41. New York | Travelogue Part I

I first went to New York in May and instantly fell in love with a city I felt I already knew, having familiarized myself with its fictional counterparts in movies, Sex and the City, and the novels of Jonathan Lethem. It was hard to walk around Manhattan and not constantly feel like I was on a giant set, and that at any moment the store fronts would be removed to reveal teamsters eating sandwiches. My first trip introduced me to hiphop karaoke at the Knitting Factory, triple burgers at the Shake Shack, and the joys of Uniqlo. It was, in many ways, the perfect trip.

With the Canadian dollar surging it seemed like the right time to revisit the city, especially since my friend Kari was offering her Brooklyn apartment to us as a base of operations. With such a wonderful introduction to the city on our first trip, would our return prove just as good, if not better?

In a word - no. First of all, New York in the late days of Spring is a very different city than in the midst of the holiday season. Trying to shop in New York the week after Christmas is like trying to swim backwards up a river during salmon spawning season. I have never seen that many people fighting over Tommy Hilfiger jeans - I wasn't even aware anyone wore Hilfiger jeans. Areas that had been wonderful to walk in during the late light hours of Spring morphed into seething masses of humanity, the tight corners of SoHo complete impasses, the calming halls of MoMa a crush of crying babies and snapping photo-ops. At the end of each day I felt drained and tired.

Part of the problem was the heavy retail focus of our trip. The dollar was riding high and we went to New York to SHOP. And based on my credit card bill, and the $400 lens on my camera, shop I did. And whereas before we had walked with awe through a retail wonderland, this time we went with lists that, surprisingly, were remaining unchecked.

Having said all that, there was a lot that was good and, although by the end we were vowing never to return, after some time we realized that New York still held a certain allure for us.

Any good trip to New York starts with a trip to the venerable Joe's Shanghai for several trays of xiǎolóngbāo, Shanghainese soup dumplings. If you've never had them the dish is all in the eating. Take the dumpling in a spoon and make a small hole with your chopstick. Drain the soup into the spoon. Eat the dumpling. Now, add some of the vinegar and chives to the spoon and finish the rest. Perfection.

Since we were staying in Brooklyn we spent our first two days walking around Williamsburg and Park Slope. If I ever do manage a move out east I would try and live in either of these two areas; Williamsburg, while nearing critical levels of hipness, is a nice balance of artist collectives, restaurants, and thrift stores, while Park Slope is quickly becoming the neighbourhood in New York to raise a family.

Gate to a house for sale.

Royal Tennenbaums...?

Just a red door.

Hard to resist a sign like this.

Both areas are also home to Beacon's Closet, a somewhat hipper than thou consignment store that nevertheless always yields up terrific finds. Last time I found a vintage Givenchy tie, and this time a pair of Ferragamo oxfords which were slightly too small for me. But I decided that I was unlikely to find a pair for $34.99 in Vancouver, and that I could overcome my aversion to wearing shoes without socks for shoes that are this sublime.

Part II: MoMa, Berkshire pork, and waiting in airports.