New York state of mind
I'm back on the eastern side of the pond but I wish I was still in NJ. I had the most fabulous time as my last entry indicated. I'm horribly jetlagged though. I returned home at midday yesterday and gave in to sleep at 5 p.m. I woke at 5 a.m. stayed awake for three hours and then fell asleep again until my friend woke me up with a phone call at a quarter past two. And I STILL feel tired.
For brevity's sake here's a summary of my time in NJ/NY day by day:
Friday February 29th: flight out on a very quiet plane with fantastic movie selections (including Juno which everybody and his dog should watch... I may have already said this but it merits repetition) on which I met the very cute guy with whom I entirely failed to switch phone numbers. My friend (Emma), her sister (Bessie) and her sister's friend (April) met me at the airport and from there we went to a diner where I ate the most cheese loaded food I've ever had.
Saturday March 1st: After some much needed sleep I went out to Lincoln and Liberty State parks in Jersey City with Emma, her dad (Dick), brother (Giddy) and dog (Sadie). There were some amazing views of the statue of liberty and downtown Manhattan. I took lots of pictures and got very excited. Afterward we had a musicale with Emma's mom (Sara) and her friend (Sash) where we stood around the piano and sung songs from musicals at the top of our lungs before eating Sara's amazing soup.
Sunday March 2nd: Sunday brought my first trip into NYC with Emma and Bessie. We blitzed many of the famous sights: the Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Saks' Fifth Avenue, Grand Central Station and went up to Dick's office on the 31st floor of the Times Warner building which afforded great views of the city. As I mentioned, I got pretty excited in the NBC store. I bought an Office poster, t-shirt and keyring and came very close to purchasing a Dwight bobblehead which I'm now kind regretting leaving behind. That evening Emma's friend Lex came round and we had a crazy fashion shoot using lots of the vintage clothing that resides in Emma's house. It was mad but fabulous.
Monday March 3rd: On Monday we went back into the city via Newport in Jersey City which has a cute shopping mall and beautiful views. The PATH train took us right up to the World Trade Center which really did cover a vast area of land. We walked around for a while and then took the Staten Island ferry out and back to get some great views of Manhattan. Afterward we walked up to South Street Seaport which is very cute and gives a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge (and I realized whilst flying home that it's also where Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee dance in Mitwa in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna). From there we continued to Chinatown and Little Italy and ate an amazing chocolate dessert over coffee. We finished up in the village which was beautiful and full of designer shops selling British clothing which made me laugh. We also passed The Spotted Pig and Emma made the mistake of telling me that Jim and Karen eat dinner there in the season three finale of The Office and so naturally I ran back to take a picture. Once back in NJ we met up with Sash who cooked up an amazing fried rice concoction (which I'm about to try and replicate) and had another even crazier fashion shoot.
Tuesday March 4th: On Tuesday we took in Lincoln Center and had a long walk through Central Park whilst catching up on everything Emma had been up to at UVA and how Oxford has treated me in her absence. We met up with the rest of the family at a wonderful Afghan kebab house downtown for an amazing dinner before Dick, Bessie and me hit Broadway to watch Tom Stoppard's Rock and Roll. It went over my head a little but it was still great fun. Rufus Sewell and Brian Cox were starring and they were fabulous.
Wednesday March 5th: On Wednesday we grabbed lunch in Zabar's which is a lovely deli on the Upper West Side. We met up with Morten who attends UVA with Emma and the three of us visited the Natural History Museum which was very cool. Afterward we nipped through Central Park to the Met and squeezed in a quick hour or so there. We saw the Egyptian stuff and I salivated over the THREE Stradivari that reside there. For dinner we met up with Bessie and went to her favourite vegan restaurant downtown before me and her saw Gypsy on Broadway. Patty LuPone is god. As Bessie told me... repeatedly.
Thursday March 6th: Thursday was Dick's birthday and so Dick, Emma, Sadie and me drove out to western NJ and hiked by the beautiful Delaware Water Gap. It was a pretty steep climb to the top but from there was a great view over the Delaware river and eastern Pennsylvania. For a while I forgot I was in the USA as it all looked like Wales. We came home and ate "Thanksgiving" dinner which Dick had lovingly prepared. And it was DIVINE.
Friday March 7th: Friday was the day of squeezing in everything we hadn't quite managed earlier in the week and man were we tired by the end. We began with lunch at a Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn near Bessie's work place. Then Emma and me walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall. The view was spectacular. We took the subway uptown and visited the Frick collection where we met up with Morten. This museum is awesome. It's some dude's house and all the stuff he bought (which was predominantly paintings by english artists) and the building is so beautiful. Unfortunately they wouldn't allow photographs so you'll all just have to visit and see for yourselves! When we left the Frick it was raining... heavily... but we were headed back to the Met so it wasn't too much of a problem. We stayed there until they threw us out at nine before heading to Little Korea for a wonderful dinner accompanied by the most New York cocktails on the menu (Long Island Iced Tea, Manhattan, Cosmopolitan). By the time we finished up eating it was 11 p.m. and we headed for the Empire State Building. I know I said it was raining but by now it was POURING. There was no line... funny that. And zero visibility. We decided to go up anyway just so we could say we had... and they weren't kidding... it really was ZERO visibility. But it was kinda cool being surrounded by fog instead of tourists and listening to a guy play blues on his sax.
Saturday March 8th: On Saturday Sara had students round to rehearse some music and so we sat and chatted in the kitchen for most of the day. I got to meet Emma's would-be-godfather and it was all very chilled out. Emma's train back to VA left before my flight so there was no long tearful goodbye at the airport, thank god. Dick and Bessie drove me to Newark International so I could catch my return flight. This turned out to be full of freshmen from a university in Pennsylvania who were all super excited to be visiting London and also incredibly rough (the flight, not the freshmen). We set off into the "winter's worst storm" as the BBC is now calling it as it hits Britain. I get the storm twice over. No fair. By the time I arrived at Heathrow it was Sunday morning and I was very tired but I lucked out with the buses home and was back my midday. And you know about the sleeping that followed.
Wow, brevity I said. Who was I kidding? When am I ever succinct? But I LOVED america and LOVE my friend and her family even more. They are so wonderful.
I must go eat now as my tummy is grumbling but I shall return with photos. Those of you who are friends with me on facebook will already have seen the spammage of them that occurred yesterday.
For brevity's sake here's a summary of my time in NJ/NY day by day:
Friday February 29th: flight out on a very quiet plane with fantastic movie selections (including Juno which everybody and his dog should watch... I may have already said this but it merits repetition) on which I met the very cute guy with whom I entirely failed to switch phone numbers. My friend (Emma), her sister (Bessie) and her sister's friend (April) met me at the airport and from there we went to a diner where I ate the most cheese loaded food I've ever had.
Saturday March 1st: After some much needed sleep I went out to Lincoln and Liberty State parks in Jersey City with Emma, her dad (Dick), brother (Giddy) and dog (Sadie). There were some amazing views of the statue of liberty and downtown Manhattan. I took lots of pictures and got very excited. Afterward we had a musicale with Emma's mom (Sara) and her friend (Sash) where we stood around the piano and sung songs from musicals at the top of our lungs before eating Sara's amazing soup.
Sunday March 2nd: Sunday brought my first trip into NYC with Emma and Bessie. We blitzed many of the famous sights: the Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Saks' Fifth Avenue, Grand Central Station and went up to Dick's office on the 31st floor of the Times Warner building which afforded great views of the city. As I mentioned, I got pretty excited in the NBC store. I bought an Office poster, t-shirt and keyring and came very close to purchasing a Dwight bobblehead which I'm now kind regretting leaving behind. That evening Emma's friend Lex came round and we had a crazy fashion shoot using lots of the vintage clothing that resides in Emma's house. It was mad but fabulous.
Monday March 3rd: On Monday we went back into the city via Newport in Jersey City which has a cute shopping mall and beautiful views. The PATH train took us right up to the World Trade Center which really did cover a vast area of land. We walked around for a while and then took the Staten Island ferry out and back to get some great views of Manhattan. Afterward we walked up to South Street Seaport which is very cute and gives a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge (and I realized whilst flying home that it's also where Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee dance in Mitwa in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna). From there we continued to Chinatown and Little Italy and ate an amazing chocolate dessert over coffee. We finished up in the village which was beautiful and full of designer shops selling British clothing which made me laugh. We also passed The Spotted Pig and Emma made the mistake of telling me that Jim and Karen eat dinner there in the season three finale of The Office and so naturally I ran back to take a picture. Once back in NJ we met up with Sash who cooked up an amazing fried rice concoction (which I'm about to try and replicate) and had another even crazier fashion shoot.
Tuesday March 4th: On Tuesday we took in Lincoln Center and had a long walk through Central Park whilst catching up on everything Emma had been up to at UVA and how Oxford has treated me in her absence. We met up with the rest of the family at a wonderful Afghan kebab house downtown for an amazing dinner before Dick, Bessie and me hit Broadway to watch Tom Stoppard's Rock and Roll. It went over my head a little but it was still great fun. Rufus Sewell and Brian Cox were starring and they were fabulous.
Wednesday March 5th: On Wednesday we grabbed lunch in Zabar's which is a lovely deli on the Upper West Side. We met up with Morten who attends UVA with Emma and the three of us visited the Natural History Museum which was very cool. Afterward we nipped through Central Park to the Met and squeezed in a quick hour or so there. We saw the Egyptian stuff and I salivated over the THREE Stradivari that reside there. For dinner we met up with Bessie and went to her favourite vegan restaurant downtown before me and her saw Gypsy on Broadway. Patty LuPone is god. As Bessie told me... repeatedly.
Thursday March 6th: Thursday was Dick's birthday and so Dick, Emma, Sadie and me drove out to western NJ and hiked by the beautiful Delaware Water Gap. It was a pretty steep climb to the top but from there was a great view over the Delaware river and eastern Pennsylvania. For a while I forgot I was in the USA as it all looked like Wales. We came home and ate "Thanksgiving" dinner which Dick had lovingly prepared. And it was DIVINE.
Friday March 7th: Friday was the day of squeezing in everything we hadn't quite managed earlier in the week and man were we tired by the end. We began with lunch at a Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn near Bessie's work place. Then Emma and me walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall. The view was spectacular. We took the subway uptown and visited the Frick collection where we met up with Morten. This museum is awesome. It's some dude's house and all the stuff he bought (which was predominantly paintings by english artists) and the building is so beautiful. Unfortunately they wouldn't allow photographs so you'll all just have to visit and see for yourselves! When we left the Frick it was raining... heavily... but we were headed back to the Met so it wasn't too much of a problem. We stayed there until they threw us out at nine before heading to Little Korea for a wonderful dinner accompanied by the most New York cocktails on the menu (Long Island Iced Tea, Manhattan, Cosmopolitan). By the time we finished up eating it was 11 p.m. and we headed for the Empire State Building. I know I said it was raining but by now it was POURING. There was no line... funny that. And zero visibility. We decided to go up anyway just so we could say we had... and they weren't kidding... it really was ZERO visibility. But it was kinda cool being surrounded by fog instead of tourists and listening to a guy play blues on his sax.
Saturday March 8th: On Saturday Sara had students round to rehearse some music and so we sat and chatted in the kitchen for most of the day. I got to meet Emma's would-be-godfather and it was all very chilled out. Emma's train back to VA left before my flight so there was no long tearful goodbye at the airport, thank god. Dick and Bessie drove me to Newark International so I could catch my return flight. This turned out to be full of freshmen from a university in Pennsylvania who were all super excited to be visiting London and also incredibly rough (the flight, not the freshmen). We set off into the "winter's worst storm" as the BBC is now calling it as it hits Britain. I get the storm twice over. No fair. By the time I arrived at Heathrow it was Sunday morning and I was very tired but I lucked out with the buses home and was back my midday. And you know about the sleeping that followed.
Wow, brevity I said. Who was I kidding? When am I ever succinct? But I LOVED america and LOVE my friend and her family even more. They are so wonderful.
I must go eat now as my tummy is grumbling but I shall return with photos. Those of you who are friends with me on facebook will already have seen the spammage of them that occurred yesterday.