We’re back home! It’s weird and wonderful at the same time. But let’s see, what happened these last days..

On Monday I had coffee with Gwynn Mac Donald who I met at the Fringe Festival. She has her own theater company and she had hooked me up with some interesting people in the theater business. I don’t know of I wrote this but it’s so easy to have ‘coffee’ with (business) people in NY. Maybe it’s the same here but I was surprised by their enthusiasm to have me over and talk about their work. It’s something I’d like to continue (back) home since I always felt so motivated after these ‘coffee’ talks. Anyway, I had a nice chat with Gwynn and she is very interested to work with Dutch (female) theater writers in NY so who knows we might be able to do something together in the future. Later in the day I met Paul for the last time. He is working on a big play for NY and Amsterdam in the summer of 2009 and he might need some marketing assistance in the spring. No idea how to do this with my job but these are interesting prospects.

Tuesday Jacco and I had to work for the last time. It felt weird, saying good bye, especially for Jacco who worked there full time for 6 months.  Last week I had already said good bye to the Arabic women at the language center. Aisda, one older very motivated lady gave me a big hug and couldn’t stop kissing me on the cheek…phoeh. That night, we had a good bye dinner with Jacco’s colleagues at Mole, the Mexican restaurant we have grown very fond of. It was a fun evening but we missed Angela who had to work during the evening. That night we walked back home thinking we both have met really nice people. Hopefully we’ll see some of them again.

The following day we pretended it was weekend, slept in, had breakfast at Orchard, walked through the city, did some packing and had dinner at Centro Vinoteca in the West Village. We had been there before with Wayne, Dana and his brother and wife. The food was again wonderful. The next morning we did some last minute (gift) shopping and in the afternoon we started packing. We soon discovered we needed to buy an extra suitcase which would set the total on 6 suitcases, one already taken to Amsterdam by Mark and Chiara, and we came with 4…oh well. We would buy the suitcase the next day since we had to hurry to meet Janneke and Matthias for dinner. We met at 5 points, a nice restaurant with really good food. Janneke & Matthias gave us a fare well card with a fridge magnet of NY, so we couldn’t forget. After dinner we wanted to show them the cocktail bar ‘Little Branch’ but they had a private party so we ended up at Cowgirl where we ordered a pitcher of Frozen Strawberry Margarita’s and hours later got kicked out of the bar. All in all a very fun last New York night!

The next day we went to say good bye to our second breakfast place, the diner run by the Greek family. A filled stomach and a big hug later we went home to finish packing our bags. At 4pm we looked around our  New York home for the last time and closed the door. Jacco had ordered a taxi at the hotel next door so that was very easy. When we rode across the Williamsburg Bridge we felt sad, also excited to go home but sad to leave another home.

We arrived at JFK on time to have a small dinner and to unwind a bit. We were supposed to leave at 8.30pm but during the security check (we already left the gate)  all power in the airplane went down. It got pitch dark and then the pilot told us that there was a problem with one of the generators so we had to go back to the gate to fix this. I’m always very grateful when they discover errors like this on the ground instead of in the air but Jacco and I got a little worried about our transfer time at Heathrow. After a delay of about 1,5 hours we actually left JFK. The flight was ok, we didn’t get any sleep at all but the time past rather quickly. When we got close to Heathrow the pilot told us that we had to circle in the air for a few minutes due to heavy traffic. Our hope of catching that transfer got very small and when we finally landed we knew we couldn’t make it.  So we went to the transfer desk at terminal 5 (the spotless new terminal!) expecting a flight one or two hours later. It turned out that all these flights were booked and that the first two seats were on the 14:30 flight,…5 hours later! We quickly informed Jacco’s parents and my mother that they shouldn’t come to Schiphol yet.  I don’t even know how we passed the time but we must have looked like zombies. At last we could board the plane and I fell asleep immediately. Turns out you can sleep uncomfortably in a chair, as long as you’re dead tired. Jacco wasn’t so lucky but this time it was a short flight. We arrived 20 minutes early and were happy to see all of our suitcases traveled with us. We even got happier to see our welcome party in the arrival hall, my mother, Jacco’s parents, Wendy, Roland & Timo, Isabella, Wilmar, Rosa & Ewout, Ap, Yvonne and Shirley.  And a big banner of ‘Welcome Home’. The other surprise was to see Timo walk and even run. Six  months is a long time! This welcome woke us up instantly and we tried to catch up a little bit with coffee at the Delifrance cafe. And then finally home, (my mother bought us a taxi ride) we were greeted with flowers,  cards, groceries and a big pile of empty Starbucks cups in all sizes. And all that space…it did feel immediately as home again which we thought was weird after 6 months…but good, very good.

So, after 6 months back in Amsterdam. I guess this will be (on of) the last blog from this address. Thanks to everyone who welcomed us back and we can’t wait to see you all again and catch up!

Almost everything we’re doing in these last weekes & days are last things. The last time we eat at this restaurant, the last time we get a coffee here, the last time we cycle by this corner, etc. etc. It feels strange.

Last weekend we had our last guests. Mark & Chiara arrived on Thursday for a long weekend. We started off by walking around our neighborhood and having dinner at Mole, our favorite Mexican restaurant. We’ve been here often enough to be recognized and welcomed by the owner and some of the waiters (Saskia has a secret crush on one of them).

By the end of dinner, both our guests were almost falling asleep, so we took them to their apartment. The next day, I had to work and so did Saskia, but we met up with them after work. Actually, I met up with Dawn, another ex-colleague from Amsterdam at the end of the day, who also happened to be in New York. Then Mark and Chiara joined us, after which I went back to the office with Mark to introduce him to Angela. Who knows, User Intelligence might be able to help her in the future. We went out for dinner (pizza!) and called it a day!

On Saturday, we slept quite long, and then went to get some breakfast and run some errands. We found a new, large bag, and Mark & Chiara had offered to bring some of our stuff back! That will save us at least one excess bag on our trip back…

For dinner, we decided to check out the meatpacking district. Strolling around was not an option, as it was pouring with rain. So we just ran out of the taxi and into Spice Market. A big restaurant with an Asian theme. It looked very nice, but we might have to wait for an hour. We found a place at the bar to drink cocktails, order starters and wait for our table. After about 45 minutes a table was available, and we had a wonderful dinner. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food!

After that, it was dry outside, and Mark & Chiara were up for some drinks, so we took a taxi to the East Village. We first tried Angel Share, another speakeasy. No mention is made of the bar outside, but instead you need to go into a japanese restaurant. There is an inconspicuous door within th erestaurant that leads to the bar. However, the bar turned out quite full, and not lively enough for our guests, so we decided to find another place. The next choice was a lively bar, where we had some drinks. I think we could have been parents to most of the other people there, but the music was definitely more from our time than from theirs! After another bar it was time to go home.

On Sunday I sold my bike! Nicole, a colleague, decided to buy it and came to the city to pick it up. After that, we rolled our extra suitcase to Mark & Chiara’s apartment, and then had a last drink with them at the German beergarden. After we said our goodbyes, we had to run to be in time for “Arias with a twist”, a show at the HERE theatre, that Saskia wanted to see. It really was an amazing show, I’m sure Saskia will write about it at some point…

After that show, we had a quick dinner at a Cuban place in SoHo, after which we walked to Bleecker Street. Just off of Bleecker, in MacDougal Street, we found “The Rabbit Club”. This is where Julia Haltigan would be playing an acoustic set. The place did not look like a live music venue, and it wasn’t. According to the owner/barman, this would be the first live music in his bar. Julia arrived with her Dad, sat at the bar and started playing.

Her voice is amazing, and with dad playing mandoline and blues harp, the performance was quite an experience. There were about 10 people at the bar, watching the show. After the show, we bought her CD and went home.

That was our last weekend! This Friday, we’ll be leaving New York. <sigh>

It’s pouring today! As Jacco said this morning, maybe the city will miss us too…a little. Today we both went to our jobs for the last time. Fighting our way through the umbrella rich crowd. Weird idea, specially for Jacco to walk (yep, his bike is sold too) that route for the last time! Tonight we’ll have a goodbye dinner with Jacco’s collegues in ‘Mole’, a Mexican restaurant near our house where we have been many times. Oops, I have to go (breakfast in Starbucks), can’t be late for my last day.

Saturday morning (6am) we, or I must say Jacco, I slept through it) woke up with the familiar sound of hissing and the smell of heated dust… The central heating is on which means it’s really fall! Fortunately this time we can turn the heater off which means a cool bedroom. This means a cool everything since our apartment is so small but nothing a extra sweater won’t fix.

What the weekend is concerned, we took it really slow and relaxed. Had breakfast at the diner with our Greek friends (we promised them to come and say goodbye before we leave) and then we took a stroll through Central Park which is changing colours now as well. Not as bright as upstate New York or what we’ve seen in Anneke en Wil’s photo’s of Boston, but still, pretty. The weather was beautiful, cold and crisp, like it is today. At one point we walked towards a  musician who was setting up his gear for an outdoor gig. Just as we walked past him to have a seat on the other side we saw he was filming his crowd that gathered on a little hill. If you want to see what that looks like:

In the evening we met Fanneke (who had a 2 day stop over in NY) for a drink in Oliva, a Spanish place where they have live salsa music after midnight. Sunday we slept in, had breakfast at our other place (Orchard) and visited the ‘apple festival’. Again,…it’s really fall! Then we went to Starbucks for coffee and internet. Jacco designed a Crumpler bag for me which is being made this week, very happy with that! In the evening we got take out from the dumpling house and watched an episode of Doctor Who. I think it was the most quiet and relaxed weekend so far.

I probably told you before that I do some voluntary work for an organisation named New York Cares. Every Friday I help Arabic women with their English language skills. Sometimes that means I ask them questions which they should know for their citizen ship exam, like what the stars on the flag represent, in which year the constitution was written or if they can name all the states. Some questions are really tough and, like in Holland, the average American citizen would not know the answers. If you want to give it a try, here are a few; questions citizenship.

Sometimes I have to tell them a bit more about a topic and in that case I have to stick to the textbook they work with. There is just one thing I skip all together and that is the story about the exploration of New York and the help they received from the native population, which resulted in a ‘fruitful co-operation’… B-shit patriotic propaganda. Fortunately Gina, the teacher, agrees and is fine with me quickly turning the page to a different subject.

Other times I teach women who just joined the class and don’t speak English at all. Often they don’t know how to read and write in their own language which makes it even harder to learn a foreign language. In that case we just point at pictures an practise words. I wish I knew how to teach them in a better way but there’s just no time for that in this voluntary project.  Next Friday I’ll go for the last time and maybe weird to say but I’m going to miss them. They are all so motivated and happy with every volunteer that comes in to help. I guess I’ll say what they taught me: Masalama!

It’s amazing how quickly time seems to be passing by these days. It’s probably because we’re cramming in more activities than ever before.

Somehow, a couple of weeks ago, we started learning about a couple of special cocktail bars that are hard to find, and even harder to get in to. I don’t really know why it has taken us this long to learn about them, and I am more than a little sorry that we only have two more weeks to try them out. But we’re trying!

One of those bars we heard about is called Little Branch (place holder website, here’s a review). It turned out this one was not that hard to find, and not that hard to get in to. We found it around 10pm, after a very nice sushi dinner at a tiny place where we also occasionally order lunch from. The place doesn’t look like much. A completely non-descript door in a non-descript building, with a very small name plate on it. And a doorman outside.

There were a few people ahead of us and the doorman told us that there wasn’t much room in the bar, so they would only let people in as soon as there was enough space. Some suit-wearing people that arrived after us tried to get in quicker by trying to bribe the doorman, but he wouldn’t have anything of that. So they left. Probably better for the atmosphere in the bar.

After about 15 or 20 minutes, we could go in. It still didn’t look like much. A narrow staircase leads down to the cellar, where a little curtain hides what’s inside. Once through the curtain, it feels like you’re stepping back in time about 40 or 50 years. The sound of live jazz music hits you first. Then you take in the whole place, whihc isn’t big. Actually, it is pretty small. There is a bar, with two bartenders, both dressed in 40’s or 50’s gear, both sporting beards, and somehow looking like they belong there, in place & time. 

The area around the bar is full, but not too crowded. Again, there isn’t much space here. And behind the bar is a sort of corridor where the booths are. They are two- and four-person booths, and everybody there is drinking cocktails. Or wine. It’s very nice and mellow, you don’t have to shout over the live music. Which, you then realize, has to be coming from somewhere. They have managed to fit three musicians in a space under the stairs. Piano, upright bass and a drumkit. It looks lilke they need someone to get them out of that space, in exactly the right order, because otherwise they would get stuck there forever.

We order our first  cocktail at the bar. They have a cocktail menu, but it doesn’t hold many items. The idea is that you just tell the barman (’mixologist’) what you like. So I tell him I like whiskies and bourbons, and I don’t like my cocktails too sweet. And off he goes. Saskia tells them she would like a fresh, slightly sweet cocktail, and they oblige. Something cool about the cocktails: they have ice ‘cubes’ fit for each specific glass. This means your drink doesn’t dilute too quickly! Never knew you could take cocktails to this level. 

Both of our cocktails are amazing. Really nice, unlike any cocktail I’ve had before. They’re not cheap (15 bucks, including tip), but they’re worth it! After our first cocktail, we get one of the booths, and order another cocktail, this time from one of the waitresses. They are also very nice and helpful, and Saskia got one of them to write a list of other, similar cocktail places.

After three cocktails each, we called it a night. Slightly intoxicated we walked home.

On Friday, Saskia really wanted to go out and have a drink on the roof terrace of the Metropolitan Musem. It was probably one of the last Fridays that their roof terrace was open to the public, as it is now quickly getting too cold to go there. We met up in the museum, and quickly passed the ancient Greek sculptures to find our way to the roof. We were just in time for an amzing show: the sun setting over Central Park. 

The Jeff Koons exhibit is still on the roof (three huge sculptures, my favourite is the balloon dog), and the city skyline at dusk provides an amazing backdrop for these sculptures. We ordered a drink, and shot some pictures and video. And just stood there, taking in the amazing views.

With all the things that we’re doing these last couple of weeks, we’re starting to realize that “this is probably the last time we’re doing this”. Which is a strange feeling. We’re both actually looking forward to return to Amsterdam, see our family and friends, and start working for our companies again. But on the other hand, this has definitely become a second home, so we’re leaving home to go home. Which makes it all strange.

The weekend was beautiful, and warm! We took the A train to 168th street, hopped on a bus and got off at 190th Street. Deep in Harlem. First we walked around to find some coffee, and then we found our way to Fort Tyron Park. On a hill overlooking the whole park are the Cloisters. We walked around for a bit, and quickly found ourselves at the end of the park, so we crossed the street and walked into the next park, Inwood Hill, which is quite a bit bigger.

After a very nice walk around the park, we ended up at the northern-most tip of Manhattan, where a bridge connects this part of Manhattan to the Bronx. People were playing baseball in the park, a little league game was on in the ballpark, and some wonderful autumn colors on display throughout the park. We had some coffee on the corner of Indian Road & West 218th (!) Street, and then made our way back to the subway station.

On Sunday, we had a lovely brunch at Nancy & Paul’s place in the West Village. It was great to catch up with them, and I had my first Bloody Mary. After brunch, we walked to our bikes with Nancy and Paul, as they were interested in them. In the end, Nancy decided to buy Saskia’s bike!

Just a guy on Greenwich Avenue: “It worked! I saw your panties”…

Tip for the skirt wearing women! Unless you want to relive a famous Marilyn Monroe moment, STAY AWAY from the subway grates! Because, yes, it does work.

Hi,

Since many people ask when we will be coming back (yes, we ARE coming back); we fly on Friday night the 31st of October (Halloween) and arrive the next morning at Schiphol. Although we’re really going to miss NY, we are looking forward to see our family and friends again!

x

We have recently bought a video camera, so now we’re learning to use it. This is me going to the office.

Apologies for poor camera handling (we’re learning) and the huge ‘Evaluation Copy’ watermark. I am looking for a good tool to convert the video from it’s native huge format to something that can be shared through YouTube. This software works, but haven’t bought it yet…

I’ve been slow in updating, but here is a quick overview of what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks.

Sat, Sep 21

The Woes & Julia Haltigan @ Spike Hill (Brooklyn)

We had seen both of these before, in different venues. This was a new venue for us (fun!) and both of their shows were fun!

Wed, Sep 24

Loudon Wainwright III @ the Highline Ballroom

I’d been looking forward to see Loudon in real life. The last time I came close, I suddenly had to travel for work, and Saskia ended up goign with someone else to a show in Paradiso. And now he was here in New York. With a lot of family close by, so who knows…

It was a weird setting (large hall, full with tables and chairs, and we were put at a table with 4 other people, but very close to the stage). But a great show. With lots of the aforementioned family doing cameo appearances. Daughter Martha sang a song, daughter Lucy did one, and son Rufus joined him for one as well. Lots of fun and joking.

(movie from the show we attended)

Fri, Sep 26

Honky Tonk Angels @ Banjo Jim’s
With Marco and Margreet, we were in the mood for some live music, and decided on some Country Music. SO we went to Banjo Jim’s for the first time. I had read about it before, but we didn’t get around to going there until now. It’s a tiny place, no stage, so the musicians just stand in a corner and play.

The Honky Tonk Angels are not a band, but more a collective of female country musicians from Brooklyn. And so we saw three seperate acts that night, where I think the first one,  Serena Jean, was the best we saw that night. The atmosphere was great, and although it was a little hard to get to the bar and get a drink, we had a very cool night, and will definitely come back to Banjo Jim’s before we leave!

Sun, Sep 28

Country Corner @ The Living Room

One of the organizers of the Honky Tonk Angels night told us about this afternoon get-together. It starts around 4pm, and is basically a sort of open-mic event with all musicians, that seem to know eachother. We ended up there because the rain did not allow us to play mini golf. So after some shopping, we all met up at The Living Room, ordered margeritas and saw a quite a few different performers.

So many different performers, in fact, that I truly believe we were the only people there that were not in a band. There were two or three partners of band members, and then there was us. Therefore it felt a little like an incrowd. But it was fun, and the margeritas were very nice.

Wed, Oct 01

Ben Folds @ Terminal 5

I have seen Ben Folds once before, in Cologne. And when I saw that he would be playing in New York, I first emailed Viktor to tell him he’d be playing in Den Haag as well, and then ordered tickets to go and see him in Terminal 5, a place we hadn’t seen before.

We were there quite early, so after the age-check (always bring ID!) and the ticket-check, we had some time to check out the venue before the opening act, Missy Higgins. It is actually quite a big venue, with the main floor an dtwo levels of balconies, both with bars. Sort of the same setup as Paradiso in Amsterdam, but a lot larger. One of the balcony levels has a lot of couches, where we sat and enjoyed a drink before the concert started.

Not having heard of Missy Higgins, we were pleasantly surprised. Fun music!

After that, the venue actually got a lot busier, and we found a place to see the concert on the ground floor. Ben Folds started off with a lot of the very new songs from the album that was released a day before. The strange thing was that, for a number of the new songs, two versions were played. He explained how those extra versions had come into existence. Basically, they were afraid that the album might be leaked prematurely, and that people would be downloading the songs off the internet.

To try and prevent this from happening, the band wrote alternate versions of all the songs on the new album, during a flight to Spain. In 8 hours, they wrote new versions of all the songs on the album, music and lyrics. And some of them were good enough to warrant a performance during this gig. Very interesting to hear completely different versions of those songs, and to be honest, I would not have been able to tell which of the two would be the official album version.

Although the new songs sounds great, somehow it’s always a bit nicer (to me, at least) to hear more familiar songs. And we were treated to some of those later on in the concert. The highlights for me were renditions of ‘Missing the war’ and ‘Army’, both of which involve heavy interaction with the audience. The first one was directed by Ben Folds, dividing the audience in three groups that each sing a part of a chord. It never ceases to amaze my how cool that sounds, and how “in tune” it sounds.

In the original version of the song “Army”, there is an interlude played by a clarinet and a oboe. Two tunes that sort of cross over eachother. During the concert in Cologne, he directed this bit as well, to great effect. However, in this concert he didn’t do anything. But apparently, a lot of people had seen one of his concerts before, because at the moment that that segment should start, almost the whole audience sang either one of those two melodies, and did that very well. Chicken skin! (goosebumps, you know)

(This is a version with the instruction)

Fri, Oct 03

Stoney Clove Lane @ Banjo Jim’s
With Mum and Dad, we wanted to go and see some live country music, so we went back to Banjo Jim’s. We saw about a show and a half, and Stoney Clove Lane was good enough for me to buy their CD.

Sat, Oct 11

Tim Blane @ Rockwood Music Hall

Wow, look at that. More than a week without live music! On this Saturday we went back to Rockwood Music Hall. Saskia had done a little investigation and figured that Tim Blane would be a good bet. And it was. We could not get into the place during the concert before that, so we used the artists part of the bar to get in, and get a drink. When that show was over, quite a few people left and we could get in. And we saw a very nice show. He had brought some fans that knew most of his songs.

Tue, Oct 14

Joe Whyte+Emily Zuzik @ The Canal Room
We had seen Emily Zuzik before, but in a solo show. This would be a full band performance, so we were interested to see how that would be. The evening started with a band around singer/guitarist Joe Whyte. He started with a slow song, where his female bassplayer sang backing vocals. After that impressive song, the rest of the band joined him on stage and they played sort of poppy country music, pretty good. We enjoyed it, but hoped for more backup singing by the bassplayer. Their voices worked really well together.

After that, it was Emily Zuzik’s turn. She’s a tall woman, and knows how to carry herself on stage. But somehow, the sound didn’t really click. It all sounded sort of “thin”, I felt. The songs are great, but somehow, it needed something extra. We did end up buying a cd, as we feel the songs are definitely worth listening to some more!