Dinner and a Movie

That pretty much sums up my time in America so far, food and films. But these were two of my favorite things when I lived here, and still are two of my favorite things, so why not indulge? I'm on vacation!

I arrived last Wednesday at JFK in New York City and was a bit scared that my luggage was lost, because while I was waiting in London for my connecting flight there was something about a fire somewhere in the airport where it sounded like there could be baggage. But no, my giant backpack was just one of the last to come rolling down the shute to the baggage claim. Whew. My superfriend Patrick was awaiting me, and we hopped into a yellow cab and took a ride into Williamsburg, a part of Brooklyn. We stayed there for 2 nights at a friend of Patrick's. New York was much friendlier than I expected. I'd never been there before, but you always hear that it's a cold, tough place. Compared to a city like Berlin, New York is incredibly warm and friendly. On Thursday we walked around Brooklyn a bit and saw some places that are probably better avoided after dark, and had lunch at a little vegetarian cafe. I had a vegetarian club sandwich, made with tofu and fake bacon (facon, as Patrick dubbed it). Very delicious. After this, we went into Manhattan, did some more walking around and finally went to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island, where the immigrants used to enter the country. Later on we went out to dinner with some friends of Patrick's at a Thai place. Mmmm, I had forgotten how delicious spicy food is! The next day we went to Times Square, which is incredibly touristy and filled with commerce, so we ducked down a side street and got lunch at a little Irish pub filled with what seemed to be locals. There I had a gigantic veggie burger, which was also superb. During the evenings we watched DVDs, on Wednesday Bollywood music videos and on Thursday 13 going on 30. They changed my life. Then on Friday after lunch we hopped on the Greyhound to Boston.

Friday evening after arriving and dropping off our stuff at the apartment, we went out to eat again. This time Indian food, which was also really great. I forgot that you automatically get a tall glass of ice water upon sitting down at a restaurant here, which is constantly refilled as you empty it. I like that. Then came the weekend. On Saturday we went out to eat again, this time at a little hipster place called the Other Side, I think. Here I had a delicious tomato mozarella salad, and was impressed that the staff played Sonic Youth's Murray Street in the restaurant. Then we visited the public library, which is an impressive marble construction, across the street from IM Pei's shiny blue John Hancock tower, which soars above the pretty Trinity church. From this square I could see seven American flags flying! Then we met up with yet another friend of Patrick's and spent the afternoon walking around the Boston Commons looking at ducks and squirrels, following the Freedom Trail sometimes, and also going into North Side, which is an Italian neighborhood which was flooded with molasses in 1919 I think. Apparently, a silo of molasses burst, flooding the streets and killing around 20 people. In North Side you can also see Paul Revere's house. Cool! Later on we went to Elevator to the Gallows, a French film from the 1950's which has been rereleased. I can recommend this film, it's quite engaging and entertaining. Then (you guessed it) we went out to eat! This time at a yummy falafel place. Following all this excitement we went home and played some 20th anniversary edition Trivial Pursuit and watched the Golden Girls.

Sunday consisted of relaxing a bit. We went out for brunch, then strolled around a bit. Next we went on a mission searching for donuts, which isn't hard in Boston, as Dunkin Donuts was founded not too far from here. There are Dunkin Donuts all over the place, and we stopped at one. Mmmm, donuts. In the evening we went and strolled around Harvard, browsed at the Harvard book store, and of course, went to eat again! This time pizza, but not just normal everyday pizza, but gourmet grilled pizza made on a pita. Again, mmmm. Surprise, later we finished watching Drop Dead Gorgeous and rented Shaun of the Dead, which was better than I expected. Of course we ate some Ben and Jerry's ice cream topped with gummy bears while watching the films.

Now it's Monday, and I'll tell you what happened today later!