Taking NYC by storm

I was going to delay this post until my fellow Classy Bird Princess N, had transferred her share of photos of our New York City experience to me. However, during a brief lapse in classiness on a night out on the town, her phone got stolen. No phone = no photos = a bit of a disaster. Interestingly the beginning and end of our trip weren't quite so troubleless either.

In the beginning…

...There was an epic storm. This resulted in N's  flight from Orlando getting cancelled. I am not so technologically advanced as to have internet on my phone, so I sat at JFK airport until 2am waiting for N, who should've landed before me. After two hours of my worried waiting, she finally emerged! It wasn't quite the perfectly timed reunion we had planned, but I don't think I've ever been so glad to see somebody. And so the Classy Birds had hit NYC!

We missioned to the air-train to reach the place where our 24hr hotel shuttle was supposed to depart from. Of course it wasn't really 24hrs, so we missioned back to our original terminal to catch our first NY cab.

Upon my request, N had booked a hotel close to the airport for our first night, since we were staying in Brooklyn for the other nights. Well we knew we were still in Queens when we arrived on the floor of our hotel room, and the entire corridor reeked of weed. Needless to say we bolted the doors, before finally drifting into a deep sleep at 4:30am.

After our first American breakfast (bagel and waffles), and stashing our monopoly money…

"I need a dollar, dollar - a dollar is what I need…"

…we headed to what would be our 'hood for the next five days - Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

We stayed at an air b'n'b with a lovely Brazillian couple and their dog. As one might expect in NYC, she was an artist (actor, dancer, director) and he was a mysterious "researcher" on the Upper East Side. We didn't dig too deeply as to what exactly it was that they did, but just enjoyed their company and creative home.

I loved the fabric on those chairs.

Unfortunately the weather was still horrid, so we took their violinist friend's advice (who was also staying with us) and headed to the corner coffee-shop for a debrief, afternoon coffee/chocolate hit and to make a plan of action.

'Sweetleaf' - Our "local" for the week.

Would've loved to have seen that picture of me! R.I.P. N's phone...

As much as we wanted to explore our new 'hood, despite all its colour it was looking a bit dreary and deserted in the rain.

'Shelter' in Americuhhh!

But we were even more eager to head across to that mysterious island that is Manhattan! Like true New Yorkers we jumped on the subway which is an experience in itself. I'm used to riding trains and undergrounds, but the New York subway is something' else - a roller coaster! Thankfully we made it across the channel. 

We got off somewhere, with the intention of paying a visit to Ground Zero. This was not something I particularly wanted to do, but something we felt we should. Well it turns out paying a visit to the memorial site, means you quite literally have to pay to visit these days! 

Sure they only ask you for a donation, but it is expected that you pay the donation between US$5-10. When I asked the guy what the money went towards he mumbled something about how it was a not-for-profit organisation, and the money was needed to "keep it running". I'm not sure why the government doesn't fund the maintenance of the memorial, but I'm sure you also wouldn't need all those volunteers standing around, or quite so many guards making you feel like you are a terrorist. I was unimpressed. 

The site itself was something. By this time the rain was pelting down, and seemed to want to fill up the ever-emptying pool.

Though it was spectacular in a depressing sense, our tiny umbrella had no chance of keeping us dry, and we were at the stage where we just wanted to hide. Much like this skyscraper.

On our way home we passed some droopy but still lovely blossoms.

As the streets began to fill with gushing streams, and my booties were soaked through we decided to head home to dry and warm up. We stopped by the harvest store down our streets (that would be Kent Ave and N 7th) for some cheese, crackers and of course…bubbles!

As the bubbles flowed, so did the conversation, and the Princess and I had a much needed heart to heart and important Classy Bird business to discuss. We kind of lost track of time and missed dinner. Yet we weren't quite ready to fall asleep on our first day in the city. 

My only coat was still drip-drying in our bathroom, so it was clear we wouldn't be able to stray too far. Thankfully I had stumbled upon the Music Hall of Williamsburg as a hotspot for live-gigs. N had a google as to who was playing that night, and just about fell off her bar stool when she discovered it was our very own Kiwi brother-sister duo BROODS.

The website stated it was sold out, but that wasn't going to stop us from trying. Within 10 minutes we were out the door and ran around the corner to the venue. Luckily the gig was by no means sold out! We were a bit late, and the first 15 minutes we were thoroughly confused as to who the screaming teenager on stage was. I got more worried by the minute, as I was certain our small Kiwi duo surely wouldn't be headlining this gig?! Well, they did!

Georgia had a bit of trouble with her sexy-pants which were apparently trying to be even more sexy as they continued to come undone. But she dealt with it ever so charmingly.

I was a bit too fascinated by her hauntingly beautiful voice to take decent photos. Sorry.

But the highlight of the night came at the very end. Georgia and Caleb have been collaborating with music producer Joel Little, who also produced Lorde's 'Royals'. And we all know that success story. So of course we had to get some autographs before they become untouchable, and were keen to hear a familiar Kiwi accent! 

Well we had a good yarn we did! 

Reckon I could be related? :P

We could've spent all night chatting, but their Manager wouldn't have a bar of it, and our tummies were rumbling for food. So we said our "See yas!" and went on the hunt for a midnight feast. 

This was New York City, according to Ms. Bradshaw "In New York you can get anything, anytime."! Well, she may have exaggerated a little there. We weren't exactly spoilt for choice, but this thing hanging in the window of this Thai place caught our attention and had us stumbling in begging for take-out.

It had a whirlpool rotating those pretty candles and Water Lilies, it was really quite mesmerising.

In the end we got our Pad Thais, which we chowed down in the classiest of ways - in bed. It was the perfect end to our first day in the city of dreams.

Sweet dreams to you!

Yours truly,

Fräulein SoulFood x