New York New York it's a wonderful town..

well, New York City here I am..

Dave, Rach and I returned via Canada, where we saw Niagara falls, and visited Niagara-on-the-lake, and the Inneskillan vineyard (thanks Jo for reminding me what it was called!)

We drove back into NY at around 2am on Tuesday, so needless to say I slept most of Tuesday and then Rach and I had dinner at Cafe Reggio in the Village, which one of my favourites - the delicioso ice coffee is to die for. It's also the Cafe in the original Shaft movie. That night, one of my favourite groups just happened to be playing in the Village, and so we went to see them at the Lion's Den. I'm talking about Cat Empire. Yes I know I've seen them many times and they are Australian, but I sent their CD to my brother after I first saw them at Womadelaide, telling him that he'd probably be the first person in NYC with the CD, and that they were amazing. So when he found out they were coming, he got us tickets, and it was great!! Best of all, because they aren't all that well known here, the tickets were $10, and we were about 5m back from the stage...

So far NY has been mostly about catching up with people and places. I've been here many times before, and I love it, but it means I don't have to do mega touristy things, and I get to spend time hanging out and spending time with my little bro and Rach. Dave's moved since I was last here, and he's now on 108th street between Amsterdam and Broadway, which is a much more happening area, even thought his last place was only 8 blocks south, and closer to the park. The subway on Broadway is better too, so it means getting around is usually quicker, even late at night. The neighbourhood is very latino, and so far the fire hydrant has been spraying water every afternoon and kids have been playing in it, so it's kind of Sesame Street, very NYC.

The area is apparently now called SOHA (South of Harlem), to add to SOHO, NOHO, Nolita and Tribeca. I also visited DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) when I went to Brooklyn, which is entirely renovated since last I went there and it was just old abandoned buildings. There's now even a park where you can get as close to the water as you're ever going to in New York. In fact we were looking over at Manhattan when the Parks guy came over and told us there'd been a helicopter crash, and we could see all the emergency vehicles racing to Pier 11. Turns out there were a whole lots of Australians on the helicopter... when the news report said "filthy polluted East River", Dave just looked at me and said, "and you wanted to dangle your toes in that?" Kind of missing the water, especially as it has been stinking hot and if I was home I'd be at the beach for sure..

Despite the heat, I walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, which is now a bit of a ritual for me. I took my iPod and maintained the tradition of listening to Brooklyn Funk Essentials Stickman Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge as I walked.

The main difference between last time I was here and now is the absence of the Twin Towers. I went down to Ground Zero in the first few days, and it was really strange. It's hard remembering exactly where things were when they're gone. And in terms of photography, absence is one of the hardest things to capture. It does leave the city skyline without a major distinguishing feature, and finding South when you step out of the subway is a totally new experience too. The mood changes I noticed elsewhere aren't as obvious in New York, which is strange considering that the biggest impact was here. But NY has always been different, and in some ways more resilient and in tune to the rest of the world.

I've also done some cultural activity, but not quite as much as I had thought I'd get to. One of the exhibitions I saw was at a small gallery called the Powerhouse, which also publishes a lot of photography books. It was by a photographer called James Shabazz, and was titled A Time Before Crack. The difference one drug has made to the city is really extraordinary. Of course it's not the only thing to have changed, but just looking at kids on the streets, people getting down, doing their thing, it all seems so much more innocent.

I also finally visited the Guggenheim, something I've often planned on doing here but never got around to. Unfortunately, like a lot of the place I've visited, they were renovating and installing a new exhibition, so I didn't get to see as much of the museum as I'd have liked, and there were just a little to many Kandinskys for my liking. However Moma is brand new and open in midtown again, so I go tomorrow to check it all out after a visit to the lower east side and Katz deli for lunch - my absolute favourite.. I've been dreaming about the sandwiches and the pickles...

Food is the one thing I've experienced a lot of... oh yes.. to the point where my clothes are just a little tighter than before.. but I figure it will balance itself out in London & Europe where I'll only be able to afford one yoghurt a day, and maybe eat some free tapas with my beverage in the evening in a bar..

I've done many of the things I had planned to do in terms of shopping - jeans, check - books at the Strand - check, gold earrings on Canal - check, shoes on 8th street - check. However money is a little tight, and it's not like our dollar is at the heady heights of the early and mid nineties, so I have to keep myself in check and remember there are still 2 continents to go.

I went to 2 big social events with Dave, Rach and their friends. One was a big party at a huge 2 storey apartment in Alphabet City, and the other was Smash's birthday, at a great Turkish restaurant, followed by drinking at 2 bars. The first bar was very cool - I really would have liked to stay there, but we ended up at the place across the road, as there was more space and people could actually talk, instead of listening to the very buff guy playing the djembe along with the DJ while you sipped US$15 cocktails.. Spent a lot of time talking to a really interesting friend of Dave's called Oscar, played a bit of pool, and then we all headed off to Smash & Dave's new apartment - they bought it - near Hell's Kitchen.

I've also caught up with my Cousin Evelyn, who is 91 and has lived in NYC all her life, including 64 years in the Village. It's always great to see her, and she send her love to all the family back home. My cousin Judith and her husband Jonathan were also part of our brunch last Sunday, and I may be seeing them again on the weekend to see a play, which will be good. I'm catching up with my cousin Marty and his family for dinner tomorrow night, so family reunions are well and truly underway.

I went to see Opera in the Park last night - the Metropolitan Opera did Tosca for free, and it was great to be outdoors watching Opera in Central Park, eating fabulous deli food as the sun set. Not sure that I'm a huge fan of that particular opera, but the atmosphere was good, and Dave had a whole bunch of friends who'd gotten there a bit early so the stage wasn't a tiny speck in the distance.

Rach and I went to one of my favourite Jazz venues - Cleopatra's Needle - to check out the jam session on Monday night. It was really good, because there was no cover, and most of the musos were incredible, especially one trumpeter, who sat down and shmoozed 2 girls at the table near us after his turn. One older guy tried to do this whole thing with sheet music that was a little too orchestrated for the night, but overall it was very hard to leave to go home and get some sleep, as we were both so tired, and Rach had started a new job that day.

Things I'm annoyed I missed out on in NYC:
- Ashes & Snow an amazing photographic exhibition that ended the day I left Canada for NY
- Basquiat exhibition in Brooklyn - ended while I was in Detroit
- Chaka Khan at the Apollo - waaayyy to expensive, especially as the only seats left were way up the top at the back.
- New Wong Kar Wei film 2046 on tonight at the Walter Reade Cinema, with the director himself in attendance - all sold out before I even knew it was on.

I will however be going on a Hip Hop Tour of NY on Saturday, led by Grand Master Raheim and possibly Kurtis Blow, so that should be excellent.. just need to get a ticket tomorrow....