And so it went across the chasm of Olive Street, the usually quiet thoroughfare that cuts through downtown.
Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Sports, led his contingent to International Olympic Committee headquarters on a quiet thoroughfare in Lausanne last week bent on adding the media rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics to the five others, from 2000 to 2008, he acquired in secret talks eight years ago.
Eventually, though, I find myself in a quiet thoroughfare.
I agreed and he turned down a quiet thoroughfare.
Luckily on a recent rainy evening I had one of those ideal New York cabbies who not only knew of Tudor City, a leafy residential enclave on a rise near the United Nations, but also knew a shortcut for getting to Tudor City Place, a quiet north-south thoroughfare that runs from 40th to 43rd Streets between First and Second Avenues.
But the flurry of activity along normally quiet Pugsley Avenue, a broad thoroughfare that was choked with emergency vehicles, frightened some residents.
It was a surprisingly mellow and enjoyable run, considering all the popular sites we visited; with his insider knowledge of the city, Mr. Vernon was able to lead me on a route that got maximum views with minimum hills and avoided crowded thoroughfares for quieter paths.
But don't rush, because there is much to explore — from quiet side streets and busy thoroughfares to historic squares and medieval churches.
But visitors who go on a weekday or venture off the main thoroughfares will discover quiet hideaways and lesser-known sights.
Kingsbridge Heights, just east of the northern tip of Manhattan, is a neighborhood of quiet residential streets nestled between the thoroughfares.
