The Reyes Report

We had a great weekend in the city. Crisp, autumn air has rolled in, and we’re feeling fall.

On Friday, we called around to get a quote for some movers. Conrad found one that is more green than others (bio-diesel trucks and loaned plastic packing bins instead of carboard boxes). That means the boxes I stole borrowed from the office are laying around still unpacked as the guy from “Movers not Shakers” is coming on Monday to give a real quote and he needs to assess our goods. Soooo … that meant the weekend we had allocated for packing was now free. We watched our budgets, but we also watched the city … this moments are the ones that make us remember how much we love living here. Here’s some of the flavour, and links if you want to dig deeper yourselves..

But more than this, it was a reminder that sometimes it’s just best to get lost. Because though we planned a few stops on our visits, it was the surprise turns that really enriched our adventures. So next time you’re out and about, don’t be afraid to get lost, you never know what you’ll find.

Friday night:

• Game night! With friends out of town and others doing chores, we decided to save money and stay in. We ate left overs, and played games that ended in O .. Rummy-O and UnO.

Saturday:

• Lunch in the West Village - a quick Google search of good eats yielded a place we would have walked right by and barely blinked: WestVil. I got a plate full of veggies, and Conrad, hot dogs and sweet potato fries!
• Banksy - infamous British graffiti artist – hits NYC. We made the trip down to the West Village to see his installment … a first in anamatronics / no graffiti … called “The Village Pet Shop and Charcoal Grill” … pictures don’t describe, you’ll have to watch on You Tube. This was a strange site. About 20 people gathered on the street gave it away as something awry, but really, there were no signs that clued in passerby’s, so it was hard to be in the know unless you knew in advance, you know.
• Three lefts and a right. The rest of the day was spent ‘splorin. It’s our favorite NYC activity. We just meander around and wander into new neighborhoods to see what we see. We are also addicted to the NYC street fair. So we found two of ‘em and walked through. Got some baked goods, tried a new coffee shop (where they transformed the cream atop of Conrad’s coffee cup into a spider web!!) and found a church bizarre with some fun wool hats .. 2 for $5! (Not to mention an awesome wooden console table for $30 .. unfortunately, already sold.)
• BIRTHDAYS! I love em!! So happy birthday Natasha, thanks for giving us a reason to celebrate!! Oh, and to play with a Wii Fit. Love that too! When Conrad and I give up Cable TV, I think this may be something we put the savings towards acquiring

Sunday: A sleep-in, lazy kind of day

• Lower East Side Apple Day & Go Green festival on … of course .. Orchard street! The theme was green, so many vendors were hawking enviro-friendly wares, or telling you how to compost from within the cramped confines of a NYC apartment, and the like. We bought pork and pickles. Mmmm. Still full.
• And I forgot to mention, we walked the wrong way out of the subway. That was awesome … we found two great things …
  1. China town borders a lighting and light-bulb district! Who knew?? (Many restaurants in the city have really neat old-style light bulbs we’ve been envying for a while, now we know where to find them)
  2. Polo on a bike! … or what I’ve now learned from wikipedia is called Urban Cycle Polo. Yeah … someone chasing a ball, towards me, with a stick, and of course, no helmets to be found. It was VERY fun to watch (but not something I’m going to rush to sign Conrad up for anytime soon! :0)
• Lower East Side BBQ dunch (we were aiming for brunch, but we ate so late I can’t imagine eating again!)
• Tour of the neighborhood. We felt like we were in a foreign world. This little pocket of Orchard Street on a Sunday was very slim on tourists, high on 08′s version of beatniks, and many cafe windows surrendering the warm interiors and secret dens of the dinners within, tempting us to join them. Alas, we declined. After exploring a few more blocks, we called it a day and retreated to our own nest for a hot cup of tea and to recharge our batteries in preparation for the week ahead.

Preview of the week ahead. If .. if .. things go right .. this week will hold a walk through of a new home, a closing, and a new set of keys for our key ring. Cross fingers & stay tuned!