Five days in New York City

Back in DC after five days in NYC. We (my husband and I) have covered a lot of ground by foot in five days. We have lived in Manhattan for three years, until 2010, so we're not tourists nor New Yorkers any more ( :-(( but some strange hybrids who still hate tourists and crowds, but have their favorite places in the city close to those crowds of tourists. Like Union Square or Soho's Broadway.

And NYC at Christmas is really beautiful, with sparkling blue and white trees left and right and Christmas music literary everywhere you go, even on subways and streets.

So, this is, in a nutshell, what we did, and what you should do, if you have good taste, next time you are in NYC.

We love great cappuccinos and lattes so we went to La Colombe in Soho twice in five days. And we stayed with friends in Long Island City, so it was not that close to us. Not only that La Colombe has great espresso, makes great cappuccinos in stylish dark-blue and white cappuccino mugs (very important for the experience of slowly sipping great cappuccino) but also they use organic milk! Score!

The location could not be more perfect, especially at Christmas. It's two blocks away from Broadway, so away from the crowds but close to shopping. If you're a woman or a shopping-loving man, you'll know what I mean.

We also had pizza in L'Asso, a new friendly neighborhood pizza place, which was good, not great.

Guacamole and vegetable quesadillas in Rosa Mexicana in Union Square only for two reasons: I was craving guacamole, and we were in Union Square when I was craving it. They make the best guacamole!

Third Rail coffee close to Washington Square Park was good too.

Cafe Joul on Upper East Side had a mediocre fixed-price brunch--poached eggs with tomato, hollandaise and broccoli was our, probably the wrong choice. I would pass on this one. The location is not interesting either.

The best meal we had this time was in Eataly--mushroom risotto and mushroom-tomato polenta. Both, just, excellent! I love Eataly.

And we saw two movies, when our feet were hurting--The Descendants and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

The Descendants was amazing, in fact so good, that I think Clooney will get the Oscar next year.

And Tinker, Tailor, something, was so slow that I wanted to lift my feet on the chair in front and take a nap. Life is unfortunately not long enough for movies like that.

What else?

We did some shopping in Soho and Union Square--Union Square had its annual open Christmas bazaar with original, usually foreign gifts, food and drinks.

We also went to Cafe Falai twice, both times to have bomboloni, Italian, or really, European donuts, with marmalade inside, wrapped in granulated sugar. No resemblance to American, Dunkin donuts, which I loathe and think are made of plastic. No pun intended.

All in all, a very productive visit, so much that I still sleep until 10am (I was waking up at 8am while there).

I guess there's more time for sleeping in DC. But to be honest, I'm glad I'm back. It's just different, living in a city so fun and huge as NYC, and visiting. When you live in it, you're not in any rush to do anything, but when you visit, you feel like you have to get as much as you can out of it, while you can.

And you exhaust yourself...but it's worth it...if you have time to sleep in.

New York, Neeeew Yoooork...

It's funny how once you lose something you forget everything bad about it. You just remember the good stuff.
I forgot how aggressive New York is, or should I say New Yorkers. And how crowded the subway is and how hot, then cold, hot, cold. Oh, right, that's why I have this cold :-(
Thirteen months in DC and I have already learned how to say I'm sorry. I felt like an alien today, bumping into people and apologizing. Tourist, I bet, they thought, cringing. I know I used to, just a year ago.
New Yorkers have no time for apologies. Nor pain. Or they don't feel any.
On my way from Long Island City to Soho, then Union Square, and back, I was elbowed, bumped into, tripped and I can't remember what else, but I had to shower twice today.
So, why do I love NYC? Because it's home of the best muffin in the world, a cappuccino muffin, at Cafe Angelique's on Bleecker. Which they didn't have today. So I had to console myself with one of the best hot chocolates I have ever had--at Max Brenner's in Union Square.
Should I go on? It's not the food, or shopping, or even theatre, or how a street you walk on every day suddenly becomes a movie set. It's just has this enchanting spirit, like it's alive and very seductive and makes you believe everything is possible.
Well maybe it is. That's why I'm networking. I'll tell you tomorrow...

A woman who sold a piece of her soul, in a steak house

I had dinner with my rich friend, and his rich friend at Maloney and Porcelli's tonight. It's a steak house and I'm a vegetarian, and not any vegetarian, but the one who gives money to PETA and The Humane Society, as well as various charities fighting for humane farming. So I felt like the devil in a church, in that steak house. Or like an angel in hell. What the hell am I doing here?!
My friend was bragging about this restaurant as having the best steaks in NYC, and all I was thinking was poor cow.
"Ummm, I'm a vegetarian, " I said, sweetly, as kind as possible, with a smile.
He hit his forehead with his right fist. He forgot. He apologized a million times during dinner. And afterwords.
But that didn't prevent him from ordering a big piece of meat, with a bone. I tried not to think about it. I looked away. I looked down at my Atlantic salmon, and my bad Mojito, soon replaced by a Mimosa. But I felt like a hypocrite a bit.
The truth is he offered to help me with my publishing and my career. So I sold my soul to the devil. Kind of. A bit.
On the other hand, even my family still eats meat...

Acela to NYC

I'm on Acela to New York City! That's right, didn't I say I was planning on shaking things up in DC? Well, that usually means leaving DC.

Actually, a friend called me on Saturday, and asked if I would like to go to Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra's concert in Carnegie Hall this Wednesday. Hell, yeah, I said, and within a couple of hours, bought a ticket. Yes, that's me, impulsive, loving Bregovic's music and NYC. It helps that I actually have friends I can stay with, and Amtrak points.

I was actually craving it (NYC) last week, as I was working on a translation for The New Yorker article.

So, now I'm on board, having Ginger ale and Milka chocolate (What a gourmet combination) and plotting what useful things I could do and who could I see while in the funnest city in the world. The saddest thing--it used to be my home. A happy fact--it's only two hours and 48 minutes away from DC's Union Station.

So, where should I start my little adventure? Union Square? Madison Square Park? Soho?

Hmmm, endless possibilities, and my mouth is watering...