Alone in the Big Apple

Ok, you haven't seen a small hotel room until you've been to the Comfort Inn Central Park West. We're talking seriously small people, like hobbit small. It's probably only slightly wider than our kitchen... Seriously. Once you open the door, it's ONE step to the bed, and another two to the bathroom (no, I take that back, it's just one more step to the bathroom...). If I were claustrophobic, I would have collapsed upon entry. But apart from that, this hotel's actually kinda cool- comfy bed, clean bathroom, cable TV (although they sadly don't have the Food Network- what's wrong with these people?!), safe and quiet location, a skip and a hop from Central Park and Sesame Street so I don't have to deal with traffic or commuters, and best of all, FREE WIRELESS!! Did I say FREE?? :)

So here I am in New York on my own for work. Have to spend the next two days in Sesame Street watching videos for eight hours straight. I know- sounds fun you say... Talk to me again after you've watched coutless "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?" clips and hours on end of Elmo's World... You'll be begging me to put on some serious Boris or Acid Mothers Temple just to regain some semblance of perspective and sanity...

I did manage to squeeze in some sightseeing today which was great- had the best egg tarts (yes, note the plural noun and the fact that eating counts as sightseeing for this girl ;)...) this side of the world which so warmed the cockles of my heart I thought I was going to cry. It had just come out of the oven so the pastry was all crumbly and meltingly buttery, and the custard, still warm and wobbly soft. It was sheer ambrosia... I do have to say though that the other flavors of egg-tarts that they had on display looked much less tempting- there was a Chernobyl green honeydew egg-tart, and a strawberry version that looked like someone spilled cheerleader-pink nail-polish into the custard... Walking around Chinatown was actually kind of depressing- all that glistering fresh seafood (we're talking whole fish, people, not whimpy fillets masquerading as the real stuff, piles upon piles of green Asian veggies, and luscious fruits that don't cost more per pound than premium beef. All within the budget of a poor grad student...

I finally made it to the New York Public Library which is an awesome building in and of itself. The lions- Patience & Fortitude- were suitably impressive, and Bryant Park which is just next to the library looked like a lovely place to spend the day had the weather not been so dreadfully sweltering... They're having an interesting exhibition- Poets and Artists in Dialogue- that showcases some lesser known illustrations of masters like Picasso, Manet and Chagall, and it was kinda refreshing to encounter their work in such a different context.

I'll be too busy with work the next couple of days to do see much more of the city, but I plan to check out the Columbia University campus tomorrow, hopefully catch Shakespeare at the Park (they're playing Macbeth- I'm excited...), Joan Didion's doing a reading from "Year of Magical Thinking" at the Park on Friday (which I'm afraid will be frighfully depressing, but good nonetheless), and there's the street vendors in SoHo on Saturday morning. I only wish Jude were here with me instead of in the middle of Indiana presenting his poster. Travelling's just not the same without him...