Day 8 - The Wild Wild West Village

I have to confess the title of this post may be a little misleading as I actually started out in the East - with a little excursion across the Brookyln Bridge, an acclaimed rite of passage for every New Yorker wannabe. So braving my hangover by downing some water and some OJ I trekked across the Brooklyn Bridge on a beautiful Friday morning as many Manhattanites and Brooklyners have done before me. There's not much to say about walking down Brooklyn Bridge, except for that it's breathtakingly beautiful. You'll see the most beautiful view of Manhattan and Brooklyn, not to mention it seems to be a walk popular amongst the New Yorker love birds. Now I keep hearing from New Yorkers that you either love Manhattan or you love Brooklyn. Whether this is true, I have no idea but having already given my heart to Manhattan I felt a little naughty sitting in a park at Brookyln Heights having a sandwich *wink*.







Brooklyn and I enjoyed about a good half an hour together before I had to rush back to Manhattan for a lunch date with an old school friend. After convincing me that American beer can be good (courtesy of Brooklyn Lager) she strung me along to the best pizza in New York, Artichokes on 14th Street and after having had a staple diet of pizza, beer and other unhealthy goodies for the past week I think I acquired enough of a palette to distinguish between amazing and crap pizza. On that note, Artichokes was delicious! Especially their artichoke pizza. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try some proper New Yorker pizza plus it'll probably fill you up for the rest of the day, if not the entire weekend.

'Why is it that in New York, guys actually want to date?' I asked my friend, taking a swig of Brooklyn Lager.
'Well it's all about dating in Manhattan, but it kind of puts more pressure on having good dates. You have fewer chances to redeem yourself.'
'Interesting.'


So having figured out that dating in New York won't exceed the blessed 'third date' most of the time, I grudgingly finished off my lager and pizza before heading to the West Village for a coffee date with a New Yorker beau. We went to this coffee house near Bleecker Street called West 11th Café. It's a cute little café near to a variety of trendy looking bars and restaurants, and I think it may be around the corner of where Julianne Moore. No I didn't stalk her whereabouts but my date and I did happen to bump into her on our way to the café where she met my clumsy-looking gaze with a friendly and approving smile. It was a few seconds before I could shake off the effects of starstruckness and turn to my unimpressed companion who informed me that she did happen to live somewhere around the corner. I guess it takes more than Julianne Moore to impress someone who models part-time for Marc Jacobs.

After a few cups of coffee, smoothies and splitting a sandwich we went for a walk along the Hudson river. When in New York one MUST watch the sunset by the Hudson river. It has the most spectacular view of the New Jersey skyline. There was no better way to spend my last evening in Manhattan.

The sun set and reality set back in. It was back to John and Broadway equipped with a box of Magnolia Bakery muffins as a 'see you later' treat for my New York ladies. A few glasses of wine, pastry, and a 'Sleepless in Seattle' session later, I had to pack my bags and hop aboard the train back to good ol' Jersey City. Goodbye Manhattan, I had a blast.

Day 4 - Nightlife is raging on Ludlow St.

'Everything seemed so wrong to me this morning but I know things will be brighter later tonight, on Ludlow Street.' - Julian Casablancas





How right he was. Nothing contrasts a day in the Upper East Side more than a night out on Ludlow Street. After experiencing where the upper class dwell, I could not be happier that my good friend Genia decided to take me for a drink in Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, where the likes of the Strokes began their careers. Instead of suits, expect hip cool kids. And no not the types that hang about in London's East London scene. LES and West Village hipsters are genuinely hip and not bored little rich kids who are enticed by the propagated image of a 'trendy'. What is the difference you ask? Say you enter a bar in Dalston or something looking like an actual human being (i.e. not wearing a Victorian dress or kooky glasses). They stare… disapprovingly. In the LES and WV people don't care if you don't look the part, which is pretty relaxing.

One of the first bars we hit was Spritzers near Ludlow Street and then headed to a more quiet pub a block away… perhaps it was called Piano's? Well in any case that's of no importance. Ludlow St. has enough bars to satisfy anyone's taste… should you crave classy cocktails, good beer (yes America does have good beer actually!) or a place with a dancing scene. Anyway after a really long-needed catch-up between me and my good friends Nick and Genia, we decided to call it a night and head home and so Genia and I hailed a cab.

'John and Broadway please.'

Since Genia and I have not seen each other for 3 years we were engaged in deep conversation and so it took us a while to glance at the meter.

'Excuse me. Why the hell are we at Union Square?'

Apparently it's not just the nightlife that's raging. NY cab drivers are pretty enraging as well. The cheeky man had taken us a little uptown before driving downtown to her flat. In simpler terms - he was driving in circles and thought he could get away with it. Wrong.

Cabbie: 'You guys didn't tell me where you were going.'
'Yes we did. We said John and Broadway.'
Cabbie: 'No you didn't.'
'You could've asked us instead of driving in circles.
Cabbie: 'I asked 3 times.'
'No you didn't. This is what's happening: you're driving us home and we'll pay you the amount we'd usually pay.'

If I were the cabbie I wouldn't have turned this offer down. The fool did however. What then? What else? We left the cab and started walking down the street.

'Wait! If you don't pay I'll call the cops.'
'Ok fine. Call the cops. We'd like them to very much hear our story.'

So what did he do? He stood there dumbfounded while we hailed another cab and drove home.
And the moral of this story? Beware of New York cab drivers. Another scary anecdote to follow this one:


My Aunt Mona's friend, Tito Ago, once said that he was waiting to cross the street when he saw an old tourist couple hail a cab and asked the cabbie how much it would cost to get to their hotel. Unbeknowst to them, their hotel was located conveniently a few blocks down.
'20 dollars' the Cabbie replied. Unable to just stand and watch helplessly, Tito Ago walked up to the couple and told them 20 dollars is not worth a 10-minute walk down the road and after a death stare from the Cabbie and a 'thank you' from the couple, he was glad he helped another escape the trickeries of the taxi drivers.

So what have we learned ladies and gentlemen? When in Manhattan, keep your eyes on the meter and on the GPS screen located in front of you, and if you can be, be specific with your directions (e.g. 'John and Broadway please but go down Broadway and not the FDR because it's always in a traffic jam.') Abide by these tips and they are more likely to not get away with duping you.