Honeymoon - New York City, New York, USA - Day 7
7:33 PM
Day 7 saw our second full day in New York City. After spending time on the sight seeing bus the day before, we had decided that we would hit up Soho. I was desperate to head to the Converse store so that I could get my hands on some cheep and funky shoes that we cant get here (The US Converse site will not ship to Australia).
We caught a cab down with a great driver who was happy to chat, and point us in the right direction for what we wanted to look at.
First stop was breakfast at the SOHO Cafe, with the cafe kitchen and counter on the ground floor and the dining area down a level. This was there idea of eggs on toast which just made us laugh!
As we made a direct line towards the Converse store, I saw this clothing shop a couple of doors up, with all of these old sewing machines on both sides of the entrance. It was such a beautiful touch and got me in the door, even if only for a couple of photos.
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Next stop Converse..... Now I was in heaven! The music was pumping, the store was full of people, there were walls lined with shoes, and a design your own area. This included adding graphics to the sides, choosing colours and designs, and the turn around time was fast.
And there was no way I was ever going to resist a photo of the American Flag made with shoes!! I walked out of there with one new pair of shoes (and later bought another pair at a shoe sale).
We then started to wander the streets and found Yellow Rat Bastard. This place was fantastic. So much selection for everyone and some very obscure brands that aren't always easy to find.
We had been told to stop in and check out the Pearl River Mart. A haven for Asian foods, clothes and home wares. We didn't stop for that stuff though. We headed straight to the back of the shop to look at the beautiful wooden bird cages.
We made it to Houston Street and started walking back. We decided to explore the city a bit by foot before catching a cab - Looking back through Soho.
Street Art at Canal Street. We love you Soho.
We found ourselves wandering around the NYC University area, then into Washington Square Park.
Washington Square Park is another beautiful space in such a packed city. Its proof that NYC has been so well planned out. On the street out through the arch were some markets. We wandered and looked and took in the beautiful food smells, to come across a stall with old mounted photo prints. A lot of them were from the NY subway during the 1970's and early 1980's. Upon talking to the man selling them, we found out that he is an ex Marine, who had a very strong passion for photography. He used to travel the subway and get as many people photos as possible. On the flip side, he was also very interested in what type of camera I had and what subjects I like to shoot. I purchased a print from the railway tracks looking at Conney Island taken in the early 1980's and it is fantastic. The only disappointment is that I didn't get a photo with him or even stop to get his name. Meeting him was a highlight for me as I really needed the boost in my photography around about then. He was an unexpected find!
This was a must on my NYC list this trip, and after spotting the store on the bus trip, I knew where it was and would find my way back. The Ink Pad on Seventh Ave was full to the brim of stamps and paper craft supplies. It was great just to check it out and the ladies were chatty and joking... especially the laughs about washi tape.
My gorgeous sister in law was in NYC at the same time as us so we organised a catch up. We met at Dylan's Candy Store (recently seen in the remake of the movie Arthur). This photo only shows a tiny bit of the ground level. There are two other levels to this store and well worth the visit even if it is just to look at the stairs.
From here we headed off towards a pub for a drink then on to dinner. You know those moments when someone starts tell you about a place, and with very little information, you just know exactly which one it is... This was one of those scenarios. The doorman at Lucys hotel had given her the name and address to a Mexican restaurant within walking distance of Dylan's. Once I heard the address on Third Ave, I knew it was the Mexican restaurant that we had fallen in love with on our last visit. Sure enough, once we got to the address it was the exact same one... Dos Caminos. We love the food here and the atmosphere of the restaurant makes it.
NYC Tip: When heading to the bathroom in a decent restaurant, have a couple of singles in your pocket to tip the bathroom attendant.
We finished up at dinner and found another pub a couple more blocks down, where we had a few more drinks and chatted and relaxed in the middle of one of the busiest cities on earth.
After the cab dropping us off in Time Square we said bye to Lucy. We wandered and checked out the lights (a nightly ritual when staying in the Time Square precinct), but it was certainly more fun after a few drinks!
One last stop on the way back to our hotel was a corner shop for a couple of bottles of water and soft drink. We also picked up a couple of snickers ice-creams to end the night on, kicking back and chilling out in our room.
There is more from New York City to come!
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