End of summer in New York City

---

This summer was a stubborn one, it lasted until pretty much the end of October. Then it was hit by a sudden and unexpected snowstorm right before Halloween. As unexpected as it may have seemed, New York has long been ready for the cold season. Bryant Park and Rockefeller Plaza have both already been transformed into ice skating rinks and the street vendors now sell gloves and weird animal beanies rather than "I love NY" shirts and fake sunglasses. All that's missing are stores that sell Gluehwein. Thanks to federal law, no drinking of alcohol is allowed neither on the streets nor in the parks...legally.

After spending most of the windy and rainy snowstorm day inside Macy's (a huge department store that stretches along all the way between two avenues) and shopping a ridiculously expensive (but on sale - as if that would be an excuse!!!) cashmere scarf, Fabio and I were ready to explore New York City's winter. The next day, winter was almost forgotten again, the wind and rain made way for the sun to shine with all its power. So, time to tour Queens, the neighbourhood where we live but haven't really done anything else than just getting on and off the subway. First stop was Sunnyside, a historic district in southern Queens which is a really beautiful and SoHo-look-alike neighbourhood with cool little thrift stores and international restaurants and pubs. The big welcome-sign definitely overstates Sunnyside's offers but you can feel the life in the streets.

A "medium" (american way of saying huge) coffee and a croissant later, we drifted up north to Astoria, the upper end of Queens. When we got off the subway we felt like being in Brooklyn because the architecture is a lot alike. Even if Astoria is not as hip as Willy-burg in BK (the very atmospheric Brooklyn Winery and the always crazy Surf Bar are among the favourites), it's quite cool. Walk only ten minutes westward, and you're at the East River with a stunning view over Upper Manhattan. The Hell Gate bridge has a very fascinating feel to it and judging by its name, it seems like a cool bridge to pass...NOT! Last but not least, after walking an estimated 100 miles, we got to a street full of greek restaurants and stores. The sweet pumpkin (?!) and spinach pie didn't work its magic to make us stay much longer in Astoria. To sum it up, after this day we now know that Queens has its great places to hang out too, not only Manhattan and BK.

Winter time really suits New York, the air is fresh and much cleaner than it was during summer. Favourite (non-alcoholic) winter drink so far: Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks! Can't wait for the winter to really kick in, especially now that I'm geared up clothes-wise. By the way, not only 5th Avenue has already been mistreated with christmas decorations, even the quiet Queens goes completely bonkers already! C'mon there is still time people...

---