La mujer del pescador

Tuesday evening. Miramar, Nayarit, Mexico. After a full day of swimming, reading, exploring and gardening (well, Patrice gardened while Alex the gardener and I yakked), we realized we hadn't eaten since that lovely breakfast on the patio. Jim was off getting his truck fixed and had been gone for hours. So we decided to head out in search of shrimp tacos for everyone. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), everything shuts down early on weeknights in Miramar. So there's nada. Unless we want "hamburgesas" from the little convenience store. But we want fresh local yumminess. In the hopes that we missed something fabulicious in our search of the miniscule town, we ask an old gal if she knows where we can get something to eat. Our disappointed faces inspire her to offer a home cooked meal. It'll take a few minutes she says. Come and wait here on the patio. As we sit there feeling like we're part of a Fellini movie (as if we know what that really means), the rest of the family mills around doing what I assume is their regular Tuesday night routine, stopping occasionally to peer at us and ask us questions. So Maria fries up four portions of fish and gives it to us to take home with rice and beans and fresh salsa.

The upshot of this surreal experience was the culinary highlight of our trip. So much numminess.

New York: Days 7, 8, and 9

Saturday.
We reserved our rainy Saturday to check out galleries in Chelsea, of which there are about 300. I am earnestly hoping that my art-loving pals for the day are not interested in visiting all of them. David knows the galleries well, so we decided to let him lead. This was an excellent move. From sublime to weird to downright silly, Chelsea has pretty well everything. And considering the crap weather, it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday in New York.

A gal with large unidentified pink plushie stayed in step with us for a while, carrying her oversized friend from gallery to gallery. She let me take her photo. Here she is.

What happened after that? I think there was a forgettable meal at a restaurant that we chose simply for its proximity because of the torrential downpour. And then we walked. Again. For miles and miles. Okay, maybe it was about a mile. We ended up in the West Village.

The evening portion of our Saturday started at a place called Groove. What was at first an excuse to just sit down a bit and enjoy the suspiciously cheap drink specials and peculiar atmosphere turned into a totally hilarious evening of good old touristy fun. The band did energetic and rude funk/r&b covers of a whole bunch of everything, including Pink Floyd. Plenty of extended solos, swearing and heckling the audience. If this place existed in Montreal I'd probably avoid it on principle (tourist-ridden, mandatory minimum purchases, overcrowded, etc. etc.), but we had a great time and I'm no longer too cool to admit these kind of things.


Sunday. Sunday was a stay-away-from-Manhattan day.

Brooklyn Flea

We got up late, took a few Advil and headed out to the Brooklyn Flea. Disappointing. Crappy overpriced Mexican food for breakfast. Lots of bicycle-themed items but nothing that really caught the eye. Yoda hookrug! Furniture made from reclaimed wood! Michael Jackson puffy stickers from the 80s! Lots of irony. Irony abounded. Bleh.

Monday. Last day. It's been a blast, but we're ready to go home. Since our flight isn't until evening, I propose that we head to the beach before departing. You would think that at my age I would already know this: sitting under the blazing sun without any shade for several hours without having applied lots of sunscreen all over is asking for trouble. Yep. Burn baby burn. But it was lovely to swim in the ocean, which I hadn't done for quite a while.

Rockaway Beach

Thursday and Friday

Day Five. Thursday, July 26
Finally bicycle day! I could tell that Patrice is anxious to get back in the saddle after all the walking.

Of course we got off to a late start again. I didn't mind. We went for brunch at Egg. Seeing a pattern? I have this thing about going to the same places over and over. It was yummy. Vanessa Bayer from Saturday Night Live was there. I stared a bit.

We rented a couple of single speeds and head off towards Prospect Park, which was lovely. We didn't spend much time there but it was nice and calm. Heading back we ended up in a high traffic zone with drivers that made me anxious. (Of course it really doesn't take much to get me anxious when I ride in traffic, no matter where I am.) I quickly turned into Eva the NotMuchFun Stress Monster. We had to stop for a snack or something. Right away. So we stopped at this place that looked promising and turned out to be a huge overpriced disappointment. Oops. As we rode away, Pat spotted one of the places that had been recommended to us, just one block away. Rrrrrrrr.

Duck family at Prospect Park

So yeah, probably you know that Brooklyn is across the river from Manhattan. There are a lot of bridges. For years and years people have been telling me I should really walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, such a nice view bla bla bla. So Mr. Keener suggested that we ride across one bridge, cross lower Manhattan and go back over the other bridge. I was not so sure about this. And as the sky darkened I lost whatever little bit of nerve I had. Go on, I said, don't get hit by lightning. I'll see you at the apartment. So we were off in two different directions, to reconvene shortly. And then boom, the storm hit. When I got back to the apartment I was completely sodden.

We changed into dry clothing and leapt into action. The very most amazing David had gotten us tickets to hear Pablo Ziegler (at Birdland, no less). Whoa. I'm sorry, I'm no music writer. It was fabulous. Whoa.

Day Six. Friday, July 27
More biking! We biked to Greenpoint, which I really liked. The more I see of Brooklyn, the more I like it. Especially the parts near the water. We ended up close to a bridge, which of course Patrice wants to ride over. The problem about bridges, you see, is that they usually have pretty long inclines. We were riding single-speed bikes, and it was a bazillion degrees out there. I was not interested in inclines. Call me weak. Call me chicken. I don't care.

Along the river in Greenpoint are a number of interesting spots, including a neato furniture warehouse filled with lovely items we were relieved to not be able to drag home.

Now had come the moment I had been planning for months! Fuerza Bruta! I didn't mind seeing it twice. I would see it again and again. It's such a visually striking show, with non-stop surprises. You shouldn't find out too much before going. Just go. Oh yeah, and the music is amazing.

New York: Wednesday

Wednesday. This was the day we decided to each do our own thing and meet up later.

I spent a lovely day with Jessica, another great friend from the west coast. We started our day at the Whitney Museum of American Art, with the specific aim to check out the Yayoi Kusama exhibition. We had to make an appointment to view Fireflies on the Water, and we got the 3:20–3:40 timeslot. Hmmm. OK, we can work with that. We had time to check out the rest of the Kusama exhibition and a few other floors of the museum (Those of you who know about my enthusiasm for miniatures will understand why Calder's Circus was right up my alley), go for lunch at the very elegant Café Sabarsky, and wander back in a leisurely fashion so we could each spend one minute with the piece. It was worth the wait. I'd rather not reveal too much about it, but if you have a chance to check it out, I encourage you to do so.

Dancer mosaic (artist: Nancy Spero)
Lincoln Center subway station

Another dip into Central Park was in order, for a nice breezy break from the sweltering heat, and then we headed to Lincoln Center on the off chance that the lineup for The Clock wasn't too bad. No such luck. I'll check it out in Toronto.

Patrice and I met up in a park way way downtown, which was fortunately very close to a building I had wanted to check out: Frank Gehry's 8 Spruce Street. Whoa. I can't possibly come up with the words to describe this fabulous building, so here's a brief quote from the website:

"At 870 feet tall, New York by Gehry is the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere and a singular addition to the iconic Manhattan skyline. For his first residential commission in New York City, master architect Frank Gehry has reinterpreted the design language of the classic Manhattan high-rise with undulating waves of stainless steel that reflect the changing light, transforming the appearance of the building throughout the day." (Source:  http://www.newyorkbygehry.com/)

Momofuku's buns. Mmmmm.

OK let's eat!! Momofuku was calling me. I could hear it. Amazingly there was only a half-hour wait. This was my fourth time eating at Momofuku Noodle Bar. I might have a problem.

Not being New Yorkers, we underestimated the time required to wait for a table, be served, eat and travel, so we ended up showing up horrifically late for our next engagement. Exceedingly patient friend David was very understanding when we finally met him at The Frying Pan on Chelsea Piers, a neat old lightship outfitted with a bar and grill, docked at Pier 66 on the Hudson River. What a great place to be at the end of a hot sticky day!

So. It was almost 11:00. We have enjoyed high art, consumed amazing food, and refreshed ourselves with cool beer in lovely company. Sounds like a day. But there was more. There is always more. We were right next to the High Line, which is a truly amazing public park built on an old freight rail line elevated above the streets. And it's beautiful! Luckily there was a bit of time before the park is closed for the night.

David and Patrice on the High Line

New York: First three days

Sunday, July 22, 2012
Here we are! After dropping off our baggage at the place where we were staying, we headed out for a little walk around the 'hood. Bicycle store (first of many!). Tacos. Bedford Street. People were out in droves, being nauseatingly fashionable. We participated in a community Jenga game on the sidewalk. Neither of us made the tower fall. Whew. This was a major highlight of the first day.

On the way back we passed in front of Dumont, which I remembered fondly from a previous visit. I was unable to resist, despite the early hour and the fact that neither of us were actually hungry.  Knackered. Zonked. Hit the sack at 9 p.m. (!)

NOODLES, BROOKLYN

Monday. Having had a really long night's sleep, we got up bright and early to discover other parts of Brooklyn. Our day was spent shlepping our ill-informed selves all over the place for hours and hours, having not taken the trouble to estimate distances or find an interesting itinerary. The East River Ferry provided an all-too-brief break, including a nice view of Manhattan and some heavy-duty wind to dry off the rivers of sweat coursing down every part of my body. I was sweating from places I didn't know were humanly possible, like my eyelids. We got off at 34th Street and started walking again. So much walking.



Tuesday. We started off a bit later on Tuesday, which was just fine with me. We managed about an hour at The Met before our beer meeting with old high school pal Andrew in Bryant Park. Having been informed that Times Square was now partially car-free, we decided to check that out. Still nutso, but better. We escaped midtown and headed down to SoHo for more wandering. Dindin at Back Forty West was scrumptious. I had smoked chicken, which was lovely, and Pat uncharacteristically ordered a summer squash and cheese dish that was tasty but would have done better as an appetizer.

Patrice applauding a kinetic sculpture
Contemporary Art wing of the Met

Vancouver, again

For the second time in 2011, me revoilà in Vancouver.

It's okay that it's raining. That's what Vancouver does. At least I get a break from winter boots for a while.

Inner voice: HEY! Stop that. Writing about the weather? Come on, you're above that. You hate it when people talk about the weather because they have nothing better to say.

Me: You're right, inner voice. Sorry about that.

Yesterday I had lunch with high school friends Jeremy and Meera. I found it interesting how we all kind of made excuses for what we were doing or not doing with our lives. I want to be more free-spirited and less attached to material things. I want to be able to take risks without making myself sick with fear. I want to re-learn how to live cheaply. I want to stop wanting and start doing.

News from New York, no. 5

Saturday: Montclair, NJ.
Playground has soft ground instead of concrete, which confused me no end. I guess kids don't want to break their arms anymore. Gee.
Nummy Ethiopian food at Mesob. Nummy.
Went to see "Copie conforme" and hated it.
Nummy gelato. Nummy.

Sunday: Legos with Noa, back to NYC too see the Prepare graduation. I am going to do that course.
Now for the music portion of the trip, jammed into one intense evening:
Sebadoh at Bowery Ballroom
Agitator in Brooklyn at some place that I should probably not advertise

Monday: I successfully resisted the temptation to spend more $$, ate tasty tacos with old Seattle pal Andrew "Treadmill" Blackwell, who has turned out to be a truly fascinating guy, and then I returned to Mtl.

Whew! What a trip. What a town. Must go more often.

News from New York, no. 4

um. Friday, April 8: Brooklyn. Ah Brooklyn. I really like it. Setting out relatively late, Urbanspoon told me where to go and so I went for a lovely brunch—Eggs Rothko: Easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy's brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables—at Egg. Oh my. Oh my my. I think I'm starting to understand this "comfort food" thing that's been going on. Yup. I like it. I do. Check this out!

So... I was determined to stay in Brooklyn. I had suffered too much. It was resting time. Me time. That brunch was a fabulous start. Now to feed the soul. Off to the Brooklyn Museum!

I found out from my knowledgeable and fabulous um... landlady, Ean, that Brooklyn would be one of the biggest cities in the U.S. if it weren't just a borough of New York. I dug a bit more, and it would in fact be #4! Right behind Chicago. In your face, Houston! You'd be number five! Sorry, that was uncalled for. All of this to say, Brooklyn is Big. So to get from Williamsburg to Prospect Heights (two Brooklyn neighbourhoods), the best way is to take the subway into Manhattan and another one back out again. I had vowed not to set food in Manhattan for the entire day. Oh bloody hell. It's just the damned subway.

The Brooklyn Museum was pretty damn cool. I really liked the Rodin sculptures and the gorgeous fabric canopies in the Great Hall. But what drew me there in the first place was the Lorna Simpson exhibition – it's there until August so check it out.

Huh?

What a great day. Now I head off to Montclair to hang out with the cutest family in New Jersey!!

News from New York, no. 3

Georges Dambier Marie-Helene Arnaud, Cap d'Antibes, Elle, 10 juin 1957
gelatin silver print
(I gawked at this one for a while. Wha?)

Georges Dambier
Marie-Helene Arnaud, Cap d'Antibes, Elle, 10 juin 1957

gelatin silver print

(I gawked at this one for a while. Wha?)

Here I am, nearing the end of my New York week. I need a break from Manhattan's noise and speed so today is a Brooklyn day. A relaxing Brooklyn day. My feet still ache from wandering around, with, of course, my bag loaded down with stuff. Today I take it easy.

Quick recap of Thursday: shoppin! Strand Bookstore and Dean and Deluca (hence the heavy bag), followed by more Soho wandering. Then I said to myself, I said, "Self, let's go relax and look at art!" So uptown I go. First the truly lovely but small George Dambier exhibit at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery on East 57th. That part of town makes me nuts. So I rush off to the Guggenheim. But it's closed on Thursdays. Bloody hell. Central Park is a bit muddy so I resist the urge to collapse in a heap, and drag my sorry self back to Brooklyn.

News from New York, no. 2

next installment. I don't even know if anyone is reading this. Monday was a fun shopping day in Williamsburg -- there are a lot of great thrift stores. A lot of good food stuffs. And a lot of people wearing skinny jeans ick. Tuesday... um, I can't remember. Oh yeah. I went to eat a late lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar (WOW!), then the Jewish Museum, then the Marimekko store, where I essentially lost my mind. Met up with the fabulous David for dinner and drinks. We ended up at a really sweet piano bar called Marie's Crisis, where everyone belts out showtunes, including the waitstaff. I only knew about 3 songs, but the enthusiasm was infectious. Wednesday a bit of a write-off, slept most of the day. I'm on vacation, ok? What do you want from me? I'm glad I rested, because then I went to see a crazy loud, high energy, freekin unbelievably AMAZING show called Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, which I could not possibly begin to describe. Just go. Really. Trust me.

Yep, that's the kind of crazy you will see if you go to this show

K bedtime. Tomorrow is another day. I love New York.

News from New York, no. 1

aleau ! je suis à New York. Vendredi j'ai fini ma grande carrière illustrée chez Desjardins.

Ensuite samedi ma fille a quitté le nid pour aller vivre à NDG avec des amis, et j'ai conduit le camion. C'était débile. Moi à travers tout ça avais développé une infection urinaire, donc après cinquante million arrêts-pipis misérables au milieu du démènagement je suis allé passer qq heures dans une clinique pour avoir mon ordonnance de cipro. Whew. Et on retourne charrier des meubles super lourds et des boîtes mal paquetées. Entékas c'était un calvert de 12 heures solides, à la fin duquel je me sentais comme si j'avais passé la journée en-dessous du camion et non au volant.

Dimanche matin je me lève avec une mal de tête épouvantable, je fais mon sac rapidement (as well as I could with all of my clothing in plastic bags since I gave my bedroom set to Sophia) et je saute dans un taxi pour l'aéroport. Aussitôt assise dans l'avion la pression est tombée.

What the hell was I thinking? A woman can only handle so much.

Now I am happily ensconced in a little corner of a little apartment in wonderful Brooklyn. Yesterday we went out for beers and then ordered in burgers from... what the hell was that place called... Dumont? Yeah. OH MY GOD. So good. I told Patrice I needed to stop eating so many burgers, but how can I when such fabuliciousness exists in the world? Ah what the hell. I'm going to spend the week indulging myself. So there, Reasonable Eva. This week Indulgent Eva is in charge. heh.

Well I must sign off and go discover stuff. The sky is grey and the street is wet, but I am full of sunshine in my soul. Did I just write that? Wow. Better quit while I'm ahead.

news from the west, no. 3: Beautiful Bee Cee

On Tuesday I bid farewell to my dear Jenn and jumped on a plane to the town I like to call Vangroovy. Since my arrival I have viewed and been viewed by various family members (including my now 95-year-old Grandma!), ate some yummy foodstuffs (including the very essential White Spot Legendary Burger) and checked out the new Canada Line skytrain. Cool. Very cool.

Now I'm in Mission, yukking it up with Maia, Tim, Lucas and sweet lil' Jubilee. Awww.

news from the west, no. 2: I love the ocean

Sunday was beach day! I hadn't been to the ocean since last summer in Maine, and lovely though it was, it wasn't the same as my old friend the Pacific. Again, I don't want to diss the east coast, which does of course have its charms, but there just isn't anything like the west coast.

We went to Manzanita and Cannon Beach. GORGEOUS.

Jellyfish of various sizes and scarinesses, big waves, cold water, soft sand, elaborate castles, warm tidepools, amazing ice cream. Gotsta go back.

news from the west, no. 1: Passionate about Portland

Heya. I'm in Portland with my old pal Jen. I really like this city. Lots of great shopping and food, excellent for cyclists, laid back atmosphere, plenty of green space. And it kinda looks like Seattle.


Upon arrival: Upon escaping heavy airport traffic we headed out for some tasty food (triscuit nachos yum!) and drinks at The Liberty Glass. Friendly joint in a beautiful old house. Love it.


First day: Shopping! Jen is the most amazing shopper. In fact she's a bit too good. If I want to still have money in my account when I get to Vancouver I'll have to start averting my eyes.

This first day in Portland also featured a top-notch caffe latte, tasty bar snacks and... wait for it.... the Grilled Cheese Grill!!! We ate our fabulicious sandwiches with Cherry Coke (they still have it here!) in an old school bus. Awwww.

Today we're off to the farmers' market and the Alberta Street Fair. Yay!

that's it! I'm outta here.

My adoring fans on the west coast will be happy to hear that I'll be embarking on a four-city tour of the Pacific Northwest (and Canadian Southwest) starting next week!

First stop: Portland, OR to visit my pal, the lovely and enchanting Jen McCabe. I believe a visit to the *real* ocean is on the agenda. With some great foodstuffs. As is a massive overload of pretty.

Then I'm off to Vancouver, BC to see family and friends.

Mission, BC is not to be missed, for an action-packed stop at the Coen-Ablers.

And last but most definitely not least, the tour will be wrapping up in Seattle, WA, the place where I was born and raised. There will be fish and chips. I have timed my visit to include a day at Bumbershoot, one of my fave events ever!

my kind of thing

Went down to Burlington, Vermont last weekend, and viewed one of VT's finest monuments:

THE WORLD'S TALLEST FILING CABINET!!

I was thrilled. Truly thrilled. Isn't it fabulous? You can find it and many other wonderful attractions on Roadside America. An essential reference for any roadtrip!

new!! fun photos from last year!

Have a look at this exciting blow-by-blow photoreportage of my experience on the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure last July.

http://deactivatedsludge.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-waterfront-trail.html

Better Late Than Never Not Much News from Havana, Part 1

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, the Cuban Internet is an ever-elusive beast. That is why I chose to defy tradition and not post news while in Cuba. While you're waiting impatiently for me to expose my thoughts, here are some photos for you:

http://picasaweb.google.com/posamari/HAVANAJanuary#

Havana!

So anyhoo, I couldn't do my usual updates with the Cuban Internet situation as it is. So I'll write an after-the-fact bulletin or two, for the stuff I can remember. Bear with me.

great waterfront trail

Day one: Kingston to Johnstown
9:20 a.m. Only 16 km down. About a hundred to go.

 

12:16 p.m.

2:46 p.m. Brockville. 83 km. That's enough.

End of day one for me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day two: Johnstown to Cornwall

8:50 a.m. Super stoked.

9:24 a.m. I love the waterfront. Gorgeous!!

10:58 a.m. The inevitable takes place. 

And thus concludes the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure for Eva "Falldownalot" Dawson.