We sat next to a middle aged man on the subway who took it upon himself to help Zach out with directions. His name was Jason and he turned out to be an archetypal New Yorker -- chatty, opinionated, and nosy, but also fun and charismatic. He was a self-described poet, Swiss watch repairman, and juggler. Jason told us that the best way to see the "real New York" was to attend an open mic night. He also engaged Zach in a brief debate over Wordsworth's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, but we reached our stop and left the subway before things got truly heated.
Pics as follows:
1. Following Jason's advice, we attended one of Brooklyn's many open mic events. At the Branded Saloon, we watched everyday Joes sing their hearts out and pluck acoustic guitars. Each performer was permitted to perform three songs.
The guy in the first pic sang Rolling Stones covers.
The man in the second pic hailed from Winnipeg, Canada. Apparently he used to jam with Neil Young and told us a tale about Young being fixated on a woman, but that love had been unrequited. This was before Neil became famous! (and I think Neil's done alright with Daryl Hannah so it all works out in the end).
2. Zachary had wanted us to see "Drunk Shakespeare". It was located dead centre in the mayhem of Times Square. He loved it. I thought it was just meh. The actors were largely good but the evening delivered only about a fifth of "Macbeth" - the rest of the night was dedicated to various blabberings and audience interaction. The one "drunk" cast member was downing tequila shots (the woman in the second and third photo). I said to Zach it was an event for millennials and he agreed. Note - this event took place at 10pm on a Monday night, thus imagine mostly tourists. We didn't get to bed until 1.30am : )
3. More jogging.
There goes Zach. We tried to balance out all the eating and drinking (me more than Zach) with daily exercise. I did three Soul Cycle classes, but confess, the eating and drinking did outweigh the proportion of time we put to exercising. New York is a walking city - and just this process proved exhausting - especially all the stairs to and from the subway.
4. Shopping!
I hadn't bought Zach any Christmas presents until we hit up discount retailer, Century 21. Then it was an overwhelming experience for him - the people, the process of trying clothes on, taking clothes off, etc. Here we're trying on the suit that I had tailored for him.
5. Back to Smalls!
We went again it was so good. This time it was a jazz trio and we knew to hit the line early to ensure we'd get in. We arrived at 6.15pm for a 7pm open door and fortunately made the front of the queue. The line soon populated with punters snaking around the corner.
6. While shopping in SoHo, I came across a National Geographic Fine Art Gallery. I liked both these snaps but to buy one will set you back about $10K.
7. I spent an afternoon shopping in SoHo leaving Zach back at the apartment. I bought clothing and items from a Swedish store, Gudruns Sjoden, that I had previously visited in Helsinki, Finland years ago. The only U.S. store is in New York. I also bought a new handbag and black watch winter scarf at Sandro.
8. New Year's Eve! Aussie friend Sarah and her husband Chaz, kindly invited us to their house party in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. How special to be able to attend a New York apartment party!
9. Really enjoyed the September 11 memorial museum.
10. On our last night we hit up LaLou, a recommendation from Sarah - the Aussie friend we spent NYE with.
We also caught a performance of To Kill a Mockingbird. It was good, but our seats were up with the gods and god awful! I particularly liked seeing new Aussie talent, Eliza Scanlen, in action. She's the "it" girl on the acting front these days, having almost stolen the show in Sharp Objects and Little Women.
Keeping up with our visits to museums, we also caught the general exhibition space at the Brooklyn Museum.
Had our last cocktail (egg nog - yummo!) at The Bearded Lady and bought 8 bagels from Olde Bagel Shop to bring home.
Our final morning was a systematic process of packing, cleaning, and vamoosing (Zach's word!). Our borrowed apartment practically sparkled by the time we were done with it, and the cats -- who had first met us with indifference or fear -- yowled tragically at our departure. After one last mildly exasperating jaunt through the New York Subway system, we reached JFK airport and departed for Los Angeles. We made it home with no big fuss, missing New York but happy to see the sun and hang up our winter coats!
Pics as follows:
1. Following Jason's advice, we attended one of Brooklyn's many open mic events. At the Branded Saloon, we watched everyday Joes sing their hearts out and pluck acoustic guitars. Each performer was permitted to perform three songs.
The guy in the first pic sang Rolling Stones covers.
The man in the second pic hailed from Winnipeg, Canada. Apparently he used to jam with Neil Young and told us a tale about Young being fixated on a woman, but that love had been unrequited. This was before Neil became famous! (and I think Neil's done alright with Daryl Hannah so it all works out in the end).
2. Zachary had wanted us to see "Drunk Shakespeare". It was located dead centre in the mayhem of Times Square. He loved it. I thought it was just meh. The actors were largely good but the evening delivered only about a fifth of "Macbeth" - the rest of the night was dedicated to various blabberings and audience interaction. The one "drunk" cast member was downing tequila shots (the woman in the second and third photo). I said to Zach it was an event for millennials and he agreed. Note - this event took place at 10pm on a Monday night, thus imagine mostly tourists. We didn't get to bed until 1.30am : )
There goes Zach. We tried to balance out all the eating and drinking (me more than Zach) with daily exercise. I did three Soul Cycle classes, but confess, the eating and drinking did outweigh the proportion of time we put to exercising. New York is a walking city - and just this process proved exhausting - especially all the stairs to and from the subway.
4. Shopping!
I hadn't bought Zach any Christmas presents until we hit up discount retailer, Century 21. Then it was an overwhelming experience for him - the people, the process of trying clothes on, taking clothes off, etc. Here we're trying on the suit that I had tailored for him.
5. Back to Smalls!
We went again it was so good. This time it was a jazz trio and we knew to hit the line early to ensure we'd get in. We arrived at 6.15pm for a 7pm open door and fortunately made the front of the queue. The line soon populated with punters snaking around the corner.
6. While shopping in SoHo, I came across a National Geographic Fine Art Gallery. I liked both these snaps but to buy one will set you back about $10K.
7. I spent an afternoon shopping in SoHo leaving Zach back at the apartment. I bought clothing and items from a Swedish store, Gudruns Sjoden, that I had previously visited in Helsinki, Finland years ago. The only U.S. store is in New York. I also bought a new handbag and black watch winter scarf at Sandro.
8. New Year's Eve! Aussie friend Sarah and her husband Chaz, kindly invited us to their house party in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. How special to be able to attend a New York apartment party!
9. Really enjoyed the September 11 memorial museum.
10. On our last night we hit up LaLou, a recommendation from Sarah - the Aussie friend we spent NYE with.
We also caught a performance of To Kill a Mockingbird. It was good, but our seats were up with the gods and god awful! I particularly liked seeing new Aussie talent, Eliza Scanlen, in action. She's the "it" girl on the acting front these days, having almost stolen the show in Sharp Objects and Little Women.
Keeping up with our visits to museums, we also caught the general exhibition space at the Brooklyn Museum.
Had our last cocktail (egg nog - yummo!) at The Bearded Lady and bought 8 bagels from Olde Bagel Shop to bring home.
Our final morning was a systematic process of packing, cleaning, and vamoosing (Zach's word!). Our borrowed apartment practically sparkled by the time we were done with it, and the cats -- who had first met us with indifference or fear -- yowled tragically at our departure. After one last mildly exasperating jaunt through the New York Subway system, we reached JFK airport and departed for Los Angeles. We made it home with no big fuss, missing New York but happy to see the sun and hang up our winter coats!
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