Many years since I was here
On the street I was passin’ my time away
To the left and to the right, buildings towering to the sky
It’s outta sight in the dead of night
Here I am, and in this city
With a fistful of dollars
And baby, you’d better believe
I’m back, back in the New York Groove
I’m back, back in the New York Groove
I’m back, back in the New York Groove
Back in the New York Groove, in the New York Groove.
– Ace Frehley
Thursday 16 November
New York, New York
It’s been more than two years – August 2015 – since I last visited New York City, and I’m glad to be back. The Big Apple is one of those places that you could visit annually, because it’s in a constant state of change. There’s always something being ripped down or renovated or constructed.
Due to the prohibitive price of hotels on Manhattan (not to mention the fact that they’re about as large as a shoebox) we are staying on Staten Island, New York City’s forgotten borough. We’re about a 15-minute walk from the St George Ferry Terminal here on Staten Island, and the distinctive orange ferry takes about 25 minutes to cross New York Harbour to Battery Park at the very southern tip of Manhattan.
The apartment is, to say the least, odd. We’re on the top two storeys of what is a landmark house, in which the stairs are very creaky, the ceilings are high, the kitchen facilities are very limited, and the television choices are very limited – hasn’t this dude heard of basic cable?
Also, there isn’t a skerrick of carpet, and one of the two bedrooms upstairs has very thin curtains, allowing the glow of a lamp outside to shine through. I guess you could say that the joint’s been oversold a little, but the location isn’t too bad, and the beds seem okay. Considering we’re not going to be spending all that much time here, I think we’ll survive.
We ate a really nice stir fry tonight after a trip to the local supermarket, and ended the night with a fun game of Uno. Off to see how comfortable my bed is, ahead of a big day tomorrow.
kitchtrips 