americans are crazy for it... they cant get enough of them...every shoe shop window is full of them...the ugg store has queues stretching around the corner...people stop you in the street... do you know where the Ugg shop is? they find out you're australian and all they ask is 'do you have ugg's there? they talk to you in restaurants and brag about their ugg purse!
they have more ugg here in new york then in all of australia!!!
you can by so much ugg!! ugg wallets. ugg vests. ugg pencils. ugg pens. ugg scarves. ugg mittens. ugg bags. ugg beanies. ugg slippers. ugg boots. ugg massage shoes. ugg flip flops. ugg ear muffs. ugg sweaters. ugg trackies. ugg keyrings. ugg rugs. ugg mobile phone holders. ugg tea cosies. ugg bed throws.
don't they have sheep in this country?! they should make their own.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Visit
So they came and they went... it seemed like forever when it was happening but now feels like a second... had lots of fun with georgie and mum and even though there were times i wish they'd just disappear, we had a great time. We did so much and managed to turn my sister into a shopping addict (she's still in denial)... which was our primary aim. I'm not even sure who won the shopping stakes... most probably mum hands down, but who could blame her... it was the biggest shopping day of the year when she was here.
We went to Boston for 4 days which was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of NYC... was a really pretty city but its main attraction seemed to be cemeteries and stories about dead people.. we went up to Salem and went on a ghost hunt (at georgia's request) spent an hour and half in -5 degrees following a ghost hunter through more cemeteries hunting down 'orbs' and apparitions... sadly no ghosts, even worse lost all feeling in my fingers and toes.... quickly rectified by some great soup and hot tea... back in boston we also went to Cambridge, checked out Harvard, and yet anther tick on my list of Ivy League schools to visit... back in the city later that night we went and bought tickets from some scalpers to see Robin Williams live... he was pretty funny and awesome that such a great actor was just infront of us, but it still annoys me when people of such world status feel that when they get in front of an adult audience they can just swear every second word... i think he still would have been funny without the swearing... i mean really... patch adams or mrs doubtfire would curse at such a dirty mouth.
We headed back to NY on Thanksgiving Eve... now whose idea was that? we finally made it back after 7 hours on a bus (which should have been 4!) and got an early night before hitting the thanksgiving day parade the next morning... can cross that one off the list now.. it was pretty cool and we had a great position (because we got there at 6:30am....) we then headed downtown to the meatpacking district for an awesome NY Thanksgiving lunch at Pastis... Turkey with chicken stuffing! doesn't get much better... EXCEPT then going to see Tina Turner!!!! She was fantastic... 69 and still running around the stage in a leotard and high heels...one of the greatest shows i've seen in a long time...
the rest of the week until they left we basically spent shopping. soho... 5th avenue... macy's... saks... lord and taylor...east village...west village...uptown...downtown... you name it we shopped it... we even had two shopping sessions one of the days with a home break in between! We also did a few museums... the guggenheim rated low...my first time there and i was unimpressed, nothing of substance really. We also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and went to Grimaldi's for lunch, followed by the Tenement Museum, it was great checking out how new immigrants settled into the lower east side of new york... recommend it to all :)
oh yeah and georgia burnt her finger on my hair straightener and had a blister the size of a grape on her finger for most of the trip. was a great source of entertainment and photographic opportunity.... until it popped.... in her pocket.
and that was their trip in a nutshell, looking forward to trent followed by amy in the next few weeks!!... now the rest of you come visit!
wanna see pics? check the albums on the right -->
We went to Boston for 4 days which was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of NYC... was a really pretty city but its main attraction seemed to be cemeteries and stories about dead people.. we went up to Salem and went on a ghost hunt (at georgia's request) spent an hour and half in -5 degrees following a ghost hunter through more cemeteries hunting down 'orbs' and apparitions... sadly no ghosts, even worse lost all feeling in my fingers and toes.... quickly rectified by some great soup and hot tea... back in boston we also went to Cambridge, checked out Harvard, and yet anther tick on my list of Ivy League schools to visit... back in the city later that night we went and bought tickets from some scalpers to see Robin Williams live... he was pretty funny and awesome that such a great actor was just infront of us, but it still annoys me when people of such world status feel that when they get in front of an adult audience they can just swear every second word... i think he still would have been funny without the swearing... i mean really... patch adams or mrs doubtfire would curse at such a dirty mouth.
We headed back to NY on Thanksgiving Eve... now whose idea was that? we finally made it back after 7 hours on a bus (which should have been 4!) and got an early night before hitting the thanksgiving day parade the next morning... can cross that one off the list now.. it was pretty cool and we had a great position (because we got there at 6:30am....) we then headed downtown to the meatpacking district for an awesome NY Thanksgiving lunch at Pastis... Turkey with chicken stuffing! doesn't get much better... EXCEPT then going to see Tina Turner!!!! She was fantastic... 69 and still running around the stage in a leotard and high heels...one of the greatest shows i've seen in a long time...
the rest of the week until they left we basically spent shopping. soho... 5th avenue... macy's... saks... lord and taylor...east village...west village...uptown...downtown... you name it we shopped it... we even had two shopping sessions one of the days with a home break in between! We also did a few museums... the guggenheim rated low...my first time there and i was unimpressed, nothing of substance really. We also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and went to Grimaldi's for lunch, followed by the Tenement Museum, it was great checking out how new immigrants settled into the lower east side of new york... recommend it to all :)
oh yeah and georgia burnt her finger on my hair straightener and had a blister the size of a grape on her finger for most of the trip. was a great source of entertainment and photographic opportunity.... until it popped.... in her pocket.
and that was their trip in a nutshell, looking forward to trent followed by amy in the next few weeks!!... now the rest of you come visit!
wanna see pics? check the albums on the right -->
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Whirlwind Week
The Frydmans have taken New York by storm! yes thats right, mum and georgie are in town and we have been hitting the streets to take in every tourist gimmick on offer... the holiday started a little rocky.... yes georgia realised at 2am in the morning that the suitcase she bought home from the airport was not infact hers and was some other poor lady's.... but soon rectified the next morning we headed up to central park to see the last of the autumn leaves and a much needed Zabar's soup to warm up... yes the chill has arrived. it is bloody freezing. so cold.
After our day of frolicking in the leaves I was back at work and they boarded the red tourist buses for about 2 days taking in all the city sites... in true Frydman style they secured two free tickets on a water taxi tour on the hudson passing the lady and checking out the bridges... I've been catching up with them each night after work and showing them the real new york... we've seen my friend dani singing in a bar in brooklyn, had pizza from frankies, seen the ice hockey, enjoyed street meat, seen the rockettes in the christmas spectacular at radio city (recommended to all), hit Macy's and the lovely shops in Soho and its only been 4 days! Today they are museum hopping and tonight we are going Ice Skating at Rockerfeller Plaza... then I'm on holidays for the next week and a half... very exciting.. we are off to boston for a while and then back to celebrate Thanksgiving at the parade followed by an evening with Tina Turner.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods... we'll keep you updated on the Frydman girls adventures!
xx.
After our day of frolicking in the leaves I was back at work and they boarded the red tourist buses for about 2 days taking in all the city sites... in true Frydman style they secured two free tickets on a water taxi tour on the hudson passing the lady and checking out the bridges... I've been catching up with them each night after work and showing them the real new york... we've seen my friend dani singing in a bar in brooklyn, had pizza from frankies, seen the ice hockey, enjoyed street meat, seen the rockettes in the christmas spectacular at radio city (recommended to all), hit Macy's and the lovely shops in Soho and its only been 4 days! Today they are museum hopping and tonight we are going Ice Skating at Rockerfeller Plaza... then I'm on holidays for the next week and a half... very exciting.. we are off to boston for a while and then back to celebrate Thanksgiving at the parade followed by an evening with Tina Turner.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods... we'll keep you updated on the Frydman girls adventures!
xx.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Obamarama - Yes He Can!
ok ok here it is.. the election post!
For 2 years America has been debating who should be there next president, and on Tuesday 4th of November, 2008 they spoke.. and made history! In their very passionate way, the streets of New York in the past couple of months have become flooded with pro Obama paraphenalia, from badges to mugs to hats and tshirts. There are posters of him all over the walls, unique grafitti in his honour, its almost like he is the messiah! Being such a democratic state where the majority are pro-Obama it is often difficult to get an equal understanding of what both sides are for... moreso on election day it is hard to fathom that there are people out there who aren't voting for Obama!
So election day started and the queues started forming down the streets... some people stood in lines for 2 hours before spending 30 seconds voting... thats one thing americans are good at.. standing in lines.. they love a good queue!
A few things confuse me about the american voting system.. first of all its not compulsory, so a lot of advertising and general chit chat is about whether you are voting or not, and not who you are voting for! I thought that was weird... then each state gets one vote for either candidate based on the majority of the votes from the people in that state. If the vote is only for president and not for seats in a senate then why isnt it 1 vote per person!? Thirdly, different voting places are open different hours, like some are opened more hours then others... im not sure what this impacts but it doesnt sound right... then they start counting and presenting votes on the tv before some polling booths have closed... another oddity... and finally... they predict who is going to win and announce it on TV before all the votes have been counted.. anyway its America, and thats just the way it is I guess!
So I spent the day at work, and spoke about the election which only 3 out of the 15 people in my office actually voted in! I find people who cant vote have a lot more opinions then those that can... Anyway after work I headed to an Election Party in a bar in Chelsea and watched anxiously at the big screen as the little states on the screen coloured in blue and red... it was a Jewish function and it was interesting to chat to people about there thoughts on the election.. suprisingly a lot of them voted McCain.. my superficial interpretation of this is because Obama wants to tax higher income earners more then they currently are being taxed and all the rich Jewish kids don't like that... again dont take my word for it just my analysis...
so as our eyes flicked from CNN to Fox News and back again, anxiousness growing at the discrepency of the numbers between each channel.. even though it was evident from early on Obama was winning in a landslide.. as he knocked over key republican states excitement grew, and all worries gone when McCain conceded in what I thought to be fairly early on in the race.. but he gave a good concession speech, probably the best speech his made all campaign... Then came Barack, the Might O... gave a wonderful speech everyone was cheering (except of course the McCain supporters...), and he has the cutest family, and he promised them a puppy in the whitehouse!!! how amazing for those kids.. the youngest so far to live in the whitehouse.. anyway we left the pub and headed home...
Jumping out of the taxi in my street i started seeing heaps of people gathering around and then all of the sudden the street at 1st Avenue and St Marks Place (my corner..) was packed full of people cheering and dancing, screaming out YES HE CAN... there goes the passionate americans again... it was crazy.. flags waving, bongos playing, heck (like my americanism) some guy was banging on his saucepan with a spoon!!! the entire intersection of quite a major road was full of people dancing.. cars couldnt get through, buses tried to inch their way without running anyone over...and then one guy jumped on the roof of the bus and starting running up and down it! ridiculous... at that point i headed up to my apartment and kept watching from my window.. it was so noisy and there was going to be no way i was going to get any sleep, so i went back down! made friends with people on the sidewalk and watched as throngs of police ran up and down the street trying to clear the road...eventually they succeeded and i went to bed..here are some pics.
The next day my friend had tickets to go and see The View. It is a panel of 5 famous women who chat for an hour about anything topical, have guests, give things away (unfortunately not cars...) and generally enertain the audience for 60 minutes... of course the hot topic was the election...the most poignant part of the whole show was when the black presenter (i think she is a famous comedian) broke down in tears as she told the story how she sat down next to her young son the night before and told him that the sky is the limit, he can now do whatever he wants with life... and this time she knew it was for real because tonight the USA had elected a black president...touching.
Since election day, the past week the country has been waking up and beginning to face reality and realise that they had actually elected a black president... and slowly slowly it began to sink in what that actually meant... the papaers wrote about martin luther king, the tv's blarred on about how today black and white are equal, and in schools black kids are running around now aspiring to be president of the USA... it is an exciting time for the country, one which noone knows what will happen, except the fact that they now have there first black president who won the election over a white man with overwhelming support, admiration and hope from his people.
lets see what he delivers.
A few interesting facts...Obama is not 100% black.. his mother was white... but the press kind of ignore that... and just on an ending note... America now has a Hawaiian President... bring on the luau...
For 2 years America has been debating who should be there next president, and on Tuesday 4th of November, 2008 they spoke.. and made history! In their very passionate way, the streets of New York in the past couple of months have become flooded with pro Obama paraphenalia, from badges to mugs to hats and tshirts. There are posters of him all over the walls, unique grafitti in his honour, its almost like he is the messiah! Being such a democratic state where the majority are pro-Obama it is often difficult to get an equal understanding of what both sides are for... moreso on election day it is hard to fathom that there are people out there who aren't voting for Obama!
So election day started and the queues started forming down the streets... some people stood in lines for 2 hours before spending 30 seconds voting... thats one thing americans are good at.. standing in lines.. they love a good queue!
A few things confuse me about the american voting system.. first of all its not compulsory, so a lot of advertising and general chit chat is about whether you are voting or not, and not who you are voting for! I thought that was weird... then each state gets one vote for either candidate based on the majority of the votes from the people in that state. If the vote is only for president and not for seats in a senate then why isnt it 1 vote per person!? Thirdly, different voting places are open different hours, like some are opened more hours then others... im not sure what this impacts but it doesnt sound right... then they start counting and presenting votes on the tv before some polling booths have closed... another oddity... and finally... they predict who is going to win and announce it on TV before all the votes have been counted.. anyway its America, and thats just the way it is I guess!
So I spent the day at work, and spoke about the election which only 3 out of the 15 people in my office actually voted in! I find people who cant vote have a lot more opinions then those that can... Anyway after work I headed to an Election Party in a bar in Chelsea and watched anxiously at the big screen as the little states on the screen coloured in blue and red... it was a Jewish function and it was interesting to chat to people about there thoughts on the election.. suprisingly a lot of them voted McCain.. my superficial interpretation of this is because Obama wants to tax higher income earners more then they currently are being taxed and all the rich Jewish kids don't like that... again dont take my word for it just my analysis...
so as our eyes flicked from CNN to Fox News and back again, anxiousness growing at the discrepency of the numbers between each channel.. even though it was evident from early on Obama was winning in a landslide.. as he knocked over key republican states excitement grew, and all worries gone when McCain conceded in what I thought to be fairly early on in the race.. but he gave a good concession speech, probably the best speech his made all campaign... Then came Barack, the Might O... gave a wonderful speech everyone was cheering (except of course the McCain supporters...), and he has the cutest family, and he promised them a puppy in the whitehouse!!! how amazing for those kids.. the youngest so far to live in the whitehouse.. anyway we left the pub and headed home...
Jumping out of the taxi in my street i started seeing heaps of people gathering around and then all of the sudden the street at 1st Avenue and St Marks Place (my corner..) was packed full of people cheering and dancing, screaming out YES HE CAN... there goes the passionate americans again... it was crazy.. flags waving, bongos playing, heck (like my americanism) some guy was banging on his saucepan with a spoon!!! the entire intersection of quite a major road was full of people dancing.. cars couldnt get through, buses tried to inch their way without running anyone over...and then one guy jumped on the roof of the bus and starting running up and down it! ridiculous... at that point i headed up to my apartment and kept watching from my window.. it was so noisy and there was going to be no way i was going to get any sleep, so i went back down! made friends with people on the sidewalk and watched as throngs of police ran up and down the street trying to clear the road...eventually they succeeded and i went to bed..here are some pics.
The next day my friend had tickets to go and see The View. It is a panel of 5 famous women who chat for an hour about anything topical, have guests, give things away (unfortunately not cars...) and generally enertain the audience for 60 minutes... of course the hot topic was the election...the most poignant part of the whole show was when the black presenter (i think she is a famous comedian) broke down in tears as she told the story how she sat down next to her young son the night before and told him that the sky is the limit, he can now do whatever he wants with life... and this time she knew it was for real because tonight the USA had elected a black president...touching.
Since election day, the past week the country has been waking up and beginning to face reality and realise that they had actually elected a black president... and slowly slowly it began to sink in what that actually meant... the papaers wrote about martin luther king, the tv's blarred on about how today black and white are equal, and in schools black kids are running around now aspiring to be president of the USA... it is an exciting time for the country, one which noone knows what will happen, except the fact that they now have there first black president who won the election over a white man with overwhelming support, admiration and hope from his people.
lets see what he delivers.
A few interesting facts...Obama is not 100% black.. his mother was white... but the press kind of ignore that... and just on an ending note... America now has a Hawaiian President... bring on the luau...
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Making a difference
In a city where where everyone is go go go, thinking about themselves, how they can make their next dollar and buy that fur coat in the prada window, few stop to think about those that have it a bit harder then them... yesterday I did my first volunteering project with New York Cares. People living in the city always talk about how they are so busy, and have so many social arrangements and things to do and cant find a spare second to themselves, well this weekend I made the time,... I spent 3 hours of my Saturday with 20 volunteers helping out an organisation called KEEN. It is a free service run by volunteers for families with kids with disabilities. We spent 2 hours with about 20 kids with disabilities ranging from autism to cerebal palsy. We ran around, did some bowling, skidded on scooters, played basketball, had wheelchair races, danced to music and my favourite the parachute! The kids had an awesome time and their parents got 2 hours to themselves to do what most of us take for granted all day every day, spent time for themselves doing what they wanted, a few hours of respite from their 24 hour a day carer role. It was fulfilling knowing i made some kind of difference in someones life.. looking forward to future volunteering projects as I make the time over the next few months.
Of course I did spend some time over indulging myself this weekend... Halloween! absolutely manic... i felt like manhattan turned in to dress up night on school camp! The streets were packed with people in costume just having a great time.. I saw many batmans and spidermans, tin men, a woopee cushion, a rubiks cube, pirates, loads of fairies and devils and vampires and so much more! I headed with some friends to the halloween parade, think the mardi gras times one thousand... loads of people in costume marching down 6th avenue and hundreds more lining the streets to watch.. the most amazing part I thought was the float with over 300 'dead' zombies doing the michael jackson thriller dance... was soo funny, and so well done! I dressed up a little, I looked kinda scary... after the parade we headed indoors for some warmth, red wine and pizza... the funniest part of halloween was the next morning when I was on the train at 11am and saw people still dressed up on their way home... sharing my carriage was a guy in a straight jacket, splatted all over with fake blood, brandishing a hacksaw... only in new york. I took a few pics, not to many cos it is hard in the dark, you can see them here.
the weekend continued to get better with a great night out celebrating jenny and ross's birthdays at a bar in my street, (got to love that!) and quite a night of celebration it was... today was also lovely.. headed uptown to watch the new york marathon with some aussie friends, cheered on those in the green and gold, and then headed to the famous carnegie deli for an obligatory pastrami on rye... and now im suffering because of it....
just a regular weekend in this amazing city!
With the elections on this week its sure to be a ripper... stay tuned!
Of course I did spend some time over indulging myself this weekend... Halloween! absolutely manic... i felt like manhattan turned in to dress up night on school camp! The streets were packed with people in costume just having a great time.. I saw many batmans and spidermans, tin men, a woopee cushion, a rubiks cube, pirates, loads of fairies and devils and vampires and so much more! I headed with some friends to the halloween parade, think the mardi gras times one thousand... loads of people in costume marching down 6th avenue and hundreds more lining the streets to watch.. the most amazing part I thought was the float with over 300 'dead' zombies doing the michael jackson thriller dance... was soo funny, and so well done! I dressed up a little, I looked kinda scary... after the parade we headed indoors for some warmth, red wine and pizza... the funniest part of halloween was the next morning when I was on the train at 11am and saw people still dressed up on their way home... sharing my carriage was a guy in a straight jacket, splatted all over with fake blood, brandishing a hacksaw... only in new york. I took a few pics, not to many cos it is hard in the dark, you can see them here.
the weekend continued to get better with a great night out celebrating jenny and ross's birthdays at a bar in my street, (got to love that!) and quite a night of celebration it was... today was also lovely.. headed uptown to watch the new york marathon with some aussie friends, cheered on those in the green and gold, and then headed to the famous carnegie deli for an obligatory pastrami on rye... and now im suffering because of it....
just a regular weekend in this amazing city!
With the elections on this week its sure to be a ripper... stay tuned!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
36 hours in the city of the free...
So I spent the last weekend on a last minute trip down to Washington with a friend, Debbie, who is moving back to Sydney. We had a great time, I got to see New York at a different hour, 5am.. as we made our way to the train station. We had our customary cream cheese bagels in hand and we claimed our double seats on the train, fell asleep, and in what seemed to be 5 minutes we arrived in Washington... with such minimal time we aimed to pack in as much as we could.. we went from the holocaust museum (which was awesome) (note use of american word 'awesome'... what is happening to me!!) to arlington cemetery, saw the grave of JFK and a few other hundred thousand soldier graves, saw the changing of the guard at the unknown soldiers tomb, and saw a horse drawn carriage with a hearse... got some great pics of washington from high on a hill, and then headed back downtown. In the afternoon we headed to the Air and Space Museum for an hour, hoping to get some more great shots climbing amongst some aircraft... sadly not much to climb on but was fun nonetheless.
Being the nations capital all the museums/galleries/memorials are free of charge. You can literally pack in as many museums as possible into a day and not pay a cent... comes in handy when you travel with someone who needs the bathroom every five seconds :P
The city remimded me a lot of canberra, just with more stone columns and more buildings... the city shines of marble and stone, and is dotted with museums and memorials, with each one better then the next. In a city which looks so pristine it is hard to imagine it also has one of the country's highest poverty rates. Too busy showing itself off it forgets to look after its own.. sad.
There's not much to be said about the taxi drivers in DC either... of the 4 we got in to the first one didnt know where Arlington Cemetery was (its like one of the biggest tourist destinations in the city!!!) and later in the afternoon the taxi we were in broke down, he made me pay for the ride and then made Deb and I help him push the taxi! I pushed a car!!!! crazy.
Friday night one of Deb's work acquaintances ( a 60 year old father of a few... but young at heart) picked us up and took us on a night tour of the city. He took us to the white house and capitol hill, was great all lit up and with noone else around we were able to get some great pics. We also headed to Georgetown which is the suburb of the DC university, it was a fun area with a great vibe, we then headed back to the area around our hotel (the Grand Hyatt no less.. ) went to a local bar, heard a sob story from our waitress about how her ex-husband used to beat her (shes only 21...) and we grabbed a drink and pizza.... And that was Friday!
Yet to come was Saturday!!! Saturday we went on a bus tour around all the monuments and memorials, it was really interesting and I learnt a heap of American history which was great too... Saturday afternoon, we visited more bathrooms and went to the Natural History Museum which was fun. They had a live butterfly breeding room where you got to go through and if you were as lucky as Deb you got a giant butterfly landing on your nose! Despite the 90 degree heat in the atrium it was incredible to be in their habitat. After making sure we hadn't picked up any 'hitchhiking' butterflies as the lady called them, we left the museum and headed to a sculpture garden next to one of the art museums. Took numerous silly photo shots, got in trouble from a mean lady for touching the sculptures, and then collapsed in the middle of the park for some much needed rest before heading back to our hotel, grabbing a bite to eat and boarded the bus back to the NYC!
We had a great weekend as you can see... well read... and with only the two of us traveling together and so much to see and photograph we made it our mission to take some arty photography... with debs trusty purple bag as our tripod, and the handy-ness of self timer we think we did pretty well! Check them out here: Album 1 and Album 2
Being the nations capital all the museums/galleries/memorials are free of charge. You can literally pack in as many museums as possible into a day and not pay a cent... comes in handy when you travel with someone who needs the bathroom every five seconds :P
The city remimded me a lot of canberra, just with more stone columns and more buildings... the city shines of marble and stone, and is dotted with museums and memorials, with each one better then the next. In a city which looks so pristine it is hard to imagine it also has one of the country's highest poverty rates. Too busy showing itself off it forgets to look after its own.. sad.
There's not much to be said about the taxi drivers in DC either... of the 4 we got in to the first one didnt know where Arlington Cemetery was (its like one of the biggest tourist destinations in the city!!!) and later in the afternoon the taxi we were in broke down, he made me pay for the ride and then made Deb and I help him push the taxi! I pushed a car!!!! crazy.
Friday night one of Deb's work acquaintances ( a 60 year old father of a few... but young at heart) picked us up and took us on a night tour of the city. He took us to the white house and capitol hill, was great all lit up and with noone else around we were able to get some great pics. We also headed to Georgetown which is the suburb of the DC university, it was a fun area with a great vibe, we then headed back to the area around our hotel (the Grand Hyatt no less.. ) went to a local bar, heard a sob story from our waitress about how her ex-husband used to beat her (shes only 21...) and we grabbed a drink and pizza.... And that was Friday!
Yet to come was Saturday!!! Saturday we went on a bus tour around all the monuments and memorials, it was really interesting and I learnt a heap of American history which was great too... Saturday afternoon, we visited more bathrooms and went to the Natural History Museum which was fun. They had a live butterfly breeding room where you got to go through and if you were as lucky as Deb you got a giant butterfly landing on your nose! Despite the 90 degree heat in the atrium it was incredible to be in their habitat. After making sure we hadn't picked up any 'hitchhiking' butterflies as the lady called them, we left the museum and headed to a sculpture garden next to one of the art museums. Took numerous silly photo shots, got in trouble from a mean lady for touching the sculptures, and then collapsed in the middle of the park for some much needed rest before heading back to our hotel, grabbing a bite to eat and boarded the bus back to the NYC!
We had a great weekend as you can see... well read... and with only the two of us traveling together and so much to see and photograph we made it our mission to take some arty photography... with debs trusty purple bag as our tripod, and the handy-ness of self timer we think we did pretty well! Check them out here: Album 1 and Album 2
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Shana Tova
As 5769 rolls in and a new Jewish year begins, I find myself in a new country with new experiences and a challenging but exciting year ahead.. who knows what will happen to any of us, but lets hope it is all full of good, character building and enjoyable occasions.
My year started with a great dinner at Jeremy and Nicola's, with Tim, Tali and Lex we ate apple, honey, and other new year mandatories and it felt strangely familiar. Very different to the same family rosh hashana I have had for the past 28 years in sydney but still got the same 'friday night fullness' that I think comes with any jewish meal where ever in the world you are. It was a fun night and lucky for me I had to only walk a few steps (about 25 to be exact...) to get home afterwards :) Unfortunately I didnt get to shule, but i did feel guilty as i walked past a few synagogues on the way to work.
So as part of my new year excitement I have signed up to two new ventures, one personal and one communal... the personal one is that I joined a gym this week.. it was expensive, as things are in this city, but with the winter coming i need to keep fit! and if I cant do it outside, the gym it is... I've been to a couple already and i can spin like nothing else.. so we'll see how long the enthusiasm continues.. they have some really good classes so it should be a lot of fun!
piece of trivia: my flatmate saw renee zelwegger running on the treadmill in big black sunglasses at my gym! so if my fitness doesnt get any better at least my star spotting might (i am still on nil!!)
So the second thing i have started is volunteering. I have joined an organisation called New York Cares. Lots of Americans volunteer to help out in a range of different activities across the city everyday of the week. The activities range from pruning gardens to playing bingo in old peoples homes, helping disabled kids play sport to feeding the homeless. I have to go to an orientation this week, and in a couple of saturdays time i am volunteering at New York Cares Day, a day dedicated to painting murals at schools around the city... I don't know where the urge I have to give in this city is coming from, maybe its to do with all the homeless people i see and begars that i get acosted by on the street and train everyday...im excited to do it so I'll keep you posted with how it goes!
Until next entry... cheers!
My year started with a great dinner at Jeremy and Nicola's, with Tim, Tali and Lex we ate apple, honey, and other new year mandatories and it felt strangely familiar. Very different to the same family rosh hashana I have had for the past 28 years in sydney but still got the same 'friday night fullness' that I think comes with any jewish meal where ever in the world you are. It was a fun night and lucky for me I had to only walk a few steps (about 25 to be exact...) to get home afterwards :) Unfortunately I didnt get to shule, but i did feel guilty as i walked past a few synagogues on the way to work.
So as part of my new year excitement I have signed up to two new ventures, one personal and one communal... the personal one is that I joined a gym this week.. it was expensive, as things are in this city, but with the winter coming i need to keep fit! and if I cant do it outside, the gym it is... I've been to a couple already and i can spin like nothing else.. so we'll see how long the enthusiasm continues.. they have some really good classes so it should be a lot of fun!
piece of trivia: my flatmate saw renee zelwegger running on the treadmill in big black sunglasses at my gym! so if my fitness doesnt get any better at least my star spotting might (i am still on nil!!)
So the second thing i have started is volunteering. I have joined an organisation called New York Cares. Lots of Americans volunteer to help out in a range of different activities across the city everyday of the week. The activities range from pruning gardens to playing bingo in old peoples homes, helping disabled kids play sport to feeding the homeless. I have to go to an orientation this week, and in a couple of saturdays time i am volunteering at New York Cares Day, a day dedicated to painting murals at schools around the city... I don't know where the urge I have to give in this city is coming from, maybe its to do with all the homeless people i see and begars that i get acosted by on the street and train everyday...im excited to do it so I'll keep you posted with how it goes!
Until next entry... cheers!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
these shoes are made for walking
on coming to New York someone said to me 'you have never seen so many shoe stores in your life! you see one massive store, and then another and another, all lined up to the ceilings with shoes'... well its true, but not only that, they all have a roaring trade... and now I can see why... in a city where everyone walks everywhere, you go through shoes like no tomorrow... there is no 'wearing in a shoe', if you get a blister, chuck them... the uneven pavement and cobblestone streets are enough to eat up any jimmy choo heel... that's wear the clever new york woman's mind comes in to play... every girl's handbag has the essential item of a pair of flats... mandatory for anyone without a limo taking you door to door... the flats are for walking in the street, then once inside the flats are swapped for heels and the flats make their way into your handbag... two pairs of shoes for every journey..
as a walker to work, i too carry multiple shoes with me.. underneath my desk at work resembles a small shoe store in itself, as i wear my thongs (aka flip flops) to work, and swap to heels whilst inside... this week i went shoe shopping, and very maturely shopped for shoes depending on their soles rather then what they looked like!
so I was in macy's looking at shoes, and I had a pair in my hand I wanted to try on, instead of queuing up and asking for the size, a lady approached me to help me (yes this is service city...) I told her what size and she pulled out this little electronic device, scanned the bar code on my shoe, offered me it in different colours, told me what sizes she had left in the storeroom, took my name, and said they'll be with you in a minute if youd like to keep browsing, and that was that, she went on to the next lady, and in a few minutes someone had brought me not only the pair I asked for, but a size larger and a size smaller just in case!!! this city has it sorted... love it.
I got a few nice pairs for indoors and a great pair of rain boots for outdoors! Rain boots are THE accessory, stripe ones, spotty ones, marc jacobs ones, burberry ones, red ones, pink ones, flowery ones, you name it you can get it on your rain boots! me, I just stuck to black... but I love them! bring on the snow!! i feel like a kid again, it was raining this week so i wore them to work, (and of course changed when i got there!) it was great....walked straight through flooded streets, wasn't afraid of soggy toes!!!
as a side note... the biggest Australian import into New York has to be the ugg boot! every shoe store stocks aussie ugg boots, I havent even seen this many ugg boots in australia... they go crazy for them here!!!... looking for a new job? export ugg boots!
as a walker to work, i too carry multiple shoes with me.. underneath my desk at work resembles a small shoe store in itself, as i wear my thongs (aka flip flops) to work, and swap to heels whilst inside... this week i went shoe shopping, and very maturely shopped for shoes depending on their soles rather then what they looked like!
so I was in macy's looking at shoes, and I had a pair in my hand I wanted to try on, instead of queuing up and asking for the size, a lady approached me to help me (yes this is service city...) I told her what size and she pulled out this little electronic device, scanned the bar code on my shoe, offered me it in different colours, told me what sizes she had left in the storeroom, took my name, and said they'll be with you in a minute if youd like to keep browsing, and that was that, she went on to the next lady, and in a few minutes someone had brought me not only the pair I asked for, but a size larger and a size smaller just in case!!! this city has it sorted... love it.
I got a few nice pairs for indoors and a great pair of rain boots for outdoors! Rain boots are THE accessory, stripe ones, spotty ones, marc jacobs ones, burberry ones, red ones, pink ones, flowery ones, you name it you can get it on your rain boots! me, I just stuck to black... but I love them! bring on the snow!! i feel like a kid again, it was raining this week so i wore them to work, (and of course changed when i got there!) it was great....walked straight through flooded streets, wasn't afraid of soggy toes!!!
as a side note... the biggest Australian import into New York has to be the ugg boot! every shoe store stocks aussie ugg boots, I havent even seen this many ugg boots in australia... they go crazy for them here!!!... looking for a new job? export ugg boots!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
its not how you play the game, its if you win or lose...
.... and unfortunately we lost...
...but we played well :) This weekend gone I ventured up to Connecticut for a netball tournament.. everyone I tell kind of laughs at me and then says 'what did you say?'... as you would imagine if Americans don't play it or know what it is, it can hardly be a real sport (even though wikipedia says the game was invented in the States!) Anyway just to backtrack a little... as I've been playing forever, I thought I would see if I could find anyone in the city who plays netball, I found 1 club in New York, Manhattan International Netball Club. There's about 50 girls in total and we train every week, most of the girls are English or Australian and its been great meeting new people and getting some exercise... As its such an unknown sport here, there is no local competition, instead there are day tournaments around the country which teams are invited to play in... We entered two teams in the connecticut one so I went up to play...
Myself and a friend of mine thought we'd make a weekend of it so we attempted to get up there on Friday night... squashed in a little mini van the 2 hour journey up took us 4 and a half hours, leaving manhattan on a friday afternoon coupled with lots of rain i guess just made it a part of the adventure! We met some quirky types on the bus, and got some tips of where to go so it wasnt all bad...
We stayed in the Marriott in Hartford, which is the capital of Connecticut... (not the marriott but you get it...)... lovely hotel, bit of a boring town. Hartford is where a part of the Gilmore Girls is set... the grandparents live there!... It is also known as the insurance capital of America so as you can imagine its not the most pumping place on a Friday night.. regardless we had some dinner and walked around the deserted streets a little and then had an early one before the big day..
Saturday morning we attempted to get a bus except I took us to the wrong bus station (..oops..) worried we would be late we jumped in a cab to get there in time.. the ride through suburban hartford was lovely, seeing all the weatherboard houses was just like in the movies... real America!! So we arrived on time to Weaver High School (the Home of the Beavers is there tagline.. no joke!)... we'd been warned on the bus up that the school was known as the ghetto so we were a little weary... especially cos there was noone in sight and there we were two little white girls wondering around a huge American highschool... we bumped in to a caretaker who took us to a room full of kids who were writing their SAT's or on detention ... still trying to work it out... anyway eventually he led us to the gym.. it was empty, it was 9am and noone was there!!! At that time I didnt really mind, I was still in awe about being in a real American highschool gym! I was waiting for the girls from Bring it On, or Coach Carter to come out, but no...noone came... by 9:30 the rest of our club had arrived and a few of the organisers were straggling in... anyway two hours later we finally got to play... most of the teams were made up of jamaicans and other island countries (call me ignorant... i dont know where they were from) but until saturday i was convinced netball was a non-contact sport! well not over here... i think everyone in my team left with at least one bruise on their body as a souveneir... if you were lucky it was on your face! Anyway we played 5 games, our best result was a draw, the other team did a little better, but it was good excercise and another experience to add to the list! Saturday night we ached all over so took it easy and went to West Hartford, nicer then the real hartford we found a restaraunt serving great steaks and filled our appetites!
Sunday we decided to stop by New Haven, another Connecticut town and home to Yale, one of the three Ivy League US colleges (what college you study at is a massive deal here and Yale is one of the best... story for another time). With all our heavy luggage and our bodies still aching there was no way were going to shlep it around all day...so we casually strolled in to a classy hotel nearby, asked if we could leave our luggage there... they thought we were staying at the hotel so they said 'sure', took it off our backs and put it in there luggage room! that little trick was my favourite part of the day!!
So we ventured out to find Yale, the town was again beautiful, all the weatherboard houses! I wanted to go inside and see if they were as beautiful as in Father of the Bride, but i refrained and ventured into school territory... Yale was beautiful... massive stone carved buildings... huge green parks, flags, the whole bit... hard to explain but I'll post some pictures soon! We ventured in to the gym and stumbled in to the Yale basketball arena... i dont think we were supposed to be in there but we climbed down the bleachers (like in the movies :) ) and took some photos in the middle of the court... we then bought a Yale sweater each and moved on to some lunch at Pepe's pizza, apparently the best pizza in town... im no connoisseur but it was pretty good...
So the day came to an end, we went back and collected our luggage from our faux stay in the pretty hotel and trained back to New York... back on the subways and through the streets of the East Village, there was something nice about coming back... kinda like the feeling you get driving through the Rushcutters Bay tunnel... ahhh home.... :)
...but we played well :) This weekend gone I ventured up to Connecticut for a netball tournament.. everyone I tell kind of laughs at me and then says 'what did you say?'... as you would imagine if Americans don't play it or know what it is, it can hardly be a real sport (even though wikipedia says the game was invented in the States!) Anyway just to backtrack a little... as I've been playing forever, I thought I would see if I could find anyone in the city who plays netball, I found 1 club in New York, Manhattan International Netball Club. There's about 50 girls in total and we train every week, most of the girls are English or Australian and its been great meeting new people and getting some exercise... As its such an unknown sport here, there is no local competition, instead there are day tournaments around the country which teams are invited to play in... We entered two teams in the connecticut one so I went up to play...
Myself and a friend of mine thought we'd make a weekend of it so we attempted to get up there on Friday night... squashed in a little mini van the 2 hour journey up took us 4 and a half hours, leaving manhattan on a friday afternoon coupled with lots of rain i guess just made it a part of the adventure! We met some quirky types on the bus, and got some tips of where to go so it wasnt all bad...
We stayed in the Marriott in Hartford, which is the capital of Connecticut... (not the marriott but you get it...)... lovely hotel, bit of a boring town. Hartford is where a part of the Gilmore Girls is set... the grandparents live there!... It is also known as the insurance capital of America so as you can imagine its not the most pumping place on a Friday night.. regardless we had some dinner and walked around the deserted streets a little and then had an early one before the big day..
Saturday morning we attempted to get a bus except I took us to the wrong bus station (..oops..) worried we would be late we jumped in a cab to get there in time.. the ride through suburban hartford was lovely, seeing all the weatherboard houses was just like in the movies... real America!! So we arrived on time to Weaver High School (the Home of the Beavers is there tagline.. no joke!)... we'd been warned on the bus up that the school was known as the ghetto so we were a little weary... especially cos there was noone in sight and there we were two little white girls wondering around a huge American highschool... we bumped in to a caretaker who took us to a room full of kids who were writing their SAT's or on detention ... still trying to work it out... anyway eventually he led us to the gym.. it was empty, it was 9am and noone was there!!! At that time I didnt really mind, I was still in awe about being in a real American highschool gym! I was waiting for the girls from Bring it On, or Coach Carter to come out, but no...noone came... by 9:30 the rest of our club had arrived and a few of the organisers were straggling in... anyway two hours later we finally got to play... most of the teams were made up of jamaicans and other island countries (call me ignorant... i dont know where they were from) but until saturday i was convinced netball was a non-contact sport! well not over here... i think everyone in my team left with at least one bruise on their body as a souveneir... if you were lucky it was on your face! Anyway we played 5 games, our best result was a draw, the other team did a little better, but it was good excercise and another experience to add to the list! Saturday night we ached all over so took it easy and went to West Hartford, nicer then the real hartford we found a restaraunt serving great steaks and filled our appetites!
Sunday we decided to stop by New Haven, another Connecticut town and home to Yale, one of the three Ivy League US colleges (what college you study at is a massive deal here and Yale is one of the best... story for another time). With all our heavy luggage and our bodies still aching there was no way were going to shlep it around all day...so we casually strolled in to a classy hotel nearby, asked if we could leave our luggage there... they thought we were staying at the hotel so they said 'sure', took it off our backs and put it in there luggage room! that little trick was my favourite part of the day!!
So we ventured out to find Yale, the town was again beautiful, all the weatherboard houses! I wanted to go inside and see if they were as beautiful as in Father of the Bride, but i refrained and ventured into school territory... Yale was beautiful... massive stone carved buildings... huge green parks, flags, the whole bit... hard to explain but I'll post some pictures soon! We ventured in to the gym and stumbled in to the Yale basketball arena... i dont think we were supposed to be in there but we climbed down the bleachers (like in the movies :) ) and took some photos in the middle of the court... we then bought a Yale sweater each and moved on to some lunch at Pepe's pizza, apparently the best pizza in town... im no connoisseur but it was pretty good...
So the day came to an end, we went back and collected our luggage from our faux stay in the pretty hotel and trained back to New York... back on the subways and through the streets of the East Village, there was something nice about coming back... kinda like the feeling you get driving through the Rushcutters Bay tunnel... ahhh home.... :)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Apologies for not writing more sooner, but well, two reasons... one... i have been really busy... and two... things are becoming a normal part of life now that I feel silly writing about them!
Gail and Dave have been in town lately and we had a lot of fun! My first long term guests in town (if 5 days is a long time...) and I got to take them to lots of cool places... it was so nice to have familiar faces around and talk to them about how i am finding life here.. and it made me realise how proud i am of myself... (stop laughing at me...) I think I've done pretty well over the past two months, fitting into life over here... no major dramas, got everything in order, got a roof over my head...made some friends and am having a great time doing it... so for the moment im pretty happy... they asked me how long i would stay here, my response was as long as I'm still enjoying it I'll be staying...scarily I can't imagine moving home any time in the next 2 years... but don't hold me to that.. .and i will be visiting! Anyway, back to Gail and Dave, we had a great time traipsing around the city.. from piano bars where the waitresses sing, to fancy hotel rooftops, tasti-d-lite and underground lairs.. it was a hectic week with little sleep but hey thats what New York is all about!
This week Gila is in town and time to do it all over again :)
Gail and Dave have been in town lately and we had a lot of fun! My first long term guests in town (if 5 days is a long time...) and I got to take them to lots of cool places... it was so nice to have familiar faces around and talk to them about how i am finding life here.. and it made me realise how proud i am of myself... (stop laughing at me...) I think I've done pretty well over the past two months, fitting into life over here... no major dramas, got everything in order, got a roof over my head...made some friends and am having a great time doing it... so for the moment im pretty happy... they asked me how long i would stay here, my response was as long as I'm still enjoying it I'll be staying...scarily I can't imagine moving home any time in the next 2 years... but don't hold me to that.. .and i will be visiting! Anyway, back to Gail and Dave, we had a great time traipsing around the city.. from piano bars where the waitresses sing, to fancy hotel rooftops, tasti-d-lite and underground lairs.. it was a hectic week with little sleep but hey thats what New York is all about!
This week Gila is in town and time to do it all over again :)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Coming up for air
Sorry for not writing sooner... but wow... busy is an understatement... the past 7 days or so have been a bit of a whirlwind as I've been sucked in to the after work life of manhattan... I've danced away on a harbour cruise at night, seen Hair the musical out in the open at Central Park, rooftop drinks x 2 (some apartments here have amazing rooftops!!), had a quirky night out to see some live bands, been to coney island, park slope, the US Open and of course whats a week without my favourite (sorry thats favorite) dumplings.. had them too... and in all that somewhere I also went to work...
Best part of the week was probably seeing Hair, it is it put on by the public theatre who run an event every summer called 'shakespeare in the park'... I know, Hair isnt shakespeare but it had some connection.. i don't really know... anyway they give away the tickets for free each day, but as you can imagine the queues are enourmous and people get there at 2am when the box office only opens at 1pm and the show at 8! Being as resourceful as we are, some friends and i found people selling tickets online, they queue in the line all day and night for you, you give them $50 and you get tickets! worked perfectly, the show was amazing, i think being in the middle of the park at night added to it as well as the beautiful castle in the middle of central park behind it (at first i thought it was part of the set... but its an actual castle in the park, ill have to check it out in daylight.) I took a photo of the musical but got in trouble, no photos allowed! the security guard stood there and made me delete it!!
Coney Island was also great... first day really out of manhattan...its a small beach suburb with a massive boardwalk along the beach and sideshows and a theme park with rides, the most amusing part being the 'shoot the freak' sideshow... a guy stands about 20 yards away (notice im saying yards...) and you get to aim at him with a paintball gun, if you hit him you win a prize.. he dodges behind his little sheild.. weird message i think, but it is america :) theres lots of russians down there, fat kids, and greasy food. highlight of the place.. there is a man outside the public toilets whose job is to sit all day on a chair with a power hose and he washes the sand off your feet and thongs after you leave the beach... genius. On the way home we went via park slope a great little suburb in brooklyn, very 'young families with little children' type place, but beautiful tree lined streets full of pretty brownstone apartments... very quaint and un-manhattan like!
Another great part of the week was the US Open! I love going to the tennis and Nadal and Venus were great to see live.. vocal americans make for a humourous atmosphere... (can an atmosphere be humorous?).. as do the security restrictions in the city... i wasn't allowed to take my back pack in as it had two straps!! I could take the same size bag in though if it had one strap.. she couldnt explain to me why so I told her to cut one of the straps off... nope... she didnt like that... I had to go to the back of the line put my bag in a locker and carry around a plastic bag all day.. grrr.
Last night I caught up with Dave and Gail (friends from Sydney) was really good to see familiar faces, we went to a funny little bar with singing bartenders :P They're here for the week so Im sure I'll be seeing lots of them.. I get to play tour guide.. loving it :)
Best part of the week was probably seeing Hair, it is it put on by the public theatre who run an event every summer called 'shakespeare in the park'... I know, Hair isnt shakespeare but it had some connection.. i don't really know... anyway they give away the tickets for free each day, but as you can imagine the queues are enourmous and people get there at 2am when the box office only opens at 1pm and the show at 8! Being as resourceful as we are, some friends and i found people selling tickets online, they queue in the line all day and night for you, you give them $50 and you get tickets! worked perfectly, the show was amazing, i think being in the middle of the park at night added to it as well as the beautiful castle in the middle of central park behind it (at first i thought it was part of the set... but its an actual castle in the park, ill have to check it out in daylight.) I took a photo of the musical but got in trouble, no photos allowed! the security guard stood there and made me delete it!!
Coney Island was also great... first day really out of manhattan...its a small beach suburb with a massive boardwalk along the beach and sideshows and a theme park with rides, the most amusing part being the 'shoot the freak' sideshow... a guy stands about 20 yards away (notice im saying yards...) and you get to aim at him with a paintball gun, if you hit him you win a prize.. he dodges behind his little sheild.. weird message i think, but it is america :) theres lots of russians down there, fat kids, and greasy food. highlight of the place.. there is a man outside the public toilets whose job is to sit all day on a chair with a power hose and he washes the sand off your feet and thongs after you leave the beach... genius. On the way home we went via park slope a great little suburb in brooklyn, very 'young families with little children' type place, but beautiful tree lined streets full of pretty brownstone apartments... very quaint and un-manhattan like!
Another great part of the week was the US Open! I love going to the tennis and Nadal and Venus were great to see live.. vocal americans make for a humourous atmosphere... (can an atmosphere be humorous?).. as do the security restrictions in the city... i wasn't allowed to take my back pack in as it had two straps!! I could take the same size bag in though if it had one strap.. she couldnt explain to me why so I told her to cut one of the straps off... nope... she didnt like that... I had to go to the back of the line put my bag in a locker and carry around a plastic bag all day.. grrr.
Last night I caught up with Dave and Gail (friends from Sydney) was really good to see familiar faces, we went to a funny little bar with singing bartenders :P They're here for the week so Im sure I'll be seeing lots of them.. I get to play tour guide.. loving it :)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What a great day was Saturday, woke up did my washing then headed to the Hudson river (not so far, a 40 minute walk) and we went kayaking! I went with a friend Talia, and we paddled between the piers for an hour or so. Not the cleanest water (i think you would catch a disease if you fell in!) and it was a little choppy but we had a great time paddling round... we left there with our newly acquired life jacket suntans and headed in to the west village for a bite. Was such great weather and so nice to be outside all day!
After dark we met up with some others and headed to see my friend Orly sing at a local bar which was great as usual, and then moved on to dinner, followed by going to see Lior... yes another australian singer... at The Living Room, an intimate bar on the Lower East Side. He was unbelievable live, much better then on the radio. Like a true groupie I bought his CD's and got him to sign them.. (but I did refrain from asking him if he remembers singing at my sister's batmitzvah...)
Where we went to next was something cool... we followed about 10 of our newly made friends (and some old ones...) across the LES and down some dark stairs across some concrete landing and up a few stairs on the other side to enter a dark, dimly lit, velvet covered bar somewhere out of the 20's (maybe it was 30's!)... there was old antique furniture everywhere, big wooden globes of the world in stands...hidden doors behind large bookcases... im doing a really bad job of describing this place, but it definitely wasnt what I was expecting... looking around there was something strange... everyone was drinking out of teacups... and they werent drinking tea or coffee!! Where we had landed was in a prohibition bar, buried deep underground so it wouldnt be found, it was a bar from the 1920's when drinking alcohol was prohibited. Locals would go there and drink out of white tea cups and saucers, bottles of wine were in ice buckets inside these massive globes, all in an effort to hide the alcohol that was being served. Obviously now done up, the place is beautifully refurbished taking you back in time to another world...although if you want to sit at a table in the bar it will cost you a neat $300 bottle of wine before you are allowed to sit. If you come visit I'll take you there :)
Of course the night had to end trashy with Talia, Elaine and I singing Aretha Franklin through the streets of the LES... passing a few hens nights, and not to mention a galavant through American Apparel's range in the middle of the night... what kind of clothing store stays open till 2am anyway?!
xx
After dark we met up with some others and headed to see my friend Orly sing at a local bar which was great as usual, and then moved on to dinner, followed by going to see Lior... yes another australian singer... at The Living Room, an intimate bar on the Lower East Side. He was unbelievable live, much better then on the radio. Like a true groupie I bought his CD's and got him to sign them.. (but I did refrain from asking him if he remembers singing at my sister's batmitzvah...)
Where we went to next was something cool... we followed about 10 of our newly made friends (and some old ones...) across the LES and down some dark stairs across some concrete landing and up a few stairs on the other side to enter a dark, dimly lit, velvet covered bar somewhere out of the 20's (maybe it was 30's!)... there was old antique furniture everywhere, big wooden globes of the world in stands...hidden doors behind large bookcases... im doing a really bad job of describing this place, but it definitely wasnt what I was expecting... looking around there was something strange... everyone was drinking out of teacups... and they werent drinking tea or coffee!! Where we had landed was in a prohibition bar, buried deep underground so it wouldnt be found, it was a bar from the 1920's when drinking alcohol was prohibited. Locals would go there and drink out of white tea cups and saucers, bottles of wine were in ice buckets inside these massive globes, all in an effort to hide the alcohol that was being served. Obviously now done up, the place is beautifully refurbished taking you back in time to another world...although if you want to sit at a table in the bar it will cost you a neat $300 bottle of wine before you are allowed to sit. If you come visit I'll take you there :)
Of course the night had to end trashy with Talia, Elaine and I singing Aretha Franklin through the streets of the LES... passing a few hens nights, and not to mention a galavant through American Apparel's range in the middle of the night... what kind of clothing store stays open till 2am anyway?!
xx
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I am medium.
This week I had my first encounter of 'Oh you're from Australia...' scenarios. I was at my local corner store, one of about 15... and I bought a calling card, I asked him for the best one to call Australia, he blindly grabbed one off the wall and handed it to me. I paid for it, nothing unusual, then he says to me, 'Where are you from?', I said 'Australia', he said 'oh!'. I said how come you said 'oh', he said, 'I thought everyone in Australia was tall!', I said, 'we are not all giraffes no...' he said 'oh'.....'well I never see noone from Australia not very tall'... 'I call you medium'... I looked at him blankly, said 'thankyou', took my calling card and left.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
What a fantastic weekend! Saturday was spent walking the streets of New York, my favourite past time at the moment, there is just so much to take in all the time! I participated in a bit of yoga in the middle of the street (every saturday they close off some streets through the city and run summer type relaxing activities right on the road!) and then came my very first truly New York experience... I had my legs waxed by a MAN! yes... a man... it was a gay man.. but still a man... he did a really good job, but its still a little strange right? The spa is right across the road from my place and it had 88 positive reviews online, it had to be good.. but I want expecting a man.. truly an experience.. we'll see if i make it back there :P ...julz, what would natasha say!!!!
Anyway Saturday night I hung out with deb and a couple of friends of hers, we started off with a few drinks in a local bar watching the olympics and michael phelps winning his 8th gold.. the bar went ballistic.. my first taste of obnoxious americans... I was quietly wishing the aussies would have won that race, what a scene it would have been then... soon after moved on, we went to a party where we stood in the street, greeeaaatttt... the highlight was a random guy who pelted a snapple bottle at the corner store we were standing next to... (its still safe mum!!).. needless to say we moved on... to the meat packing district and the gansevoort roof top bar.. honestly I was a little dissappointed.. people rave about it but it was no sydney harbour view :P it was a fun night trapsing round the city and ended with a nice salad and fries at Pastis... the best cafe in the city.
Today went a little like this... I get a phonecall during the week...
'marissa, want to go to the pool on sunday', I was like
'sweet, I could do with with a swim! its so hot (despite the tornado warning this week?!?!)' and then the answer came back...
'.... ahhh marissa, there isn't any water at this pool...'
'tova, what is a pool without water? what are we going to do there!?!?!'
well... mccarren pool is where i ended up today... it is a pool, true, there is no water in it, true... yet they set up a massive stage, some dodge ball courts, a slip and slide, beers, sun, advertising niknaks, music, water pistols, beach balls and a whole bunch of people, enjoying the day... in empty pool... weird yes, but truly a cultural experience. check out the pics here..
Now I'm back, chilling at home, waiting for my groceries to be delivered :)... apologies for the number of times I used the word 'experience' in this post!
Anyway Saturday night I hung out with deb and a couple of friends of hers, we started off with a few drinks in a local bar watching the olympics and michael phelps winning his 8th gold.. the bar went ballistic.. my first taste of obnoxious americans... I was quietly wishing the aussies would have won that race, what a scene it would have been then... soon after moved on, we went to a party where we stood in the street, greeeaaatttt... the highlight was a random guy who pelted a snapple bottle at the corner store we were standing next to... (its still safe mum!!).. needless to say we moved on... to the meat packing district and the gansevoort roof top bar.. honestly I was a little dissappointed.. people rave about it but it was no sydney harbour view :P it was a fun night trapsing round the city and ended with a nice salad and fries at Pastis... the best cafe in the city.
Today went a little like this... I get a phonecall during the week...
'marissa, want to go to the pool on sunday', I was like
'sweet, I could do with with a swim! its so hot (despite the tornado warning this week?!?!)' and then the answer came back...
'.... ahhh marissa, there isn't any water at this pool...'
'tova, what is a pool without water? what are we going to do there!?!?!'
well... mccarren pool is where i ended up today... it is a pool, true, there is no water in it, true... yet they set up a massive stage, some dodge ball courts, a slip and slide, beers, sun, advertising niknaks, music, water pistols, beach balls and a whole bunch of people, enjoying the day... in empty pool... weird yes, but truly a cultural experience. check out the pics here..
Now I'm back, chilling at home, waiting for my groceries to be delivered :)... apologies for the number of times I used the word 'experience' in this post!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
A plea to the NY woman
Yes, talking about shopping again. I've noticed something. I think there are too many clothing options for people and with to many options comes terrible fashion mistakes.. first of all, fluro should be banned.. if you aren't going to do it right, don't do it at all!!! the clothing that people take out of their cupboards and put on in the morning is just atrocious. i think it is because there is too much out there to pick from, and I understand its hard for some people to buy clothes that match, but really, New York is supposed to be the fashion capital of the world, and I'm sorry, but too many people are letting the team down.
Point number 2. Bras were invented to be worn! Im not talking to the smaller women out there who may get by without one, but on the whole, New York women, really, get one on!! Its not nice to look at and I am positive it is not comfortable! Victoria's Secret... they're having a sale, get in there. Also, if a top has a waist band which is supposed to sit under your bust, it is meant to sit under your bust! not on top of it, not in the middle of it, but under it... and if it doesnt... lady guess what... you need a bigger size.
I wish i had photo evidence, truly you'd be shocked, but the number of fashion criminals in this city is beyond help...
trinny and susannah... this city needs you!
Point number 2. Bras were invented to be worn! Im not talking to the smaller women out there who may get by without one, but on the whole, New York women, really, get one on!! Its not nice to look at and I am positive it is not comfortable! Victoria's Secret... they're having a sale, get in there. Also, if a top has a waist band which is supposed to sit under your bust, it is meant to sit under your bust! not on top of it, not in the middle of it, but under it... and if it doesnt... lady guess what... you need a bigger size.
I wish i had photo evidence, truly you'd be shocked, but the number of fashion criminals in this city is beyond help...
trinny and susannah... this city needs you!
North, South, East, West, Left, Right, Up, Down
For those of you who don't know NY is built mostly on an even grid of streets, each block as flat and anonymous looking at the next (can you write that?!), with genius non-descript names such as 1st ave, 1st street, 2nd ave, 2nd street, and so on all the way up to the 200's, each train is called the 1,2,3,4,A,B,C... each subway station has 4 exits, NorthWest, NorthEast, SouthWest, SouthEast, and most streets are one way...they think it makes life easy.. well it doesn't...each time I leave the train station i end up on the SE side when i need the NW side, i get on the 6 train going downtown instead of uptown and always manage to walk six blocks in the wrong direction before I realise the street numbers are getting larger and not smaller or im walking east instead of west! When she said left at 33rd street she meant left and not right, and when he asked which side of the one way street I wanted to be dropped off at I said right when really I meant left.
disgruntled commuter.
(who will one day learn her left from her right.)
disgruntled commuter.
(who will one day learn her left from her right.)
making a buck
Been at work now for two weeks and it is going really well, it is a smaller team which is nice, we're only 15 and the projects are challenging and eye opening...Im working on the corner of Broadway and Broome (just 5 or so doors up from where Heath Ledger died) and in the heart of Soho's shopping district.. which means lunch breaks always end up more expensive then a sandwich and drink!
One thing I've noticed through work (you'll probably laugh) but there's a LOT of money in this city...there's a bad economy that people are whinging about, but the wealthy people are wealthy and they're not afraid to spend it! The other thing I've noticed are the entrepreneurial kids, it is really refreshing to see young kids with big ideas getting out there and realising their dreams.. of course the money for this is coming from somewhere but they are really out there to make a name for themselves... there is massive competition amongst young adults with huge emphaisis on the college you studied at, and if it wasnt Yale or Harvard or Columbia, you dont stand a chance... most of the clients i have been seeing are under 25 and running there own start up businesses.. its really impressive what they are doing, Sydney kids pull your socks up!
No wonder Willy Loman had a hard time..
Trivia: The building I work in is called the Houghwout Building, one of the oldest in Soho, and its made of steel.. but crafted to look like stone.. so much so that its magnetic... tourists walk up to it and stick magnets to the side of the building! Its amusing.. Its also got the oldest working lift in all of Manhattan.. it is wooden and rickety and has an elevator man who pulls a lever to get you up to the floor you need to get to... he's name is ramon, and I am his favourite :)
ps. I've put up some more pics.. catch them here
One thing I've noticed through work (you'll probably laugh) but there's a LOT of money in this city...there's a bad economy that people are whinging about, but the wealthy people are wealthy and they're not afraid to spend it! The other thing I've noticed are the entrepreneurial kids, it is really refreshing to see young kids with big ideas getting out there and realising their dreams.. of course the money for this is coming from somewhere but they are really out there to make a name for themselves... there is massive competition amongst young adults with huge emphaisis on the college you studied at, and if it wasnt Yale or Harvard or Columbia, you dont stand a chance... most of the clients i have been seeing are under 25 and running there own start up businesses.. its really impressive what they are doing, Sydney kids pull your socks up!
No wonder Willy Loman had a hard time..
Trivia: The building I work in is called the Houghwout Building, one of the oldest in Soho, and its made of steel.. but crafted to look like stone.. so much so that its magnetic... tourists walk up to it and stick magnets to the side of the building! Its amusing.. Its also got the oldest working lift in all of Manhattan.. it is wooden and rickety and has an elevator man who pulls a lever to get you up to the floor you need to get to... he's name is ramon, and I am his favourite :)
ps. I've put up some more pics.. catch them here
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Central Park
Today I ventured in to Central Park, my first actual entrance to the park since I've been here.. I went with some friends to Summer Stage a series of free concerts in the park all summer long.. we saw Jamie Lidell, an r 'n' b, bit of soul, strange mouth noises singer... impressed that i know that?
Anyway it was no Jazz in the Domain, the grass was fake (like the rest of the park, it is all man made..) and the ground was hard (probably concrete as opposed to soil)...but the sun was shining and it was a bit of NY culture..
Still unpacking my room... so close to complete... i bought myself a bit of a present on craigslist, i wanted a beanbag and this girl was selling this really cheap.. I kinda misjudged its size and when i met her I was like, there is nooo way i can take that on the subway! anyway got in a cab and now its found its place in my bedroom.. and if you come visit you can even sleep on it.. its the size of a bed!! you can see it here..
Anyway it was no Jazz in the Domain, the grass was fake (like the rest of the park, it is all man made..) and the ground was hard (probably concrete as opposed to soil)...but the sun was shining and it was a bit of NY culture..
Still unpacking my room... so close to complete... i bought myself a bit of a present on craigslist, i wanted a beanbag and this girl was selling this really cheap.. I kinda misjudged its size and when i met her I was like, there is nooo way i can take that on the subway! anyway got in a cab and now its found its place in my bedroom.. and if you come visit you can even sleep on it.. its the size of a bed!! you can see it here..
Saturday, August 2, 2008
NY Living
I now have a home... my very own apartment in the East Village (well im sharing, but half of it is mine I guess!) Im loving it more and more as time goes on, and even though my room is small I am greatly appreciating the large living areas! Apartment hunting was an experience in itself, you meet all kinds of freaks and strange living conditions... one place I saw was a large room seperated by a bookshelf, me on one side, her on the other... hello privacy!!
Anyway I was lucky I found my home after 5 inspections, one girl I bumped in to had seen over 30!! Understandably everyone is out to get the best they can for their money, rent is expensive and you pay more for each added luxury, a first floor apartment, furnishes, a kitchen, a living room (yes some have the living room converted into a bedroom), a bathroom just for your apartment and so on, you even pay more for an exposed brick wall, its very chic over here to have one... I've got exposed pipes.. I wonder if that is costing me more...
Today was getting organised day! I waited for my bed to arrive and then i took the bus to IKEA... like every other store in this city, yes it is massive, so big infact i think it should have its own postcode... cos im a bit of an organisational freak i had already checked out the website and had a list of everything i wanted to buy...did my stuff came home and then came the fun part of assembling... I did pretty well... as usual I had one screw left over at the end, not sure what its for but my chest of drawers looks great, and my little room is taking shape :) When I'm happy with the way it is looking I'll post some pics...
Anyway I was lucky I found my home after 5 inspections, one girl I bumped in to had seen over 30!! Understandably everyone is out to get the best they can for their money, rent is expensive and you pay more for each added luxury, a first floor apartment, furnishes, a kitchen, a living room (yes some have the living room converted into a bedroom), a bathroom just for your apartment and so on, you even pay more for an exposed brick wall, its very chic over here to have one... I've got exposed pipes.. I wonder if that is costing me more...
Today was getting organised day! I waited for my bed to arrive and then i took the bus to IKEA... like every other store in this city, yes it is massive, so big infact i think it should have its own postcode... cos im a bit of an organisational freak i had already checked out the website and had a list of everything i wanted to buy...did my stuff came home and then came the fun part of assembling... I did pretty well... as usual I had one screw left over at the end, not sure what its for but my chest of drawers looks great, and my little room is taking shape :) When I'm happy with the way it is looking I'll post some pics...
Friday, August 1, 2008
MISSY MISSY MISSY!
So last night I went to my first NY concert... the first of many I'm sure... they're as cheap as peanuts and great seeing heaps of Americans trying to imitate Missy Higgins' strong Melbourne accent...
She was unreal as usual... and yes she forgot her words again... you can see pics of the concert as well as a few other New York shots here
She was unreal as usual... and yes she forgot her words again... you can see pics of the concert as well as a few other New York shots here
You want it? You can have it!
Ok, so of course the first thing I am going to write about is shopping... surprise surprise... so any thing you can ever imagine is available to buy in this city... not only is it available to buy, but you're guaranteed to find it in every colour, size and variation imaginable... department stores are not 3 floors high, they are 13 stories... shoe stores are the size of Campbells Cash and Carry, every celebrity has a clothing line in their name, JLo, Jessica Simpson, MaryKate and Ashley, you walk into Abercrombie and Fitch (after queuing around the corner on a regular day!) to see all the lights dimmed and the option to have a photograph with the topless staff members (only the guys...) you start to forget that they actually sell clothes, even Ralph Lauren's daughter Dylan has her very own Dylan's Candy Store, the Prada store has a $25,000 briefcase for sale in their window (yes I asked) and THE Calvin Klien can make you your very own signature number... just walk into his 5th avenue store! ...amazing... slightly sickening, still working out where I stand on the issue but for the moment I'll keep my Macy's 11% tourist discount voucher close at hand...
Trivia: Did you know Macy's was the world's very first department store? The owners of the store died on the Titanic! (they were the ones in the movie who gave up their seats on the life boats and went down on the ship, dressed in their tails and tophats...)
Trivia: Did you know Macy's was the world's very first department store? The owners of the store died on the Titanic! (they were the ones in the movie who gave up their seats on the life boats and went down on the ship, dressed in their tails and tophats...)
Moving In
So I've been here for two weeks in this crazy city and I'm having a great time, I've seen the sites, Times Square, Ground Zero, Central Park, The Subway, The Brooklyn Bridge, East Village, West Village, Katz's, Zabars, The Diamond District, The Red tourist bus tour x 3, Rockerfeller, Madison Ave, 5th Avenue, Macy's, Tiffany's you name it I've done it... well almost... well not at all!
Every corner I turn in this city I find another landmark to discover, another feast to try, another outfit to buy...its endless...Along with these experiences come a whole lot of thinking, analysing, comprehending, and digesting... the next few entries are just some of my observations so far...
Every corner I turn in this city I find another landmark to discover, another feast to try, another outfit to buy...its endless...Along with these experiences come a whole lot of thinking, analysing, comprehending, and digesting... the next few entries are just some of my observations so far...
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