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>

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.

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!

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!

So Sandra came back from getting the mail in the office yesterday, and she had a thick, heavy enveloppe for me. From Starbucks. Could it be…?

It felt heavy, and I couldn’t  wait to open it. The contents were a letter, welcoming me to the Starbucks Goldcard program as one of the first people in The United States. It talked about what a valued customer I am. Of course. It also had a sort of manual with it, which contained the card and a couple of vouchers, so I can give friends the luxury of ordering a drink with 10% discount.

As you can see in the middle there, the goldcard is not really gold, it is more a classy black. Like the exclusive American Express Centurion Card. Although it was a little easier getting this card (and free!).

So I went to try it out, of course. And it works. People treat me differently now. And they were already friendly. But it seems they are friendlier now. And their service is faster. And somehow, people on the street get out of my way quicker and the traffic lights on my way to the Starbucks seem to make my journey there faster. Awesome!

Good news is that we have an Indian Summer in New York. Temperatures between 20-25 C.

Bad news is that the faul smell in Broome Street (around the corner) is back. I wish I could enclose the smell so we could do a survey about what you think it is. My guess (or fear); long dead chicken soaked in uncleaned fishtank water….

Blechhh.

Sorry. Again. We’re running way behind with the full updates, although we did have some time to write some shorter blog posts. But I’ve figured out why we didn’t write a big update. We’re running out of time. In three weeks, we’re back in Amsterdam. And before then, we want to do as many of the things we haven’t done yet. So somehow, writing the blog gets pushed back.

But, here I am, doing an update. I have a feeling we need at least three updates, but let’s start with this one.

On Thursday afternoon, two weeks ago, Marco and Margreet arrived in New York. I met them at their apartment (The Eldridge apartment that we used for Yvonne and Saskia’s mother too), and then went for coffee. Saskia was working until 6:30, so we walked around Chinatown Little Italy for a bit. We met Saskia and found our way to a nice wine bar where we did some catching up. It was not going to be a late night, so after some tapas, we called it a night. Too bad it had started raining a little.

The rest of the weekend would have more rain, a real pity, especially for our visitors. Lots of indoor activities were called for. Which basically meant quite a bit of shopping (both Marco and I bought awesome shirts), cofees, food and music. The music requires and deserves its own blog entry. On Sunday night, we actually made it out to a small club after dinner. It was called The Sapphire Lounge, and we had a drink there, and did our first bit of dancing in New York!

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to show Marco and Margreet where we’ve been spending our time here in New York, especially since this whole idea of going to New York started with the trip two years ago, together with them to the Big Apple. And I think they’d like to try this for themselves as well!

We only had a couple of days to recuperate, because on Friday, my mum and dad would arrive. They’d already spent almost two weeks in the States, a little further north. They rented a car there and drove around Massachusetts, Maine and New England. Their plane flew in to Newark airport, and Saskia was there to pick them up. 

They were staying at the same apartment in Eldridge street, and after they’d brought their luggage there, Saskia took them to the office where I saw them. I needed to finish some stuff at work, so Saskia took them out to lunch and after work, I joined them for coffees at my Starbucks. We walked back to our place, so they could see where we’ve been living for the past 4 months. After a little rest, we had dinner at Mole. We’d been there once before with Ap, and the food tonitgh was really very very good. It’s a Mexican restaurant, but they have some really interesting dishes on their menu. I especially liked the fresh guacamole (not very original, but they make it fresh at your table, to your specifications, and it really was one of the best I’ve had), and the ceviche. This is a dish made with raw fish that is ‘cooked’ in lime juice. This version had squid, shrimp and some sort of white fish, with tomatoes and a real chili kick. Very good indeed! The Margaritas were also very tasty and potent.

After dinner, we decided to go to Banjo Jim’s. We could all use a bit of fresh air so we walked there and had a fun evening with live country music (see next blog entry for more info).

Mom and dad hadn’t been in New York before. Well, dad had, but that was over thirty years ago. And they were only here for three days. So we needed to be efficient in showing them some of the highlights of the city. So, after breakfast, we traveled to TImes Square. Looked around a bit (Korean Day Parade), and then bought tickets for one of the bus tours. We hadn’t done this yet, and it actually was quite interesting. 

The tour guide told us a lot of things we didn’t know, so we really enjoyed it, and so did my parents. In Greenwich Village we got out of the bus (it’s a hop-on, hop-off system) and walked around the area for a bit. We visited our first apartment in the West Village and enjoyed the beautiful weather with a coffee on the Hudson. We then did the second part of the tour, which took us further down to the southern tip of Manhattan, and then up again, through Chinatown and past the United Nations headquarters all teh way to Central Park. By this time all of us were having serious bladder overload issues, so we got out just before the end of the tour at a Starbucks and stood in line to use the bathroom. It had also become quite cold up in that doubledecker buss, so we had some hot chocolate. Yummie!

From there, we went home, has some rest and then went out for dinner at Macelleria, the restaurant we celebrated Saskia’s birthday at. Another fine dinner, with great wines. I belive we called it a night after dinner.

On Sunday, we had breakfast at Prince, and then got in a cab to South Street Seaport, where we took the boat tour around Lower Manhattan and past the Statue of Liberty. Boat trips are always fun, and it is another great way of seeing the city. After that trip, we walked around the Financial District for a bit, seeing Wall Street and Ground Zero, and an exhibition in St Pauls Church on the rescue workers that used it as a base during the rescue operation after 9/11. 

It was time for (a late) lunch, and we ended up in a Malaysian place, for a very nice and affordable lunch. We went home again for some rest (we actually really enjoyed these little rests!). One last major touristy thing to do was of course to get on the top of some tall building to see the city. So we went to our favourite: The Top of the Rock. No lines whatsoever, so we were up there in no time, and got a great nighttime view of the city. Spent some time up there, took in the views and then went down and nearly got lost in the underground mall that they have there.

A taxi took us back to downtown, but the restaurant we had thought of turned out to be almost empty (it was Sunday night, 9:45pm). We dedcided to look for a place with a few more people and ended up at a really nice Italian place where we basically ordered a couple of starters and some pasta. But we did go through two pottles of wine again, and really enjoyed the food and the wine. And the whole restaurant was a very nice place.

We walked back to our neighborhood and I said goodbye to my parents, as I would be back to the office the next morning. Well, we’ll be back in Amsterdam next month, so I’m sure I’ll see them before too long.

Saskia had breakfast with them, and then they had to go back to the apartment, pack and catch a cab to take them back to the airport and to the Netherlands!

Two visits in two weeks. It was a lot of fun, and somewhat exhausting at the same time. And we now really feel that our six-month adventure is slowly coming to an end. So we’re counting down. Please excuse us if we don’t update the blog regularly (have we ever?), but now we’ve got one extra, very good reason for it. We’re making the best of every last hour and minute that we’re here. I know that we’ll miss this place when we’re back…

Tuesday we celebrated Janneke’s birthday in a hotel bar on one of the corners of Washington Square. This bar is one of the many hidden ‘treasures’ of NY. You wouldn’t know that there was a bar unless someone tells you. But at least this one is open to everyone, there are bars where you first have to call an unlisted telephone number…very exclusive. But that’s a completely different story.

So, we sat in the bar with Janneke and Matthias and ordered cocktails (the thing to do we thought in a bar like this). When we were just talking about how nice and quiet this lounge was the bartender told us that any minute now he would turn the TV on for the live debate between Mc Cain and Obama. Oh oh, the one thing worse than shouting to each other during a baseball game (except for in a sport bar) is to try to do the same during a heated talk show. While we were just complaining to each other about this we also wondered where this TV would come from. Suddenly the bartender walked straight to a wall, opened one of the panels and out came a TV. A secret window, cool! Later Jacco found out there was another secret door in that wall, leading to the restroom.

After half an hour or so we were accompanied by Katherina, the owner of the house Janneke and Matthias live in, and Webster her boyfriend. They were friendly, typically hip, successful New Yorkers with a lot of tips and gossip about this city and its people. They told us that the bar housed is home to many professors of The New York University and that he loved this place because of its (usually) quiet ambiance. Two cocktails later Webster (he cal himself Web) talked about yoga and how he can not compete with Katherina on these exercises except for his head stand. Katherina is about 1m 85 (still not uses to the feet and inches) so that makes it more difficult. But of course we challenged Web to show us right there in the bar. Understandably  he didn’t want to embarrass himself or Katherina in this classy west village bar but one cocktail more made a big difference and there he went…on his head, in a yoga stand in the middle of the bar! ‘Very impressive’,…commented a professor who just entered the bar and who turned out to be one of Katherina’s most admired teachers. As Matthias commented, this could have been a perfect film scene…maybe one of Woody Allen.

By the way, we saw many after discussions about the debate and according to CNN’s poll Obama ‘won’ this one with 54% over 30 %.