Prostitutes, Bar Golf and Christmas Trees

Wednesday was a bit of a slow moving day but after a little while we braved the rain and wind (the rain was coming in sideways - it was horrible!) and decided to step outside to head to the South Bronx as Luke wanted to see some famous graffiti (apparently this is where graffiti originated) As each subway stop went by out of Manhattan the more multicultural the train became. We stepped out at Hunt’s Point (apparently notorious for prostitution) Luke failed to leave that out of the disclaimer prior to arriving there and the first Avenue I saw once emerging out of the subway was “Hoe Ave”. I couldn’t help but have a little chuckle to myself. Within ten minutes of strolling around the notorious neighborhood we stumbled across the first prostitute I’ve ever seen. Here she was standing on the street – exactly like in the movies. I had to pick my jaw off the ground and put my head down and keep walking. This is definitely somewhere I would not be rushing back to!

For someone who doesn’t really understand graffiti or the culture behind it the artwork created on the walls was pretty impressive. The South Bronx has two famous Jewish female graffiti artists and we saw of a few pieces of theirs scattered along the buildings’ walls. I really wanted to make it back to Manhattan before the sun started setting so we made the mission home. I’ve now ticked the Bronx off my list now at least!

A few nights ago we went to a lovely Italian restaurant just down the road from his house – just Harry and I. The first date we went on in Australia was also at an Italian restaurant so it seemed fitting that we continue that tradition. We shared a bottle of red wine (perfect for the Winter time) some beautiful entrées and then followed with a main meal.

On Friday Benfield, Ed and I had planned to go to the Guggenheim and had gotten all the way to 5^th Avenue and 88^th Street only to walk through the doors and be told the museum was shut for a private function. The other option was to go to the Natural History Museum which on my previous trip to New York I had been to and wasn’t overly keen to go back so we strolled for about 40 blocks stopping and looking at shops. I ended up buying some legwarmers which to my surprise are actually useful and work! I can honestly say I have never worn them before and swore I would never. I was grateful that I was too young the first time this trend came through however the conditions yesterday called for some drastic measures and am now a converted legwarmer wearer!

We stopped at a diner for late lunch and felt like we had stepped in to a Happy Days time warp. The décor and style of food made me keep checking over my shoulder to make sure the Fonz wasn’t about to step inside as a relief from the cold conditions.

We started making our way back home as Ed had a game of touch football so I made some spaghetti and meatballs for all of us (finally the cooking lessons my mother gave me have paid off!) and accompanied it with another nice bottle of red wine – very civilized and a perfect Winter night in!

Saturday was bar golf day for the rugby boys and friends - basically means you dress as golfers and “play” 9 holes (bars) with a different challenge per stop.  At about the 7^th hole the challenge was set that you had to swap clothes with someone of the opposite sex who wasn’t your partner. I ended up swapping with one of the boys’ team mates who is of a more sophisticated age and a lovely man in general. Poor Larry had to wear my little shorts, baby pink sweater and silk scarf in exchange for his polo shirt and yellow corduroy pants. This made one bar manager not so happy and everyone was eventually asked to leave. After playing golf with my father every Saturday for a few years this was a complete change!

Yesterday we had a very lazy start to the day and around 3pm made a move to Home Depot so the boys could enjoy “man land” (imagine Bunnings on steroids) after collecting a few “essential” tools we then moved to the Christmas Tree section and I wish I could explain to you the beautiful smell that came from that room. Crabtree and Evelyn have a Christmas room spray which sums up the smell of the pines, the sap, and the wood. It was perfect. Ed found our little families tree so off we went with a car full of tools and a tree poking out the back of Harry’s car home via White Castle – which I would recommend to everyone to never enter. You know when you get 20 sliders (mini burgers), 4 packets of fries and 3 drinks for less than $20 there must be a problem. The boys played around with their tools whilst I went next door bought and organized our Christmas tree decorations. I decided seeing as I have two male roommates the most manly option would be to go for blue and silver theme. I had the honour of being able to top the tree with our silver star and Ed and I continued to decorate the tree whilst playing Christmas music. This was blissful and a wonderful start for hopefully a perfect holiday season.

The Art of Eating Pizza

Eating a piece of pizza in New York is much like playing a game of poker: you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em. I had my first slice last night and boy was it amazing – home of the best pizza in the world certainly lived up to its name. I had my first real New York Slice whilst wandering around the city getting lost in the avenues and stumbling across a building I always manage to find by accident – the Flat Iron Building. Every time I see it, it still manages to impress me - the architecture and what it must look like inside fascinates me.

The boys had another rugby tournament on Saturday so I needed to fill in the day as I wasn’t really too keen on spending another weekend by the windy field. I woke up and took all of our laundry to the Laundromat – 5 loads later and several conversations with Laundromat locals I was finished. I dropped it off back at the house and took myself in to the city. I was planning to go to the top of the Empire State Building however the queue was at least two hours long and having already been up there on a previous trip I could think of a few other things I’d like to do. So after grabbing a bag of roasted nuts I wandered aimlessly taking in the sights and spotting squirrels left right and centre. It was a beautiful day in the city! On a trip to visit Harry at school in Brooklyn we made a brief stop at Union Square where they were holding a Christmas market and on this Saturday I returned and had a thorough look through the stalls. It reminded me of a Christmas market I’d previously been to with my family in Switzerland. It was so cute. I found a few little things along the way and treated myself to a cup of hot chocolate to warm my insides from the chilly temperatures outside.

Tuesday was Ed’s (my roomie) birthday so he had quite a large night on Monday and stumbled in the early hours of Tuesday morning to find the apartment decorated with balloons and streamers. After sleeping most of his birthday away, Luke (Harry’s friend) came for the night as he was visiting from LA and I pulled out the cake I’d bought for his special day (you can’t have a birthday without cake!) Harry finished work quite late and had organized tickets to the New York Knicks verse the New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden. This was to be my first NBA game seen live – I was so excited. It turns out we were court side and could see the likes of Jay-Z sitting on the sideline. The Knicks ended up having a great game and won so it gave us two reasons to celebrate! We went to meet up with some of Harry’s team members who were also out on exchange in Brisbane so it was lovely to see them again! We continued our celebrations with a couple of dollar tequila shots and $2 beers we called it a night after making a pit stop via the pizza shop across the road. It seems I have exchanged my late night kebab runs for pizza runs!

Rugby Union in New York?

After leaving Brisbane at noon on the 19^th of November I began my journey to the US of A - travelling for a little over 26 hours (including a 6 hour layover in LA) I found myself landing at JFK airport flying over what looked like fairy lights or in Disney’s Peter Pan when he flies over London. From one end to another was lit up like a call centre switch board (how I do not miss working in one of those). It was beautiful. I was soon met by Harry and off we went to a cute little place in Astoria, Queens – the city’s traffic network is crazy it’s like an ants nest, tunnels leading off in every direction weaving in and out through freeways. I could notice a slight difference to Brisbane!

I woke up the following morning at around 5am due to jetlag and was pleading with my body to let me sleep however it just simply would not comply! So after 3 restless hours I dragged myself out of bed woke Harry up and convinced him to grab some food (most boys will do anything if food is being used as leverage) so off we went grabbed some coffee (pronounced CAWW-FEE) and a breakfast croissant and went for a stroll around Astoria Park which is around 2 blocks away from where I’m currently living. It’s beautiful. There are basketball courts, tennis courts, a skate park, a swimming pool as well as a running track. The park overlooks the city’s skyline and is certainly impressive! The Autumn leaves are finally giving way to  the harsh Winter which feels like has already set in. The fallen leaves have painted the park floor a burnt orange and red colour whilst the squirrels have fun scavenging through them.

I spent the next two days watching the boys play Rugby Union for their team NYRC which is a little unusual considering where I currently am. The Union following is starting to increase in the US with Women’s teams also having depth and quite a lot of competition. I managed to have a chat to a couple of them as I was interested in how they became involved in such an Australian staple sport, a lot of them became involved through American football and then swapped over.  After explaining all of this they then tried to recruit me. I really don’t envisage myself as a rugby player by any stretch maybe they have netball fixtures over here? The boys ended up losing the first and winning the last so finished on a high but with injuries galore between them spent the next two days listening to them whine and moan. (Typical)

We had the intention that night to head out to Manhattan for end of season drinks for the boys however poor Ed wasn’t feeling too well and ended up having to take him to the hospital from suspected food poisoning. Each trip I’ve made to the US has been hindered by at least one trip to the hospital I’m hoping that this is it for the trip and am very grateful that it wasn’t me this time!

Everything is exciting with a countdown!

So the countdown has started until my new adventure begins.

9 days and I will be in an empire state of mind. Jetting off to the city which doesn't sleep, a concrete jungle home of the Knicks and Yankees, iconic TV shows and a statue dedicated to freedom and liberty. The list could go on forever...

New York has always been in my heart. I have been lucky enough to have been there 4 times already and have fallen in love with the city more each time. A little piece of my heart seems to be left behind every time I depart. For this new adventure I'm about to embark on I'm not entirely sure how long I will be away from the Australian shore for but am excited by the prospect of going wherever the wind takes me.

A lot of people have asked me aren't I scared that I haven't put a plan in place or that I'm leaving familiarity, my friends and family for such a long time. It's comforting to know they have so much concern for me but I'm so excited about the unknown which seems so horrid and foreign to most people who I talk to. I've had threats from friends saying they aren't letting me leave for longer than 2 months or that they plan to hide my passport so that I can't go anywhere. Some of my home friends will actually happen to be in New York for Christmas and New Years so the period where I probably would get homesick will be spent with my little unofficial family anyway.

From having lived in New York previously and working at a summer camp I'm so excited and looking forward to seeing people who I haven't seen for at least a couple of years. I plan to go upstate and see Camp all covered in snow which is such a contrast to the rolling green hills I am so familiar with. (pictured here on the right)

Another friend in New Jersey mentioned that they had their first lot of light snow and it's dropped to zero celsius already. I'll probably look like the Michelin Man from wearing so many layers especially when coming from the beginnings of an Australian Summer to being thrown right into a North American Winter. In for a bit of body shock I think!

I've been promised by a friend that he will help me build my very first snow man so will be sure to put up pictures. I'm thinking that I may put a little Australian touch on it (possibly a cork hat, some boardies and thongs) in honour of the beautiful Australian Summer I'm missing out on! I will be sure to blog about it and put up pictures of our dashing snow man!