Saggs and THE City

Out of all the weird-sounding, unintriguing, far-out blog names that swirled and sloshed inside my teeny cauldron of a brain, I chose the sanest and christened my first-ever blog 'Saggs and the City'.

It seemed a likely title. And I suppose, it still is.

'Saggs', a moniker bestowed affectionately on me by some of my oldest, closest friends was/is a shorter (cuter?!) derivation of my internet alter ego, saggingbehind, which, I lovingly named after my sizeable you-know-what. *raise an eyebrow*

'and the City'? Well, it's meant to be a tongue-in-cheek play on Candace Bushnell's successful book/drama spin-off ' Sex and the City'. Futhermore, we'd just moved to London - the bustling, cultural metropolis of the United Kingdom. A marriage of these 3 - for lack of a better term - 'rationale', and my blog name was sealed, etched forever (??) on the illusive walls of blogosphere.

The point I'm trying to drive at (yes, there is one) is that when I chose that name for my blog, little did I know that one day, I'd actually experience THE city.

That is, New York City - the city that never sleeps.

We've never been particularly inclined towards visiting the United States. Flights there were too daunting, too arduous (20-odd hours from Singapore?), the rate for USD always too high, too strong. But I suppose all that changed, somewhat, when we moved to the UK. Suddenly, the 8 hour flight duration seemed...manageable. And the rate of sterling, despite the economic downturn, remains strong against the Dollar.

I came home to London still high on the surreality of our trip to NYC. I foraged my DVD collection for movies filmed on location in New York - Prime, You've Got Mail, Serendipity, When Harry met Sally (surprisingly, all are my perennial favourites). It wasn't so much that I missed the city that made me re-watch those movies. I simply wanted the thrill of the holiday to continue to intoxicate me. And linger that bit longer.

I can think of one phrase that best describes how fleeting our 10-day holiday in the Big Apple was. It's one borrowed from 'The Bucket List' (a fab in-flight movie I was lucky enough to catch on our Virgin Atlantic flight back to London. Great recommendation, Jo!) -- '... like smoke through a keyhole.'

Sitting here, blogging our adventures, going through the 1,200-odd photos taken over the course of the trip, I feel displaced - didn't we recently leave Heathrow for JFK? Weren't we just at Central Park, posing infront of the Wollman Rink? And what, we're back? Already?!

our 3rd visit to Central Park (and we still couldn't finish seeing all of it!)
Our last stop -- the Wollman Rink

Every overseas holiday leaves me in awe of modern technology - how we can be in one country one minute, and another the next?

I don't think I'll ever watch a New York-based film the same way again. Streets, buildings and landmarks - they will look/sound, familiar. And yet, not. I'll wonder 'did I walk those streets?', or smile contentedly when I spot something I recognise . Yes, I was there. I did that, I'll muse.

Fifth Ave

These last 10 days we ate, breathed, slept the City.

If the buzz of London is able to spike one's heart rate, then the racy, pulsating beat of inner city New York will surely send one into cardiac arrest.

the bright lights @ Times Square

But the uneasy truth about NYC is - that despite the glitz and glamour we're frequently exposed to on screen, think 'Friends', 'Sex and the City' - it is a gritty, grotty city. Exciting and edgy, yes. But it's a filthy city tainted by garbage bags that clutter the city streets, Subway stations and trains marred by graffiti or worse, defecated on in corners and reeking of urine. It is a city where poverty is so apparent it's hard to ignore - by both sight and smell.

freedom of speech expressed through defacing a Subway wall?

Despite the startling blemishes, we did enjoy the City. There were SO many places to see, visit, explore. The distances we covered on foot could easily earn us the title 'NewYorkathon-ers'. (Our Top 3 walking achievements: 1) Walking from West 89th Street to West 48th, 2) West 4th Street to West 37th Street, and 3) Over Brooklyn Bridge in the sweltering heat. WLE!)

We borrowed the excellent 'DK Eyewitness Travel - New York' guide from our local library, took suggestions of noteworthy attractions off it, topped those up with pointers from Ed, Jo, Mabes and Dot (who visited NYC sometime in 2007?) and drew up an itinerary on an excel spreadsheet. Oh yeah, we were VERY prepared to explore every inch of the City!

From the West side to the East, Downtown and Uptown, we brisk walked from one avenue to the next with fierce determination. We explored Greenwich Village, East Village, Little Italy, K-town, the VERY extensive Chinatown, bits of Harlem, the Financial District, the Fashion Avenue, 2 museums, Central Park, Times Sq, Union Sq, Macy's, Woodbury Common, Century 21, Daffy's, Steve and Barry's, Madison Square Garden, UN Building, Ground Zero, Grand Central Terminal, Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Centre, Liberty Island, Lincoln Centre, South Street Seaport, and in between, refuelled by eating at great places (some of which were featured in movies)! Phew!

We covered A LOT.

Cafe Lalo, made popular by the movie 'You've Got Mail'

And while we're on the topic of food, our NY food trail was truly unbelievable. We behaved (according to a very appalled Jo) like a bunch of hungry caterpillars eating our way through the Big Apple (think Eric Carle). NYC is a foodie's paradise - from Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, H&H Bagels, Doughnut Planet, crabcakes at Sardi's, frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3, ikura sushi (with quails egg) at Sushi Mambo, milky korean soup Su Lung Tang, roast meats in Chinatown, tea at Petrossian the russian tearoom, to good ol' Macca burgers - we relished each and every bite*.

(If anyone's interested in our food trail itinerary, let me know. I'll email our list to you.)

And the museums. You gotta LOVE 'em. We were fortunate to catch an amazing exhibition by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang at the Guggenheim Museum (pity the museum facade was under renovation tho'. Bah!). Even Cheeks enjoyed his installations. My favourite was the 'Rent Collection Courtyard'. The expressions captured on clay were remarkable. The Metropolitan Museum of Art didn't disappoint either. I was thrilled to be able to see so many Impressionists' works up close and personal. My favourites were all there - Monet, Seurat, Degas, Matisse, van Gogh...And I loved the fact that photography was allowed. Whoopee! Cheeks, on the other hand, enjoyed the Egyptian exhibit. She was thrilled to see a real sarcophagus.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - by Georges Seurat

So yes, there were happy times aplenty. But there were down bits as well.

New York is NOT a great place for kids. (Did I mention the number of caged-up, concrete playgrounds that utterly depressed me? But let's leave that for now.)

As Hubs and I sped from one landmark to another, Cheeks was imprisoned in the pushchair, all strapped up. New York is better explored on foot and she simply could not keep up with the pace. So, we had no choice but to stick her in the pushchair on most days. When we chose unwisely NOT to place her on wheels, it ended up being arm and shoulder burn-outs for poor 'beast of burden' Papa.

I cannot begin to count, or recollect the number of times she whined for snacks in the pushchair because she was bored silly; the number of times we nudged her forward to make her hasten her pace, our irritated tones telling her to Stop dawdling! because we were always rushing from one place to the next. The countless times we denied her playtime at a playground, how we shushed her to stop interrupting our conversations with our adult friends. She protested going into stores, dragged her feet at bathtimes, and while dressing to go out. All she wanted to do (it seemed) was to stay in Jo's house, and play. Instead we whizzed her about on dusty roads, meandering between avenues, we shot disapproving looks at her when something she wanted to do didn't fall into our travel plans. And we utterly screwed up her sleep routine by keeping her out waaaaay past her bedtime.

Exhausted Cheeks.
The constant whizzing hither and thither took a toll on her

Looking back, I wonder how much of New York Cheeks actually enjoyed? She must've felt constantly frazzled and ignored - like her opinions and needs didn't matter.

In our unflagging quest to uncover NYC, we marginalised the needs of our child.

Despite our parental foibles, I'd like to think she was happy just being with us. Because that's how I felt. Even though it was challenging at times, I was happy zipping around the City because I was with the 2 people I love most in life. And I'm glad we got to experience NYC together.

So thank you, God. For this trip. For everything.

Cheeks and me at Bethesda Fountain, Central Park

Us, on the viewing deck at Rockefeller Centre.
Behind us is the Empire State Bldg

jo & me (w Cheeks) slurping bubbletea in Chinatown,
toting our identical Marc Jacob bags which we got at a crazy warehouse sale in Greenwich!

Maison de Planel - where we put up for the duration of our holiday!
Merci beaucoup, Planels!

Cheeks first musical and she loved it!
(jet-lagged, she slept through the last 20 min of the show tho')

our 'never-ending' walk across Brooklyn Bridge
that culminated in a creamy sweet treat at Brooklyn's finest ice-cream factory

Now we know why Meg Ryan was in the throes of passion at this Deli!
The beef pastrami sandwich was Oh oh OOoooh....Yes!

The obligatory visit to Macy's.
But we were so 'shopped out' by Woodbury Common we couldn't shop any more, anywhere!

amazing exhibition by Cai Guo Qiang at the Guggenheim Museum at Upper East side

Cheeks, bursting with excitement, waiting to enter F.A.O Schwarz
(along 5th Ave). We caught StoryTime while there.

whispering into walls at Grand Central Terminal (very 'In the Mood for Love')

when tackling a raging bull, better to grab it by its ho...no, balls. Ha!

pondering the pointless loss of life at Ground Zero

friends we met up with in NYC : Ed, Yider and her hubby Chou Kai
We're so glad we got to hang out with them!

Priceless tips I've taken away with me (in relation to our lovely friends, the Planels):

• Invest in Miyazaki, because he is THAT good
  
• Treat your spouse like a girlfriend/boyfriend - smother them with kisses, cuddles and tell them you love them ALL.THE.TIME.
  
• If you can afford a good set of kitchen knives, get 'em!
  
• When entertaining guests, always serve on coordinated serving plates. They do wonders in presentation.
• You can cook a gourmet meal despite the children.
  

Gros bisous!
xxx Le Chans