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| The weather outside on our New York bound adventure. |
After the tumultuous uncertainty of the last week of road tripping across America our final destination before the UK and Europe was the light at the end of a 9000 mile tunnel. We are very happy, and relieved, that there was no damage to the RV and even with the sleepless and stress filled days now behind us we can look back on the great American road trip with very fond memories and plenty of stories. Our trip into New York from New Jersey happened to fall right in the middle of one of the worst winter storms to hit the area this season. After struggling into a taxi with all our worldly possessions we arrived in New York after two short taxi trips and a half hour train ride. While waiting in line for a taxi at Penn Station we had our first encounter with New Yorkers who quizzed James on why he had a stuffed animal strapped to his luggage and after claiming to ‘just be holding it for a friend’, who happened to be standing out of sight at the time, the whole situation was an unexpected and entertaining way to enter New York City.
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| Our apartment. Spacious |
Our apartment is on West 15th Street just off 7th Avenue, in Chelsea for those of you playing at home, and is in a really nice neighborhood with everything within a five minute walk or subway trip. Granted we have been living in an 17 foot RV for the last four months, but having to walk more than two steps from the kitchen to the bedroom is really luxurious and we are really glad to call this place home until early march. After settling in after only a matter of hours it became clear there was so much to do and it didn’t take long to make a list of things we wanted to do in The Big Apple. Our first impression of New York, regardless of the mountains of snow and ice on the sidewalks, was a good one and New York is a really easy city to live in and enjoy. The public transport is incredible and we have not had to wait more than a couple of minutes to catch a subway train to any of Manhattan’s destinations.
Our first destination was the downtown area and financial district to pick up some winter essentials, better jackets, gloves and scarves, to bear the bone chilling winds whipping through the cavernous streets of New York’s boroughs. After experiencing some seriously good coffee [from a little place called Kaffe on Greenwich] we wandered through the World Trade Centre Memorial and were unexpectedly moved by the stories and artifacts portraying the heroic and tragic loss of life on that fateful day in September. After a challenging half hour of self reflection it was time to pick up what we needed for winter and it took all afternoon to stroll the gargantuan expanses of Century 21 to find what we needed and it didn’t cost nearly as much as expected, which gave us a little more cash to burn in this fantastic city.
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| Mmmmm...gluten free brownies. |
It has been so long since we updated the blog and we have done something nearly every day, unless the mercury drops well into the negatives, and with each day we both feel more at home and in love with this bustling metropolis. We have done all the usual things early to give us time to explore the different and distinctive areas of Manhattan. One notable highlight so far has been the food and coffee scene here. We have been able to find top quality products and experienced some seriously good stuff in the last couple of weeks. We have nearly worked our way through the menu at Babycakes, a bakery specializing in gluten free and vegan cookies, cakes and more, and we really cannot speak highly enough of what Babycakes are capable of. Their cupcakes and cookies, all gluten free for Antoinette’s sake, are so close to the real thing and free of most of the things that make cupcakes a sometimes food. Seeing Antoinette’s expression after biting into a brownie, something she had cast into the ‘I’m never going to have those again so I’m not going to think about it’ pile, was entertaining enough to see us return three times in the last week. Another incredible taste of Manhattan’s cuisine was made possible through NYC Restaurant Week and a little place called Megu. This place takes Japanese food and twists it into a modern double helix of taste and design and the results were exceptional. Great sushi, great kobe steak and a great vibe in the restaurant made this a wicked experience and we were even able to put the $9 price tag on the spring water behind us.
We were also fortunate enough; at least James was, to be in America for the Superbowl. Getting into the spirit of things required some research into peri peri marinades and the results were pretty damn close to our beloved Mt.Barker chicken wings from home. The result of the game was kind of irrelevant, but the commercials were entertaining enough and these 30 second snippets were the only reason Antoinette was able to bear the three hours of padded meat wagons running into each other to prove their ‘stick-to-it-ivness’ [a very intelligible phrase used by a NFL commentator].
Another highlight of Manhattan is, of course, the shopping. Everything from custom kicks to shelves and cabinets full of belt buckles are right around every corner and the areas surrounding Soho have definitely made our wallets a little bit too light for our liking. Then again sacrificing meat for a week to gain the last pair of US 9s limited edition Star War Adidas kicks was always going to be an easy decision. We have been able to splurge a little in this city and we are very glad we toughed it out in the middle of our trip to leave cash to spend here as the opportunities and potential for entertainment in this city are limited only to our imaginations. The only limitation on our spending is the practicality of transporting our latest acquisitions via very limited luggage space into the UK, where the inevitable accumulation of belongings will continue and probably require the purchase of another bag to carry everything home.
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| Steel on ice. What can go wrong? |
The weather here has been what you would expect in the depths of a North American winter and the sidewalks are finally visible for the first time in two weeks. The maximum temperatures have been floating between five above to nine below for the last two weeks and seeing maximums in the double digits for the next couple of days is really exciting for us. There have been days when we have been forced to cut our explorations short because of the bitter winds and cold weather eating through our many layers of clothing. The weather hasn’t really stopped us doing what we want to do and we have thoroughly explored central park, despite a foot of snow covering everything. Ice Skating, or more precisely, Ice Stumbling [seriously the guy who thought it would be a good idea to put metal and ice together for fun needs some therapy] was good for a laugh and taking a horse drawn carriage through the park was something pretty memorable. The weather has been made bearable, mostly because of the public transport, and you never really have to spend to much time in the cold and it doesn’t take long to warm up as every store and restaurant has their heating on overdrive.
For us Manhattan has been about the little things. Babycakes’ brownies, the shake shack at Madison Square Park, the little sculptures throughout our local subway, hot dogs in central park while seeing a crazy guy dancing on the sidewalk, the crazily busy comic book store and the really average buskers on the subway are some examples of the little things that continue the stream of pleasant surprises. Just walking the streets makes the little strips of cafes and shops visible and there is plenty more for us to do before we leave in a little over two weeks. We have planned day trips to Brooklyn and some of New York’s other boroughs, a few more museums, a debaucherous night at a comedy club, a night out with a few beverages and a plenty more to keep us busy and out of trouble. Apartment living is definitely a luxury we are taking advantage of while it lasts and we know the reality of living in the UK will have us sharing space with more than a few people. All the more reason to take in this city while we can.
'Till next time,
Antoinette and James.
