Following Rabbits Blog — do it
do it: art bar and hudson river park
After spending the afternoon at The Cloisters and having an early dinner at Brother Jimmy's on the UWS, we headed to the Cabanas on the rooftop of the Maritime Hotel. A very smoky grill drove us out of there after one beer, so we walked to Art Bar. I had never been there before-- what a cool place! Such a relaxing, comfortable back room full of squashy couches. We hung out there for a while, had another beer, and shared stories. We also spent a good amount of time contemplating a large painting. It's a depiction of the Last Supper, with celebrities sitting at the table. Jim Morrison is at the center, and he's flanked by James Dean, Salvador Dali, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol... and we couldn't figure out who was at the end. (After some googling today I figured out it was Frida Kahlo).
We left Art Bar and walked down Jane Street to Hudson River Park. We sat on a bench on Pier 51 for a bit, listening to the water and taking in the view. We walked down along the water to Pier 45... was a nice place to hang out. I had never been there either, and even though other couples and groups were walking through and hanging out there, it was still a very peaceful, quiet place. I love those rare places in the city where time can stand still if you're with the right person.
the view from the end of the pier looking back towards the city
Days when I experience new things and places in the city are always so magical. What a great day!
do it: visit the cloisters
Yesterday we went to the Cloisters-- the Met's collection of medieval European art and architecture. We walked around, admired the art, strolled through the gardens, laughed at my urges to touch everything, and had a great time. What a beautiful place to spend a sunny afternoon.
do it: get noticed
Last night I went on a little test-run with my posters. It rained the past couple nights, but there was a spot on my subway platform that I'd been eyeing. I mixed up a small batch of wheatpaste, grabbed one of my posters and a paintbrush, and dashed over to the Steinway subway platform. I was nervous about getting caught, but it only took a couple minutes and no one objected to my pulling out a paintbrush and pasting an 11x17 poster in the empty ad space near the stairs. Once it was affixed, I snapped a few photos and went back to my apartment. I tweeted one of the photos, mentioning Nightmare of You- the band quoted in the poster.
Today I was amped to see that Nightmare of You retweeted my photo that I posted last night! I absolutely love them, and just knowing that they saw the poster made me super happy. Later this afternoon, lead singer and guitarist of Nightmare of You, Brandon Reilly, blogged my poster photo on his Tumblr page. I'm over the moon!
So excited to get a little buzz with my first poster. I've got a bunch more that I can't wait to get up!
do it: choose your own adventure
I found out I have some unexpected money coming my way over the next couple months. For better or worse, I have always been one to live in the moment and not worry too much about the future (read: I'm not a saver). My philosophy, especially since moving to NYC three years ago, has been to do absolutely everything I want and live life to the fullest-- and if I get hit by a truck tomorrow, I can't complain that I missed out on anything. That said, I have decided to plan a last-minute solo trip to Paris in September, and I am over the moon about it!! I went to France for two weeks in '98 with my high school French class, spending 4 days in Paris and 10 days in Blois with a host family. I turned 15 on that trip, celebrating with my host's family in the gorgeous Loire river valley.
my host's dad ran a patisserie... lucky me!
Since then I've been smitten with France, and have been dying to go back! If anyone has tips or recommendations on what to pack, what to see, where to eat, or who has the best pain au chocolat, lemme know!
do it: point pleasant after dark
On our way home from D.C., we stopped off at the Point Pleasant boardwalk for a bit of late-night fun. After a stroll along the boardwalk, we got a book of tickets and went on the tilt-a-whirl, the swings, the gravitron and the music express. Haven't been on carnival rides in ages!
Once we were sufficiently dizzy, I got some cotton candy and we played mini-golf at Castaway Cove. We got a midnight slice of pizza and sat on the boardwalk overlooking the beach, and headed back to Queens. Such a full, fun day!!