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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The invention of the Cronut.

The invention of the Cronut.

Today was the day I was to get up at 6AM and take the subway down to Dominique Ansel’s Bakery in SoHo, to line up for two hours for a taste of a Cronut from the place they were invented. If you haven’t heard of them, Cronuts are a worldwide sensation at the moment – they are basically a donut, filled and topped with assorted creams, made from a croissant pastry. Moist but flaky and covered in sugar, they have been replicated all around the world, but it is here at Dominique’s that they originated.
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