Entries from March 2010 ↓

Both suffering a bit from the sniffles (the lingering Man Cold and fall-out from that meaning I was feeling a little under the weather) we thought we should get out for some fresh air. I don’t think we could’ve picked a colder day for it! High was 4 degrees on Saturday and the air was so cold I could actually feel my lungs recoil as I breathed. However our target was Ost from the NY Times coffee list, 20 or so blocks down the East side so we kept going.

A very vibrant little spot, a sunny corner cafe that was crammed full, standing room only with people using laptops and one set of friends playing a board game. We found a spot to stand at the bar and enjoyed excellent cappuccinos and watched the staff rushing backwards and forwards making coffee, washing dishes and creating very clever cinnamon patterns in the top of the rather alarming number of chai soy lattes they were making.

Spent a lot of the day looking up. One of our TwitFriends alerted us to a sculpture exhibition around Madison Square – bronze sculptures of human figures up on top of buildings, not to be mistaken for office workers! They did look quite realistic! We saw one on top of the Flat Iron building but this one was easier to see being on a lower building.

Then we finally walked by the Chrysler Building – we’ve always seen it from blocks away but not stood underneath it. It really is a stunning building.

Found some asparagus in the supermarket downstairs – so cheap compared to New Zealand – 2.50 for a huge bunch of lovely slim stems. Tracking down starchy/aborio rice took some effort – had to go down to Union Square to Wholefoods. But it was worth it, tasted really good and we used some asparagus water after blanching the asparagus because we were wary that the chicken stock we’d got might be really salty, it wasn’t in the end.

Still crossing cafes off the NY Times coffee list we found our way across town to Stumptown Coffee Roasters – they supply a few of the cafes and used to supply 9th Street espresso so we thought they’d be good. The cafe is not so much a cafe but a bar, simply an espresso bar – no tables and chairs, no food counter, no tea – just espresso and coffee beans.

It’s in the front of the very trendy Ace Hotel which has a very dark lobby with people gathered around laptops using the lobby as their office. Quite a good meeting point. We got some of their coffee to use at home – their blend called ‘Hair Bender’ – it’s very good and makes our filter cup we have to have in the mornings a little more bearable!

The coffee was good, very strong in the porcelain cups, I think the regular takeaway would’ve been perfect.

This weekend’s visit to Central Park was one we’ve wanted to do for a while – to start at the top and walk all the way down. The park itself is 55 blocks long so we got out at 110th Street and set off. In the first 10 minutes we saw very large geese and a turtle – almost more exciting than seeing a squirrel! We’d never walked beside the Jackie Onassis reservoir – I knew it was huge, but it’s really quite big for a ake in a city park.

After we’d popped out the other end of the park we continued on our walk home, a further 25 blocks – didn’t think about it until we got home that we’d walked 80 blocks in a day!

It was a pretty full weekend – the next day we walked all around the other end of the island – through the Financial District and around Battery Park. Lots of sunshine and blue sky.

Watched an inner city New York delivery this weekend. We wondered why the street that runs by one side of our building was to be closed for a couple of hours, and when a crane appeared we were even more intrigued. Perhaps an air-conditioning unit for the roof of the school, there was a trailer with a big white square on it waiting near the crane. Then we noticed a few people scurrying around in a backyard down below us, sweeping, collecting twigs and things. So thought perhaps it was some building materials.

But no, turned out to be a spa pool, being craned across the top of the row of apartment buildings down into a handkerchief-sized backyard completely enclosed by surrounding apartments. There was some excellent crane driving skills there, and probably a rather hefty delivery bill!

Found our way to Fika Espresso Bar’s flagship store in the Financial District. It’s a very very cool lofty clean space, reasonably empty because of the weekend I’d say, but just fantastic that it’s still open even though they probably don’t get much business when the bankers are all home for the weekend.

It’s on a great little route we’ve mapped out to take visitors from City Hall down to Battery Park. Excellent coffee and a delicious brown bread (yikes!) sandwich that we took for a picnic later.

We saw him! On 5th Ave! A man was sitting on a crate with a bag of belongings, reading a book with a sign that said “Please help. Every little bit counts”. And in front of him on a blanket with a bowl of nuts and a bowl of water was a tabby cat. In a jersey. He seemed quite contented there and when he did get up and take a couple of steps along the sidewalk the man grumped “Hey! Where you think you’re going?” Kitty stopped in his tracks. “Where you going? GET back here.” Kitty turned and came back and sat on his blanket! He had no lead around him and knowing cats, I don’t know how he was being prevented from darting into the rushing traffic or getting under a trillion shoppers’ feet or skeltering off at loud brakes on a bus or angry cabs honking their horns.

I didn’t go and pat him, I wasn’t sure of the etiquette although it was probably $1 a pat.

We don’t have a kettle. Mind you we don’t drink tea or other drinks requiring hot water, except when I have a cold and need Lemsip (which thankfully I don’t) but when we got the packet of Lemsip-equivalent the other day just in case, I had a second look for a kettle.

We have this magic tap on the sink. Dispenses boiling water. I assume it’s clean and germ free because it’s boiling, but if the water is in a tank of some sort it’s going to sit for weeks and not get used until parents visit. Interesting. It’s that tap on the right.

Had a bit of a wander around at lunchtime today, had to get The Mister out for some air to try and get rid of his germs and had 3 new experiences!

• Yogurt – peach yogurt, organic stuff even, is not white with bits of peach in it, it’s orange. Not what I was expecting however after not having experienced orange cheese, orange  yogurt will do! Did taste peachy but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.
• Wool ’shop’ – found one near where we live and it was on L5 of somewhere – wasn’t a shop when we got there, it was an office building I guess; we had to buzz L5 and go up in a clackerty lift to a floor that had an acupuncture studio and a room with 2 ladies knitting in it with wall shelves and baskets of wool and buttons and patterns and all things you’d expect to find in a wool shop, just not in a shop! Very strange and intimate. I felt quite bad for them when I left without buying anything!
• Lemsip equivalent – thanks to Jif we found a Walgreens and set about looking for the Lemsip-stuff he’d recommended. Found it on one of the many shelves of cold and flu stuff but in a section that had little locked glass doors on it. A button nearby instructed ‘press for customer service’ – so I did – and out boomed over the loud speaker a voice saying “Customer Service required in the pain and sleep aisle”. Hmmm, all eyes on me. The manager eventually came rushing over to unlock the cupboard. It was a bit like buying champagne in the supermarket minus the announcement!

Woke up way too early this morning, but was rewarded with a beautiful orange sunrise.