the room I'd left her in, she wasn't there. Nor was she in the adjacent room with the Monets. Holy fuck. I'd lost Nilly.

Luckily, she was in the next room over, whew. I rushed us through everything to get to where I wanted to go, still a bit lost. I was afraid after all this hullaballoo that maybe she wouldn't even think the Renoirs were so hot. Thankfully, she did. She again thanked me for finding them for her. Then I quickly showed her the awesome pointillist paintings by Cross and Signac on the other wall, and we marvelled at them together.

Then we tried to find our way out to say goodbye to Kate. She was following me, her trusty but confused guide. We ended up getting out at exactly the right time. Kate said bye to Nilly. I wanted to take a picture with Kate. I expected the traditional arms-around pose, but I was surprised and pleased when she grabbed me in a hug. Spending a day in New York together does tend to cause some bonding. We'd come a long way from our tired conversation over ice cream.

I noticed Kate had some sort of tattoo in the small of her back...except it was higher than I'd normally seen. Are Buffista tattoos deliberately nonconformist?

Jesse having left with Kate and Kat also having taken her leave, Scola joined us inside. I asked msbelle if she wanted to go inside, and she said it was all right, she could go any time. She guarded my luggage.

On her recommendation, we visited the courtyward in the American wing with the Tiffany windows, another transplant. Nilly was fascinated, etc.

Then we hit the Japanese art and entered Astor Court, which was definitely worth finding. It was made up to be a Japanese garden, and it was so tranquil, serene, peaceful. Lovely. Nilly asked me to take a picture of her and Scola, and when I asked her how the framing worked on the camera, she just said, "Do it how you want to do it." She also claimed that by the end of the day, she'd have a picture of me, to which I replied, "That's what you think." Because that's what I do. I did like that she was so insistent on having a picture with little old me, though.

Close by was the Indian art, which was all stuff I'd seen before in its natural habitat or in, like, people's houses. "You feel right at home," said Nilly. I related to her the story of Ganesh.

We stopped by Astor Court again to take the Nilly and me picture.

I had to leave around five or so, so Nilly requested Greek and Roman art. We perused the sculpture, and Nilly pointed out something I'd never noticed before. In nearly all the sculptures, the big toe was shorter than the other toes, even though in most humans, that's not the case. I looked at a bunch, and sure enough, every big toe was either shorter than or the same length as the second toe. Huh.

Nilly's and my bags were tied together when they were checked. As I handed the man our tag, we saw a guy pick up his anti-Bush sign. I haven't made much mention of the protest environment, but I assure you it was there. Friday night, we saw hordes of bikers stop traffic (one man in an SUV yelled, "Fucking liberals!"). This morning, we had seen protesters on the train, as well as a group of people dressed up in 80s fashion for some reason.

Outside, we found msbelle knitting what she said would eventually be a rag. Which was a shame, because why would we spend so much time making something so pretty only to muck it up? I told Nilly to write in my journal as we figured out how I should get to the airport. She asked, "English or Hebrew?" I told her she could do both.

A proper plan having been constructed, we walked toward a station. She kept asking if I needed help with my luggage, and I told her I was fine. When I lifted it to carry it down the steps, she said, "Don't do that! Just let it go bang bang bang. That's what I do." I said I didn't want to bang things up. On our way, Nilly admired the residential buildings.

At the station, I lifted my luggage down the stairs again, and she said, "No!" And then she relented, "Or whatever you want." When I lifted my bag over the turnstile, she said, "It fits under. That's what I learned yesterday." Which was helpful. Full of advice, that Nilly. We took the train downtown, as they were going to show Nilly the Strand. As the train slowed down at one stop, Scola said, "Well, it was nice meeting you." Wha? Oh crap, it was here already! This was no way to say goodbye!

I jumped up and ran across the train to msbelle and Nilly, whom I hugged both at the same time to save time. "You're so nice!" I said, to both of them. I turned around and hugged Scola.

And then I was off the train. Nilly wished me a safe trip home, and I wished her one as well. That was it for me and the Nilly. I regretted not having had time to really hang with her and take in her Nillyness, but I got a pretty good taste.

I ended up getting to the airport obscenely early. Bugger all.

As I waited for my plane, tired as all get-out, I called Jessica's apartment and left a message on the machine about how I missed them already, and they were really cool. Seconds after hanging up, my brain unexpectedly put together the statement Jessica had made last night about The Apple, when she had said she "just got" the bit about the "red tape," because I suddenly understood the pun. So I called back and left a message about that. I leave very strange phone messages. I hope people don't mind.

Sunil, I hope you didn't have to pay again to get back into the museum! I didn't realize until I was already outside that they made you toss your buttons out when you left.

I didn't realize until I was already outside that they made you toss your buttons out when you left.

Like the donation, tossing them out is "suggested." I kept it, and as on Friday, I wore it as an earring the rest of the day.

It's sitting right here on my desk in all its pinkness.

I kept it, and as on Friday, I wore it as an earring the rest of the day.

Oh, that's right, I remember seeing you wearing it.

t dense Um, what am I not getting about the red tape line?

Um, what am I not getting about the red tape line?

I figured it was a bureaucracy pun. You may have figured that immediately, making me the dense one. And Jessica.

I am still basking in tehglow of Nilly Tour by proxy. i am so looking forward to reading Nilly's posts about it!

The idea of a gift needing an accounting is nonsensical to me. But if it will help Allyson sleep at night, I guess I just hope it doesn't take too much time and effort.

Can we not get too too caught up in Halloween planning until we do a little F2F 2005 discussion? Voting on the city next Wednesday, as I recall. I'd hate to see it lost in a diffferent discussion, is all.

New Orleans, if anyone was wondering, still likes carrots.

Can we not get too too caught up in Halloween planning until we do a little F2F 2005 discussion?

Just to confirm that I'm willing to count votes on the final round as well.