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Yesterday was another hot and humid day (70%, to be exact). Hey, at least I'm not in Florida! Though it may get hotter than Satan's anus out here, I'm having a wonderful time. I admire New Yorkers for their capacity to ignore the overwhelmingly fierce stench of the city and especially the subway system. Someone yaked on the B last night and no one seemed the slightest bit perturbed by it. Except for Rose. She dry heaved a little bit after seeing it. Unlike the rain here, I WAS warned about the smell. Steve Tynan specifically told me, "It's hot in the summertime, and it will appear really dirty, and in many places really smelly." Fair enough.
So another place that had come highly recommended to me was Pastis. Steve told me to go for breakfast and Sheila commanded that I leave room for dessert. Rose and I tried to make it for breakfast but we arrived just in time for the breakfast/lunch limbo. It was so weird. I guess there is a changing of the guard inside the kitchen right after noon; the hostess said she could seat us but we couldn't order anything. She didn't even let us look at a menu until it was "time". No matter, I had a Bellini to pass the time. When we finally DID get to order, the food was pretty spectacular. We shared a fresh herb omelet with fries and fried eggs on toast with baked beans. For dessert we had the Crepe Suzette and holy mother! I mean, it was just blissful.
From there we made our way over to Ground Zero. Walking up to it was so surreal. I remember waking up on 9/11. I was in high school at the time and a few days before I had a dream about a plane crash. When I turned on the radio and heard the news in my groggy state, I thought I was dreaming again. It didn't make sense. I took a shower to get ready for school and by the time I got out, the second plane had crashed and there was talk of the Pentagon being hit. It wasn't until we saw the images in homeroom that morning that the severity, the mind-boggling tragedy of it all, really hit. To stand in the place where so many people had their lives ripped away from them and so many acts of heroism took place was intense. We visited the WTC memorial and that was pretty moving as well. You look at this wall full of missing posters and the wall with all the names of the people who perished and your heart just aches.
The next thing on the agenda was a trip on the Staten Island Ferry. That was a lot of fun, especially having the wind blowing and keeping me cool. For some reason, I became obsessed with Governer's Island after seeing some add for it so I got some pictures of it, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, etc. With that, I think I have concluded my mandatory tourist checklist.
The heat, humidity, walking and lulling train rides are all conducive to a desire for a nap. I remember hearing about a place where you could do just that in the city so Rose and I looked it up. Before you could say"I like to nap to opera", we were at Yelo. It was a lovely place. We were ushered into our own private "pods", seated in an anti-gravity chair (oh, my aching feet did thank me), given a blanket and had the music we chose playing playing for us. Twenty minute later I felt like a million bucks and uber pampered.
Rose and I tried to visit this old speakeasy called Chumley's that another Steve recommended but it was closed for renovation. I was pretty upset about it but we passed Jeykll and Hyde's on the way so we decided to check that out instead (this was before I was told by Ken that it's a Magic Castle rip-off). It was kitschy and kinda cool but the bartender had a terrible bedside manor and for some reason they think it's hi-larious to hide the bathroom behind a fake bookcase wall. What kinda sick sense of humor must you have to fuck with someone who is trying to answer nature's call?
Last stop for the day was Schiller's Liquor Store which contrary to it's name, is a fabulous restaurant. It was PACKED and yet, we were seated right away and our food was brought out to us in less than five minutes (!). One would think with such quick service the food must have been sub-par. One would be very, terribly mistaken. The food-dare I say it- may b the best I've had thus far in the city. I had the chilled tomato and corn chowder and the warmed goat cheese on new potatoes with pesto on field greens. Simple, delicious and filling for less than $20. The bread was amazing, too: the crust was hard as a rock while the inside was soft as a cloud- I mean that as a very high compliment. Damn, I love to eat!
So here I am, writing a long blog because I decided against trying to see Conan tape his show other today. I have a few other things I do want to do and tomorrow another adventure awaits: Philadelphia! Because I have been able to do do much in these past few days, I feel I can justify a trip out there. I love that city SO much and I am super excited to be able to go!
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G. Martinez
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9/11...
You know, I had the same kinda feeling when the whole thing was happening. I was scheduled to take my senior portraits that day so I didnt go to school, I woke up and turned the TV on and I seriously thought it was a movie. I went about my normal routine, brushed my teeth and got my clothes ready before I jumped in the shower, and while I am running around with my toothbrush still hanging out of my mouth, I see the second plane hit. By this time I start getting suspicious, as any decent movie would have moved along a bit faster. So I flip the channel...they cant be playing the same movie on every channel...WTF!?!? I was litterally speechless. I can still remember that full day in detail, down to the smallest things. I still have a hard time imagining the whole thing, I am sure visiting the site would change the way I perceive it.