Catching up

I seem to be seeing New York segment by segment. So Monday brought the Upper West Side. The UWS contains Columbia University (which I didn't visit), the American Museum of Natural History (which I didn't visit) and various other things that I did visit.
The top part of the UWS borders Harlem to the east, and it certainly felt slightly 'edgier' than its counterpart in the east. My first stop was Cathedral Church of St John the Divine. Work on this massive structure began in the 1890s, and optimistic estimates put the completion as being in 2050, due to various bankruptcies and fires and general bad luck. I happened upon an organ recital, which appeared to be freestyle jazz noodling. It's actually a pretty progressive cathedral all round, with AIDS memorials and work with the local schools and homeless. They run stone carving workshops for the local community, with some of the work being displayed in the gardens.
I then wandered down the west side of Central Park, stopping to have some lunch (and phone Ma), before heading down to the Lincoln Center (sic), which houses the Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York Public Library for the Dramatic Arts (which I must go to one day - they have some great collections of film and music).

On Tuesday I had my first afternoon at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. I learned how to use the Devillainiser, The Mind Reading Machine and the Cape Tester (a series of fans for people wanting to try on capes and strike poses). It was mostly quiet, but I got to talk to lots of very sweet children doing the film-making course out the back of the shop in the workshop area. Several of them came in covered in (hopefully fake) blood, so I think there's a slasher movie afoot.

On Wednesday I visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which is basically a tenement preserved in the style it would have been in during the 1870s and in 1935. My tour guide was a frustrated thespian who thought that bursting into song at any given opportunity was the best way to portray the suffering and poverty endured by new immigrants to America. Small fact: in 1908, the Lower East Side was the most densely-populated place on the planet. And with no running water/sanitation/electricity, that must have been a fun place to be! I really like the Lower East Side - a bit scrungy, lots going on, different cuisines and cultures everywhere. It feels a bit like Soho or something.

On Thursday, a friend of my flatmate had spare tickets to an exclusive VH1 event. Having nothing better to do, I was happily set up on this 'blind date'. And while Tim was a perfectly pleasant guy, there was just no spark or chemistry, so the afternoon seemed to go on forEVER. He took me to see Train do an acoustic set. All very gentle, and a nice diversion, but a more middle-of-the-road, mum-rock band you'd be hard pushed to find. In the evening, I went to see The Kids Are All Right, which is Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple. They were actually refreshingly convincing, going by all those lesbian couples I know. Oh.

Downtown (where all the lights are bright)

It's been a few days since my last post, so I shall try to be brief so this doesn't get too epic.

On Thursday I went to the downtown area, and specifically Battery Park City and Tribeca. Tribeca is a chichi area full of designer shops and expensive restaurants, though I did also track down the fire station that was used as the headquarters in Ghostbusters, which I got a little overexcited about.

Battery Park City is built on land reclaimed from the river by the use of landfill (a lot of which was dug up while making the World Trade Centre), and is a promenade of massive skyscrapers and gardens curving round the botttom part of Manhattan. It was all quite awe-inspiring, really, though the hole at Ground Zero was omni-present. Still, a beautiful and peaceful place, only marred by running into a big crowd of Spurs fans 'singing' chants outside a Starbucks. I walked quickly past and temporarily pretended not to be able to understand what they were saying.

Friday was another stormy day (it seems to be a trend at the moment) so I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Upper East Side. Wow. You are supposed to give a suggested $20 donation but I walked through without anyone stopping me (I'll give money next time, I promise). It's fantastic stuff. I spent about four hours in there (admittedly taking my time) and did maybe a third of one of the two and a half floors. So I only saw the ancient Byzantine (lots of gold), European pre-renaissance (lots of gold and scarily adult-like baby Jesuses) and the armor and arms sections. I ran through the American sections to find the cafe and the ladies. Apparently, their modern art collection is really special, and there is a huge bamboo sculpture on the roof that you can climb up, so I will definitely go back for at least seconds, if not thirds.

On Saturday, I tried to go for a free walking tour around Wall Street, but my guidebook was out of date and it was no longer running. However, I started talking to a helpful girl who rang them and we arranged to go on a different tour later in the day. Big Onion do loads of tours around the city, all lead by post-graduate history students. Ours was called Andrew, and I would have considered him attractive had he not mimicked my accent any time I asked a question. Grr. Anyway, we covered the stock exchange, loads of the history of Wall Street and the history of the evolution of New York into a major trading port, through the Dutch and English colonial times through to the present day. Very interesting, though half the names were lost on me, so I really must brush up on my American history.

Today seemed like it was going to be a nice day, so I went up to Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. When I got there, however, I discovered that it was free entry on Tuesdays (instead of $8 today) so instead I went to Green-Wood Cemetery. This is a huge cemetery full of famous Brooklynites. It was beautiful and sombre and peaceful. That is, until a huge thunderstorm started and I found myself at the wrong end of the cemetery to get out. So I huddled in the doorway of a family tomb as my white summer dress got more and more see-through and I tried to convince myself that neither a zombie apocalypse nor an axe-murderer were about the round the corner and get me. Don't worry, they didn't.

Have a super day!

So it looks like I am going to be working an afternoon a week at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, which is part of a charity that runs creative writing classes for children and young people. The shop itself is a lot of fun - they basically sell anything a superhero would need, from maps of where all the baddies live, to capes, to jars of invisibility serum, to x-ray specs, to kits for changing your identity. The classes take place out the back of the shop, and I hope to get involved in these once they start again after the summer break. I think it's a brilliant idea, and was recently informed by Katie that they are looking to set up a similar thing in London with a different theme (there are also shops in San Francisco and Seattle with pirate and space themes respectively), so I will definitely keep an eye out for that on my return.

It will also be nice to have a bit of structure to my week. I'm already finding it harder than expected to remember what day I am on (I could have sworn today was Tuesday). I have also put my name down to volunteer for Housing Works, who run a series of trendy thrift shops across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Sadly, their book shop has a three month waiting list for volunteers, but I would be happy to work in a clothing one instead. I am also awaiting orientation with New York Cares, who list loads of different volunteering opportunities across the city every week, including taking kids to the funfair at Coney Island, which would be so much fun. I'm still not sure what restrictions apply in terms of if I am allowed to work with vulnerable people, so it may turn out I end up doing gardening in the parks instead, which would be fun and interesting (and a challenge seeing as I can barely keep cactii alive...).

Anyway, the last few days have been pretty quiet. Yesterday I went and did laundry, food shopping, 'life admin' stuff. I also paid a visit to Target, which I guess is something a bit like Woolworths used to be, only with sub-Primark clothes thrown in. And still no hat!

Today I headed to the Meatpacking District, which is the Western edge of the West Village. I guess the nearest thing I can compare it with in London would be Spitalfields - old industrial units that are now home to swanky designer shops and expensive delis. The reason for my excursion there was to go to the High Line park (on the recommendation of Alex following this article in The Guardian) and it was well worth it. Built along the old industrial rail tracks, the girders have been filled in with all sorts of different plants, plus a few sculptural installations. Plus, it's raised above street level, so you get to look down on the buildings below a little bit too. They are still working on it, so at the moment it only stretches as far as Chelsea, but once it's completed, it will be brilliant.

I also popped in to the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. They have a free exhibition, with changing themes throughout the year, regarding the history of fashion. At the moment, the focus is on environmentally suatainable fashion techniques, which doesn't necessarily interest me, but they had some really beautiful pieces from the early 1800s right up to 2010. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to take photos, and they had no postcards.

This evening I tried to go and see Inception due to lots of people raving about it but, alas, it had sold out by the time I got there. So I switched tack completely and went to see Toy Story 3 instead. I have to admit, going to see a film about separation from the things you love when you're feeling a little homesick is probably not the best move. I actually blubbed a little bit (though not as much as Up, you'll be relieved to hear Katie). Still, it was a lovely film, with some genuinely funny moments where I laughed out loud. On my own. In the cinema. This is a rare thing. Two observations: 1) the air-conditioning in US cinemas is RIDICULOUS - I wished I'd taken a jacket and 2) Americans talk at the cinema. They *talk* during the *film*. Grrr.

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

Good lord, it's hot. I have (too much information coming up here ALERT) been sweaty pretty much constantly since arriving. Whew. Thankfully, it seems the New Yorkers are just as unused to dealing with the stickiness as I am.


So, the weekend has been and gone. Saturday was spent much as I would spend a sunny Saturday in London - getting very pink legs in the park with my flatmate, then drinking wine with her in the evening. We actually ended up in a sports bar, where I showed off my complte lack of sporting knowledge by talking to some real-life jocks who were friends of my flatmate. Yes, these people do actually exist. At least I could offer some half-convincing World Cup banter, which they were all surprisingly in to, despite having to watch the matches at strange times due to the time zones.


On Sunday I met up for brunch with Dara, who is a friend of my friend Jenn's - what a delight that was. I hadn't quite realised how much I was missing talking to people on a similar wavelength. Brunch is a big Sunday thing here. Dara was explaining that it basically happens any time between 11 and 3, and usually involves cocktails. I passed on the cocktails, given how hot it is and how generally dehydrated I am at all times at the moment. We went to a place near my flat, as Dara used to live on the same street a little bit further up. The place is called Rose Water, and despite being a little pricey, was really very nice and highly recommended. I had scrambled eggs with roast potatoes, bacon and a minted pea and rocket salad - basically, the nearest thing this place does to a full English.


Dara then showed me some of Brooklyn - her neighbourhood, Boerum Hill, plus some really lovely bits of Brooklyn Heights. We came across some Bastille Day celebrations - basically, lots of people playing petanque in the street whilst drinking Pernod. Again, I turned down the booze.



Today I decided that, as I woke up to thundery rain, I would go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is one of only a few of the big museums that has a suggested donation rather than a hefty ticket entry price. Sadly, it is closed on Mondays (READ THE BLOOMING GUIDEBOOK, SARAH) so instead I wandered through Central Park, stopping to eat my packed lunch by the boating lake. I then walked down 5th Avenue to Bloomingdales, stopping at FAO Schwartz to take a picture of the Big piano.


Bloomingdales did not have a hat that I liked, so I kept walking down to the New York Public Library which, sadly for me, was completely swathed in scaffolding so I have no nice pictures of the outside. I shall have to go back at some point later in the trip to take some.





The NYPL is very different to the British Library, in that it is housed in a beautiful old building made of marble. Inside, the corridors are quiet and calm. The reading rooms were very beautiful, though I wasn't allowed to take pictures in them sadly. You'll just have to take my word for it. Something I also wasn't supposed to take pictures of is the Declaration of Independence handwritten by Thomas Jefferson. I didn't realise this until after I had been told off by a surly security woman, but I did get one blurry shot:



Anyway, I have been here nearly a week now. It feels like a really long time - not because anything is terrible, just because every day there's new stuff to look at and learn about. I have been laying the foundations to get my voluntary stuff under way, so hopefully will have some stuff to report back on it that area soon.

They're already showing 'back to school' ads

After a lazy day yesterday, I was ready to have a more active day today. I felt my way into Manhattan on the Metro, more by luck than judgement. Honestly, the Metro is incomprehensible to me. All the lines in my area are practically the same colour. There are Express trains and Local trains. If you go down the entrance on the wrong side of the road, you have to exit (and pay again), cross the road and go down a different entrance. I'm sure it will all eventually become scond nature to me, but at the moment it's frustrating bobbins.

Exiting on Grand Street in Chinatown, I had a wander throught the Lower East Side, passing the very-uber New Museum of Contemporary Art, which had this lovely artwork/message on the outside:

I shall have to go back once the weather turns bad again.

I then wandered through the East Village, stopping for lunch at Porchetta. They're famous for their pulled pork sandwiches, and it really was delicious. I shall have to get used to eating at the counter. I went looking for a hat (my fair-skinned face and dark hair are suffering in the heat) and found the US equivalent of Primark, Century 21. It has a similar clientele to Primark as well, but I got a necklace for $1.50, so I shouldn't complain. For curiousity's sake I stuck my head into Topshop, staying long enough only to note that it was even more overpriced and arrogant than it is at home.

I stopped in Madison Square to try the Shake Shack shake. According to the guidebooks, Shake Shack has become an institution in New York for their burgers. I didn't try one, still being full of pork, but had a frozen custard chocolate milkshake instead. It was brilliant and worth every calorie. Lots more walking (and sweating) later - I hopped confidently onto the Metro, only to find that I had got on an Express train and ended up 30 blocks further south than my house. Balls. Foiled again.

Tomorrow it looks like I am hitting the beach with Judy the flatmate, then Sunday brings brunch with Dara, a good friend of Jenn's who used to live in the area. Nice to have some plans that involve other people. I realise these will come more and more as I get settled, but at the moment it's all looking a bit, well, solitary. Still, mustn't grumble.

Slow down, you move too fast

I am finding it very difficult to slow down. Anyone who knows me (and if you don't, why on EARTH are you reading this drivel?) knows that my life in London is lived at a bit of a pace. I walk fast, drink quickly, think quickly, sleep little. Now I am having to actively slow down my walking pace - I have no real place to get to, after all.

Today it wasn't raining for the first time since I arrived, plus my feet and dodgy ankle were really complaining after all the walking yesterday, so I went to Prospect Park, which is only four blocks from my house. Oh, and I am trying to get used to thinking about locations in squares, which doesn't sit well with my non-spacially-aware brain. Prospect Park was designed by the same guys that designed Central Park, but is much more leafy and country-sidey. You can actually completely forget you're in the city. This may have to become somewhere where I go and hide every now and then. Though my flatmate jogs around it every day, so I guess I could try to get into the habit of doing that. Ok, walking really fast round it. The main things of note were the albino squirrel (and the kid getting severely bollocked for chasing said squirrel), and the fact that I got a tan line on my legs. My alabaster legs got some colour!

This evening I decided to go to a gig recommended to me by Tom (note to self: sign up to some listings alerts) of She Makes War. This lady actually played at Twestival in the spring, but I missed her due to running around like a crazy thing/hovering by the karaoke instead. I have never been to a gig on my own before, so I girded my loins and set off towards the nearest Metro station, figuring that it must all be quite straight-forward and I'd pretty much be ok if I got on the right train from the off. Hmm. I didn't do that. The Metro system is made more complicated by the fact that they only have one map in each carriage, plus my guidebook one is tiny, so to find out where I was, I would have singled myself out as not having a clue (the cardinal tourist sin in my eyes). Pride comes before a fall, peeps, as we all know.

I ended up working out that if I got off one train, walked a couple of blocks and got on another line, I wouldn't have gone too far out of my way. I also accidentally stumbled across the Bowery Ballroom in the process, which is handy. The train I got ended in Queens, and the train was packed with people talking, listening to music out loud, laughing. It felt like the last tube home on a Friday night in London, only it was 8.30 on a Thursday night. I got out at the stop where the bar was, and immediately felt like I may have been in the wrong place. I mean, it was the right stop for the bar but it was like Coming To America made flesh. To say I stood out in my flip flops and little dress was an understatement.

Anyway, I found the bar, but had missed She Makes War due to all my silliness. I had one beer, talked to a man carrying a very cute baby wearing headphones and slunk back home with my tail between my legs. But at least I got to know the Metro system a little better. Silver linings and all that.

(Dis)orientation Days

So here I am. 'Here' being New York, or more specifically Brooklyn, or even more specifically Park Slope. I am still jetlagged and getting used to stuff, so please forgive typos and blathering for the time being.

I arrived here last night (which I *think* was Tuesday) after an extended flight due to adverse weather conditions. The extra hour in the air did nothing to help my hidden fear of flying, nor did the turbulent, stormy conditions that caused the extra flying/panicking time. Anyway, after sweaty-palming my way through Immigration (they have my fingerprints - I can never get away with 90 1/2 days now) I caught a taxi into the city. As I was going from JFK to Brooklyn, I didn't actually see anything that was New York 101 - no bridges, or skyscrapers, or ladies holding torches. I did see a Drive-Thru MacDonald's proudly proclaiming 'Over 99 billion served'. I sincerely hope that was worldwide, and not just that particular Long Island branch. But basically, I got the back end of Long Island and Brooklyn.

The apartment I am staying in is really quite lovely. My room looks like this:

and the living room is like this:

I even have a proper American iron fire escape outside my window, as demonstrated in this fuzzy picture:

The apartment is on 5th Avenue, a main street of bars and shops in Park Slope, the yummy mummy annexe of Brooklyn. The bars have dog bowls outside them, due to all the canine companions about. This is the Brooklyn my inner middle-classedness (and my mother) was hoping for.

My 'roommate' (no, no, no, people - she's my *flatmate*, dammit) is a Hungarian nanny called Judy. She's an ex-professional gymnast, a gym bunny and, by all accounts, a little bit strange. But fun. The first thing she did when I got here, after showing me around, was to take me for a very strong gin and tonic at a lovely bar up the road. The handsome barman at Slow Dive on 5th was very generous with the gin, and put The Clash on for me when he heard my accent. We'll be going back there. We then went on to a party of a friend of Judy's who is moving to Australia. The people there were very nice, but, I felt, were very studied in their hipness - lots of wilfully obscure bands on the stereo to accompany the intellectual/nerdy chat. I shouldn't be too mean, as they welcomed (the frankly bedgraggled and faintly smelly) me into their home and gave me pizza and nice wine. We left when my long day caught up with me and I went a bit cross-eyed.

This morning I went to get groceries, which is probably a whole other blog post in itself - suffice to say that, if I lived here permanently, I'd either get scurvy or be broke, with fruit and vegetables comparitively *really* expensive. This places oozes Type II diabetes. I think I'll mostly be living on air while I'm here.

I then set off into Manhattan, trying to get my bearings by walking there through Downtown Brooklyn. It was quite the walk in the heat and humidity, with sporadic thunderstorms punctuating the walk. At one point I stopped at a Starbucks, mostly to use the 'restrooms' (see, I'm learning) but felt I should order my usual Americano with milk to make up for using their conveniences. I don't know whether the lady misunderstood me (my accent *is* pretty thick) or if my order got mixed up with someone else, but instead of my 10 calorie coffee (yes, they have they tell you the nutritional information on the menu) I got something with lots of milk, sugar, cocoa and possibly vanilla. My teeth almost immediately fell out.

Aaanyway, I rounded a corner and caught a glimpse of this:



which made everything ok.

I then wandered around Chinatown, took some photos of some dragon fruit, much to the consternation of the lady selling them and ambled back, in the process accidentally walking past Beacon's Closet, a rather wonderful vintage/second-hand shop that was recommended to me by the lovely Jenn. I shall have to return there when I have my full rummaging strength.