Wednesday, June 30, 2010

A CATHY SUMMER
Upon my return to NY, I was looking at the city and it seemed boring, too busy without being interesting and well I was just so over NY. And then Cathy arrived. Cathy is a friend of a friend. (s she is from Colombia of course because Americans just don’t stay with friends of friends right? They almost don’t even stay with friends…. See just how cross I am about the US right now?

Anyway Cathy is making me see NY through new eyes again. And well its beautiful. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to live in Prospect Heights. I love our coffee shops—both of them are great and if one doesn’t suit the mood Imin the other does. Breuklen and the Glass Shop are both amazing. Francesco can be stand offish at first but you really grow to love his way of relatingto people as he warms up. As for Frank, Jason and Liza.. they are lovely all in different ways. Francesco has the sardine sandwiches! Frank has the organic coffee and grass fed cow milk.

And then there is Prospect Park (it doesn’t hurt that its June.) blue marble ice cream and the park slope coop.

Chavela’s with the nicest owner ever and surely the best Mexican food in Brooklyn.

Our new find Pilar’s up in Bed-Stuy /Clinton Hill—also great people but their food may be even nicer than they are!

The Public Library both on 42nd street and the Brooklyn one a few blocks away next to the park, the sun, the brownstones, getting to ride my bike over Brooklyn bridge to go to work, the highline park, going to see Shakespeare in the Park, music at Lincoln center. the MOMA, biking to Breezy Point to go to the beach and stopping for Uighur food and Russian pastries on the way there.

eating Senegalese, Indian, Jamaican, Veggie Jamaican and cheap Chinese owned Japanese food all on one street right next to your house

Of course Cathy loves it… she keeps comparing NY to Koln where she has lived for the last several years and hearing her makes me realize just how amazing our neighborhood is. I think this is what having a child must be like—getting see everything as new again. I should have guests more often--of course my dissertation suffers—although we did spend a bit of time ar 42nd street library doing research….