16 January, 2008 | Leave a Comment

As I’ve already written, I spent my birthday in New York City. It’s only about an hour on the commuter rail from William’s house. I had about 24 hours in Gotham, which was plenty. I find NYC to be overwhelming and intense. How I lived there for five years I’ll never know.

First things first, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. This was my brilliant idea. It was pretty damn cold. The pedestrian footpath goes down the middle of the bridge, above the roadway, so there’s no leaning over the side of the bridge and looking into the water (or possibly jumping off). Walking across London’s bridges is much preferable, but still, given how steeped in history the Brooklyn Bridge is, it was a bit of a thrill. I already posted my favorite photo of the bridge. There were wind-swept views of the Manhattan skyline:

And of the Statue of Liberty:

As I articulated the last time I was in NYC, the absence of the Twin Towers from the skyline of lower Manhattan fills me with grief.

Once we got to Brooklyn, the streets were pretty deserted at the other end of the bridge. I wanted to go to Park Slope, where I used to live, just for old times’ sake and also to do a bit of research for my novel. We couldn’t find an English-speaking cab driver who had ever heard of Park Slope, so we ended up locating the subway somehow and taking the F train to the 7th Avenue stop:

 

The F train travels above ground in Brooklyn and offers wonderful views. I wanted to take a photo, but we were surrounded on the train by a gang of teenage hoodlums who were running around and screaming and I didn’t want to take my camera out. Welcome to New York!

In Park Slope, the first thing we did was eat - of course. I had a lovely birthday lunch of barley soup, a chicken sandwich, tea and then a free glass of port. By the time we got done with this, we had to walk around the old neighborhood rather quickly because we had to get back to Manhattan. Plus, it was freezing. We walked down Carroll Street, where I used to live, and looked at the lovely brownstones:

I don’t miss living in Brooklyn, though in my mind (and in my novel) I’ve romanticized it a bit. Being back there was a reality check of sorts. While there in person, I didn’t feel the same nostalgia. Some things are better experienced in the memory than in real life and there’s nothing wrong with that.

As I already stated in a previous post on New York, it was my birthday wish to see the sunset. So we raced back to Rockefeller Center…by taxi. In NYC, you can take a taxi from Brooklyn to mid-town for about $25 (£12.50). In London, the same journey would cost about £100 ($200). I love NYC taxis. I miss them. I ended up going to the top of Rockefeller Center alone because a certain dashing gentleman was tired. In my previous post and also here, you can see the photos I took. It was a cool thing to do on my birthday, to look out at the horizon, to see the setting sun and then the glittering city come to life. My experience of living in New York looms large over my young adulthood and I’m just now becoming able to put it into perspective, to understand the effect it had on me.

On the way out of 30 Rock, I paid $6.50 for this ginormous chocolate-covered strawberry because, well, it was my birthday:

Then I walked around Rockefeller Center, which was oh-so-festive…

…and about as crowded as Mecca during peak pilgrim season.

For dinner, we went to the Algonquin Hotel and had dinner at the Round Table Restaurant:

I know, a bit cheesy but oh well. It was a fun experience to channel the ghost of Dorothy Parker. It was super dark inside the restaurant, so no photos of the food. I think I had Chilean sea bass and then the waiter gave me a free chocolate cake because it was my birthday (and also his daughter’s birthday…awww). The tab was quite high, but William paid for it (and lunch!). I really have him wrapped around my finger, don’t I? I thought the food was good and it was a nice way to end such a whirlwind Big Apple birthday.

Next stop: Washington, D.C.

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1. jen Says:

   January 16th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

   oh those photos of the slope make me so homesick. i love brooklyn with every fibre of my being.

   sigh.

2. Novelist Says:

   January 16th, 2008 at 9:32 pm

   Glad you had a great time in NYC! I love the pictures you took.

3. ang04 Says:

   January 17th, 2008 at 9:03 pm

   Gosh. Happy belated bday. Didn’t know you were in my neck of the woods. Fun catching up on all your posts.
   Gorgeous pics, as always.

   Cheers for the New Year!

   A fan.

4. Anglofille Says:

   January 18th, 2008 at 11:26 pm

   thanks for the lovely comments!

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