158 new york files day 4, 5, 6

Ramble.

day 4 , sunday july 3

Today was a fail plan day but a win food day! Went to SoHO to anticipate some GREAT shopping, but it was a horrible and surprisingly rainy day (but still humid/the worst) which didn't make the walking much fun, and also it was Sunday which we didn't realise meant that most shops only opened around 12. Thankfully the massive 4th of July sales made up a little for that. SoHO should stand for So HOverwhelming, because it is. There are shops to suit every person and need - ranging from cheap non branded types to high end fashion like Prada. The Prada store was almost unrecognisable from the outside - instead of a flash piece of modern architecture, it was fitted inside an old building painted dark forest green. The interior is designed by OMA and features a massive wooden wave. And other wave aspects. Found a delish little hole in the wall in neighbouring China town (morning schedule - wake up, turn on laptop, look up food places for the day) called Wah Mei Pork Chop. If you ever get the chance, go there! For $4.50 you get deep fried chicken leg with veges and mince on a big bowl of rice. For dinner we did Burger & Barrel - another HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It was no joke the best burger I've ever eaten. I got the Mushroom & Gruyere, which also had caremelised onions and dijonnaise with a slight wasabi tang, and 2 onion rings on top. The meat was thick, slightly grainy and juicy tender medium rare, and with it's juices mixed in with the rest - AH so yum. The chips were so good too. Don't know what it was as they were just plain salted fries, but they were gooood.

Uniqlo upside down display


Lunch


Dinner


day 5, monday 4 july - Independence Day.

Completely overcast today. We have just realised how little time we have! The rest of the week we are on a mission. We headed right to the bottom of Manhattan Island to catch the Staten Island Ferry. There was a good view of the Statue of Liberty and New York skyline, although the cloud was so low the city was barely visible. We walked around the bottom area - the Bowling Green, saw the Twin Towers memorial which was touching but packed with tourists, and walked along Wall street. Lines of massive historic buildings right up to the sky. It was pretty powerful to see the biggest financial district in the world. The sun turned out to be the hottest yet, so walking around Tribeca became very painful and draining very fast. We took a metro out to Queens where met some friends Andie, Michael and Kevin to do the MoMA PS1 gallery. They had their summer pavilion up, but the most exciting thing EVER was experiencing a James Turrell artwork! That guy is a genius. Had some Thai for dinner then headed down to 36th Street in West Village to see the July 4 Fireworks. Beyonce was meant to be in da house, but sadly no sight :( The fireworks was the most amazing display ever - there were 5 barges in the Hudson river, shooting fireworks for the whole of New York to see. It was awesome (and extremely jealous) looking up at all the apartments overlooking the river to see families and parties out on the balconies and roofs. The fireworks were every colour, every shape (smiley faces, hearts, planets) and size you could imagine.



View up Wall Street


New York Stock Exchange


9-11 memorial




PS1




James Turrell, weather permitting




July 4 fireworks on the Hudson river








day 6, tuesday 5 july

Today was also a very fail day. Saw the outside of the Pratt Institute architecture school - couldn't get inside, dress alterations were not ready after arriving at the shop still closed, Grimaldi's pizza had a line of around 40 people outside, wore the wrong new shoes which have terribly let me down and walked the Brooklyn Bridge with blisters, running so late the whole day, and also ended the day on a fail burger from McDs (southern chicken burger comes with just southern chicken and bun, period. no cheese, sauce, salad.. wtf?) On the up side - we went to Mood Fabrics which is famed as the store on Project Runway, and saw Sleeping Beauty the ballet, performed by the American Ballet Theatre at the Lincoln Centre. Amazing! Those dancers are incredible, I don't really know how else to describe it.

Pratt Institute School of Architecture facade - Steven Holl


Our hood - Fort Greene, Brooklyn


Walking the Brooklyn Bridge + Manhattan skyline




Inside the Lincoln Centre


Sleeping Beauty - ATC


Lincoln Centre interior


Lincoln Centre exterior






Southern style chicken burger - lame


And I wonder why I'm so tired....