TT & JMB take on the Big Apple!

Our goal in New York was to eat well, drink well and see every borough - and that is what we did! Let's go through them shall we?

Queens
We stayed in at a great little airbnb in Queens. Not the prettiest area, but the place had everything we needed and it was a quick walk to the metro. Our first night we had dinner at a place Jan saw on Chef's Table called Cinegas las Tiayudos y Oaxaca - a hole in the wall with yummy mexican food. After our tacos, we stopped for Icees at the Ice King of Corona (even though it was freezing out) and let me tell you, the king knows how to make an icee. That was our first evening in Queens... more to come.

Greenwich Village & Lower Manhattan
We bought our week long metro pass and ventured out! The metro system is huge in NYC, but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty simple to navigate (Google maps help a ton as well.) After two transfers, we hopped off the metro into an area that looked a lot more like I expected NY to look like - brownstones, high rises and lots of pretty buildings. Lunch was one of my favourite meals of the whole trip - ramen at Momofuku! So delish. Our next official stop was an hour walk away in Tribeca, so we slowly made our way to that side of town, stopping at some thrift stores, Bloomingdales, Uniclo and an ol timey bar called Walkers. Jan said there was an ol timey accountant drinking at the bar as well - I didn't see him... We also stopped at a great wine bar called Terrior which we really enjoyed - the wine menu was huge! It was actually a binder. Finally, we made our way to Tribeca to see Michael J. Fox & Denis Leary speak as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. They spoke about their friendship, Michael's recent injury and more about his charity and it was pretty cool! Dinner was at a vegetarian michelin star restaurant called Nix. I wasn't blown away by this meal to tell you the truth. The dishes sounded delicious, but I wasn't really impressed with any of them. After dinner, it was time for a show at Comedy Cellar! This was definitely a highlight of the trip - I've seen the venue on television so many times, it was really cool to be there. The comedians were great - 6 in total for some big belly laughs :) When the show ended, even though we had no room in our bellies, we grabbed a slice down the road at Joes - our first NYC slice and it surely was not our last. Jan was too drunk to navigate the metro on the way home... so we went in the wrong direction for a good 20 minutes... but we made it home safe and sound... 2 hours later!

Manhattan/Times Square
I considered us metro experts after the previous night, so we easily made our way to Times Square. We left the dank underground terminal and stepped onto the sidewalk and into the madness that is Times Square. The sidewalks were packed with people and the sky was full of 20ft screens and skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. Jan bought himself some new Levis and I bought a soft pretzel from a food cart - and I huddled against a storefront as I ate my pretzel and watched people take their picture with a person dressed like the Statue of Liberty. Then ladies and gentlemen, it was time for the pièce de résistance... HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD ON BROADWAY. The entire Lyric Theatre was decked out in HP awesomeness - even the carpet! Patronuses painted on the walls, house flags to pose with, a cloakroom... they weren't messing around. The production itself was so beautifully done... so much magic onstage! I honestly don't know how they did half of it. We were asked the #keepthesecrets so I will leave it at that. In between the shows (yes, Jan sat through 2 shows - one at 2pm and another at 7:30pm) we had dinner at an Ethiopian place called Meske and a drink at As Is. It was truly a magical day!

Queens cont'd

Back in our hood for the day, and we really are the only white people around. At least in our particular neighbourhood, it is all spanish people... you hear spanish on the street, the signs are in spanish and there are delicious food carts selling mexican food all down the streets! We walked over to Citi Field to watch the Mets play the Reds and were blessed with a perfect sunny day for a ballgame! So sunny in fact, that we had to sit under our umbrellas! After a very quick game, we walked down the boardwalk to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. There were all kinds of things we wanted to see in this park but we somehow missed most of them! However, we did find the Unisphere (although it is pretty hard to miss!) We had some beer and snacks at Mikkeller after our walk - a brewery attached to Citi Field. For dinner, we went just west of Queens to Jackson Heights area. We had momos for dinner at Momo Crave and they were very yummy - a Nepali dumpling served in a variety of ways. For our nightcap, we went to a jazz bar call Terraza 7, where an 18 piece jazz band was practicing on the mezzanine. 

 

Staten Island

Definitely my least favourite borough, but a cool day nonetheless. The ferry ride to Staten Island is free and has some pretty awesome views of the Statue of Liberty - although it was a pretty cloudy day so visibility wasn't great. The first thing I noticed was trees! The island has more trees than I saw in New York up to this point. Our first stop was Lee's Tavern for some tavern style pizza (thin crust). Pretty good - but the hunt for the best NYC slice was still on. We decided to check out Historic Richmond Town next... this was a weird stop. A little town full of historic buildings - but unfortunately you can't go inside any unless you are with a tour, which we missed. So we visited the museum which was full of baby chairs and toys and walked around the town - but it was a very quick visit for us. We took an uber over to the FDR Boardwalk for a walk along the water next... again not the best way for a walk along the Atlantic Ocean, but we went with it. Dinner was at a Sri Lankan restaurant called Lakruwana - highlight of that meal was the hilarious conversation between a family we overheard - quintessential New Yorkers with thick accents and attitudes - something we actually didn't hear much of! Oh and Jan lost his sun gees - it was a big deal.

 

The Bronx

We went to the Bronx on a Saturday, so the metro was just jammed. It was pretty nuts how many people continued to board the already jammed car at each stop. Out first stop was in Manhattan to see Grants Tomb. Jan loves his presidential graves. The tomb was a GIANT mausoleum with two giant caskets lying in the basement and fresh flowers everywhere. Not a shabby resting place. We continued our grave visits in the Bronx at Woodlawn Cemetery. A 400 acre cemetery that we got quite lost in to tell you the truth. After hunting for a few graves Jan wanted to check out, including Myles Davis, we headed back to the gate to find ourselves locked in! The gates were 10 feet high and spiky... there was no way we could have jumped them easily. Luckily, there was a number listed and we just had to wait 15 minutes for a guard to show up. Once freed, we headed to the heart of The Bronx - over to Arthur Avenue, known as the Little Italy of the Bronx. We of course had an Italian meal at Tra Di Noi which was delicious, and also our first real meal of the day, so we scarfed it down. For a night cap, we stopped at the Bronx Ale House which was inside a market that seemed pretty cool. Oh, and on our way to the metro, Jan peed in the middle of a busy street. Only in NYC!

Brooklyn

We had quite the rainy day in Brooklyn - that's spring for you. Brooklyn was quite trendy... no one warned me. I wore one of my most casual outfits! We started at Best's Pizza for a slice - I will officially have to admit at this point - I was not as blown away by NY pizza as I hoped I would be. The crust is thin, the sauce is very tomatoey and the cheese just can't compare to Galati. I suppose Windsor pizza has spoiled me. Next stop was The Four Horsemen, a wine bar owned by James Murphy. As we walked into the bar, James Murphy walked in right behind us! We were too awkward to say hello, but it was still cool to see him in normal life. His bar was fabulous - delicious selection of cheese, wild pear tea, natural wines - the highlight of the day for me. We sat by the window and watched Brooklyners walk by in the rain. We walked around looking for the Brooklyn Flea (Market) but it was closed... but we stumbled into the Williamburg Hotel for a drink, and boy was it full of hipsters (and tequila girls). We stopped into Rough Trade Records next, and happened to catch The Feelies doing soundcheck for their show that night! We found an open flea market, stopped for a glass of wine at Woodhul and then it was time for our reservation at Have & Meyer. We sat at the bar and boy did they pack us in - elbow to elbow. The bartender/server barely spoke english and brought Jan whatever wine he wanted each time he ordered. It was kinda hilarious, but also kinda annoying. We order some Jamon Iberica to start, shared some pasta for the main and crème brûlée for desert. The meal was decent, but the ambiance left something to be desired. 

Back in Manhattan - FINAL DAY!

We started the day at the Museum of Natural History. It was beautiful outside - so we were selective about which exhibits to visit. We chose the Forest Exhibit, Planet Earth, African mammals and the dinosaurs of course! We decided to have one more slice of pizza at Rays - my favourite of the trip but Jan would disagree. Once fuelled by pizza, we were ready to take on Central Park! Super pretty, with very diverse vegetation... clearly planted, but beautiful nonetheless. The park was full of horse-drawn carriages, bikers, runners... an awesome escape for New Yorkers. We sat by a pond and visited the Imagine Mosaic in Strawberry Fields. We left the park and headed to Rockefeller Plaza and on our way we passed Trump Tower. In front was a guy holding a sign that said "Shit Hole," and selling anti-trump buttons. Two feet from him was a man in a MAGA hat with a big Re-Elect Trump in 2020 banner. I truly wish I took a picture of this, but the streets were so busy it was hard to stop. We also stopped for a drink on the patio at Brasserie Ruhlmann before I finally got my photo at Rockefeller. Final stop was Grand Central Station. We had a drink at The Bar, before our dinner at Agern - a restaurant which is actually inside Grand Central Station. The meal was fantastic - a perfect ending to the trip! They took their time with each delicious course and were so accommodating. Highly recommend.

We did it, we saw all the boroughs and I only blistered four toes. Goodnight Everybody!

THERESA! 4 U 2 C ONLY!

A true fact about me... I am a pack rat.

I try to fight it, but I find it very hard to get rid of anything if there is any sentimental value. 

Want an example? A giant boxes of notes from grade school & high school.

So how can I fight my hoarding tendency and finally get rid of this box? 

After much deliberation, I decided I would read each note, reflect on it... 

and then share those thoughts. So here we go!

First note I pulled from the box was from grade school. 

It was a list about me, but in someone else's handwriting. 

Here are the 9 things they used to describe me:

1. Soccer (Yes, I did play soccer for a year in grade school... so this is probably a note from grade 7)

2. Backstreet Boys (No explanation needed)

3. St. Rose (the school I went to!)

4. Dawson's Creek (Joey and Pacey? Joey and Dawson? It was a rollercoaster of emotions!)

5. Titanic (This one must be related to my love for Leo...)

6. 1 Older Brother & 1 Older Sister (accurate)

7. Go to the park (A request or a statement? Either way it seems legit)

8. 16 year old dog (Blackie!!!)

9. Camping (some things never change)

My letter writing started at a young age. My penpals included friends who moved to different cities and cousins I spent summers with at the pinery. 

Oh yes, Danielle, Kellie, Angela, Alicia and I discussed very personal and hard hitting topics.

The worst part is... she won't find out how I really feel about lasagna for over a month.

Danielle, my longest penpal and I, really seem to have it rough. Richard called me a slut but Dani had my back. She dated 3 guys in one day but justifies it well - she didn't really like any of them! We commiserate about our trying teen lives, our dislike of pogs and all of our best friend drama. Dani offers to be my best friend, and reminds me that kitties always cheer her up!

Kellie's letters were adorable. Always on the cutest stationary, and the early ones included drawings of the two of us at the Pinery. 

This note is great, I completely forgot about Nano Pets!

We begin to transition to typing out our notes & Kellie falls in love with the font “Courier”

I truly loved writing notes... I would even write them to the kids I babysat. 

I believe this was a note with Nicole.

There is quite the collection from my first "boyfriend” named Steve. I met him at the Pinery of course. Steve was from Hamilton, had a friend named Mike, wore red shorts and loved the Simpsons... pretty much all I remember about him. 

The first note I found from the 'Steve Collection' was a threatening letter from Mike addressed to a guy I liked in my grade. Threatening him to stay away from me, with many politically incorrect insults (which I felt the need to edit out). The second note I found had a picture of Steve, which is now creepy because he looks 10 years old & is wearing only a bathing suit... but it did include a pretty great love note.

Second boyfriend... I am pretty sure all the notes from him were actually written by a friend of his who liked playing matchmaker. Why do I think that? Once I told my boyfriend how sweet his letter was, and his reply was “I did not write you a letter.” Fool in love.

Kirsten used to live down the street from me and then moved to Ohio. We tried to keep the friendship alive through letters, and she proved she was still Canadian by using "eh" a lot.

There were definite themes to the notes. 

In grade school the formidable question was: 

Who is your best friend? We used this status to torture each other and it worked. 

By high school, the themes changed a bit:

-Boredom and getting in trouble in class because we are talking too much or passing notes (no surprise there).

-What should we wear? 

-Who hates who?

-BOYS! 

One boy in particular was the topic of SO many notes. Three of us obsessed over him and fought about him A LOT.

Also... how do I get my boyfriend to talk to me? Who will we go to Semi with? Many lists of the boys we thought were hot.

And apparently we all read each other's notes, which was the WORST thing ever if a girl did it to a girl, but something to be expected if a girl did it to a guy.

Shannon was always really supportive and enthusiastic about the events going on, Semi, going to the mall .. and she always had to pee and the teacher wouldn't let her leave class. And she wrote me the sweetest note after my dog passed away.

This is a hilarious note from Sarah T... Who says girls are dramatic?

Another great one from Sarah T... her shock while watching “Clash of the Titans” in class:

Ashley and I... now that is a best friend saga for the ages. Our notes were dramatic and heart wrenching. The notes were often covered in tear stains, with threats of finding a new best friend, capitalized lines, many PS, PSS, PSSS' and so much boy drama. Seriously... we needed a smack. 

FYI... I was Girl 1 and I did go out with him. 

We went to semi together but I got grounded and wasn't allowed to go to the after party. He met an old friend of mine at the after party and they started dating.

Karma.

I found a few notes from Ashley, and one from Emilee, where they pointed out some of my personality flaws and asked me to change some behaviours to better our friendship... and I am sure instead of listening to my friends needs, I simply went on the defence and ignored them. (Listening and reflexing... skills that take a LOT of maturity... which I definitely didn't have back then but am happy to say I am working hard to develop now... thank you meditation!)

And here's a note where I tell Ashley how much I love her... proving I'm not the best at telling people how I feel... since I still have this note!

And this is what we did at sleepovers apparently...

More talk of semi... I ask Becky, Freddy & Eric S if they will attend.

Letters that my sister slipped under my door after a big fight... telling me she really does love me :)

My sis did many sweet things... like buy me candy grams and send me random acts of kindness...

But my sis also made me do her dirty work... as our cousin Alli can attest to. 

Luckily, none of us remember what what we were so upset about. 

I should note that I did learn how to spell apologize and Alli did write back :)

Emily and Jen were my oldest friends... their notes were the sweetest and most supportive.

Sarah L and I have common themes. Call me. Come over and watch Dawson's Creek. Dudes. Semi. Planning mall dates. Disapproving of each other, but not giving a crap. Sarah's notes are by far the goofiest, funniest notes in the bunch.

Sarah has a cigarette in her closet... just in case.

I don't know what I had planned that night! But it sounds like trouble!

A great play by play...

And finally... my favourite part of Sarah's notes:

I am also SUPER pushy with guys. I try to force them into telling me who they like. I really seem to like being a matchmaker. I am not subtle... or polite for that matter.

And I swear I did not think I was flirting at the time I wrote this note... 

(Note: I never should have told Chris about the saleswoman who said I was short and stocky when I was trying on my high school uniform. I was dubbed George Constanza.)

But how could we not be boy crazy?? They were the sweetest!

Of all the notes I didn't give people (which were quite a few!)... 

I thank the heavens I did not give this one to the boy of my affection. 

I love that I underlined love... really wanted to hit him over the head with my 'crazy' obsession.

I was excited to see what Meaghan was going to tell me in this note... 

Turns out she was going to the mall with Ryan. That was the best dirt in there :)

I'm not sure who this one is from... but I am in for it. I am thinking it was from Eric L... 

This one was a great find... I was so curious what was inside... and what I found did not disappoint.

And a valentine from Katie to wrap it up... (pun intended)

Reading all of these notes was truly a weird experience. I had moments of shame, joy and confusion. I was shocked by some of the things we wrote... I have told Ashley I love her a few times since opening these notes and apologized for the unnecessary and cruel drama. I have looked for many of these people on facebook and reached out to a few of them to say hello and wish them well.

 There were so many notes not included in this post... from Erin, Maighan, Maureen, Kristin, Tenecia, Jackie, Becky, Jamie, Brittany & Andrea (who was wise beyond her years)... 

I have to say, I found so much joy in the fact that I recognized everyone's handwriting. I knew before opening a note it was from Sarah or Ashley. Handwritten notes are a thing of the past now, but I feel blessed it was part of my high school days...

So what did I learn from reading these notes?

Don't take things too seriously and work hard to be kind.

I have very little recollection of any of these notes; very small recollection of how upset or hurt I was, how angry I was, or truthfully how ruthless I was. If I could do it all again, I hope I would be a better friend, a more peaceful person and perhaps a less obsessive person.
But it was high school! And thank goodness... we grow and mature.

I am certain we did care about each other, we just had a weird way to show each other love.

xoxo all my penpals,

theresa, tree, peetree, tt