Tuesday, August 29, 2006

 

New York, Day Four

Kevin had the day off from work. In the morning we went to Union Square to meet his friend Cindy for breakfast. After breakfast we took the subway to Queens, to the end of the line at Coney Island. The weather was wet and gloomy so all of the rides were closed. The boardwalk still had a smattering of tourists, though, and a full force of lifeguards was on duty.

We walked down the boardwalk to the next neighborhood: Brighton Beach. It's populated by Russian emigrés, most of whom arrived two decades ago from the Soviet Union. One newspaper article I read describes Brighton Beach as the closest thing left to the USSR in the world. What we found, instead, is an ethnic enclave similar to any other you might find in Queens. There is one main street with grocery stores, restaurants and businesses under an elevated railway. On this weekday afternoon we saw a lot of babushkas out shopping.

We tried to find an Uzbek restaurant that was mentioned in the article, but no one we asked knew of any such place. We settled on a small place on Brighton Beach Ave. named Gina's Cafe. There were a few other people there, including a table of elderly American women. Three waitresses, all college-aged, were working. Kevin thought going to a place like this would be a great opportunity for me to practice my Russian, but I wasn't so sure. One of the waitresses came over to our table and greeted us softly in Russian: "Zdravstvuy". I grinned at her but remained silent. She got another waitress to take our orders, in English. Kevin ordered cheese bliny, or blintzes, and I ordered caviar bliny. Our waitress came with our food fifteen minutes after we ordered. The next time our waitress came back, with the bill, I loosened up and tried some Russian on her. She didn't comment on that, but at least she responded in Russian!

After lunch we shopped at some markets. We bought some very inexpensive fruit and some pastries for the long subway ride — and for me, plane ride — home. All were delicious.

We returned to Kevin's apartment at 3pm. I got my bags and said goodbye. I got to JFK with time to spare before my 5:30 flight. Strangely, there were a lot of Russians on the plane — making up perhaps as much as half the passengers. I had enough practice for one day, I thought, and slept the way through.


Monday, August 28, 2006

 

New York, Day Three

This was my last day in D.C. I got up early to leave the house with Naomi, who had a 45-minute commute to work in Baltimore ahead of her. Before we left, though, I had the chance to meet Naomi's roommate, Melissa. She had just returned to the States after a summer study term in Germany.

I booked a place on the 9:30 Chinatown bus to New York. I got to Chinatown an hour early, though, so I killed time at a Starbucks on the corner. My barista was a rail-thin blonde. She was being watched over by another employee; I guessed it was her first or second day on the job. From her appearance and accent I knew she was Russian. I paid her for my chai latte and after she gave me my change, I said, "Spasibo". She replied with a "Thank you". Who knows if she heard me, but she did give me a smile, perhaps one of recognition.

I reached the bus stop at 9:10. It was full. I noticed a pair of backpackers: university-aged English girls. When the bus arrived it overshot the stop by one block. The crowd stampeded. I threw my bag in the luggage compartment and elbowed my way onto the bus. The bus was already half full — the schedule didn't say there was another stop. I was one of the first to board and found a seat. One by one the crowd got on the bus — they all managed to sit down...so far. The last two were the English backpackers. They walked down the aisle once. Then they walked up the aisle and, with scowls on their faces, out the door. The driver had to open the luggage compartment and hand them their bags. As the bus pulled away from the curb a few minutes later, I saw those girls giving the ticket agent a piece of their minds. The next bus wasn't due for noon — I hoped their schedule in New York was flexible.

Got into Midtown New York at 1:15. I took the subway to my brother's office. We got lunch at a take-out Cuban joint a couple of blocks away — oxtail, rice, beans and fried plaintains.

I was on my own for the afternoon. I went to the Neue Galerie on 86th St. and 5th Ave. There was a blockbuster exhibit on view: five Klimts including the most expensive painting ever auctioned, a $135 million portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Monday afternoon was a good time to see this. I can't imagine a weekend crowd.

After strolling through the small gallery, I took a short walk to Central Park and the reservoir on 86th St. I finally finished the 500-page book I started at the beginning of my trip. I also saw the "mayor" of Central Park Reservoir, an elderly man who was the first one to jog around the scenic body of water. (Boy, was he on to something. So many runners whizzed by me that I had to move to a quieter spot to concentrate on my reading.)
Alberto Reyes, mayor of Central Park Reservoir

I took the subway to Brooklyn and met Kevin at his apartment. We had dinner at Joya, a thriving new Thai place on Court St. At 7:30 on Monday it was packed. The food is very inexpensive and the taste is decent, but the service is awfully slow. We had mussels as a delicious appetizer. The beef curry was terribly overcooked — I guess the cook lost track of it among a dozen other dishes he was preparing. I would not recommend sitting next to the open kitchen if you want to talk to your companions.

After dinner we went to the Regal Cinema across the street from Kevin's apartment. We planned a demi-double feature: catch the last hour of The Descent — a summer horror flick — and then Will Ferrell's Talladega Nights. It was 8:45. We bought a ticket for Talladega at 9:50 but the ticket taker wouldn't let us in until 9:20. So we traded those tickets in for Snakes on a Plane (or as the cinephile ahead of us called it, Snakes on a Train) which meant we could enter the cineplex at 9.

Now we had fifteen minutes to kill. We walked around the block looking for a place to take a quick drink. We settled on Dragon Bar. A sidewalk sign advertised $5 mojitos and a "gay patio". Although we weren't sure what that "special" meant, we still walked in. It didn't take long to figure out, though, when the bartender greeted us, "You boys look thirsty!" We sat down at one end of the bar, away from a group of five men older than us who were talking with each other. We ordered melon mojitos. The bartender took three minutes to prepare each drink, topping them off with a thorough shaking of the ingredients (which coincidentally flaunted his exposed biceps). We heard the group on the other end say, "Look, those guys got the same drinks we have!" We emptied our glasses in 90 seconds and left.

The last fifteen minutes of Descent and the first hour of Talladega were entertaining.


Sunday, August 27, 2006

 

Washington, Day Four

This morning Naomi and I drove to Eastern Market. This is a farmer's market cum flea market in D.C. The shoppers were trendier than I expected.

After shopping we spent another wholesome hour in Butler's Orchard in Maryland. On this late August day there were only rasperries and blackberries to pick. (Other times of the year offer peaches and apples.) I picked half as many fruit as Naomi. She commented that I was — as in other aspects of my life — too selective.


Berry picking in Butler's Orchard, Maryland

We dropped our haul off at Naomi's place and then took the Metro into D.C. We visited the Sackler Gallery, which displays the Smithsonian's collection of Asian art. The exhibit du jour was Facing East, portraits from all regions of Asia spanning the last 5,000 years.

After the museum closed we walked through the Sculpture Garden. We settled by the garden's fountain. This was a popular place to be on a muggy summer evening.


Summertime and the living's easy

We had an early dinner at McCormick & Schmick's, a refined seafood restaurant with several locations in Washington. The dining room, which was not even half full, was populated by tourists and a large birthday party. One thing the waiters do here that I had never seen before is lay out all the desserts on the menu on a tray. The presentation was attractive, but ultimately we passed.

After dinner we went home. Naomi put our day's bounty to good use by making a raspberry strudel. With some tasty food to fuel us through the night, we finally finished the Hitchcock flick.


Saturday, August 26, 2006

 

Washington, Day Three

Kicked off this Saturday morning the right way: with an 11-mile run. Naomi is training for the New York Marathon and asked me to join her on her weekly long run. We ran through Rock Creek Park and Georgetown. We were by no means the only ones this morning to enjoy the flat trails and fairly mild weather; Washington is a great city for running and biking. At the end of the run Naomi was ready to run two more miles but I was gasping for air.

After lunch in College Park, we returned to Washington in the late afternoon. We visited the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian Museum of American Art, which are housed in the same building and open again this summer after a muli-year renovation. I liked the walls of photographs (of faces, monuments and other things) and portraits of 20th-century celebrities, both on the first floor. I also enjoyed the contemporary art exhibit on the third floor, especially a video installation by Nam June Paik. This is a map of America, and each state has a television playing iconic images (example: potatoes for Idaho).

Naomi and I went to U St. for dinner. This is the home of Washington's sizable Ethiopian community and of course the location of many Ethiopian restaurants. We picked Efete on 18th St. This place has a narrow, stylishly decorated dining room; it's suitable for a date or bringing a small group at the beginning of a night on the town.

After dinner we walked down U St. to Chi-Cha Lounge, a place with conversation potential that Naomi discovered online. Along the way we passed another Ethiopian restaurant called Dukem. This one, which was much larger and busier, deserves consideration for my next visit. When we got to Chi-Cha we were disappointed to find that it was closed this weekend. We weren't too far away, though, from Dupont Circle, a nightlife hotspot, and spent the rest of the night at Lucky Bar. This is a raucous joint full of early twenty-somethings. It features decent music (hip-hop, classic soul) and the potential for mingling, although no one danced on this night. Naomi and I met two of her friends there, Megan and Melanie. We all had an enjoyable time.


Friday, August 25, 2006

 

Washington, Day Two

Spent the day in Baltimore, a 45-minute drive from Washington. Right as we arrived in the Inner Harbor, Naomi's car got a flat tire. We put the spare on, though, in a jiffy. We went to Naomi's workplace, the Maryland Historical Society, to find a mechanic.

After dropping the car off, we had lunch at a charming self-serve cafe called Sascha's. Then we hopped over to the Walters Art Center. The current exhibit was a retrospective of KAL, an editorial cartoonist who worked for 20 years at the Baltimore Sun.

All of these places are downtown. I was surprised to find many young people here, but it seems there are a couple of colleges in this area.

We left downtown and crossed the harbor to the Museum of Visionary Art. My favorite piece there was a print of Siegfried and Roy. The gift shop deserves mention — if you're looking for kitschy knickknacks and hipster odds and ends then you've found the place. After the museum we spent a short time in the Inner Harbor.


Changing a flat in Baltimore

We picked up the car and drove to Fells Point. This is an up-and-coming neighborhood along the harbor. There are a few nice stores and restaurants; a bunch of condos and townhomes are on the way.

In the evening we drove back to D.C. Dinner was at Café Citron, a Latin joint on Dupont Circle. It was busy. It was even louder. We had to wait for a table, which we didn't mind, but somehow the hostess gave us a hard time for it. ("You didn't make a reservation. Do you want to sit downstairs? You can only get appetizers there.") When we finally did get seated (ten minutes later) we were placed next to a boisterous table of young teachers. We sat right under a deck, which held a DJ spinning salsa/merengue/pop/house. Did I say the place was loud?

We went home early and tried to finish the Hitchcock film. Predictably after a long day, we fell asleep again.


Thursday, August 24, 2006

 

New York - Washington

In the morning I visited Union Square. Union Square is right next to NYU, and I saw a few students as I was doing some shopping. After I got that done, I went to Midtown and continued reading a lengthy novel I picked up the week before (Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl).

Near my brother's office I waited for one of the infamous "Chinatown" buses to take me on the next leg of my trip. There are at least a half dozen bus companies, running at least a half dozen buses daily, that transport bargain seekers to Chinatowns all over the East Coast. I found a company that picks people up at Times Square. For only $35 roundtrip, I got a comfortable 3.5-hour ride to Washington, DC, where I would stay with a friend from college, Naomi. (I bought my bus tickets at gotobus.com).

I arrived in DC's Chinatown at 5pm. I took the Metro to College Park in Maryland, where I met Naomi. We spent the evening dining at a Mexican restaurant and falling asleep watching a Hitchcock movie on TV.


Wednesday, August 23, 2006

 

Montreal Notes


 

Goodbye Montreal, Hello (again) New York

Noemie put me up in her roommate's room for the night. I couldn't close the door all the way, which proved to be the downfall of an uninterrupted sleep. Noemie has an cat who would come in often during the night and lick me or curl up in a ball next to me on the bed. I didn't get much sleep for all the pet encounters. Yet it was comforting to know that the cat was as welcoming of travelers as his owner.

I took Amtrak's Adirondack train down to New York. The train was full, but still much more comfortable than a bus, especially for ten hours. After a long stop at the border, we rode by Lake Champlain — how enormous! — and down the Hudson Valley. One of the most beautiful sights I've seen in a while was watching sailboats on the river, illuminated by a setting sun.


Looking at the Hudson River

The train pulled into Penn Station a little after 9pm. I took the subway to Brooklyn and met my brother for a late dinner. We went to Dallas BBQ, a Texas barbecue joint popular among New Yorkers as much for its cavernous $9 frozen cocktails as its baby back ribs.


Tuesday, August 22, 2006

 

Montreal, Day Four

Nima left first thing in the morning. Around 10am I went for a run in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. The morning exercise centered on Rue St-Denis, a wide street lined by cafes and shops. During my jog I saw just one other runner. The people of Montreal don't need to run to stay fit.


Bicycle is the way to get around Montreal

After lunch I went to Olympic Park, a few Metro stops east of downtown. This large area contains Olympic Stadium (the home of the Expos), Montreal Tower, Biosphere and the Botanical Gardens. I spent most of my time in the gardens. They are the third largest of its kind in the world. In these gardens I was impressed by the shade garden and the greenhouse. I didn't care much for the Chinese Garden, which is too crowded with plants (some of which aren't even Chinese) and people.


Olympic Stadium and Montreal Tower

After a couple of hours in the gardens I took the Metro back to the center, stopping at the Quartier Latin and the Village. The Village is Montreal's gay-friendly district, though it is smaller than New York's or San Francisco's counterparts. The Quartier Latin is a funky neighborhood near one of the city's four major universities. In that respect it resembles a charming version of Berkeley's Telegraph Ave. or San Francisco's Haight Ashbury.

Botanical Gardens


In the evening I tried Quebec's most famous dish, somewhat comically named poutine. This is a big bowl of french fries topped with gravy and curds. It is as rich as it sounds. I thought it tasted good at first but each bite became harder to take. This food is probably more appropriate on a cold winter's day.

Since Nima left this morning, I was on my own this night. On Sunday I told the Couchsurfer we met, Noemie, about my sitation. She offered to put me up for the night — this despite having to throw out her last Couchsurfer, a teenager from New Jersey, after he got high and freaked out her roommates. I went to her place in the Plateau neighborhood and dropped off my stuff. Afterwards, I set off on a quest for good jazz. I thought I would find it at a cafe in Quartier Latin named L'Utopik. This spot, however, catered to a student clientele — even the performers were barely in their 20's. I left after a couple of minutes.


Metro

I walked up Rue St-Denis to another club I read about in the paper. (Along the way I made a detour to Place des Arts. Here a crew was erecting an enormous video screen in preparation for the International Film Festival, which would start the next day.) This jazz club is Kemia, which occupies the basement of a three-story building. There were 15 or so people here tonight, watching a trio that featured an electric guitar. The group played blues heavy on distortion. The set ended at 11:30pm. I, nursing a sore throat, called it a night.


Monday, August 21, 2006

 

Montreal, Day Three


Kondiaronk Lookout on Mont Royal

Started the day on Mont Royal. This mountain, merely a short walk from the hotel, overlooks downtown Montreal. The park encompassing the mountain is fairly large; Nima and I were able only to walk its eastern half.


Nothing beats ice cream on a summer day


What you lookin' at? Raymond Mason's sculpture The Illuminated Crowd (corner of Ave. McGill College & Ave. du Prèsident Kennedy)

After climbing down the mountain we took the Metro to Parc Jean Drapeau. This is a park on two manmade islands in the St. Lawrence River. The park's highlights are a geodesic dome, a Formula One racetrack, a casino and an amusement park (which we missed). There's even a beach made for suntanners, which was inexplicably desolate on this bright day. Paths that cut through lovely gardens connect these sites.


Biodôme gives new meaning to the word "egghead"


Background: L'Homme by Alexander Calder. Foreground: bicycle racks by Montreal Parks Dept.

In the early evening we left the islands and took the Metro to Rue Crescent. We had dinner and a pitcher of sangria at Café Republique. We were served by a spunky waitress named Amanda. As it was a slow evening so far, Amanda had some time to chat with us. We learned that she returned to Canada a few weeks prior, after a few years in London and Greece with her then-husband. (We never found out why they split up.) She seemed to take this abrupt change in her life's direction in stride.


After a pitcher of sangria, almost called the apartment rental number

Nima was to leave Montreal the next morning (I was staying another day), so we spent our last night together at, you guessed it: Rue St-Laurent. This time we passed the glitzy joints before Avenue des Pins and wandered into a neighborhood-looking bar on the corner of Duluth named Blizzarts. The place was packed on this Monday night. We had a great time. Nima made the acquaintance of one of the bar's employees. I talked to a couple of friendly folks who, as it turned out, were from Australia. (Australia happens to be the next destination in my travels.) I got some good tips for my next trip from my new friends, and I offered to help them plan their upcoming travels (to New York and Europe). Look how travel can bring people together!


Sunday, August 20, 2006

 

Montreal, Day Two

Started the day late. Ate at Tim Horton's, Canada's largest fast food chain. The twist is that sandwiches, not burgers, are the main dish. And combos include a choice of soup...or donut! (And no, you can't super size it.)

It rained all day. Nima and I stayed indoors most of the time. Fortunately, there is no end to roof-covered diversions in Montreal. We spent some time in the "underground city". This is a series of subfloors under office buildings, which are connected to each other and to the Metro. The underground city is a sprawling subterranean shopping mall, replete with stores, eateries and even movie theaters. It was quite busy on this wet summer day, but I imagine it's even busier in the brutal winter.

After emerging from the underground city, we walked to the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Place d'Arts. Exhibitions of note included an "artsy" rock video compilation and a retrospective of a contemporary artist from British Columbia named Brian Junger. Junger sculpts objects evoking prehistoric times using materials from the modern era. (Works include Native American masks made of Air Jordan shoes and whale skeletons constructed from white vinyl patio chairs.)


Never buying another goldfish

Our day of going back in time was extended by a visit to the Archaeological Museum in Old Montreal. The highlight was an elaborate 20-minute multimedia show about the history of Montreal. The presentation was carried out with two translucent projection screens, dioramas on the floor and even dry ice.

After the museum we walked to Chinatown. I had heard about a tropical fruit available in Canada called the mangosteen; for pest control reasons, the mangosteen is illegal to import into the U.S. I bought a bag of them in a grocery store for C$4.99/lb. The fruit looks like a small purple persimmon on the outside. On the inside, the white flesh resembles lychee. The flesh is juicy, but not as wet as a peach. The flavor is citrusy, very pleasant. I can't wait for the next opportunity to taste one.


Mangosteens (Copyright by The New York Times; photographer David Karp)

For dinner Nima and I went to the Plateau Mont Royal, a bohemian (bourgeois) neighborhood two Metro stops from our hotel. The restaurant we dined at was Les Folies on Rue Mont-Royal. Although the place was almost empty on this Sunday night, the ambience was nice and our waitress was friendly. (I passed by this restaurant a couple of days later when it was completely full.)

After dinner we met a Couchsurfer that I had contacted prior to our trip. Her name is Noemie; she is starting university in the fall. We went a couple of blocks up the street to a neighborhood bar called Le Boudoir, which serves Quebec microbrews. Noemie is friendly and a lot of fun. She gave us a few suggestions for the rest of our visit.

When we said goodbye to Noemie it hadn't yet reached midnight. We went back to St-Laurent. We revisited some of the places we had checked out the night before, and even stopped by one we hadn't: a club called Radio. All of these spots were pretty quiet tonight.


Noemie and I toasting the town


Saturday, August 19, 2006

 

Montreal, Day One

I left New York early in the morning for a weekend in Montreal. I heard many great things about this city, most during my college years in New England, but somehow I never was able to visit...until now.

Near the end of the 90-minute flight my plane circled one time over Quebec's largest city. One thing I noticed was the prevalence of baseball fields in the parks. If the Montreal Expos averaged only 2,000 fans each home game, I wondered how excited the city's children could be to play baseball themselves.

After landing at the airport, picking up my bag and clearing customs, I hopped on L'Aerobus, a shuttle that goes downtown. This ride costs C$13, as opposed to a C$35 taxi, and takes you to the central bus station. From there you can take another shuttle that will drop you off at your downtown hotel, for free. It's a great deal.

I was staying at the Quality Hotel Downtown. This hotel has a great location: two blocks from a Metro station, a few blocks from a major university, and a ten-minute walk from Rue St-Laurent, a major dining and nightlife spot. It's a bargain, too. I got a double room for an average of US$105 per night.


Rue Ste-Catherine: Shopper's delight

At the hotel I met up with my friend from San Francisco, Nima. He took a few days off from work to join me for this leg of my trip.

Our first foray into the city began at Rue Ste-Catherine. This street, a short walk from our hotel, is the shopping mecca of Montreal. Hundreds of fashionable Canadians took to the boutique-lined street. The fantastic weather certainly helped to draw the crowd.


Basilique Notre Dame

After walking up Ste-Catherine, we took the Metro to Place d'Armes in Old Montreal. Old Montreal has a lot of financial institutions, so it was relatively quiet this weekend afternoon. Still it was relaxing to walk down the district's narrow streets. Then we went to the Old Port and Place Jacques Cartier, the Fisherman's Wharf of Montreal. Like its San Francisco counterpart, these spots were bustling with vendors, entertainers and spectators.


Summer, a great time to get hitched in Old Montreal

That night Nima and I walked to St-Laurent for dinner. It started to rain so we ducked into one of the first restaurants we saw. It was an Italian place named Cafeteria. The restaurant's atmosphere was somewhat imposing. Its interior was dimly lit and the hostess and wait staff were chicly dressed. But while the decor was a hit, the food was unimaginative (though moderately priced). At least the attractive people surrounding me gave me a diversion from my plate. On that note, our waitress, Andrea, was a sight to see. She wore a tiny dress with a plunging neckline (think J-Lo), set off by a belt made of oversized rings. San Francisco's restaurants are supposed to innovate in many respects, but Montreal beat us here!


Another way to get hitched in Old Montreal

The rain hardly let up for very long the entire night. After dinner we barhopped on St-Laurent. First we stepped into Go-Go Lounge, a sixties-themed bar. It was the only bar that was busy at 10pm. After a couple of drinks we went down the street to Lodge Taverne. (Imagine wood paneling and moose head hanging on the wall). There we met a couple of nice folks from Wisconsin: a chiropractor and his assistant in town for a conference.

Then we went next door to Le B-Side. We met a bartender named Shannon, who is originally from San Francisco. (We found out about her from someone I contacted on Couchsurfing — Shannon is her roommate.) She greeted us with a smile and a round of drinks. It didn't take very long for us to laugh like old friends, but there's Montreal for you. Our new pal gave us a pass for a place down the street named Rouge. Rouge is a two-level club, by far the most bumping spot on the street. I counted at least two bachelorette parties happening here tonight.


How does the elevator work in these apartments?

After a while Nima and I had to step outside to catch our breaths. It was only 1:30am. We heard about another nightlife destination a couple of miles west named Rue Crescent, which is supposed to be more fun (and less pretentious) than St-Laurent. We decided to check it out. We hit up a club called Newtowne (nice decor with sunken dance floor, plays hip-hop) and Thursday's, a huge bar that was only half full.

We didn't enjoy these places as much as St-Laurent. There was still much Saturday night left to live, though. We took a cab back to St-Laurent and hung out there till the bars and clubs let out. At 3:30 we called it a night.


Friday, August 18, 2006

 

New York, Day Two

Had a terrific night's sleep. Not even my brother Kevin's upstairs neighbor, a Persian lady who screams four-letter words at the TV, woke me up.

Kevin had the day off from work. In the morning we went to New York University. My brother shot a video for a support group of students that is affiliated with the school, and he was there for the premiere screening. Afterward we walked around Greenwich Village, which is right next to the campus.

Next up was downtown. We walked around the World Trade Center site, which is now in the first stage of reconstruction, to the World Financial Center. There was supposed to be a kite exhibit in the concourse, but we found that the true spectacle was the stores and eateries in this indoor shopping mall.

After walking through the WFC we went to Century 21. This is an enormous department store across from the WTC site. What sets this one apart is that most of the goods are designer duds marked off at unbelievable rates. I saw famous makers like Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and Evisu at 70% off. Of course the store was buzzing with swarms of bargain hunters. I bought one item: a jacket from a brand I'd never heard of. This jacket, with a putative original price of $138, was mine for just $21. Too good to be true? I'm sticking to this story — who wouldn't drop their jaw after hearing a $100 markdown?

In the afternoon Kevin and I went uptown to MoMA. The most popular exhibit this day was a Dada retrospective. I thought most pieces, which were upsetting when they were made after the first World War, had since lost their shock value. I liked much better the installation by the architectural team of Herzog & de Meuron.

After the museum we walked around Times Square and stumbled upon an Off Track Betting parlor. Neither of us had ever been inside one; our curiosity got the better of us and we went in. This OTB was half full. Nerdy lowlifes who thought they could make a fortune by poring over books of stats and records. All men. Thousands of worthless slips of paper littered the floor. Long bouts of tedium were interrupted every now and then by races, broadcast by satellite. The bettors glued their eyes to the monitors and commanded their horses to go faster. After the race you heard a few groans but no cheers. (The few who won knew better than to gloat.) Kevin spotted a familiar face, an employee at a Chinese takeout place near his office. He shook his head at the sight of this guy blowing his hard earned dough.

We met Kevin's friends at a midtown Korean restaurant called Han Bat. After dinner Kevin and I went to the South Street Seaport. There was a free concert by none other than the punk legends the New York Dolls. I recognized maybe half of the songs, which were from their first album, but the stuff that came out on this year's album sounded good, too.


New York Dolls at South Street Seaport


Thursday, August 17, 2006

 

New York, Day One

Arrived early morning, after a red-eye flight. Traveled by subway, coping with the rush-hour crowd, to midtown Manhattan, to meet my brother at his office.

After freshening up in the office men's room, I commenced my day's activities. First up was the International Center of Photography. It has a small exhibition space, but it packs a punch. The two highlights were exhibits on a Korean named Atta Kim and Weegee, a mid-20th-century photojournalist. Weegee's work, which appeared in New York tabloids, has a proto-Arbus sensationalism. Weegee wrote his own captions, too; my favorite is "Cop who looks like Gary Cooper books blind man for murder".

After gulping a timely Starbucks iced coffee, I met a college friend for lunch. I walked a few blocks to his office in East Midtown, the JP Morgan building. Waiting outside for him, I was fascinated by droves of finance types, most younger than 30, pour out of skyscrapers for lunch on a sunny day.


Central Park

After lunch I hung out at the Apple Store on Fifth Ave and 58th St. (Hint: great place to check your email for free.) Then I walked a couple blocks north to Central Park. I sat down on a bench and relaxed for a while. There were a lot of foreign tourists in the park that day.

In the evening I went back to my brother's office, just north of Times Square. We took the subway back to his home in Brooklyn. We had dinner at a cozy, reasonably priced Middle Eastern restaurant named Zaytoons, on Smith St. in the Cobble Hill neighborhood. After dinner we caught a movie. I chose World Trade Center. (I was sleepy and I thought it would keep me awake.) I didn't think twice about my decision at first, but shortly after the movie began I realized that we were watching it in New York City. One man a couple rows up totally lost it; he sobbed throughout the film.


Tuesday, August 15, 2006

 

Transit options

68 Adirondack
Montreal, QC (MTR) 9:50 am 23-AUG-06
New York, NY Penn Station (NYP) 7:40 pm 23-AUG-06
9h 50m Snack car
1 Reserved Coach Seat $55.00

Washington Deluxe
departs from Penn Station, Brooklyn

Chinatown bus aggregate


Friday, August 11, 2006

 

Montreal: Miscellany

Shopping
Boulevard St-Laurent, Rue St-Denis, Rue Ste-Catherine

beaver tail
canadian-specific pastry that is just fried dough with various toppings


 

Montreal: Nightlife

Listings
http://33-mtl.com
http://extremelounge.ca
club list

Rue St-Denis


Many little bars (same area as restaurants) where you will find mostly locals

Quai Des Brumes (LP) map
on St-Denis (corner of Mont-Royal). Folk, jazz, rock, etc.

oriental tea lounge
4511 St Denis, hookah

le jet
ste-catherine street EAST

St-Sulpice bar (LP)
on St-Denis between De Maisonneuve street and Ontario Street (metro: Berri-UQAM)
For a beer, there is the amazing terrasse behind this bar. You need to enter through the bar. 3 floors.

Rue St-Laurent

Reservoir
micro-brewery on Duluth street and has an upstairs outside terrace that is nice.

Tokyo bar (LP) pretty popular for dancing

Cafe Campus (LP)
on St. Arthur street, nice student environment

Foufounes Electriques (LP)
ste-catherine/st-laurent (metro st-laurent)
skate ramp on wednesday, thursday its the greatest night - ladies night - but it sucks on saturday

Loft (LP)
right on the corner of st-laurent/Ste-catherine, very near the Foufounes Electriques.

Laika (LP)
St-Laurent & Duluth

St-Laurent and Prince Arthur

Rue Crescent

la boom
west side of ste -catherine, 3 floors

Dance
A couple of funky places: El Zaz bar (again on St-Denis, close to Rachel Street, mid-way between metro Sherbrooke and Mont-Royal) or La Tulipe (only on Friday nights, unless you like 80s music, that's on Saturdays) on Papineau close to Mont-Royal (from Mont-Royal station, take bus #11 or 97 I think, anyways, just make sure the bus goes to corner Papineau by asking the bus driver).

Old Port

Cobalt bar
near Rue St. Paul Ost in the old port. live music at night and good cocktails


 

Montreal: Eats

Rue Mont-royal, Rue St-Denis

Plateau du Mont Royal

Shed Cafe map
nice ambience, Thursday or Friday

Cafe Republique

Santropol Cafe (LP)
on St. Urbain, for sandwiches

L'Avenue (LP)
awesome for breakfast. It's on Mt. Royal st and there is usually a long line to get in, but it's worth it!

on St-Denis between Sherbrooke street and St-Joseph street
Mont-Royal street between St-Denis and De Lorimier
(all in the same area: subway stations: Sherbrooke, Mont-Royal and Laurier).
From very cheap (Manana, Popessa, ...) to somewhat expensive (Continental, Fonduementale, ...), but better quality and yet better price than what you will find on St-Laurent or the old port

Old Port

La Rose Blance
a little girlie, but it's great food, nice area, and cheap. Rue St. Paul Ost in the old port.

Jardin Nelson
Place Jacques-Cartier in the Old Port (metro: Champ-de-mars)
Great terrace. Touristy, but worth it, sometimes with live music. I've been there mostly for lunch, but I hear they have brunch on the weekends.

Downtown

Wienstein & Gavino Pasta Bar
meal for 2 between 40 and 70$ without wine


 

Montreal: Attractions

Listings

Olympic Stadium
map

Botanical gardens
map

Old port of Montreal
always nice for architecture and little market place

Le Mont-Royal
http://www.lemontroyal.qc.ca/en_index3.html
map
from metro station Place-des-arts, take bus #80
This is a great place if you want to see the city from a different angle. On the top of the mountain, you have a nice view of buildings and there's a great ambiance. You can walk around there, it's really beautiful. Also, depend of what kind of music you listen to, there's many good spot on Mont-Royal Street on the Plateau (metro Mont-Royal) http://www.stm.info for a map of the metro to have a pint.
Sunday: crowd who jam with tamtam, Picnic Electronic ($5 entry)

Parc Lafontaine
http://www.montreal.com/parks/lafontaine.html
not really touristy

Jean-Drapeau island
beach, La Ronde roller coaster


Wednesday, August 09, 2006

 

Montreal: Planning a visit

For a long time I have wanted to visit Montreal. I can thank Giants radio and TV announcer Jon Miller for that. When the team from San Francisco would play in Montreal, he inevitably mentioned the players' love for this city — mostly for the killer nightlife.

It turns out I'll be going to Montreal next week. I'll squeeze a few days in the Paris of North America in between stops in New York and Washington.

I've been asking Couchsurfers there for ideas of places to see and things to do. The posts that follow are what they came up with.


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