Present Perfect

day 7

Woke up, left, took the Bolt bus back to NYC. Went to SoHo, had pizza at Ben's pizza, supposedly the best pizza in New York. Went to the Apple store, as usual it looked nice but low on content.

Went for cheesecake at Eileen's, Kristien bought some SoHo boots. Went to pick up our bags at the previous hotel to move to our new hosted bed and breakfast.

Went out for dinner at the Fork and Knife, 6 course sampler menu. Afterwards, tried to get into the Greenhouse, but it was invite only. Instead, ended up at the Bitter End on Houston (which isn't pronounced as you think), which had a pretty good band called Jason Yudoff and the New Hotness. Awesome guitar player, and a horns section.

day 8

Woke up late, went out to Central Park. Convinced the bike rental guy that, no, subzero is not a problem for us to rent a bike and go biking around the park, and yes, we understood that it would be 9$ even if we brought the bike
back after 10 minutes.

Went for a burger at the Burger Joint in Park Meridien hotel, awesome burger, worth the 30 minute queue. Tried to go to FAO Schwarz, but there was a queue of over 300 people. Went back to the apartment to meet Ingrid.

Went to Rockefeller Center and up to the observatory deck, an awesome night view of NYC. Went to the East Village, passed by Caracas Arepas on the way for a yummy Reina Pepiada and a beef arepa.

Passed by St Marks comics - a comics store that is open until 1 AM ! Planned to come back there after the show.

Walked down to the Bowery Ballroom, we were late but so was the first opening band. Second opener, Delta Spirit, was awesome - best unknown opening band I've seen in 15 years, since Kitchens of Distinction. They blend an edgy Gomez and Walkmen with a distinct southern flavor. Nada Surf was excellent, which was less of a surprise. They played to a home town and played quite a few old songs, including their first single.

Afterwards all bands were very approachable, walking around and talking to people at the bar. Matthew Caws looks just like his mother, funny to see. Of course the show ended close to 1, so no more going back for comics.

day 9

Got up, got a lovely New York breakfast from our host, Ingrid. Went to the MOMA where we were on the guest list thanks to Lucille, our host at last week's milonga. While smaller than I expected, it was still an impressive museum, and our staff guest tickets got us into the special Van Gogh exhibit easily. Most of all impressed with the design exhibition.

After MOMA, went to B&H to buy the Cowon A3 player I had set my mind to, while Kristien went boots shopping. She arrived in New York with two pairs and left the city with five.

Went to Grand Central Terminal to pick up a cool t-shirt that should have been there by now but still wasn't, ate down at the food court, then took our last metro ride back to Ingrid's. Had some trouble convincing a cab driver to take us to the airport (apparently due to shift changes), stressed about the traffic, but arrived well in time for our flight.

I've taken a few plane rides, but a night time take off from New York is a truly awesome sight to behold once you've walked through its streets.

The personal in-flight entertainment makes for a romantic experience when we count down together pushing 'play' on the same show we're going to watch.

Goodbye New York. Hope to see you back soon.

day 7 Woke up, left, took the Bolt bus back to NYC. Went to SoHo, had pizza at Ben's pizza, supposedly the best pizza in New York. Went to the...