Weekend of Banter

Okay, I kept making a mental note to take photos, but I never did. Probably because I feel a bit like a goober whipping out my camera when I go out for a drink (funny, doing the same thing in Berlin doesn't feel weird at all), and I get distracted by too many other things. So don't expect too many photos for New York.

Anyhow, a friend of mine from Ireland came to visit, so I ended up going out a lot this weekend, primarily to the Lower East Side. Normally, I don't venture there because it's SO far from Upper West, but another friend of mine used to go to NYU, and really likes that area. I should specify however, that I do make the trek to St. Mark's Place quite often for the amazing Japanese food. So a brief review of the places we went to:

Pianos: I don't understand why this place is so popular. Each time I go, it's ridiculously crowded. I guess the line outside is never too bad (because the jam pack the place on the inside), and there is no cover. However, upon entering, there is a special side room, and an upstairs area, both of which usually require cover, or some sort of mandatory coat check. For a place that looks like a glorified dive bar, the drinks are really expensive. It's also full of hipsters, and I've never quite understood them, so it makes sense that the appeal of this place goes over my head.

Boss Tweeds: It's a nice sports bar, and has beer pong tables in the back. I used to play beer pong all the time, but this night I just kept thinking how dirty the balls were from bouncing on the bar floor (keep in mind the beer pong area is right across from the bathrooms). It was nice because it wasn't crowded (especially since we came here after Pianos), but I've never been a big fan of sports bars.

Interstate Food and Liquor: Maybe good for a date since you could sit at a table and talk, but it was fairly empty for a Saturday, with very quite music (probably hipster music, I had no idea what it was) and kind of sucked.

La Caverna: I probably have somewhat different taste than most of New York (this place was rated about 2 stars on Yelp, in contrast to the great ratings of the other places around it), but I loved this place! It looks like a giant cave, and it played all the music that I liked. It was crowded, and we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes, but there was no cover, and the inside was full of moderately good looking people. There was a group of fat guys that were knocking people over with their boisterous dancing style, but other than that it was awesome and I'd probably go again. Oh, but I did step on gum, and hobbled around until the security guard gave me a napkin and held up his flashlight for me so I could scrap it off.

Annnnnnd, not to stereotype, but in my friend's own words, she's Irish, therefore she wanted to go to all you can drink brunches (according to her they do not have these in Ireland because owners would lose too much money).

Sunburnt Calf: I thought the food was decent enough, but the drinks were amazing. Really great bloody marys and mimosas (they let you pick between those, as well as screwdrivers and greyhounds), although there is a 2 hour limit. Another place I'd definitely go to again. This place is in upper west side.

Beginning of New York

Riverside Church

Grant's Memorial

Statue of Liberty (yes, my own photo! taken from a cruise in 2010)

The thing about having a travel blog is that I only post in it when I'm travelling. I never write about the places that I actually consider home (well, sort of home, since I move around a lot). I've been in New York for about 2.5 years now, and though I know the subway system pretty well, I still don't feel like this city is my home. I mean, I get excited when songs about New York come on, but it's more like a...yes, I'm part of that party type of thing. To me, New York is like the speakeasy that everyone knows about. I have that slight feeling of smugness that I live here, similar to that feeling of smugness that I have about knowing where the speakeasy is, but at the same time, there are tons of other people living here, most of whom have been here longer than I have and know the city better. Similarly, while I'm quite proud about my speakeasy knowledge, at this point in time it's not something innovative, and pretty much every other New Yorker not only knows it, but knows of several more like it. So in sum, I do live in New York, but I'm really more of a poser than an actual New Yorker. After all, I root for the Red Sox and the Patriots, so I guess this analysis wasn't even necessary given my sports allegiance.

The point is, New York is a part of my travels (even though there is a great possibility that I'll keep living here for some years), so I should include some information about it!

But where to begin?

I guess I'll start with Harlem and Morningside Heights. When I first arrived in the city, I was on the subway looking for directions, and I asked some random guy how to get the 125th street. He looked really confused, and said, "that's Harlem. Are you sure that's where you want to go?" Apparently I don't look tough enough to be someone who should be going to Harlem, but anyhow I found my place in Morningside Heights. The area is okay to live in, but I don't really see a reason to visit unless you have to. There are a lot of tourists around Columbia University, which is actually gorgeous in the Spring when the trees bloom. I've been meaning to take a picture of that, but always forget. I'll make a mental note to do it this April.

People who are really into US Civil War history could also visit the Grant Memorial, and there's also Riverside Church and St. Paul's Cathedral, both of which have intricate stained glass inside and carvings on the outside. I really like the sculpture garden outside St. Paul's, which has one of my favorite sculptures of all time (it's a crab and a sun and a unicorn, all sorts of stuff mixed together).

Oh yes, I realize the problem with writing about New York--I don't have any pictures! That's what happens when you live some where. So I'll post what I have, and I'll continue this series of posts later!