Hundred Mile High City

New York, New York

Lisa had given me fool proof directions to her place up on 125th St. So it turned out that the way I wrote down these intructions; was quite foolish. I kinda missed a cross-town link train. However, I reached 125th St and figured I'd arrived. As I surfaced into the daylight I was very much in the minority.

I had to kill a little time as I waited for my friend, so visited McDonalds since there seemed to be none of New Yorks quaint cafes, patisseries, bars, restaurants or anything else for that matter. In McDonalds, a guy at the counter was giving staff some big hassle over a $1.25 cup of coffee. They were anxious to move to the next customer - me, a white dude with a huge backpack on his back practically yelling "Look at me everyone, I'm a tourist!" In downtown Harlem! (The picture to the right is NOT Harlem! I'm not sure I'd have put my camera away again had I have taken it out in that area...)

Once I'd fully figured out my mistake, I walked with some pace across town. There I met Lisa, we walked a couple of blocks West as the neighbourhood transformed to classic New York.

So after the ordeal of the morning, TeamMonsta relaxed with some burrito's and drinks before starting a whirlwind New York experience.

First off was watching a Guitar, trumpet and Double Bass trio jamming in Central Park. The weather gorgeous, sun shining and me wishing I'd worn my shorts. A quick trip to Strawberry fields and Lennons memorial and then it was time for us to head down into the city.
Up New Yorks tallest building - the Empire State Building, we could see for miles as the sun set. What more can you tell about one of the worlds most popular tourist attractions? Even with all those other people up there, it does a magnificent job of creating some magic way up above all the chaos down below.

So after a huge come-down; 86 floors total, we headed down South to check out a small lounge club; the Canal Room, where one of Lisa's Manhattan School of Music friends was playing with his band. It was a Stevie Wonder kind of soul vibe that I've never really seen live before, the crowd was mellow and enjoying the vocal talents being showcased. It was a real taste of New York that I'd not seen before and had been looking forward to so much. An amazing night.

On to day 2, we headed to the MoMA - Museum of Modern Art. In the company of some of the worlds finest art by Lichtenstein (did I spell that right?!), Picasso and Van Gogh - it was completely breath-taking to be in amongst that work. The building itself it really cool, loads of great views out to the city, though a few too many floors to make before lunch or afternoon tea?!

So after some sandwiches, we headed down to Greenwich Village in search of a legendary bakery. After a long walk through the picturesque streets, lined with many bars, bakerys and boutiques we finally found Magnolias Bakery. The cakes were great, though probably the richest I've ever eaten! On the way back we stopped by to watch some more live music in the Asylum bar before calling it a night.