Elf

Kid 2 takes it upon herself to be as kid-like as possible, at the same time as she's telling me she can't wait to be a teenager. Sometimes I can't work out whether she does it to humour the parentals, or because part of her wants to hold on to childish things for a little longer.

This morning before school she wrote a very polite note to Santa, asking for a microscope for Christmas. 'You know Santa's on a budget', she told me. 'It turns out he went to New York as well. The Elves told me.' Indeed.

Sweet Bird of Youth

The other day Pseu was pondering the Hermes pitch to 'yoof', and there were several comments around how much 'young people' (that would be younger than oneself) spend on clothing/accessories, etc.

I had only a brief window between subsisting on student earnings (I finished my undergrad degree in the middle of a recession and worked many part-time jobs before getting a decent one) and getting my first mortgage and then having Kid 1, so perhaps there was a year in which I could spend money on clothes. Even then, I wasn't extravagant, although I did have a pair of black leather pants made for me ...

So I was slightly taken aback the other day when I went shopping in Auckland for a couple of hours with my much younger cousin. Although Auckland is the back of beyond, there are some excellent NZ designers (Karen Walker, for example), and G took me to some lovely boutiques. I bought a t-shirt and a scarf. She spent five times what I did on two tops for work. They were very pretty blouses, but I was amazed at the casual way she spent a not inconsiderable amount of money.

And then I thought about it. She has no mortgage, no kids, a decent job - why not? Why not wear lovely clothes when you're young and pretty?

Birthday Girl

It was my birthday yesterday. Kid 2 bounded into my room at 5.30am, dying to shower me with gifts and affection. I confess I asked for 15 more minutes of shut-eye. Once I'd had it, and a cup of tea, I was ready ... She had written and illustrated a story for me about an ancient Egyptian cat-god, featuring both of our cats. Bless.

It was an uneventful but pleasant day - I had my yoga class, I worked. I had lunch with my mother, then she cooked a lovely dinner at our place - chicken roasted with 40 cloves of garlic, salad, potatoes. I made a flourless chocolate almond cake for dessert, served with whipped cream. It's all about the food ...

And tomorrow it is my mother's birthday. She is still in town, so we will all go out for dinner (see, food again). I bought her a necklace of coin pearls in NYC that I've already given her - maybe she will wear them to dinner.

Chinatown

Oh dear. Now I'm finally home, after a two-day detour to New Zealand for a family funeral, I can barely remember what we did with the rest of our time in New York ...

We did fail to get into the Guggenheim - we did get there (Andrew went via Queens, but that is another story), but it didn't occur to us that the only day of the week it closes would be a Thursday! So we strolled down to the Met instead. The exhibitions are just extraordinary but the place is overwhelmingly vast. It's possible I was a little museumed-out by then also.

On our last night we went to Bryant Park to have dinner and watch the ice-skaters - so corny, but so lovely.

And on our final day (Friday), we headed down to Chinatown, ate way too much (yum), bought me some gold hoop earrings (early birthday present) and then reluctantly headed out to the airport for our flight home.

When we got home, I had time to unpack, distribute gifts, repack, put on a load of laundry and pat the animals before heading back to the airport.

King Kong

It had to be done. Yesterday afternoon we went up the Empire State Building. I'm not good with heights, but I didn't feel scared - maybe too gobsmacked by the views. I did, however, feel awfully ill after about half an hour.

It's extraordinary to think it was built in just 14 months. My guess is the safety regulations weren't what they are these days. We got some cute cards with facts about famous buildings, but it didn't mention how many people died in the building of the Empire State ... funny that. But the buildings in New York are so spectacular now, imagine how impressive they were 80 years ago when they were built. No wonder this city has legendary status.

The rest of the day was another walking kind of a day, and we had dinner in a great little place just up on West 16th. I could live here. I think. I'm not sure about our menagerie of animals, and the kids might be a little confused, at first. But I think they'd get into it. Or not. Our latest plan (we always have a new one on the boil) is to come and live here for a couple of years when the kids have gone to university ... Ok, so maybe not. But we're definitely coming back for Spouse to run the 50th NYC Marathon as it will also be his 50th. I love a long-term plan.

Chicago

It's been an ongoing battle. Spouse wanted so see something high-brow, off-Broadway. I wanted to go see the cheesiest, most Broadway show possible. I won.

We saw Chicago. Roxie was played by Charlotte d'Amboise (what a gorgeous name!), who has played Roxie more times than any other performer. And she still made it look as though she was having the time of her life. It was wonderful.

That was the end of the day, though. In the morning we went to see the Frick Collection, as recommended by Pseu and others. I recently read Wolf Hall, so to see Holbein's portrait of Thomas Cromwell up close was just incredible. What a collection - truly staggering. I would SO have loved to see the upstairs of the house too.

We then wandered across Central Park, strolled over the Sheep Meadow (thanks Mark!), looked at the skaters on the rink, picked scenes from movies including Stuart Little (yes, we have children as an excuse), The Fisher King, When Harry Met Sally, etc. Eventually we made out way down to Times Square to get the tix for Chicago ... and there went another day.

We do seem to spend at least 50% of every day walking, which is a very good thing, especially as I seem to have become addicted to the 'munchkins' at our local donut 'bar' (who knew there was such a thing?).

So now I'm almost up-to-date. Only today's non-adventures to recount ... And in less than 2 days we'll be on the plane back home. About four hours after we get home on Sunday, I'm back to the airport to go to New Zealand for a funeral. Just imagine how entirely jetlagged, discombobulated and dog-tired I will be by the time I arrive in NZ.

Nights at the Museum

I had been secretly hoping that on Monday The Runner would be too tired to do anything and I'd get a day to myself. No such luck. It was up bright and early.

We headed up to the Museum of Natural History, which was fantastic and a Creationist's basic nightmare. Fascinating stuff, and I kept wishing we had the kids with us.

Afterwards we ate at a great Dominican place on 81st and Amsterdam that we'd been planning to meet at after the marathon - I had chicken with red beans and yellow rice and ate WAY more than I needed because it was so damn delicious.

Strolling back to the subway, I had to go to Zabar's (as recommended by my brother - thanks Mark!) and gaze in awe at the food, the cooking gear, the food, the food, the food ... Spouse was similarly sucked into a secondhand bookshop that I think he would happily have stayed in for the whole day.

But I was determined to Get Some Shopping Done. Spouse went off to see a movie by itself, and I went back to Tiffany's to get Kid 2's present and look for something for my mother's significant birthday.

And now, I have to confess something. I also went into Bergdorf Goodman. I expected to be delighted/enthralled/awed. I picked up a nice, simple hat (it was a cold day). It was $600. I was hot, overwhelmed and ever-so-slightly disgusted by the opulence and ostentation. I left. Somehow I expected that the excitement of New York would make shopping a more attractive proposition for me. It doesn't.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The big day did finally arrive. Poor Spouse was up at 4am (yeah, and me too, although I didn't get out of bed) to get psyched and get down to the Staten Island Ferry for 5.30am (Lordy). Unfortunately, he didn't get the run he wanted, but that's his story, here.

I planned to head uptown, do a little shopping, then get to around 100th (East Side) to cheer. I didn't realised things open so late here on Sunday - there I was outside Tiffany's shortly after 10am, ready to buy a little something for Kid 2, and it wasn't open. In retrospect, this was probably a good thing. I'm not sure I wanted to be where I ended up, carrying a Tiffany's bag.

So, on the subway, up to 103rd. Very different. I walked east to 1st Ave. It was the first time since we've been here that I've felt uncomfortable. With my ultra-white skin and very (albeit fake) blonde hair, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I got a lot of 'hello, beautiful' comments - definitely benign, but nevertheless a little disconcerting when walking quiet streets alone.

I made it to 1st, where there were plenty of people. Then someone tried to hit on me while I was watching the race. Seriously. I couldn't work out whether he was really trying to hit on me, or perhaps had even less pleasant intentions. It was weird.

Obviously I lived to tell the tale, although once I'd seen Spouse at 19 miles I didn't much enjoy the walk back west to Central Park (again alone, again too many comments).

But once there ... wow. The vibe was amazing. Saw Spouse again, but he was struggling a bit by then. Anyway, I headed across the Park to our proposed meeting place around W 81st and loved it. We failed - thanks to delays with stuff, etc - to meet up, but were finally reunited at our apartment later in the afternoon. Another early dinner at a local diner, and Spouse was out for the count by about 6pm.

God, I'm exhausted by the recount. Sorry to be boring, but I need to jot this down or I will probably forget what we did ... There is slightly more excitement to come. Truly.

My Cousin Vinnie

I'm having trouble keeping up with myself. Where were we? Oh yes. Saturday morning was the International Friendship Run - for international marathoners and their friends and family. It was a 4km from the UN building to Central Park. I refused to run, but we did enjoy the walk - great vibe, thousands of people, and probably the only time I'll ever walk down the middle of a Manhattan street with no cars.

After the walk (and a shower) we headed down to Soho to meet my cousin. He is a first cousin, but as his parents separated when he was very young and he lived with his mother (and I lived overseas) we only met a couple of times as kids. But a few days before we flew over here I remembered hearing he was in NYC, so I tracked him down. Well. He's like the embodiment of what Coming to America is supposed to be about - he works for an investment bank, has just bought a full-floor loft in a landmark building in Soho/Nolita (which he's gutting out and completely renovating), and his girlfriend is a ridiculously beautiful Dominican model approximately half his age (but probably less). Not making up a word of it, promise. Didn't that make me feel like the Country Mouse ...

We sorted of dawdled around bit, stopping at Dean & DeLuca (yum), Uniqlo (cheap, but HOT and LOUD and kind of yuck).  Came back via Union Square (can't have too much of that hot cider),  then had an early dinner so Andrew could carbo load. Neither of us slept very well before the big day, but more of that anon.

White Men Can't Jump

Comedy on Thursday night was great. It was a tiny venue, on a street that made us think of a combination of New Orleans and Sydney's Kings Cross, down in a cellar-type space. There were only about 100 people in the audience, with five acts and a compere to amuse us. And we were very amused indeed. Unfortunately I made the apparently unforgivable error of finding the last act unfunny. I wasn't laughing and the guy saw me (hard to be missed in a venue that size); he therefore made me a target, in a nasty rather than amusing fashion, which wasn't particularly pleasant. I think some comedy is based on undermining people, exploiting prejudice, etc; other comedy is about finding the humour in situations we can all relate to, without necessarily making anyone the butt ... misanthropy vs solidarity? Anyway, enough of my musings on that.


Yesterday we headed up to the MOMA. Much of the contemporary work left me unmoved, but it was just incredible to see the works by Van Gogh, Andrew Wyeth, Monet, Rothko, etc. I could have stood in front of Starry Night for a lot longer than I did.

And the design section was incredible also. I loved the current exhibition about the development of the modern kitchen. Another section that fascinated me was the architectural models, drawings and videos of developments in various underprivileged areas - amazing to see the imagination and art that goes into creating better urban (and rural) environments.

By the time we'd stopped buying things in the Design Store (yay, half my Xmas shopping done already!), it was getting late, so I didn't get to my yoga class. We only had time to peek at the bottom end of Central Park before heading back to the apartment to drop off our bags before heading out again.

Knicks vs Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden was last night's treat. I'm not what you'd call a sporty person, but it was brilliant. The noise, the acts, the sheer velocity of the game and the passion of the crowd - wonderful. And the game was close right up until the last quarter, with the Knicks eventually winning resoundingly. Great result. We also benefited from a guy behind us who narrated the whole game. loudly - perhaps if we were local we would have found it irritating, but he was very lucid and explained quite a few things I didn't understnd ...
I haven't time to recount today's adventures as Andrew has to post on his blog - in 12 hours time he'll be just about to get on the Staten Island ferry to the start of the run ...

The King of Comedy

Yesterday was a beautiful day, cold (for us) but sunny. We made the most of it by heading out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The view back to the Manhattan skyline from the Statue was amazing - I did take a photo but it was smoggy over the city, so it didn't look that great. Besides, so many amazing photographs have been taken of this city that one's own holiday happy snaps tend to look a bit lame, I think.


Once we got back it was mid-afternoon so we had a bit of a rest before heading out for a wander. We walked up to Union Square and caught the end of the Farmers' Market there - I plan to go again, earlier in the day next time. The fruit and veg looked fantastic and I saw fresh cranberries for the first time in my life. Unfortunately I didn't find any roasted chestnuts, but we drank hot apple cider (fantastic) and bought a blueberry pie for later.

We had an early dinner in a funky little place on Union Square called Republic and then had an early night. Tonight we'll go out properly and find some jazz or something.

Today I had my postponed yoga class with Martha Stewart's niece. It was great and she is absolutely lovely. I had to get the subway to Brooklyn but I didn't take into account that a Brooklyn block is bigger than a Manhattan block, and I had to walk about 15 blocks in the pouring rain. I was wet and cold but pleased that I'd made it when I got to the studio - and the class was great. Sophie was heading into town afterwards too, so we went via her apartment (GREAT apartment), where I got to meet her roommate and the roommate's dog. Then we caught the Q together and I got off at Times Square.

Andrew and I had lunch at Bryant Park, then wandered down to Grand Central, where we gawped, then strolled back to Times Square for a bit more gawping. It was fun.

We're back in our apartment now, where Andrew is reading all his race info (he picked it up this morning instead of coming to Brooklyn with me) and trying on combinations of clothing, not to go out anywhere, to run the race in. Hmmm.

Shopping thus far has been extremly understated - two umbrellas (!), a sweater and a woollen jacket for Andrew and one beige boyfriend cardigan for me, just to expand my uniform. I believe more shopping will occur tomorrow when we're Midtown around the Museums, tomorrow being designated Culture Day (followed by Sports Evening when we go and see the Knicks at Madison Square Garden). Oh, and I am also going to a free yoga class with Sophie, if I can fit it in.

Ok, I hate travel blogs/notes that are essentially a laundry list. And then I've gone and done one ... I guess it's just that feeling that if I don't write it all down, I'll forget!

So, things I love - the ethnic diversity, the great food stores, the buzz, the subway, the architecture, the mail boxes, Jalapeno Pringles (ok, so not a good habit, but hey), hot dogs, bagels, lox, pretzels, etc, the bookshops, the parks full of people, the steam from the subway vents. Things that bemuse me - the appalling coffee, everywhere, and being treated like a criminal at all points of entry and departure. I know the security is necessary, but it is not pleasant.

Anyway, I am now off to collect my laundry (perhaps the best thing about being on holidays is virtually NO HOUSEWORK) and buy socks.

And we've just booked to go to the Comedy Cellar tonight ... More boring detail to come tomorrow.

Wall Street

The flight (including brief stopover in LA) was long but not unpleasant. Things went slightly downhill when we arrived at JFK. No answer from the people who were supposed to be meeting us at our apartment. Spouse eventually got through, to find out they'd moved us - but was cut off before finding out where we were now supposed to go. We got off the shuttle on Lexington somewhere uptown and stood freezing at a phone booth for ages trying to find out what was going on. Eventually we got a cab to our original destination, where we were met by a strange and entirely unapologetic man who took us to our new apartment, way down in the Financial District.

It was not a good start. This morning we managed to get things sorted out and finally got into our apartment at about 3pm. We're on West 14th, between 7th and 8th, and it is a tiny and very cute walk-up with a loft bed.

So we haven't been able to get much done in between all the accommodation dramas. But we have:

• seen Wall St, the NYSE and the Bull;
• eaten pizza;
• walked lots;
• eaten lox and Philly on a bagel;
• eaten pastrami on rye;
• bought groceries in a fantastic little supermarket;
• seen Ground Zero;
• been on the Subway.

Tomorrow we're going to take a ferry tour (part of our CityPass) because apparently the weather is getting less pleasant later in the week.

Halloween

I love Halloween. It's not fashionable to love Halloween in Australia - in fact, it used to be considered downright unpatriotic.

More recently, however, retailers have started to see it as another way to make money, so costumes and decorations do appear in the supermarkets. I still have to buy my candy corn and mallow pumpkins from a special US foods website (which makes MY house the best to trick or treat!) ...

Our old house used to look great at Halloween, being a fairly creepy looking house even when not decorated.

This house is probably just a bit too recently renovated. But we made a minor effort.

Kid 2 is a vampire with a great deal of attitude. Kid 1 is happy Mafia (or Justin Bieber). Kid on far left is Kid 1's BFF, and the tiny poppets are his half-siblings (one from each parent - Modern Family indeed).