first up, urban wildlife
- squirrels. god they're cute, and so entertaining. i know they exist elsewhere, but they look remarkably healthy here, and there are black and grey ones. and there's so many of them. and they're still out and about in winter (perhaps they have central heating too). the other day we watched about 7 racing around, chasing each other through the trees in the gardens behind our apartment.
- raccoons. we saw our first one today, as we were running around the fab Prospect Park this morning... it squeezed itself into a tiny hole but we saw the glint of its mad eye (actually we loved it most because it was a good excuse to have a break in the run!).
- all things dogs... how many dogs are there in this town? lots! one calculation suggested 283,000 in Manhattan alone (for those whose NYC geographical knowledge is limited, the city is made up of 5 boroughs on 3 islands and the mainland: Manhattan (the island, central), the Bronx (to the north, mainland), Queens (to the east, on Long Island), Brooklyn (to the south east, also on Long Island), and Staten Island (to the south). For the savvy among you, to the west is New Jersey.). Anyway, there are dogs everywhere! Prospect Park bleeds them from every corner; Central Park is awash with them; dog walking is a time-honoured profession, mingling dogs of all shapes and sizes. and the 'breeds'. last night we met a 'schnoodle' (a cross between a schauzer and a poodle). cuter than the 'labradoodle' but who chooses the names? why not pauzer? or poodador? and since when did a mix of two breeds suddenly get to be its own breed? and this glut of dogs naturally breeds a wild diversity of doggie accessories - of special mention, the doggie winter coat. This season's stylish pooch naturally comes with 'legs' and a cat-fur collar (kidding about that of course).
next up, food
- portions so big you can share a meal (good for people being paid in NZ$, as the currency continues to hover around the 1:2 rate).
- bagels... god they're good. i'm doing my bit to try all the 'best' ones, but can't really go past the pumpernickel flavour. I should, in the interest of spreading the love, but I feel a true scientist should hold some factor consistent (the variety) while varying another (the producer). So I've been chowing down on pumpernickel bagels from some of most highly rated places all over this town. so far I haven't had a single one I haven't liked, which suggests I'm not much of a connoisseur. One place, Ess-a-bagel seems to produce a cult following: we met a New Yorker working in the fab Goorin hat shop in San Francisco, and he said told us that when coming home to NYC for Christmas, he was going first to Ess-a-bagel and then to visit his brother and newly born first child... priorities. it was bloody good though. d is more in favour of the poppyseed, so we're not entirely shunning the rest of the bagel range.
- pizza. pizza by the slice. well we haven't been very picky here, haven't visited the places that get the raves, but still there have been some delights. like the delicious ricotta & tomato slice from the pizza place just out of our local subway stop.
- pretzels... smokey bready goodness in a (salty - not so keen on that) knot. what's not to love.
- artisanal bakeries, creating all kind of sweet delights - it's not Paris, but oh boy they are good. we haven't yet been tempted by the famous NY cupcake (they're so crowded with iceing) but i'm loving what i'll call 'pumpkin kisses' (think ginger kisses but with a pumpkin spiced cookie...), but which they apparently call 'whoopie pies' (as Rove would say, what the...?). Anyway, delightful from one girl cookies - see them featured on their homepage. and their homemade marshmallow is to die for, too.
- and the sweet note continues for the last but very definitely not least food item: doughnut plant, creating heaven in a yeasty bun... my fave: creme brulee doughnut (small round bun, filled with thick vanilla 'cream' and a crisp caramelised sugar crust on top). NOT one to be shared, as they're on the small side (unfortunately).
finally, today, winter
- snow! no more need be said. but preferably dry and powdery and all over the parks.
- sunshine - delightful clear crisp cold winter days with sky so blue it almost hurts.
- central heating & double glazing. i know i should be hating the winter (who hasn't me moan about being cold, like, all the time!), cos it's so cold here, but this is the best winter I have ever experienced... i'm just so, well, warm!! really. the central heating and double glazing here are incredible. i know it's probably destroying the planet, and do feel somewhat guilty, but and it creates an inner core of warmth that persists for ages when venturing outside, and makes all the difference.
so those a few of the things we're loving... there are far more to come. of course there's the odd thing that isn't great - there will be some on that in the future, i'm sure. but all in all, well, what's not to love?
We're off tonight to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music); when we were about to leave NZ, d said this would be the one band he really wanted to see in NY, and here they are, playing at a local venue, at a price we can afford, as part of a week long 'sounds like Brooklyn' festival. affordability can't be said for all the music! The Killers were playing earlier in the year at Madison Square Gardens and the cheapest tickets were over $200US!! Needless to say, we didn't go. Next week we're going to see A Winter's Tale, also at BAM, directed by Sam Mendes, in a US-UK co-production, with Ethan Hawke and Rebecca Hall (recently seen in Frost/Nixon and Vicky Christina Barcelona) among others...
We're making up for missing summer!
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