This is a strange place
The longer I spend here, the more the maxim "people divided by a common language" seems to hold true. This morning I witnessed a half-hour TV programme about a ladder. Yup, you read that right, a ladder. Now I confess from what little I saw, this does seem to be quite a versatile ladder - and so it ought to be at something like $300, but does it really need a 30 minute TV programme? Worse, that's just one of the 1024 TV channels I can receive on cable - and by my estimate something like 1021 (ok, maybe a small exaggeration here) of those are selling ladders ... or power tools, or fitness equipment etc.
Inspired by the retail opportunities afforded through my TV, I decided to go shopping for the trainers I need. Hopped on a bus that took me up Madison avenue to just south of Central Park and then wandered down 5th Avenue ... which seemed strangely devoid of shoe shops until I finally ended up almost back home. Both shops did indeed have lots of trainers, however being a Saturday afternoon the whole experience was a tad too queeful for my liking and so now I know where the shops are, I'll go back on Monday morning when it's likely to be quieter.
The rather excellent bit of shopping I did do however was in the Wholefood Market that I had read about on google and turned out to be just a few blocks south of the apartment on 7th Avenue. This was a seriously excellent organic food shop and it soon relieved me of $50.
Tea was provided courtesy of said market and was a rather nummy selection of curries - chickpea / chicken and spinach that I helped myself to from the self-service asian food bar. This is definately one thing that has surprised me in New York - almost all the food shops have a huge selection of self-service salads etc in preference to selling "real" food - ie fresh ingredients. Maybe it's a symptom of being a time poor cash rich society?
The range and quality can be stunning - the small deli round the corner from me must have something like 16 cold salad variations and 16 hot dishes at any one time and this wholefood market had something like quadruple that!! All the salads etc lie on a bed of ice to keep them fresh and the range of fruit on offer is fantastic. I confess I've become a bit of a fan of morning cornflakes topped with summer berries.
Pleasant surprise in the evening, 2 hr call from Anne - which led me to work out why my attempts at making international calls from the landline have failed by doing some googling. I had a memory of the UK moving to using "00" for the international prefix in order to bring it in line with the rest of the world - and yet when I'd tried that, I always ended up speaking to an operator who wanted a credit card number. Google however revealed that the "00" prefix is just for Europe, and that in the USA, international calls start "011" instead ... doh!!! Might be nice if that information was in the welcome pack here methinks ... anyway, at least now I'll be able to make calls cheaper than the 125p per min of the mobile!!!
Have booked a concert at the Carnegie Hall and a broadway show for her visit later in the month ... should be fun!!
Inspired by the retail opportunities afforded through my TV, I decided to go shopping for the trainers I need. Hopped on a bus that took me up Madison avenue to just south of Central Park and then wandered down 5th Avenue ... which seemed strangely devoid of shoe shops until I finally ended up almost back home. Both shops did indeed have lots of trainers, however being a Saturday afternoon the whole experience was a tad too queeful for my liking and so now I know where the shops are, I'll go back on Monday morning when it's likely to be quieter.
The rather excellent bit of shopping I did do however was in the Wholefood Market that I had read about on google and turned out to be just a few blocks south of the apartment on 7th Avenue. This was a seriously excellent organic food shop and it soon relieved me of $50.
Tea was provided courtesy of said market and was a rather nummy selection of curries - chickpea / chicken and spinach that I helped myself to from the self-service asian food bar. This is definately one thing that has surprised me in New York - almost all the food shops have a huge selection of self-service salads etc in preference to selling "real" food - ie fresh ingredients. Maybe it's a symptom of being a time poor cash rich society?
The range and quality can be stunning - the small deli round the corner from me must have something like 16 cold salad variations and 16 hot dishes at any one time and this wholefood market had something like quadruple that!! All the salads etc lie on a bed of ice to keep them fresh and the range of fruit on offer is fantastic. I confess I've become a bit of a fan of morning cornflakes topped with summer berries.
Pleasant surprise in the evening, 2 hr call from Anne - which led me to work out why my attempts at making international calls from the landline have failed by doing some googling. I had a memory of the UK moving to using "00" for the international prefix in order to bring it in line with the rest of the world - and yet when I'd tried that, I always ended up speaking to an operator who wanted a credit card number. Google however revealed that the "00" prefix is just for Europe, and that in the USA, international calls start "011" instead ... doh!!! Might be nice if that information was in the welcome pack here methinks ... anyway, at least now I'll be able to make calls cheaper than the 125p per min of the mobile!!!
Have booked a concert at the Carnegie Hall and a broadway show for her visit later in the month ... should be fun!!
posted by The Guv'nor @ 11:26 PM
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