I just returned from a tour de l'East Coast, dropping off a dear friend in the Big Apple for her new beginning. Our road tripping took us north to DC and through various New England states before we put the brakes on in NYC.
(Hint: click on the city names for links to some of the songs that soundtracked our journey)
The Capitol City is lovely.
The White House's backyard is just a vision (I thought I was seeing the front, and was thus underwhelmed. It took a drive around the corner to realize we'd been at the back door).
Then, it was on to New York, New York.
Our first real stop was in Brooklyn's Williamsburg. I loved this neighborhood, full with it's hipsters, artists and trust fund babies. (Apparently this part of town has the highest unemployment rate for folks who still pay rent.) We made a stop to visit and talk shop with the friendly folks of Couer Noir. They do some fine work.
Then, it was on to The Arm Studios to see a rent-a-press space in action. What do you know, I ran into my Penland teacher, Bryan Baker. It was wonderful to see him and a real treat to be able to see that such a resource exists in the city for hobbyist printers.
Terribly exciting for a press-less printer like myself.
I found the perfect lunch spot (Radish) filled with vintagey apron-clad girls serving seasonally freshly prepared foods. I had this grilled zucchini, pesto and gruyere sandwich on raisin nut bread with a peach rosemary spritzer to drink. Oh heavens, it was good.
Then it was back to Manhattan, where I stopped into Strand, and became obsessed with these pattern books.
We took a stroll through Central Park.
And wound up in Soho's Kate's Paperie, where I found some Night Owl Paper Goods cards, made right here in Homewood, Owlabama.
I also located the home to Soho Letterpress, but was way too much of a wuss to actually press the call button and go in. Apparently, the woman who started this company was one of the first to use polymer plates for printing.
The Brooklyn Flea was another fun find. I had visions of decking my tiny city apartment with all the full-o-character things I found.
Other things to note:
Rooftop Films. We went and saw Last Train Home, a documentary about a Chinese working force family split up by the parent's need to provide. It was a heartbreaking tale, not only of the terrible conditions of factory worker lives, but of the strain on family relations. (Beautiful music that evening was provided by Mountain Man.)
Spoonbill and Sugartown was a pretty great bookshop in Williamsburg.
Spice was a deelicious Indian-esque restaurant in the Union Square area.
Gimme Coffee's latte was a small taste of home.
Dean and Deluca: not only home to fine fare, but also the workplace of and inspiration for the set of Felicity.
New York. Gosh, do I want to be a part of it. I was singing a similar song when I visited the city two years ago. I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps....New York, New York!
1 comment:
Come back!!! The city LOVES you!
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