Melbourne coffee in London, grilled duck + buttermilk fried chicken.

Melbourne coffee in London, grilled duck + buttermilk fried chicken.

Straight out to the Clerkenwell Workshop Coffee Co. location this morning, we head in, sat down, ordered our lattes and looked around at the much-bigger-than-their-other-location space. The back of the cafe is the roasters, out in the open and viewable by customers. With the beans churning around against a wall of ferns, and the rest of the cafe decked out in rich wood, iron and white tiles, I can see this as a frequent hang-out place in my future. Nooschi. explains how Melbourne coffee is an art form here, and talks about Workshop’s dedication to the art.
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White girl gets a fork, best pancakes ever, a rice pudding cafe + an urban high-rise park.

White girl gets a fork, best pancakes ever, a rice pudding cafe + an urban high-rise park.

I stayed in my hotel room until midday. My feet hurt. I needed to sort out my luggage, get myself re-centered. And to be honest, I just needed a sleep in. New York is so ever-bustling and busy, it was nice to sit 13 floors above it all in the quiet and recharge. There is a lot to do here, but I am not sure I could live here. Those that do seem busy, unhappy, and often stuck.

I am used to dancing in the street, smiles and laughter, and singing tram conductors. Today I was walking along Broadway, listening to Daylight by Matt and Kim, smiling and dancing a little when I stopped at the traffic lights. People actually looked at me grumpily. Why are you happy? They seemed to be thinking.

At noon I checked out, turned over my bags to luggage storage and set out to SoHo. I had four destinations today, first was the High Line Urban Park. Last time I was in New York this park was in planning stage, and I had always wanted to visit New York again so I could go here. The city turned an abandoned high rise train line into an urban park high above street level, spanning 1 mile (1.6 kms). It was a super sunny day, and the sunlight reflected off the piles of snow to blind those walking the paths. I can imagine this would be beautiful in summer, but in winter it was still nice to walk so high above the city – the air almost seemed cleaner there.
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