New York

It is said that New York has a certain vibe about it...something we discovered for ourselves when visiting our friend Randi (aka: Aviva). We arrived to New York late on Monday evening, June 11. We had just endured a painful bus ride from Philly with a bus driver who was constantly on his cell phone or text messaging during the trip. We overheard him talking on his cell phone with his girlfriend - yelling actually - and asking her if they were just friends, friends with "benefits" (he didn't exactly say it that nicely), or if they were a "thing." It didn't help of course that the typical 2 hour ride turned into 4 hours as a result of an earlier accident involving 2 trucks and a car that caught on fire. Let's just say, we were relieved to get off the bus.

After a short taxi ride with an Egyptian taxi driver (who spends an alternating 4 months in Egypt and 2 months in the US, and who told us our new married life will be much easier if I do as my husband says - yeah right :), we arrived at Randi's place on 2nd and 2nd in Manhattan's East Village. She's got a very cool, artsy apartment that she shares with an artist and another girl and for New York has a large room for a great deal. We were famished, so we went immediately to her favorite local Italian joint just down the street. It is true that New York is the city that never sleeps, and in fact, we even found we liked it better at night (in the summer) - everyone is out eating at restaurants and cafes, drinking, walking, laughing...it actually gave a very warm, friendly and relaxing summer feel.

On Tuesday morning, we got up and went down the block to great little breakfast place that felt very New York - everyone knows everyone, it was a little hot and sweaty, but had incredible omelets. We then made our way on the subway to Grand Central Station, up 5th Avenue and to Central Park. We were amazed how serene the park felt in comparison to the street...still not like being in the middle of nowhere, but certainly quieter with some birds chirping and ducks swimming, people strolling and fountains spouting.

After lunch at the boathouse cafe, we started on our way again...only to be caught off guard by a torrential (and that is NOT an exaggeration) down pour. We had two umbrellas between the three of us, and let's just say after about 5 minutes, those didn't do much good - especially for me in a white skirt (note to self: time to buy a BLACK skirt). The whole situation was actually quite humorous and by the time we did make it back to the subway, we had some major drying off to do. Due to the lovely summer weather, we shifted our evening plans and decided to do a traditional New York dinner at the pizza place across the street. You just can't be in New York and not experience true NYC pizza - which we thought was fabulous.

On Wednesday morning, Randi had to go back to work at her super cool new job at ?What If!, so Eric and I were left to explore the West Village on our own. We found the West Village to be a bit more quaint and quiet than our East Village hang out, which is a bit more artsy and trendy. We did stop off at the cupcake shop Randi recommended for a delicious chocolate cupcake with lots of frosting. We only had until 3PM before we had to start our trek to the airport, which turned out to be an adventure in itself.

We boarded the subway to go to 4th Ave and a gentleman (actually more of a swinger) asked us where we were from. (Can't imagine why considering our huge, over sized backpacks). We told him California, at which point he came and sat next to us and started a 15-minute soliloquy on drugs, sex, rock and roll and his hatred and close school ties to the Bush family. After explaining to us how the world, and our country in particular, is controlled by consumerism and branding, we asked him what he did for a living. Ironically enough...he's in advertising and is waiting either another 10 or 15 years to retire depending on how rich he wants to be when he moves to Florida for "dope and babes!"

We just arrived in Oslo from Iceland, and will share our experiences and photos from there (and post photos from NY) when we find cheaper internet. Hasta Luego!