Thank you Chicago for today's title.
There is not a lot to report today, so I'll just start tapping at the keys and see where we end up.
The best sleep yet last night - 6 hours straight!!! How good do I feel today! A pity about the weather; it has finally come in as forecast. Cyclone Joaquin must be on the move, but again, it's not as heavy as forecast. We decided that we would take it easy today anyway, so the rain helped solidify our plans.
An East Village Ramble
While we were mapping out the day I decided to google restaurants in East Village and then bakeries. Decent bread has eluded us and they don't have bakeries like we do in Australia. I can get pastries and cupcakes anywhere, but a loaf of sourdough is not so easy to find. Google threw up a place called the Tuck Shop, an Australian pie shop, 10 blocks from home. As the time for breakfast drifted behind us and lunch was still a little way in front of us, it was time to act.
It's cold today, 58°F or 14°C and windy which makes the rain that little more unpleasant. Umbrellas at the ready we set out for the Tuck Shop. It would be a pleasant walk any other day, but it was still one of discovery. We found the Flinders Lane Cafe, a little piece of Australia in the Big Apple. We also happened upon Katz's Deli, you know, When Harry Met Sally and "I'll have what she's having". No? Google it. We'll be back there for a sandwich when the weather is a bit finer.
The Tuck Shop wasn't far from Katz's, about half a block and on the other side of the street. It is small, but there is a table and some bar space and you can watch the workers putting the pies together behind the counter. There is Australian memorabilia throughout the place from a boxing kangaroo on the door through to an ad for Billy Tea and a world map with Australia at the top of the world. The pies were Australian-style although a bit larger than we would expect and the beef pie was a tad spicier too. We were the only authentic Aussies in the place, although the guy serving me recognised my accent and said "thanks mate".
Although I have appreciated the espresso that Rocco has been making for me at Eleven B, I am still searching for a drop-in coffee shop close by. 9th Espresso gets a big rap in Lonley Planet so we stopped by there to shelter from the rain momentarily and have a coffee. America, despite the significance of the migrant Italian population down through the years, has never really entered the world of coffee like Australia. I don't mean that trendy hipster rubbish - I'll have a half-soy latte on skim thanks Trystan; I mean real coffee, I'll even include the national coffee of Australia, the cappuccino. In basic terms you can get espresso (short black to us) or brewed coffee; for anything outside this, there is Starbucks for flavoured coffee, but my favourite, a long black, is yet to be found. I know my way around a coffee machine so I'd be happy to show them how to make one. The coffee at 9th Espresso was fine, but just not what I'm looking for.
Back into the rain and wending our way home, we found a Catholic Church, St Brigid's. We'll need to check that out for Sunday. We also continued our search for a bakery. I looked them up on Trip Advisor this morning but couldn't quite remember where they were so we walked the streets from memory until the wind began gusting. This made life a little too difficult so we turned back to the apartment and dropped into the corner deli where we found sourdough and fresh tomato which will serve as dinner tonight.
Watching the news in the apartment, a weather story came on about the cyclone and its likely impact on NYC. The weather person ended her story with "so stock up on emergency supplies, pack a bag, just in case and be ready to leave, if required". What to do? It's not like we have anywhere to go. There was only one thing to do, brave the run to buy some emergency supplies. Thankfully the rain had eased a little.
First stop - the supermarket for chocolate. Next stop, this neat little bottle shop called The Alphabet City Wine Co, it would be called 'boutique' at home. They have a small but eclectic range of wine from France, Italy, the US, Australia and some other places I can't remember. Too many unfamiliar labels (except the Australian stuff and I'm not buying that) so I had the dude in the shop select a red and a white for me. We have two lovely little Italian numbers with which to combat the weather. The bottle shop people do not seem overly concerned about the weather warnings and are still holding a wine tasting tonight at 6 pm to which we have been invited, weather permitting a walk of 4 blocks. They do however endorse the sense about stocking up on alcohol supplies, just in case.
Some random thoughts
1. Why do so many Americans shout when they speak to each other? Nobody, and I mean nobody, who walks down our street does so quietly or in silence. When they are talking, I could easily join in their conversation from the first floor.
2. An interesting difference between the US and America, the word respect. They have it, we have lost it, particularly over the last few years. They respect their armed forces, their police, their firies. Armed forces personnel have priority access on planes, OK it's a little thing but symbolic. The police are often referred to as "their finest". A trip to the 9/11 Memorial Museum to see the way in which their services have been lauded demonstrates the respect with which they are held. The journos all stand when the President walks into the room and remain standing until he asks them to be seated. What a difference to our country where the Prime Minister can be vilified and spoken about with derision by talk-back radio djs. He listens to their questions and repsonds to them. No three word responses, long, considered answers. Everyone over here is polite, it is "yes sir", "thank you ma'am" to everyone.
Why? I'd really like to know. Basically we come from the same stock and were built on the back of migration, both cultures acknowledge an egalitarian approach, so why can't we respect people who are in the service of our people, even if we don't always agree with them?
3. Horns. Not on animals or devils but in cars. OMG. New Yorkers love their car horns and they create constant background noise.
No comments:
Post a Comment