Boats and beers

Apologies for the lax blog-updating/photo-uploading this week. I suppose it's a sign of my social life picking up a bit, which is definitely A Good Thing.


On Tuesday, I met up with Jenny, who is a publishing friend of Katie's. We went to a tapas place called Sala One Nine in the Flatiron district, which was slightly different from the sound of most of the places in Flatiron, as it actually has a bit of character to it. Jenny recommended the almond-stuffed prunes wrapped in bacon, which were delicious, though they didn't really do enough to soak up the two large sangrias I had, so I went home a little wobbly if I'm honest. But Jenny is lovely, and I hope to see her for dinner again soon.

On Wednesday I walked through Brooklyn to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass - catchy, huh?), which is the area under and between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. It's an arty, pretty area, with lots of independent galleries and cute cafes, and some great views across to Manhattan from the water.
In the evening, I went and met Eddie, who lives in Williamsburg, which is the NY equivalent of Hoxton or Shoreditch. He lives there, so offered to show me round and steer me away from anywhere too uber. It's pretty much what I expected - lots of asymmetrical haircuts and checked shirts. We had a wander round the main streets, then went to a bar called Lucky Dog, where there were at least two dogs. And some lovely beers and good music. I'd definitely go back there.

On Thursday I met up with the rather fantastic Mr JC, who has moved here for his job. He wanted to have a mostly booze-free evening, so we started off going to a free tango lesson in the West Village. I was a bit apprehensive, I have to admit, given that I am pretty two-left-feet-y and making an arse of myself in front of an audience brings me out in a cold sweat. But it was actually a lot of fun. JC had done it before, so I danced with him first, then an awkward man who could neither lead or keep time but was very sweet, then a very tall (and rather beautiful) Brazilian man, and then a very serious middle-aged guy who was rather forceful in his leading. But definitely something I would consider doing again.
We then wandered over to a bar called Frying Pan, which is on the Hudson at Chelsea on a converted boat. Very crowded and noisy, but the views are spectacular of the Manhattan skyline and they do obscenely large burgers which definitely hit the spot. JC then showed me his 'hood (as they say over here) - he's over in the East Village, right near the water on the other side in Stuyvesant Town, a complex of flats that just appear as a big blank space on my map. Nice apartment, but his room is basically a slightly-walled off area of the living room. Apparently, that's not that unusual in New York. Not sure I could cope with that, to be honest.

On Friday I headed to Chelsea again, this time for a voluntary stint through New York Cares. The project this time was helping at a deprived elementary school - we were basically just playing with the kids and doing crafty stuff with them. It was fun, but incredibly tiring, particularly as I ended up looking after two particularly naughty young boys who would not sit still for love nor money (or more accurately, bribery nor threats). Exhausting.
In the evening, I met up with Eddie again and we went to watch Big at the outdoor cinema on Pier 46, again in the West at Hudson River Park. Lovely to watch the sun setting over New Jersey, and I can always watch Big, though for the first time since I've been here, I was actually cold. I'd forgotten what that feels like. Really yummy Thai food followed, and a few drinks at a scrungy rock pub on the Lower East Side before I got the G Train home late. It's hard to get used to an underground that runs all night. The G Train is variously known as the Ghost Train (due to the sporadic nature of it turning up) and the Ghetto Train (due to, erm, some of the destinations it calls at - don't panic, Mum!). It's slightly hairy doing it on your own, but you just have to exercise the same caution you would with using the late tubes/night buses. Street-smart, me (she said, hopefully).