New York story so far

Hello Again

We thought it would be good to fill you all in on our New York story so far......

Sunday 20th December
After waiting around Brisbane International Airport for a long time we are informed that our flight to Tokyo (connecting to NY) has been cancelled due to engineering problems.

Our instant reaction is deep sadness for the Mos Def gig we bought tickets to see on the night we arrive. My brother tried to heal our pain by sending this clip:



We spent the first night of our holiday in a Brisbane City hotel watching a Youtube video - it was a little depressing, although Mos Def is really funny.

Monday 21st December
We land at JFK airport greeted by Aunty Ula's Polish neighbours holding a big sign of our names. They instantly kiss us on both cheeks, take our luggage and then thrust a mobile at my face - my Aunty on the line relieved we finally made it. There is heaps of snow! Yay!

Tuesday 22nd December
Union Square Markets - frosty with awesome hot chocolate, and vendors who are nice to us because we are Aussies. Best part was two guys making crepes to hip-hop, sipping wine and chit chatting with the customers. Chorizo and cheddar should live together in crepes for eternity.

Cheap sneakers were to follow at Shoemania where all of the many assistants wear walkie talkies with head pieces so they can order your size from the storeroom. Think Payless meets Mission Impossible.


We thought we'd just check out The Strand Bookstore for a minute but were instantly overwhelmed by the insane amounts of people and remaindered books. We did manage to use the facilities and escape with just two books, one of which is absolutely essential if visiting or living in New York (that is if you are a serious foodie like us), the Zagat Restaurant Guide 2010 is our bible (of gastronomic good times) that I often read on the subway planning our food adventures for the day.

Next up was The Empire State Building for a beautiful view of the city twinkling at night. Then we walked over to Chelsea to have modern Mexican at a little restaurant called Crema.

They stuffed up our order but it was super delicious and we got free pineapple tequila. We got home very late but happy tired, it was a sign of things to come.

New Yorker Quote of the day @ Union Square Markets: "I just look around for things I think will suck and I give them to my mum and she loves it"

Wednesday 23rd December

We are staying in Bayridge, Brooklyn, lucky enough to stay in the apartment of Kasia's Aunty Ula and Uncle Waldek. Bayridge is a pretty multicultural suburb inhabited by lots of people of Polish and Middle-Eastern descent.

But the greatest lure of Bayridge is the Brooklyn arm of Century 21, a discount designer department store. And we fell prey to its spell.

However, before we even entered the store, a man exited hastily in front of us, closely followed by a female security guard at full pace, chasing him down the street.

Although it was great to buy some bargains, best of all were the customers. This is definitely where we found our New Yorker Quote of the day: "Melissa, your shit's falling everywhere that means it's time to go! I've had enough of this shit, seriously!"

Once we recovered from the department store, we headed back to Manhattan to have some seriously good Chinese food (waiting in line for 20mins good) at the Grand Sichuan in Chelsea. Why have we never eaten soup dumplings like this in Brisbane?!

Also, did we mention that the servings here are generous? Very generous. This was all in preparation to see Talib Kweli and Jean Grae at the Highline Ballroom. We joined the line at the door for around half an hour, before deciding that our toes might just snap off. We were sad. We then made the mistake of trying to make the best of the situation by going to Rockerfeller Centre (snore - who cares about the tree that we hardly noticed the first time we were there...) and then Times Square... I guess you just have to go there for yourself.


Thursday 24th December Christmas Eve
We saw a beautiful survey of Georgia O'Keefe and another of Roni Horn at The Whitney Musuem of American Art. From Kasia's last trip to New York - this was her favourite museum (this probably had a lot to do with the fact she saw a Richard Tuttle survey there) because it is such a beautiful building and far less manic that MoMA with its hoards of people vying for a glimpse of a Rothko or Duchamp. The Georgia O'Keefe exhibit focused on her use of abstraction and was truly beautiful and vibrant - we didn't expect to like this as much as we did. The Roni Horn exhibit was intriguing and what was most curious is how the artist uses the notion of the individual as a place or location. She is known for works that consist of a multitude of photographic portraits of the same person (sometimes over years) that reveal an almost unbelievable variation in the appearance of that person or the 'geography' of their face. The physical story of their faces evoke the twists and turns that their lives must have taken and shaped them as people.

Roni Horn, Detail of You Are the Weather, 1994-95

That evening, for a very late lunch, we had our very first taste of New York pizza. After lots of searching around, we eventually found a slightly dodgy looking place on the Upper East Side near Bloomingdale's, called Mariella's. Despite the endorsement from Oprah and Gail, framed on the wall, we were apprehensive.


There was a group of middle aged men watching and arguing about sport (just one of the many New York cliches we were to encounter), which was kind of heartwarming. However, the pizza was cheap and good and it wasn't long before there was a steady stream of people coming in from Bloomingdale's for a bite. We seemed to have stumbled across a bit of a New York institution.


But, it didn't really feel like Christmas - Kasia really missed her mama and brother, and the pierogi we eat for Christmas Eve dinner. We did maintain the Polish tradition of breaking bread (in this case a giant Ginger Snap cookie) while we shared our wishes for each other which was a comfort.


New Yorker Quote of the Day@R Train: "If an elderly, disabled or pregnant person enters the train please give up your seat. You'll be standing up for what's right. Courtesy is contagious and it starts with you.