I’ve spent the day wandering around New York looking in bookshops. It was a really hot and sunny day, well into the 70s. Went to the Museum of Modern Art and Dean & Deluca, the food and kitchenware shop. I also sneaked into the Apple Store to play with the iPads.
In the afternoon I headed to Brooklyn (one of my favourite parts of New York) where I explored Smith Street. This is a very trendy part of town nowadays – lots of bars, restaurants and quirky shops. My older kids would love it! I bought some ceramics from Claireware down by the canal before walking back up to Smith Street. The night before it had been hit by a hailstorm, so there were lots of green leaves on the ground and a few trees had been blown over. There were firefighters and fire engines everywhere, should have had my camera.
I was supposed to get wool for my wife but there was a group of women fiercely knitting in the shop! Instead, I went to the barbershop next door as I needed a haircut and I always like to try barbers in different countries for some strange reason. The barber was from Puerto Rico and I got a great haircut, all done with clippers and cut-throat razors. It took almost an hour because like all barbers, he spent most of the time putting the world to right – but he was a really interesting guy and I found out a lot about being a Puerto Rican living in NYC! They call him the Salsa Barber because each night he clears his shop so that his sister can come in and give salsa dancing lessons, which was a very clever use of space.
In the evening I walked over to Brooklyn Heights to have dinner with some friends. There was Halloween stuff everywhere, they do it so well here!
