The Big Apple - Day Two

After such a full Saturday, we planned a much more low-key day of exploration for Sunday. We began with breakfast at the local bagelry, Brownstone Bagel & Bread Co, a brief one block from the apartment. Unsurprisingly, I was initially overwhelmed with the multitude of delicious options, but eventually settled on a toasted garlic bagel with light cream cheese and lox. (Mary comments this was very Jewish of me. Oi-vey!)

Next on the list was a casual walk through "the Slope" - the name of Mary and Dylan's neighborhood - on our way to Barnes & Noble. (I had a coupon in my pocket due to expire today and a hankering for Obama's memoir Dreams From My Father.) Everything here is A for Adorable (in Brooklyn, not B&N). The buildings are not sky-scrapers, the blocks are short, the stores are appealing (and unintimidating) and there are the most precious brownstones everywhere. I now really, really want to live in a brownstone. I want to chat with people on my picturesque front stoop, call to my neighbors from my eye-catching windows, and jangle my keys in front of the most inviting front door. (*Sigh*) However, unlike the Cosby's, I do not rake in a doctor and a lawyer's salary, so I'm thinkin' I might not be able to afford it :( But I digress...

We make it to B & N and after minimal browsing, I make my way to the counter to purchase my book. Now, in order to use the aforementioned coupon, I have to know my Dad's membership number (it's a members only coupon). Since I know his phone number, I'm thinkin': no sweat. Long story short, after several tries of guessing the incorrect phone number (and a few snide remarks), the clerk eventually has to look it up by city and state. He finally rings me up, does not gather my things for me, and delivers a little lecture about how I should keep the membership # with me. Then he stares at me and waits for me to leave. NY stereotype proved true: NYers can be rude. This guy was dishing it out and I got a full serving.

But whatever, it doesn't get to me. We continue in our pursuit to make full use of our subway passes and head back to the Upper West Side (where we left off bar hopping the previous night) to check out a local Farmer's Market. We had been happy to find they were open year round. We immediately buy hot apple cider and walk the strip. Too bad it was about 5 vendors long. Awww. We taste-tested a bunch of fabulously delicious honeys though and just as I was about to make a fatty purchase, I realized that since it's more than 3 oz I can't carry it on the plane, and thus I can't take it home with me. Boooo! That was a downer. But Mary and Dylan promised to come back (and Mary said she would ship me some for my birthday - yay!) After briefly conversing with a man who told us about the several layers of clothing he was wearing (and that he wasn't fat: it was all the layers of clothes) we set off in pursuit of the young designers market.

Apparently it's a venue for up-and-coming designers to show their stuff and crack the market. We'd been hoping this also meant that the prices would be affordable, but....it didn't exactly pan out that way. But we did discover some really, really cute and original stuff there. Our favorites included these adorable page-boy hats and one-of-a-kind purses (called pockets - LOVE it). After we left, both Mary and I had non-buyers regret. Perhaps I'll have to go back tomorrow....

As we wandered a bit looking for a warm place to purchase a yummy drink, we had another famous person sighting. We were again paused at a street corner (this time getting our bearings) when I did a double-take at Hilary Swank. She was right next to me, but harder to identify because a) she was walking past and not standing still b) wearing some kind of head-wrap so you couldn't see her hair and c) she was sans make-up. But I still put out the alert to Mary and Dylan for confirmation.

H.S. had a dude with her and they had walked a few feet beyond us into a shoe store. We decided to fake window shop to try and get some corroboration. Mary caught a full-face glance, but due to reasons b and c, was still a bit unsure. However, the guy accompanying H.S. was really eyeing us and watching our every move. Soon after Mary's sighting, he hustled her out of the store, they avoided eye contact with us, linked their arms and made haste in the opposite direction. The dude kept looking back at us, which of course only made us want to follow them more. So we did. But only for a bit, then we gave up. After some thought and discussion on the way home, Mary declared, "Definitely not hot*."

After the H.S. sighting we headed back to Brooklyn to Mary and Dylan's fav local Italian restaurant. Apparently it was all about the gnocci. Gnocci, gnocci, gnocci. Well, you know how I feel about that!

When we arrived, I was all prepared to order the gnocchi, but then a listing for black pasta caught my eye. Gasp! I didn't even know this was an option on US menus! Despite the strong recommendation and my love affair with gnocchi, I opted for the black stuff. It wasn't as magical as it had been in Venice, but it was still pretty dang tasty. (And for the record, I did get to try a few bites of the gnocchi and it was legendary - no exaggeration. Def delish.) After eating every morsel of our fabulous dinner, we decided to prolong our outstanding (and often hilarious) conversation with an order of banana and strawberry flambe (which we pronounced flambey, just for the fun of it) and cappuccinos. It was all very European. ;)

Eventually we sauntered home for an early night in with a movie. It was a slow-paced, but really fun day. (Our laughing quotient was particularly high.)

Tomorrow M & D have to work, so it's my first day alone in the Big Apple. I have a lunch "date" with a contact my dad set me up with and I intend to see Times Square. So far I have been able to just follow Mary and Dylan around, but tomorrow I'll finally have to tackle the subway system on my own. So we'll see how that goes...

I forgot this in the last post, but here's some more fun with NY stereotypes (as per my observation thus far):

True: the rats are huge, live in the garbage, and are not afraid of you; drivers have road-rage and will get out of the car to tell you (and the neighborhood) about it; there are famous people everywhere; the rude thing; cockroaches; the city really doesn't ever sleep;

False: the rude thing (I've also met several super-friendly/chatty people); all New Yorkers wear leather jackets; everyone here smokes;

*Hopefully you saw The Office this week.