New York

Finally I am over the pond. (Not 'over it', I've only just got here) Extrication from London after 8 years. A close thing, given that I nearly missed the plane. Fear of missing the plane superseded my fear of flying which was a pleasant change. The BA flight was a bit fun and a little bit glamorous in my mind. There was hardly anyone on it. Bad for global warming but a bit nice in a pathetically human give me lots of space way. Everyone got up to take advantage of this seating boon but were told to sit down in their original seats again 'because of the Trim'- Ian can you explain? They give you lots of exciting things in bags to open on the plane. This occupied me for 7.5 hours pretty much along with filling out the various serious documents to gain admittance to the U.S and eating all the free food, and thinking about my friends and family. It was all very exciting on the final approach in, you could see on the little map the Hudson River where the US airways plane crashed, and the skyline as we came into JFK which was all twinkly. And then we were there like magic - flying and seeing the plane's progress over the Atlantic and Canada on the little map- and then ending up miles away from London a few hours later. Somewhere a lot lot colder too. I caught a shared minibus to Pippy and Tom's apartment in Greenwich Village next to the Meatpacking District, squashed up and trying not to inflict my cold on the others in the bus (although i regretted this altruism later on as some of them were quite rude to the nice driver). i chatted to an English girl studying some history of art Masters upstate, possibly confirming stereotypes, and who went on to be an arse to the driver. An hour's drive in to 'The Village' where Pippa's living, along highways with billboards advertising the usual, along with American touches- 'Need an MRI? Call 1-800 NEED MRI'. The driver assured me that 'The Village People dress differently, they walk differently'. I shall be examining Pippa and Tom for YMCA-themed influences. It was great to finally get there and see Pippa and Tom- A lovely dinner later at an Italian place in a place called the Bowery Hotel, which was a lush spelt salad, pizzas and wine served by a louche (not lush) waiter and we all hit the sack.

On Sunday we got up and went round to another lovely eatery called Morandi for brunch. Amazing eggs. Lots of sex and the city groups of gals around the tables. Another wander and I dragged PnT into Magnolia Bakery. Cupcake, colourful icing and hot bevvy heaven. and I'm starting to see how you could easily get lardy here. Due to the dire exchange rate at the mo, and with taxes and tips added, food is all pretty expensive. Everything is expensive and I'm glad I'm not here for more than a few days from this pov, otherwise I'd be sadly drooling outside these great food places. Tom and Pippa both have cool hats- I bought an Obama hat from a roadside stall. Not cool. We went to see Slumdog Millionaire in the avo which was fun. What did those who've seen it think? It was no Blood Diamond that's for sure. Slumdog was followed by Mamma Mia at Pippa's. Amazing. We had our own singalong and I learnt what Pippa's favourite songs were. Fun happy times.

Monday i took the subway (less hectic than London people say) up to Central Park North- after having some difficulty buying a metrocard for the subway- asking 3 times in one newsagent to be presented with a book of matches. The chances of me raking in free cupcakes from my cute English accent are clearly non existent. Central Park is pretty cool, -different to how I imagined it as an American Hyde Park- it was cold, icy, snowy and wild in parts like the North Woods. And massive. I must have spent about 4 hours wandering around the park, 5th Avenue and around before I realised that my red gloveless hands were about to drop off and it was time to go home, via Hot & Crusty for a coffee. Great name huh? I felt the being by yourself away thing at that time as I was fairly mute between the hours of 9 and 7. I met Pippa at her work in SoHo and we walked to yet another lush eatery called Westville where we waited patiently for a table which was a good thing given the delicious mac n cheese with bacon, soy glazed green beans and franks with peas and bacon. So so good.

Today's been a chilled day. More walking about. Some special boiled eggs sadly without Emsy at Le Pain Quotidien. Later I went past a guy with a kid on his shoulders and saw lots of paps snapping away. I asked a girl who it was and she said Hugh Jackman. He's an actor right? I don't know what he's been in but the camera men seemed quite excited. I managed to walk past him again later. Maybe he wanted to hear my cute English accent? It still feels a bit surreal here, a bit like being in a movie with all the sights and old school americanness, I have to keep reminding myself I'm here, somewhere I am excited to have made it to. The cost of things is tough though, not the best time to be away clearly, and things like the lack of free healthcare make you very appreciative of the NHS. It's so expensive without insurance here. Quite scary for lots of people and you think about how hard it must be for lots of people to be here. Tomorrow's my last day here so more exploring's on the cards. Bye bye from my first largely food themed blog post. Send me your news please xxx