12.31.07
Posted in Family & Friends, Travel at 6.00 pm by Caitlin
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
Seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five gold rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree
Happy new year!
As throngs of tourists head into Times Square to watch the famous New Year’s Ball drop for the 100th year in a row, we are planning to celebrate in a quieter fashion, on the Brooklyn side of the East River. The four of us have a dinner reservation at a local French restaurant and it should be a relaxed but fun evening. I like a good party as much as the next person but with one million people crowding into Times Square and a scarcity of toilets and cabs, it just doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. I’m glad that we have good friends to spend the time with instead, and I’m also looking forward to New Year’s Day itself.
Jess and Andrew walked across the Brooklyn Bridge today so they met me for breakfast and the Jessica that I’m staying with came as well. The boys got back from Boston around lunch time and it’s been a low key afternoon – I have unsuccessfully been trying to get some work done.
The biggest thing that happened today is that British Airways cancelled our flight back to London on Thursday night. When we first went online to rebook, there was an available flight earlier that evening. But while we were dilly-dallying and looking at options, that flight got booked up and we couldn’t get another one until Sunday. So we are now staying an extra three days. From a purely personal point of view I’m pleased as I was running out of time to do things on my list and I’m freelance anyway so the two days off work make very little difference. Unfortunately it does eat into my boyfriend’s vacation time but there’s not much we can do about it. Luckily we have free accommodation – I just hope our friends don’t mind having us around for an extra few days. It looks like they’ve cancelled the 8.30pm flight either every day or several days this week – they probably didn’t reach full capacity and decided to rationalise the schedule.
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Posted in Family & Friends, Film, Food, Travel at 5.54 am by Caitlin
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
Six geese a laying, five gold rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree
Jessica got back from Detroit this morning and we went out to breakfast at a diner up in Brooklyn Heights. It was a classic New York diner with pancakes, French toast, eggs, sausages and so on on the menu, fresh orange juice and free refills of coffee. They made a mean omelette with feta and spinach.
I then caught the subway out to Coney Island and met up with Alex. Coney Island is shut for the winter but it was interesting to see the place. We walked along the beachfront and then went to Brighton Beach Boulevard, which is the main Russian neighbourhood. There were a lot of signs in Russian and not much English spoken. Alex lives in Manhattan but he is actually Russian so he was the perfect tour guide and interpreter, introducing me to the children’s characters in the Russian storybooks and, explaining the point of the tied bundles of sticks and leaves (to beat your body in the sauna), and introducing me to such delicacies as pickled watermelon and birch juice. That was a lot of fun!
In the evening Jessica and I went to see The Savages at the cinema and had a quick bite to eat. The movie was really good although a little depressing. It was about two siblings reunited when their estranged father is diagnosed with dementia and they have to deal with it. It was smart and funny and I loved the ending but it was also quite an unhappy movie so it’s not one for when you’re feeling depressed or if people close to you have suffered from dementia.
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Posted in Family & Friends, Food, Travel at 5.41 am by Caitlin
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
Five gold rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
I’m posting this a day late since I was out until late last night, drinking pomegranate margaritas and eating fresh spicy guacamole dip with tortilla crisps in a Mexican bar in downtown Manhattan. I met up with Rema in the morning and then later with the whole gang. Natalie, Jess and Andrew – all Aussies in London – and Kimberley from Vancouver all happen to be in New York this week! There were also two or three guys that Kimberley knows who came along as well.
Rema and I spent the day together, doing a bunch of fun stuff. We started off downtown and dropped by the Union Square farmers’ market, which is right by where she works. It’s also actually the very first place in New York City that I ever went to. The first time I visited Manhattan was eight and a half years ago when I worked at summer camp at Hawthorne Valley Farm Camp in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York. I rode down on the farm truck at five in the morning when they were heading in to the Union Square market and that was my starting point for my first trip to NYC. The Aussie dollar was at that time only worth 50c in US dollars so I was trying to save money any way I could – I even slept on a foam mattress in the basement of a building on Fifth Avenue. (But that’s a whole other story). So I was pleased to see that Hawthorne Valley Farm still has a store at the Union Square market and I chatted with one of the guys working there and he gave me a bit of an update on goings on at the farm.
Rema and I had lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant where you eat lentil and yogurt pancake and curry with your hands. Then we caught the subway up to Central Park and walked around. It was a warm day (by winter standards) so quite pleasant to be outside. We saw a hawk, which appeared to be eating a white bird or perhaps a small mammal. We saw rollerskaters making their moves, dance music blaring, and a random guy on a Sedgeway joining in the fun. We made like big kids and rode around on the carousel and we went to watch the ice skaters on the Wollman Rink. Then we walked down Fifth Avenue and checked out the Christmas windows, before meeting up with our friends.
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12.28.07
Posted in Film, Food, Skating, Travel at 10.09 pm by Caitlin
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
My rendezvous with Rema has been postponed until tomorrow so I had the day to myself. It was a lovely clear, blue day, at least in the morning, so I went exploring. I walked down Court Street into Carroll Gardens, which is a very Italian neighbourhood with great bakeries and delis. Then I crossed the highway into Red Hook, down by the old docks, which is becoming popular with artists and writers. I spent quite a bit of time down there, poking my nose into all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies (I found the corporate office of performance troupe Blue Man Group for example). Crossing back into Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill, I did a bunch of shopping.
My purchases did not include any pear trees, partridges or other bird life, but did include:
- A knitted blue mini-dress, vintage circa 1958
- A handmade handbag with an space-inspired abstract design
- A green jersey material dress with pockets and a hood
- A high-waisted grey skirt with bright blue buttons, suitable as glam office wear
- A black top with beading and a flared waist – very flattering
- A clutch bag with a crysanthemum design, possibly as a gift
- Black leather knee-high boots, lined and waterproof (actually I bought these the other day but from the same area)
- Homemade salami, rice ball, eggplant parmigiana, and olives with pimiento cheese from an Italian deli
- and the pièce de résistance… red leather lace-up ice-skates, vintage 1960s, in perfect condition and in my size
I had dinner at a local Thai restaurant (I had a some summer rolls and a great squid salad), and then I went to see Atonement at the local cinema.
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12.27.07
Posted in Career, Family & Friends, Life at 7.52 pm by Caitlin
On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
Three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
Today was a quiet day. I felt like relaxing after all the busyness of Christmas and our trip to Washington. My boyfriend and our host Mike left for Boston this morning so I have the apartment to myself (and the three cats) for a few days.
It wasn’t a waste though as I used the time to set my goals for 2008. I did this last year, using the method in a book called Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler. (There is also a website. It’s a hard ask to say whether 2007 was my best year yet but it was a pretty good year and I achieved more than I would have without setting the goals and then documenting the process with my team mates on 43 Things. Some of my goals in 2007 included writing a novel, qualifying for the British Guild of Travel Writers, and taking care of my finances. My goals for 2008 include editing my novel, being in a play, taking a cookery course, and reducing my carbon footprint by 10 per cent.
I have also spent today doing a little work as I have a commission for a Media Guardian piece and last night received a commission from the South China Morning Post, which is a new client.
I’m spending tomorrow with my friend Rema, who lives in Jersey City but used to live in London.
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Posted in Life, Travel at 6.59 pm by Caitlin
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
A partridge in a pear tree
Our Christmas in Brooklyn was wonderful. It was just the two of us but that was all the company we needed.
On Christmas Eve we first called our families – it was only 5pm in New York but Christmas morning was already in full swing back in Australia. Then we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Village called Gradisca. The food was fantastic but very heavy – mostly cream, butter, cheese and starch! Good though.
We slept late on Christmas morning and then had a festive brunch – pomegranate in egg cups and then Scandinavian pancake. The toppings were homemade cranberry and rhubarb sauce with Greek yogurt or mixed blueberries and raspberries with maple syrup.
After brunch we exchanged gifts. Sadly I didn’t get a partridge in a pear tree but I wouldn’t have had anywhere to put it anyway. Instead my sweetheart bought me a Wii – it’s waiting for me back in London but he took a photo of it sitting on our bed to show me on Christmas day. I’m looking forward to playing it – it looks seriously fun and it even has fitness and sports games so I can feel like I’m being productive by learning tennis or doing aerobics.
It was a glorious clear, blue day, despite the chill, so we took the subway down to Prospect Park and walked around. We saw loads of joggers and skaters, people feeding the ducks and geese in the pond, skaters on the ice rink, and two or three Asian weddings. Best of all, we saw a hawk and I have some nice close-up photos to prove it. That park must be full of mice!
We made dinner – wild mushroom and spinach souffle, accompanied with carrots caramelised in cider, and festive brussel sprouts with chestnuts. Since this was our American Christmas we made a pumpkin pie, which worked out beautifully. I will put the recipes on my food blog.
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12.26.07
Posted in Life, Travel at 8.25 pm by Caitlin
On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent me…
Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
This morning I was up bright and early to head into Manhattan. I had been invited on a Context Travel tour whilst in New York as a travel and food writer and I elected to do the chocolate walking tour of Soho. My tour guide, Emily, was a trained pastry chef and she had put together a tour of some really nice chocolate shops, some of which make the chocolate on the premises. It was very interesting and I plan to write about it in more depth on my food and travel blogs, and potentially as part of a travel article on New York as well.
Then I met my boyfriend for lunch and after a quick stop at Toys R Us to buy a gift for a friend’s child, we headed up town to my cousin’s apartment near Columbus Circle, at the south-western tip of Central Park. Sarah and her family live in a three-bedroom apartment (practically unheard of in Manhattan). They are on the 51st floor and have spectacular views of Manhattan. They have only been in New York for about a year – previously they lived in Australia for a couple of years and the UK before that. Sarah is actually my second cousin and we met once before in Cambridge about 10 years ago. Her sons were only small then but they are teenagers now – I met the oldest again today but the youngest was out with his friends, and Sarah’s husband Stuart was at work. I meant to get a photo of Sarah and me to show the family but I didn’t remember until it was too late.
After seeing Sarah I walked down to Bloomingdale’s to see the Christmas windows – they had scenes from fantasy stories by children on the Lexington Avenue side. My favourite was the scene of the witch – in a fabulous purple bustle dress – and a candy-covered robot. I then went to Fifth Avenue and meant to continue on to see the Sachs and Macy’s windows but it started to sleet. I saw the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Centre but then made a dash for the subway.
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12.24.07
Posted in Family & Friends, Travel at 4.32 am by Caitlin
I can hardly believe it’s almost a week into our American holiday already. I haven’t even scratched the surface of this city – there is just so much to do!
We are staying with friends in Brooklyn, in an apartment building in a converted former school. There is even a blackboard running the length of the living room and hall wall! The streets around are lined with classic brownstones – brown brick terrace houses – many of which are decked out with Christmas lights on the front porch, or trees in windows. The sidewalks are filled with the scent of pine from the real trees on sale, in all shapes and sizes. I bought a perfect small tree, only three foot high, which now has pride of place in the corner of the apartment. We have it in a vase with water so I can only hope that one of the three cats doesn’t knock it over.
This is a cool neighbourhood. It’s a lot less frenetic than Manhattan but we are literally walking distance – it’s a 20 minute walk to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is a great pedestrian and bicycle thoroughfare into downtown Manhattan (although cars are allowed as well!). There are a load of trendy eateries and cafes and boutique clothing stores and an uncommonly high proportion of dry cleaners, many of which profess to be eco-friendly. The weather has been fairly warm so it’s been pleasant to walk around and check things out – and today I bought a pair of winter boots, which I’m rather pleased with. I fully intend to take advantage of the low dollar while I’m here and get some shopping done.
Our friends are going to Detroit to visit their family over Christmas. We could have joined them but elected instead to stay in New York, which is helpful as we can feed their cats – most of their friends are away also and the professional cat feeding service was $35 a day! So it will be just the two of us. We are going out to an Italian restaurant tomorrow evening and then Christmas Day I will cook something, though I’m not 100 per cent sure what.
Have a happy Christmas wherever you may be.
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12.16.07
Posted in Family & Friends, Skating at 1.05 am by Caitlin
It was great having our friend Jann from Amsterdam as he is a skater and was keen to come out on the Santa Skate. Picture 400 Santas skating down the major shopping streets of London like Kings Road and Oxford Street. Lots of silliness and lots of fun 0 much like last year. Jann and I are now planning to meet up to complete various Friday night skates all over Europe. Photos to come.
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12.13.07
Posted in Family & Friends at 12.07 am by Caitlin
We have a friend, Jann, staying with us at the moment. We know him from Australia but he has been living in Amsterdam for almost four years now. He is in London for some exams but his last one was today so now it’s play time! It’s been great catching up with him.
Last weekend we went to Emme and Jon’s house for Sunday lunch – roast chicken and vegetables and Yorkshire pudding. We went for a walk in the forest and fields near their house (they live on the northern outskirts of London) after the meal, and worked up an appetite for panettone.
So I’m feeling nicely relaxed and sociable and I’m starting to get excited about going to New York next week! We’re also going to Washington from Wednesday to Saturday, which should be fun.
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