Lately...

I have been thinking about writing blogs, and not writing them. I haven't felt very inspired, and rather than "water down" the quality of my blog, I have elected to be silent. Here's a summary of the blog entries I contemplated:
Book review of Aravind Adiga's 2nd novel, in the wake of White Tiger, entitled Between the Assassinations. Verdict: it's no White Tiger, but an interesting novel nonetheless.
Book review of Leila Marouane's The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris. Verdict: meh....
Restaurant review: Sylvia's in Harlem. Soul Food. Deeeeelicious. See proof below!



This week I had the gift of seeing my city through fresh eyes, as E's Aussie friend visited us and America for the first time. Walking with a tourist, I felt authorized to take pictures and act like a tourist (except when it comes to knowing my way around the subway and walking like a New Yorker). It is easy to forget how imposing and beautiful and crazy New York is, how full of lives of all kinds, how deep this place is...
I also had the blessing of going places I don't usually go - like Yankee Stadium. I can't normally find an excuse to ride the train all the way to the Bronx, but now...I can say I've seen the stadium (the game's cheapest tickets were $135, though, so...I wasn't able to go inside said arena.


Later that night, we enjoyed the sumptious delights of Nyonya's Malaysian cuisine in Little Italy, wandering up through SoHo on a lazy warm summer night.


The next day, we tried Bonnie's Grill in Park Slope, sampling their delicious burgers.

I also tried watermelon beer, because hey, it's summer, and I love watermelon and beer. It was definitely a girly beer, with a bit of sticky sweet melony aftertaste. Not bad.
Today was the real tourist day, however: taking the (free!) Staten Island ferry so we could get a good look at Manhattan's gorgeous skyline, we then lunched at Arturo's in SoHo. Then up to Washington Square Park, where kids and adults alike took advantage of the fountain's water on a scorching July afternoon. Next, to Central Park, where tourists walked or rode in pedicabs, hustlers hollered, "Cold refreshing waters $1 only," hauling coolers on their backs, a group of Haitian drummers and trumpeteers entertained a crowd of spectators eager to document their performance, bikers and runners working out, newlyweds posing for photos near Bethesda Fountain, and...us.







It feels nice to be a traveler again, or to see with new eyes and appreciation...It makes me all the more excited for my upcoming travel to San Francisco, Yosemite, and Las Vegas. I am thrilled to be going on the road again, seeing new places, visiting friends along the way, and spending some time on the West Coast.