Glad I put the goretex and a big jumper in my bag,hovered at 11c yesterday. Sunny to begin then overcast. 

Attended the first lecture on the Ring Cycle- smacks of Lord of the Rings, same enormous cast of heroes and villians.

Lunch at Benoit just around the corner, set menu. Octopus salad, ok strip steak, think it us  our porterhouse cut, tasted broiled not grilled , other choice was salmon, followed by the ubiquitous creme caramel, verdict- could do better. Wine was nice.

Then a guided walk around central Manhattan. Tour manager, matthew very knowledgeable. Lever Building, built 1952, two little private parks,(owned privately as if they had of been given  to the city the spaces would have been built on)the Rockefeller Centre, and a few other points of interest. Some huge plantings of  lillies, dogwoods, tulips all privately maintained. A huge  Baume sculpture impossible to get a good pikkie of it. A strange display of flags around the Rockerfeller icerink, brown and tattered, symbolic of something.-what?

Back to the hotel about 6.30, bushed, happy to watch CNN. My room reeks of paint, got someone to open a window!!!

First opera tonight….