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| Top of the Standard, Top of Life. |
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| Beekmans Beach Bar By Brooklyn Bridge (Alliteration, what up) |
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| Arlington War Cemetery |
Crushed my final week in NYC, that might be a
tad arrogant to say, but it’s the truth.
Friday night I awoke hungover as all hell /
still a tad inebriated, still with some packing to do and check out to complete
from my hall. Not my best morning in New Paltz. Finally mustered up the courage
to traverse campus, problem being that I had more stuff than bags, and it was a
warm day. I ended up riding my skateboard, in my winter boots and coat (easier
than trying to pack them) with a tramping pack on my back, carry-on luggage on
one arm, snowboard on the other, and the rest of my belongings wrapped Winnie
the pooh style in one of my sheets and slung over my shoulder.
I was pleased to meet up with the other
internationals and discover; 1) I had increased my street cred for being able
to skate whilst simultaneously imitating a camel 2) Many of the others were in
worse shape than me. Some of the small ones had fallen over trying to carry all
of the luggage, one was still very drunk and in her clothes from the night
before, and had neglected to check out (this is about an hour after we were
supposed to have left)
Quick taxi ride to the bus station, then I
gapped to the nearest pizza shop for some greasy goodness! Om nom nom.
We all caught the bus into NYC together, said a few more slightly
teary-eyed goodbyes (No homo) and then Nic, Brige, Elena and myself proceeded
to Ben’s house for a much needed nap. That night our promoter friend had
arranged a table and bottles for us at a rooftop bar called Hudson terrace,
standard Friday night practice at this point.
However, some of the Spaniards fake IDs were a little worse for
wear, and some power-tripping gypsy bouncers decided instead of merely
rejecting them, to also tear up the IDs. Dicks.
But, the night was far from over, our friend Indi clearly has some
mad pull, so got us into greenhouse with free drinks and a table last minute, a
feat made more impressive by the sights of the ‘plebs’ line when we got there,
it was out the door, around the corner and down the next block. Ducked the rope
and waltzed on in. What of it. Good night, good yarns, good send-off for
everyone after a good semester!
Saturday was a tad more chilled, to be honest I’m not sure where the
day went, I was pretty shattered so I lay on the couch watching NatGeo docos
and waiting for the Argentians, Sara and Diana to come to Ben’s where they were
staying that night. When they arrived they had just said goodbye to some of
their best friends so were a bit down, so Sara, Diana and Paula stayed in and
ate their feelings meanwhile Ben, Ampi and Myself headed uptown to meet up with
Ben’s friend Payan + our friend Elena for a chilled night.
We arrived at Payan’s apartment (Which was fucking epic) to discover
that he had a balcony out the back, kitted out with comfy chairs, mattresses
etc, and a projector and movie screen. New York. The view was epic, it was set
simply out the back of his place, surrounded by taller buildings looking up to
where the stars would be if it wasn’t for the light pollution of times square.
Payan says “Andy, can I get you a whisky?” – Why yes, yes you can. Out comes a
12 yr old Macallan, some Doritos and I’m a happy man. We watched the Beatles
movie Across the Universe which is awesome, made hilarious by a possibly high
guest placing his ciggy between the projector and screen and trying to make
Jude smoke his shadow durry. Amusing as hell, but I guess you had to be there.
A casual Sunday in NYC included an international food festival on a
closed 9th ave (I ate my bodyweight in various ethnic cuisines) a
cheeky beer or 3 at my favourite waterside bar Beekmans (faux beach on the edge
of the east river, right next to the Brooklyn bridge) then a cocktail at the
ever wonderful top of the standard hotel (Boom Boom Room) Steak sandwiches
ensued then Indi gave us a text asking if we wanted to go to an exclusive
Sunday night party at a bar called 1-oak. Ok. Why not. Standard. A few quiet
ones at 1-oak then I had to return home with the others to see off Ampi, Paula,
Sara and Diana for their 6am flight, trés sad.
Monday was super chilled, said goodbye to Elena which was very sad,
just hung out after that, went to the Bar beneath Bens place for a life
changing BBQ Bacon Burger, a Beer and to watch the Rangers game.
Tuesday morning I jumped on a bus to DC, to visit and stay with the
brother-in-law of a family friend, who just happens to be lead counsel for the
world bank. Epic. He had a few good stories to tell, after all, he’s been to
over 120 countries, some of them more than 30 or 40 times! I want his job
please.
Wednesday morning I went to Arlington War Cemetry, saw the Kennedy
gravesite and just absorbed the sheer magnitude and eeriness of the hallowed
grounds. Got back from DC around 7:30pm, grabbed a bite and headed up town to
meet up with Ben, Payan and friends for a few mojitos and some amazing tequila,
before rolling on to meet up with my French friends for Thomas’ birthday! We
went to a bar called PDTs which stands for Please Don’t Tell. It’s a secret bar
which is in a hot dog shop. You go in, maybe eat a hot dog, maybe not, then
there is an old phone booth in the corner, which appears to just be decoration,
unless you know the number, then you walk inside, call up, and the back of the
booth pops open. Mad. Had a few cocktails there to celebrate thomas’ birthday
then rolled on for a slice of pizza and a relatively early night (in bed by
4am)
A well deserved sleep later, I awoke to a glum looking Thursday with
a low fog shrouding the tops of most buildings. A good day for a run, so I took
a jog across the bridge to Brooklyn, around there a little then back to the
island. It took me a while, but I finally realized that all of the annoying people
in my way (I run pretty fast) were tourists, and that in fact, I was not just
running, I was running on a significant tourist attraction. I must be a local. Went
up town to meet some of the remaining New Paltz veterans for a BBQ meal (large
rack of ribs justified by the aforementioned jog) Texted our boy Indi because a
few aussies were in town so we wanted to show them a good time. Club, Bottles,
the rest as they say is history.
Friday (my final day in NYC) involved a bit of admin crap, cleaning,
packing etc… Went to Bank of America to sort out some fees that they had
mistakenly charged me when they allowed my room-mate to (accidentally) bank one
of my cheques with his name on it. Kicked corporate america’s ass to the tune
of $75 dollars, what up. Then saw a homeless dude on the street, next to a
fruit stand. I thought to myself, I just made (essentially) $75 dollars in half
an hour by arguing with a bank manager, this guy can’t even afford to eat and
isn’t going to make that much money begging this week. So I brought a bottle of
water and a few bananas and gave them to him, he was very appreciative and
ripped into them straight away. And with my good karma in tow I left on my way.
Went for a skate through central park and down broadway, skitched a yellow
taxi. Went out with Ben to Delmonicos, one of the oldest steak restaurants in
NYC (they also invented Baked Alaska, chicken a la keane, and eggs benedict)
then up town for some cocktails with friends, a nice send off from one of the
greatest cities I have ever been to. (although my fakie not being rejected at
the rooftop place that we wanted to go to would have been nice)
New York City is simply a wonderland, if you have money,
connections, or friends with either of the above, you can have an amazing time
in this town! Good food, good drinks, good views, nice people, buzzing
atmosphere and something else that isn’t tangiable, but is felt wherever you
are in NYC make it an amazing city.
Peace and love as always, Europe blogs coming at you soon.
Xx
Andy
