New York Stories

Something I always love about the US is the breakfasts. Overall North American cusine can be a bit bland but I actually enjoy the breakfasts better than the British equivalent. What you are looking for is something with a minimum of nutrional value and a maximum of stodge. Cost wise we covered both extremes eating for a few dollars at a Pancake house in little Italy but generally we spent a bit more and went to our favourite cafe in Soho just up the road from our hotel.

I love American pancakes with maple syrup. The problem with this though is that halfway through your second pancake you tend to get a bit bored and over faced with all that stodge. So I tend to go for eggs, sausage (the least bland meat you can get in the States) and homefries. I like the fact that you can tell 'em how you want your eggs. I always have them 'Over easy' or is that 'Easy over'. I always get it wrong! Homefries are kind of like a bubble and squeak equivalent. Every place has its own version but basically its leftover potatoes.

When ordering food in the US you always have to be wary because the quantities are amazing. Breakfast is different though you can pig out and it'll see you through to your evening meal.

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Something new to Manhattan since we were last here is the High line. This is an urban park created out of a disused railway line. It is actually above the streets (hence the name). Its a little oasis of calm out on the west side near Chelsea and the Meatpacking District.

We ascended the stairs to the park from the busy streets and it was weird how quiet it was. I don't know if it was my imagination but I swear I could suddenly hear birds singing.

Its unusual for a park. You normally imagine a huge square or rectangluar area. But based on a railway line this park is long and thin. Its very busy and well used as well.

To my mind its a great example of the creativity of people. The sort of thing that can only come from the public arena. Can you imagine a big corporation creating this sort of thing?

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The guide book described Little Italy as a theatrical sort of place. I didn't know what it meant until we started walking down Mulberry Street. Every building is an Italian Restaurant. And this is Tuesday night so they are all desperate for our patronage. So we get propositioned by slightly desperate men trying to get us to eat at their place. In the end we make our choice based on the fact that there are already a fair number of customers in one particular eaterie. The fact that their staff were probably the most entertaining (if slightly insulting) was pretty much irrelevant. The funniest bit though was when the 'authentic' Italian guy asked me if I wanted a table for Dos? As even the windbag knows 'Due' is Italian for two whereas 'Dos' is Spanish.

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I'd forgotten how gloomy Manhattan is. The streets, the hotel corridors, the bars, Abercombie and Fitch (we only went to buy a present for my fashion concsious niece) everything is dark and shadowy on a night. When you are used to well lit rooms and streets in the UK it can come as a bit of a shock. I guess it fits with the Gotham City nickname though.

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I always get obssessed with watching something on the telly when I'm on holiday. In the states its usually politics or some major news story. This time for some reason though we found ourselves frequently watching a medical channel - Mrs Windbag is a nurse and so is fascinated with this kind of stuff. As usual I tried to ignore it and read a book or something but I kept getting dragged into it. The most bizarre stuff was a couple of documentaries about co-joined twins. One set from the fifties basically became a carnival act. A modern day pair have a much more 'normal' existence although inevitably they attract a lot of unwanted attention when out in public. It was a reminder to me how much society has changed in fifty years for the better.

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The baseball season was drawing to its conclusion (the World Series) and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst the New York Yankees fans. They were easily knocked out despite the huge amount of money their stars were paid. I got a feeling of deja vu as it was all very similar to underachieving/overpaid players in the English Football Premier League.

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We went to the Guggenheim Art Gallery. This worth seeing just for the architecture. Apparently it was viewed as a monstrosity when it was originally built. I love the way that you walk up a winding pathway inside instead of a more conventional series of staircases.

The main exhibition was a Picasso retrospective. As part of the admission price we got a audio tour and it was quite interesting listening to this. Picasso's earlier work was much more conventional than his later work. I'm quite open minded about modern art. However you can't help but feel that there is a bad case of the 'Emperor's new Clothes' going down. The complex explanations and interpretations that the experts put on what appears to be a slight sketchy squiggle seem a bit over the top. Mind you I've always admitted to not being a very visual person.

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We seemed to spend a lot of time in New York doing the sort of things we normally do in Wakefield and Leeds. We drank beer in bars; ate pizza and curry; went to see bands and even watched Leeds United on the telly.

The Red Lion in Greenwich Village was where we watched the football. This was a great recommendation from the concierge at our hotel. She even rang them up to check they would have the match on - 'Hey will you guys be showing the United Leeds vee Sheffield game?'

The barman was an Irish exile by the name of Danny. He was a fount of great stories and wisdom. It was kind of like you imagine it in US TV programs. We sat at the bar and chatted to our fellow drinkers and joined in the banter with Danny while watching a pretty dull football match.

It might just be my perception but bar culture in the US seems more relaxed and friendly. More likely to have a conversation and less likely to have a fist fight. I guess it depends where you go.

I think one of the good things about the tipping culture in the States is that bar staff and waiters work on their people skills much more. The indifferent barmen in Oporto would starve in the States!