New York Heat Wave
Last weekend Merel and I went to New York for a 4-day trip. Two of those days included a 6.5 hour bus trip from Hyannis, MA to New York City, so we had about 2.5 days actually in the city. Unfortunately, as seems to be my habit nowadays, we got there just as a heatwave hit which is really not pleasant in Manhattan. But we managed to escape the heat in air-conditioned museums and shops and on the Circle Line boat around the island.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon and took the A and the F train from Port Authority (42nd St.) to Brooklyn (Carroll St.) to get to Denise's house. By the time we had dragged our bags three blocks and up five flights of stairs to her non-air conditioned apartment, we were sweating like sumo wrestlers and desperate for a splash of cold water before heading into Brooklyn for dinner.
Denise lives in a very nice part of town, on Henry St. and we had drinks at the Brooklyn Social Club which we would never have found without Denise as a guide. Stepping inside was like stepping back into a 1930's bar, where the bartender serves you cocktails and ice cold beers wearing a white apron as ragtime trickles from the speakers.
There's me looking very cross at the end of the video as I am about to tell Merel not to make long movies or the SD card will fill up too quickly. God I can be such a control freak! 
After a game of pool we headed out onto Smith St. to find a restaurant, of which there are many there. We ended up at a Middle Eastern restaurant which served tasty humus and merguez and the like. They didn't appear to have a liquor licence, so guests would show up bringing their own bottles of wine, which is something that still hasn't really caught on in Amsterdam. Perhaps getting a liqour licence is easier there?
Feeling the need to check out at least one lesbian bar, we headed over to Park Slope to go to Catty Shack, but there wasn't really much going on there as we were much too early.
The DJ seemed to be enjoying herself though, despite an empty dancefloor. When she turned the volume up 10dB making it impossible for us to converse we headed upstairs to the rooftop area which was nice and quiet. Still being on Cape Cod / jet-lag time (i.e. going to bed at 9pm) we were knackered by eleven and headed home to Henry St.
Friday we brought our bags into Manhattan to leave them at Paul and Dave's Chelsea apartment : top location, air-conditioned, lift to the 17th floor and a great view of the Empire State Building. Merel had convinced me that a trip to the Guggenheim would be enjoyable, so we headed uptown and visited the "Shapes of Space" exhibition. Unfortunately the outside of the museum is being renovated, so I didn't get to admire the swirling exterior Frank Lloyd Wright architecture except on the postcard I bought at the museum shop.
Sneaker shopping is a must for me in NYC, even if it's 40 degrees celsius. So off we traipsed to Broadway and Bleecker to work our way up to 8th St., hoping to efficiently make our way to the West Village where we would be meeting Marisa and her girlfriend Josie for dinner. Shopping is however one of the most tiring things there is, so after a few hours we found ourselves huffing and puffing and dragging our feet. Even the purchase of my Nike Air Flight's couldn't enthuse me with energy for more than a couple of blocks by then and Merel fell asleep with her head on the table at a Starbucks on 8th St.
By 7pm we arrived at Marisa's tiny (30m2) apartment on West Christopher St. Another excellent location - although she is moving way uptown in a few weeks to escape the exhorbitant rent ($2000/month) and noise from the street. We went out to Monster Sushi on Hudson St. where we ordered the biggest plate of sushi and sashimi on the menu. I have never come across a Japanese restaurant in Amsterdam where I was unable to finish the sashimi, but Monster Sushi lived up to its name and it pained me to have to let them take away the tray with some tuna and salmon still on there. Damn it was good!
We got back to the Chelsea apartment just before midnight, having walked through a heavy thunderstorm and waited for the lights go out on the Empire State building at midnight. Slept like babes.
Saturday was another sweltering day so we decided to avoid the subway and take a cab up to Pier 86 which is where the Circle Line departs from.We chose the 3-hour full island tour and it was very enjoyable. We were seated quite near the engine room in the middle of the boat, so we couldn't really hear what the guide was telling us about Manhattan throught the speakers, but Merel took some brilliant photos of skyscrapers and it was refreshing to feel the cool breeze as we chugged around the island. The North-Western tip is unrecognizable as Manhattan as it is all trees and rocks. It reminded me of Pete Hamill's book Forever where certain events take place in the caves up in those wooded hills.
Saturday night we had dinner with Denise at vegan restaurant Zen Palate on Union Square. Then we walked around the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village ending up at the rather seedy but unbelievably cheap Holiday Bar on St. Mark's and later at French Roast on 6th Avenue.
Sunday we headed back to Cape Cod on the bus and although we enjoyed seeing friends in NYC, both of us were quite relieved to be leaving the hustle and bustle and sweltering heat of the city for a few more relaxing, breezy days on Cape Cod (from which I am writing this post).
Big thanks to Denise, Paul and Dave for making our stay so comfortable and to Marisa and Josie for introducing us to so much sushi! See you guys again soon: if in New York, I wanna come in springtime!
