I learned to drive in New York City. The instructor put me behind the wheel of a car - for the first time in my life - right on Columbus Circle. "Are you mad?" I wanted to scream. If you're not familiar with New York, you have to understand this is where Central Park West, Central Park South, Broadway, 8th Avenue and TWO OTHER streets all converge. I survived to tell the tale but when hubby said he'd got a good deal on the Internet for a room at the Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle, I thought, "Oh No!" But was I ever wrong. The hotel was wonderful. We had a great view from the 40th floor and a huge bathroom with double sinks and a lovely tub by the window. So I soaked in their bath salts looking out at the sky before showering under one of those flat showerheads that pours like tropical rain. Probably more info than you needed, but the hotel was special and deserves credit for splendid service.

Our first night, we'd arranged to meet Monsignor Richard Albert, in New York visiting his sister, to join us for dinner at the Asiate on the 35th floor of the Mandarin to enjoy its Japanese/French cuisine. The restaurant gave us a window table and Manhattan's bright lights were almost as delicious as the meal and conversation. Monsignor's niece joined us and invited us next door to the Stone Rose lounge, a very trendy place owned by the husband of the famous model, Cindy Crawford. "Who's Cindy Crawford?" asked Monsignor above the din at the Stone Rose, but after appreciating his niece's thoughtful gesture, we of an older generation said our farewells in the street below.

Shops of Columbus Circle

Next morning we discovered how much Columbus Circle has changed. From the third floor of our skyscraper, we could enter what are now The Shops of Columbus Circle, a sleek glass and stainless-steel complex with boutique shops by famous brand but best of all where we had the choice of the Bouchon Bakery for divine sticky buns and café latte or Landmarc for excellent omelettes and hash browns. The hotel is just a couple of blocks from the Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts and the Metropolitan Opera House, but we chose the cinema across the street from them and saw a great movie titled Paris, starring French actress Juliette Binoche with vignettes of intertwining lives in that iconic city. See it if you can.

When I lived in New York in the early '60s, Central Park was a scary place where people got mugged and murdered. With courageous political leadership, crime really can be curtailed as I realised Sunday morning. It was sunny, so we walked diagonally through Central Park from 60th to 75th to the Whitney Museum on Madison Avenue. The park was alive with pedestrians, a flea market, children's zoo, horse-drawn carriages and all manner of beauty. I'd never done that in all the 44 years my mother had lived in New York City.

cropped photographs

At the Whitney's exhibition, 'Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction', you won't see the famous flowers or bare skull against a blue sky for which this celebrated 20th-century American painter is famous. This exhibition is amazing for the photographs of her taken in the '20s by Alfred Steiglitz - nudes with her face and legs cropped, displaying only her torso. She had the most voluptuous breasts and narrow waist! It's a shock for those of us who know only her austere face, the unsmiling, weathered one associated with her New Mexico end-of-life fame. I can only imagine the scandal her first exhibit, coupled with those photographs, created at that time, though the point of this exhibition is to illustrate not only that she created abstract works throughout her career, but to illustrate how in studying photography with Steiglitz, she learned the technique of cropping, which greatly influenced her artwork. 'Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction' runs until January 17, 2010.

What's New York without a visit to the Carnegie Delicatessen on 7th Avenue and 55th for a pastrami sandwich on rye, with lots of mustard, and a cherry soda topped off by a slice of cherry cheesecake? Nowadays, the cheesecake is all I can manage, but I noted that even the Carnegie is only a short walk from Columbus Circle, so maybe this part of town is growing on me.

Il Posto Accanto

We did dine in another part of town as well because of a brilliantly written article in Departures magazine. Reggie Nadelson so vividly described Il Posto Accanto, an Italian trattoria at 190 East Second Street in the East Village, that we made a point of going there for lunch. Unfortunately, Roman-born Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta, who insists she's a cook and not a chef, wasn't there, but her classic yellow 1965 Cadillac convertible sat outside on the gritty street, where the walls are as colourfully decorated - with graffiti - as any gallery. Enjoyed talking to a lady at the little table next to ours. Said her husband was from Naples. Though we love southern Italy, we admitted avoiding Naples itself because of the crime. "Well," she confided, "he did have his pocket picked the last time he went back!" So, a little Sicilian white wine, pasta to perfection and a great table to watch either the people at the bar or those passing on the street made this a place we'll revisit, hopefully when 'Bea' is there.

Our reason for being in New York was to honour Ambassador Brenda LaGrange Johnson at a gala to raise funds for health, education and development in Jamaica. The American Friends of Jamaica local New York committee, under the chairmanship of Manuela Goren, had done a fantastic job and the evening in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel was a great success.

Graffiti on the East Second Street neighbourhood walls. - photos by Laura Tanna

Jim Cada, American Friends of Jamaica director and owner of Negril's Yellow Bird Hotel, with Dr The Hon Una S.T. Clarke, CD (second right), and members of the AFJ New York gala committee at the Plaza Hotel.

Il Posto Accanto, Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta's East Village Italian enoteca and trattoria, with her signature yellow Cadillac convertible outside.

Patrons relaxing at the bar of Il Posto Accanto restaurant.