Twenty-Seven: The World Travelers

It has been, I trust you will understand, an incredibly hectic few weeks. While I normally find it hard to find time to sit down and write in this thing, this month has been doubly so. And there has been so much going on that I have ten times as much to say as I usually do, although ten times nothing would technically be nothing.

When I left off we had just finished the wedding, and honestly even though I took as much time as I could to look at it in detail, I feel like there were so many details to mention. Over the course of the Christmas holiday it has been great to recount with everyone what they were doing and what they thought.

We took a couple of days after the wedding just to get a breather. Monday we went to the mall to get Mel a new coat and do a little light Christmas shopping. We hadn't determined to do very much and hoped people would be understanding about how distracted we had been, although by the time Christmas Eve rolled around I was wishing we had. While at the mall, we got our money changed to US Dollars and saw a few of Mel's co-workers, including David who had been invited to the wedding but was in a car accident on his way down.

I was a little stressed the morning of our flight because we had tarried some and gotten a late start, but it was a time when practicing Buddhism has practical applications to my wellbeing so I didn't express it too much and tried to let it resolve into tranquility. This is different of course than bottling up frustrations or pushing them down, because you are letting yourself feel it and making a conscious decision not to follow your instincts and, say, explode.

We were in a bit of a rush, though, by the time we got out the door, to grab a quick breakfast at Tims (the first of many breakfast bagels consumed that week, in retrospect) and then hustle to the UP Express. We got to the airport in good time and got our bag checked in easily, and the only minor resistance we encountered was at the American entry point where I was directed to the counter where they ask why you're going to the States. He asked if I was travelling alone, and I said no, I'm going with her (indicating Mel, who had just finished at the other counter) and he asked what was our relationship and I said she's my wife, it's our honeymoon. In that jaded tone that border workers get, especially I think American ones, he said next time we come to the counter together. I don't know why but it bugged me, probably more for that tone than the content.

The flight was, well, I would say fine, but Mel found it rough. There was bad weather and it was a little bumpy on landing. I'll admit it was jarring but in the grand scheme of things I didn't really care. I spent the whole flight reading my Rob Sheffield Beatles book - It's been the only thing I wanted to read since I found that copy at HomeSense a few weeks before the wedding, even though I've read it before and, being a big ol Hardcover, it doesn't necessarily travel well. But on the way back the person next to me was reading the new Ta-Nehesi Coates HC so, there you go.

From LaGuardia, we had to take a shuttle to the cab stand because they're basically rebuilding the airport in what sounds like an ambitious project. Some fellow travellers from Toronto gabbed amongst themselves about how terrible the flight had been. I considered engaging with them but honestly they sounded like the whiniest people on the planet, or at least that shuttle bus. From there it took a while to get to our AirBnB, or at least it sure felt like it, a twenty minute GoogleMaps ride stretched out to an hour. It was only 5:00 when we got there but it felt like midnight. Mel already scouted us a pizza place to order from, just at the bottom of our building. She wanted the goat cheese pizza, I wanted a classic pepperoni. We ordered two medium, but in Brooklyn of course a medium is a Canadian XL. Pizza exchange rates.

And wings. It was a lot of food but we were pretty hungry.

As to the place, again here is where opinions diverge. I was okay with it barring a few amenities. Mel had a few more complaints. I thought it was a cozy enough place to drop our stuff. When asked later why we wanted to do AirBnB rather than a hotel, I couldn't really specify, but it was the kind of experience we were after. We curled up on the couch and watched The Girl on the Train. "I read the book," Mel said, "But I didn't like it." "So why do you want to watch the movie?" "(shrug) I might like this more."

I found it hard to get into, but I enjoyed it more once I realized what was going on and where it was going. I'm not sure how it plays out as a book, but it was enough of a smash hit. We spent much of our downtime watching the show Superstore, which Mel and I both related to based on our robust retail experience. Sadly, it looks like there's no legal way to stream it back home. Sad. (I may end up paying to watch it on YouTube since we enjoyed it so much and want to see the rest.)

Official Day 1 of the trip, Wednesday, we started by taking a look around the neighborhood, looking for breakfast spots and place we could get groceries if we so desired. We got breakfast bagels from a place called Jessi's, which were terrific, as was the coffee. Mel had to settle for tea since they didn't have decaf. Funny how New York, and Brooklyn in particular, are known both for performative progressivity and inclusion, but also tough, defensive austerity and simplicity.

We took the Subway into the city and came out at the Christmas market at Union Square. We bought ourselves a Christmas ornament of a stuffed NYC Taxicab hauling a Christmas tree on the roof, got some apple cider and a s'more waffle. Then we walked up to the Empire State Building (bit of a hike but hey, we're tourists.) Kind of a lot of rigmarole to get to the top, the security, the museum, very "about itself," but it was fun. Cold up there, but there were heaters and a good view. Took other peoples photos, got others to take ours (with sour frozen faces that belie the good time we're actually having.) When we got back down, exiting through the gift shop, we stopped off at the Starbucks to get a breather. A snow squall started, a heavy-looking but very harmless drift.

Luckily, we were nearby to the Korean BBQ place that David had recommended. We had never had Korean BBQ before and it did not disappoint. Admittedly, with all the add-ons we were kind of like "Okay, how do you do this?" but we made do. Lovely meal. Then we found our way to Macy's, which Mel wanted to see for the famous store windows. We went in and peeked around, played on the BIG Piano (you know, from the movie BIG) - amazing how "into" all the movies that take place there NYC is, but I guess Tourists love it. I bought some white tee shirts, which I have been trying to find for months (I know, I know, but I really wanted to avoid Amazon, and I'm not fond of Wal-Mart either) and rode the wooden escalators. We thought about trying to see Santa, but he was well booked up, I guess unsurprisingly. I also got a Spanish speaking service staffer to direct us to "el banio." (I couldn't specify "para mujer" off the top of my head so I just waved in Mel's general direction.) Thank you, Jane the Virgin.

From there we found our way to Rockefeller Centre, to see he big tree and watch some skating. We had some hot chocolate from a truck which fortunately had non-lactose options. More taking and asking for photos, plus we saw a proposal (since she seemed very pleased to be getting it, it was very romantic under the circumstances. Me, where I'm from, you don't offer a proposal unless you're sure it's a yes.) From there we called it a night.

Day 2, aka the really cold day, was the day we went out to see Phantom of the Opera. We got all dressed up as we tend to do when we go see a show, despite the weather indicating maybe we should dress more for comfort. It was a great production, and it ought to be since it's essentially been running for 35 years on Broadway nonstop, so they should have it down. From there we fond a little Italian place to have dinner - Mel had the Salmone e Farfalle and I had the Chicken Piccata. Then we made our way to Times Square. That was probably the roughest part of the trip for me, as it's such a busy, hectic place, not a lot of non-shopping things to do, and the weather was inclement. Still, we saw a street show of some dancer/tumblers who had a really catchy patter (albeit with some lame racial/homophobic cracks mixed in) but who also padded out their show so much that when it finally got to the big final move I felt a little like, that's it?

Anyway. Mel's feet were getting cold so we went to Forever21 to get her some cozy socks to put on over her tights, and then we hit the Disney Store and the M&M's world. Finally, we went to Starbucks again, and the girl lamented to me that she wished everyone would go home because "New York is not that beautiful." I sighed, a lot of these people come from much less beautiful places. I don't think she cared. Well, they made my drink cold and I was too disgruntled to ask for it heated up but hung onto it in case we could get home in time to warm it up.

For the only time during the week, there was a little bit of tension as I got us a little turned around looking at the map, and I was frustrated and feeling a little hectored. But whatever, we got back home.

On Day 3, I had us take a detour to The Strand bookstore, which was a delight but overwhelming. Whenever we go to a bookstore together, I get a little anxious because if I'm not careful I can go adrift, and I can see her interest waning, so it's a measure of balancing our needs.

After that, we went to Central Park. We stopped in at Bergdorf Goodman, another department store, this time of the utmost fancy schmancy variety. We nearly got ourselves in to dinner, but the wait was an hour and honestly they never called us and even more honestly they probably didn't call us on purpose. And even more even more honestly I probably would have felt pretty out of place eating there, but you know, you've got to try to spoil yourself on vacation. While we were waiting we indulged in a tour of Central Park - we had asked for a horse drawn carriage but the guy upsold us into a pedicab tour at the same price. This permitted us to see more, faster, and get out at a few stops and take pictures, which was nice, sure. We saw some great scenic points of interest, Strawberry Fields, etc. After another hot chocolate in the Plaza Hotel's food concourse, we made our way to a burger place called Bareburger. It was a bit of a wait for a table, but we figured we'd stick it out because we had no other ideas. I was a little less hungry once it was time to eat, but the burger was good. We had ordered a side of onion rings and fries to go with and as always, it was too much. The burger was a really gourmet version of what you might get at A&W, but I don't think that exists down there. The last thing we did was go to another Holiday market, this time at Columbus Circle. Nothing much new.

The next day we spent lazing around. Our flight was at 8:00 so there was no hurry and if we had wanted we could have gone into the city but we opted not to. That said, I did find myself getting stressed when it got to be about 3:00 and we hadn't really budged. Still, we managed to get the place zipped up and out the door not long after 4. We stopped off for some special vegan doughnuts in the neighborhood, the last thing we wanted to do - and it was a real winner. From there we called for a car to take us to the airport, which was a little long in getting to us but all the same, once we were in we were on our way.

Again I had a slightly negative experience at the airport - I had forgotten to take some change and my keys out of my pocket, so they had me go back through, and it was a much longer line than at Pearson so everyone was feeling agitated, with Mel probably tired of waiting for me. Once we made it through though, it was fine. We got some nachos at the terminal to eat for dinner as we waited to board. We stopped off for some last souvenirs but what we thought were fridge magnets were just a compact, so we ended up coming home basically empty handed (although honestly we hadn't really planned on bringing much for people.)

The ride was fine, Mel watched the first half of a thriller called Ready or Not, about a newlywed couple where the groom's family wanted her to play a deadly game of hide and seek. Cheery watching for a honeymoon flight, sure. I read Dreaming the Beatles more. Really, it's such a brief flight you almost wonder what you're paying for (but if you've ever taken the 11-hour bus ride, you know.)

We got home just about 11:30 and honestly I don't remember if we just crawled right into bed or watched some TV or what.

There is a lot more to report from a Holiday season that left me with something of a thousand yard state, but alas this has been another long entry. I can't wait for things to stop happening in my life so I can go back to ruminating, instead of just reporting the facts. Then again, the ruminations are pretty boring and they never lead anywhere so you're probably better off, imaginary person reading this.

Speak again soon, keep on rockin
-Scotto