New York!

[kambriel]

I have been utterly remiss at mentioning just how lovely the trip to NYC really was. You know, life getting in the way and all that (plus some deadlines that needed to be met right away upon getting back). It was such a wonderful trip that I wanted to do it better justice than some drive by post.

So I touched upon the picnic, but there was just as much enchantment swirling around the other days as well!

First of all, the entire trip never would have happened without the amazing miss_adventure and her partner J who opened up their home to us. They have some of the kindest spirits, and are just an absolute pleasure to be around. When we visit them, we always feel like we're leaving too soon, which speaks magnitudes for the laughter and friendship shared...

Friday
This was a long day beginning at 4 am thanks to booking the least expensive flight possible and paying for it in lack of sleep. Somehow we fought off the zombie-state and got through the day just fine and fully-conscious :)

Mid-way through the day we went for tea, and since there was nowhere to sit in the shop, we walked over to Central Park, where we found nature had laid out the perfect "table" for us ~ a rather large, smoothly worn down boulder with a flat-ish top that we could sit upon. I don't think there's a restaurant anywhere that could have had half as pleasant a presentation!

That evening was the book reading and signing at the Mysterious Bookshop. miss_adventure wasn't able to come due to an absurd work policy that forced her to stay home the entire normal shift hours, so I wore her hat in her stead ~ at least part of her was able to attend! That and since we only traveled with one carry on bag each (impressed?!), I brought only one hat (otherwise known as my "wearable parasol") for the trip and didn't feel like wearing the same one every day. So that worked out rather nicely :)

Jillian reading from her book:


Answering audience questions, with prints on display by her talented husband (that were later raffled off to two lucky winners)!






That night, on the way back to L & J's, we went for pizza. I don't know how many miles we'd walked by that point in the day (remember the day started at 4 am and we'd already been through two airports), but my feet had decided to stage a coup and were *done*. So I played lazy photographer, and made C get up and pose under this sign... a.) because it simply had to be done, and b.) I could take the photo from the chair I was sitting in ;)



The "crusty" owner of Hell's Kitchen pizza was generous enough to give us the extra-spicy (flavoured with habanero juice!) one in an extra large when we only ordered a small, and not charge us the difference! He even offered us to take his umbrella home with us since by that point it had started raining. Very nice indeed ~ we'll definitely go back.

Satuday Picnic!

I already posted photos from this day previously, but here's one taken on the way out of Greenwood (I do love those weeping trees):



and another in the subway heading back (wherein I cool off with a fruit shake) ~ notice how the diagonal stripes somewhat match the bias ruffle of my skirt :)




Sunday
This was a particularly wonderful day because we actually got to spend some quality time with J and P when there wasn't something else going on in the background, i.e. a fashion show, book signing, etc... Just hours and hours of friends hanging out enjoying eachother's company ~ as it should be :)

We started off for brunch with a trip to Alice's Tea Shoppe, to soak up some Alice in Wonderland ambience and fuel up for the day, but there was an unexpected delay in the reservation, so we strolled over to a nearby cafe and had our breakfast there instead. After stuffing ourselves on French toast, we headed back over to Alice's and "forced" ourselves to eat scones, muffins, and tea (of which a favourite choice was Moroccan Mint to combat the heat outside).

Then we headed over to the Museum of Natural History to walk amoungst the massive displays of skeletal dinosaurs, and travel to the center of the universe, whereupon the adorable Miss Cupcake was truly able to say she *was* the center of the universe!



I know it's somewhat difficult to make out, but if you can see the little reindeer skeleton in this photo, you'll see how we came to the conclusion that it very possibly could have served as inspiration for Tim Burton in Nightmare before Christmas!



Squid and butterflies ~ a strange pairing, but why not?


Who can resist a wall full of bats?


Afterwards, we decided to head over to Brooklyn for some dinner. You can see how perfectly timed this walk was ~ right at sunset. You can catch a glimpse of the water in the background, and the perfect little church in the foreground, pretty much an ideal street view:



A tree *does* grow in Brooklyn (I shant be forgiven for just how bad that was, I know.):


We all went to a scrumptious place called "The Chip Shop", serving trad British fare. I only ordered a "child size" serving (something about all the walking made my appetite diminish), and was still utterly stuffed! This was one of my favourite parts of the day, since Jillian and I just got to sit and chat up a storm about this that and the other, accompanied by delicious, hearty food and sparkling ginger drinks.

Monday

We started out by trekking to the gothic Cathedral of St. John's the Divine. This place deserves a post, or a *book*, all on it's own, and goodness knows I could probably fill one with all the photos I took there. I don't know how I'd encapsulate such grandeur here, but here's just one of the glorious sights awaiting you within:



The most incredible thing was when we caught a pipe organ concert there, and were afterwards invited up *behind the secret trap door* to view the inner workings of the organ, complete with winding spiral staircase walk-up that looked like something out of a Bauhaus video.... Talk about an offer we couldn't refuse!


This was to be our big India-themed day at Jackson Heights. I had grand ideas of finding some exquisite sari fabrics and such, but truthfully, the best part of the day there ended up being our lunch at Jackson Diner (reputed to be one of the best Indian restaurants in NYC, and we found this absolutely substantiated!). Oh, to have another Mango Lassi right now...

Getting there was another story however. The four of us were getting on to a subway train, and miss_adventure got *caught* in the closing door! I had my hands in the door trying my best to at first open them again, but once I realized with what force they were closing, it was all I could do to just keep them from closing any further... It was just horrifying seeing her leg stuck in the car, with the rest of her body stuck outside! As time went by, we got more and more panicked that the engineer was just going to take off at full speed like that. L started to *yell* at him (who apparently had her in his vision the entire time, and yet continued to try and close the doors yet more tightly, repeatedly that she was stuck. I think I'll always remember what that sounded like, because it was just one of those moments where every sense was heightened. Finally a rather largely built guy on the train tried to assist me in pulling the doors open (thanks *every other person* on the train who sat their perfectly still in their seats), but even he couldn't get them to budge. I was ready to try and knock a window out if I had to, just so at least I could pull *more* of her in ~ especially her head. After her 4th or so bout of yelling she was stuck at full voice, the driver finally relented and ~oh so kindly~ allowed the door to open. Why yes, she did have a lovely bruise from the experience. We were seething in his general direction (a mixture of that and of course being incredibly thankful to still have our friend in one piece), and giving him the very best of wishes that he would only interact with people as equally lovely and kind as he :P Had we been more willing to stick around after that, I'm sure he would have loved to have found out that the "street urchin" he was teaching a lesson to (or just being sadistic with!), was actually off-duty NYPD. ~That~ would have been priceless.

That night we decided after actually *surviving* the day, it was a perfect opportunity to take it easy and go see a movie. So we walked to a theatre and caught a showing of The Half Blood Prince. J was a sweetiepie afterwards and complimented what a good job I did in the film ;) (i.e. my resemblance to Helena Bonham Carter ~ not just physically, but general demeanor!)

We got out of the theatre sometime after midnight, and went from a stroll down by the river. O.K., that might not be ideal advice for most tourists, but we felt perfectly safe, and it was a magical feeling getting to be at peace and somewhat alone and secluded, when you know you're in the midst of one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. We were simply surrounded by the ebb and flow of the water, the occasional nocturnal bird out for a late night snack, and the enigmatic sculpture of tree limbs which seemed to emanate a personality and intense energy all it's own. Friend or foe, it's up to you (and maybe up to him too).




Tuesday
Queen Charlotte greeted us at the airport upon our return. I adore the windswept nature of her silhouette, not at all the typical "classic" bronze statues depicting royalty, and yet absolutely inspired for her being located at the airport ~ a place for taking flight:


So much, and yet I know I've also still left so much out. Ah well, hope you've enjoyed the trip :)


~ Kambriel

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