I spent the weekend in New York City, a last-minute trip I planned on Friday after Kate, Anne-Marie and I finished up the last spreads for the Spring Issue.  I’ve been so consumed with that work, I gave no thought to the practicalities of 1 degree temps in the city.  With two kids.

It was a good trip – we spent Saturday night at the Whitney museum and afterwards literally ran across the street to a place I can not really recommend (Bubby’s – a nice enough vibe, but basically a warm shelter in a subzero wind tunnel with barely mediocre food – if you are the Whitney, or the end of the Highline, and it is not a subzero windstorm, I suggest moving on to pretty much any other place in the ‘hood, but here).

Sunday, I treated my little valentines to the matinée show of Matilda.  I had no expectation for how much I would enjoyed it.  But between the sets, the story, the costumes, the acting, the special effects and humor, it was the best Broadway or West End show I’ve ever seen.  If you love Broadway, go see this.

But 1 degree temps did put a damper on my favorite thing to do in NYC – or any great city.  And that is to walk and wander, get lost and see what I find – until I literally can’t walk any more.  1 degree temps demand that you stay inside, that you linger longer than you want, and that you dive into places in desperation that you would otherwise pass on (hence, the not so great Bubby’s).  We left early, we couldn’t take it, and I am already longing to go back.

But all this reminds me of something I meant to tell you about a few weeks ago when I first discovered it. It is this TED talk by Daniel Quercia.  It is about optimizing our lives – and specifically the routes we choose to get from place to place.  I love his ideas for taking the time to choose a path that is more beautiful, or more quiet, or that serves our emotional and soulful needs more than our need to get somewhere 2 minutes faster.  Even better that he is a map scientist who has ideas to make more maps like this for all our lives.  I hope google gets a hold of him and adds his options to my beloved mapping app.   As soon as the weather warms, I want to check out his two different routes in Boston – even though I already know I will love the green one more.

-Rochelle