I awoke too early - don't know why this only happens on weekend mornings! I read for a while before falling, thankfully, back into sleep and sleeping until 9.00. I felt languid and sleepy for another hour, however.

Making love to the camera again :)

Exhausted after a tough workout, I caught a cab uptown. Along the way I saw a guy jogging in his cowboy hat. I tell you, New York is such a city of fads. A while back it was was wooly hats, and you were expected to wear it even when working out at the gym in the Summer. Now, you actuallly see hunky young guys aping the hick look, with tshirts, jeans and cowboy hats.

I was supposed to meet Dennis at the Met. When I got there, ten minutes late, there was no sign of him so I sat back on the steps and people watched. There were certainly plenty of people to watch. And such a range of good-looking young men in nice clothes (not shown in this pic, unfortunately :).

People watching on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dennis arrived before long. Dennis is one of my favorite people - a lovely, somewhat cynical, honest-to-goodness masculine guy, and one of my oldest friends. We had lunch in the big cafe in the Met and people watched together, and did a couple of the many exhibitions. I learned that the plural of "still life" is "still lifes"; I also learned that I actually like Vincent van Gogh. We finally ended up sitting in the vast room that houses the Temple of Dendur, a wonderful public space. I found myself talking a lot, again, about the idea of moving here.

The fourth floor roof garden at the Met, with the Fall colors on the trees in Central Park

The entrance to the Temple of Dendur

Dennis giving me an impish grin

After leaving the Met, we wandered a while down Madison Avenue with it's endless miles of expensive handbag shops, before crossing to Lexington in search of a coffee-shop that we could afford. We finally found one after such a long hike that it was almost time for Dennis to depart. After we'd said goodbye, I remained and nursed my coffee.

Have coffee, will watch people

On the way home, I found a "Barnes & Noble" and picked up a copy of my beloved Patrick O'Brien's new novel, "Blue at the Mizzen". I'm so excited - didn't know it was out here yet. He is one of the few authors whose books I can devour in just a few hours. If you've never read him, try "Master and Commander" - the first in a long series involving Jack Aubrey, an English naval officer in the Napoleonic Wars, and his friend Stephen Maturin, a naval surgeon. Such depth of characterisations, great adventure, wonderful erudition, and a hilarious sense of humor. Some of the best reading ever!

After a rest and a shower at my hotel, I was still exhausted, but otherwise readyfor my next social encounter, with a guy named Scott who works for Gay Men's Health Crisis. I didn't have the energy for a long evening, but I lasted long enough for drinks and dinner. Scott turned out to be a lovely, interesting guy, with an interesting background as an actor, singer, psychotherapist and administrator. But by 8.30, I was rapidly failing, and we parted company. At least the clocks go back tonight so I'll get an extra sixty New York minutes!