Day 5

Gues what?
I slept! Not a lot, about 5 hours but it was much more than last night. I feel as fresh as three day old muffins :-) but I was still wide awake at 5 and ready to go for a walk by 7.
Today's morning stroll took me up 5th to Central Park. Despite the early hour, I was not alone, there were plenty of joggers, boxers, dog walkers and ice skaters stalking the park, enjoying the peace and the colours of autumn.

Morning Star -  this place is becoming my morning star. And I went for the healthy option today. There's blueberries in them there waffles. :-) 

Part 2

Coffee Selfie 

I needed a wee, so I stopped at Ray's bagels for a cawfee. (Not famous Ray’s but Original Ray’s or was it Famous Original Ray’s?)What a great people watching place, getting a feel for the East Village. Sights, sounds, smells and atmosphere so different from other parts of NYC. 

My view 

It's view of me 

East Village

First place I have been scared, hobbling through Tomkins Park was not the nicest experience. It has been suggested to me that if I feel scared I should shout and scream like a crazy, no one approaches an angry sweary crazy man. I didn't I just got the hell out. Otherwise this was a great place. Here are a few highlights. 

It turns out the photos I took don't really capture the charm. 

Part 3

Katz

A picture story

Part 4

Mimi's 

There's just one of you? You can have a table as long as you sit in the furthest recess of the restaurant where the piano player, who looks like a Europe reject, is just a distant  hum. You have to put  your foot down at moments like these and tell them you only came for the piano and want a view. I did, I won, but might I regret my forcefulness? 

There's something wonderfully chaotic about Mimi's. The waiters throw the cutlery on the table, the pianist plays well- known songs in a way that makes them unrecognisable, while the old waitress who isn't in Halloween fancy dress despite evidence to the contrary, sings along in a falsetto, with the emphasis on false. But it turns out she knows more of the lyrics than he does. Meanwhile the bouffonted, pearl necklaced madam guides people to their seats with the grace and charm of a bored Prague Tesco checkout assistant. 

The food meanders to the table  and when it finally arrives it looks like it might have been used once before. It tasted better than it looked but that was not that challenging. 

The second pianist is an overty gay fortune teller with last night's dinner down his front. But at least he has some presence unlike the Europe guy . But suddenly that presence is ruined as he puts a paper bag over his head and does a couple of numbers through paper. The guy's a clown and to prove it while the next number is on auto play he dresses up as the scariest clown I've ever seen. He's paid to play the piano but he spends most of his time faffing about. 

The apple crumble was superb but the joker playing the piano made it hard to swallow.

Mimi's is eccentric, I'll leave it to the eccentrics. 

100 Days of Grumpiness post - The land of the free

America - the land of the free or so it claims to be. Strange then that there are so many rules and regulations that ensure the free do as they are told. 

Now I am not grumpy about this, I think it is right to keep dogs off the sand, to keep cars in lane and to keep hands clean. This is health and safety keeping us safe and healthy. No what annoys me is the Daily Mail brigade hold the USA up as a shining example of a place where there is no red tape, where health and safety is kept sane, of small government not interfering in our day to day lives. Yet actually in reality this country would have those who claim health and safety has gone mad apoplectic with rage.