Work out in your speedo's at Pier 45

My excellent NY travel guide recommended pier 45 is worth checking out and it's more or less near where the High Line ends so it was a perfect location to relax after the walk. There are three surprising things that I found here at pier 45...!

1) It appears to be not only the gay hang out, but the gayworkingoutinmytinypants hang out.

2) At the end of the pier you can join in the tango dancing which is just adorable watching old couples grooving while the sun goes down.

3) Kusama sure gets around! Her spotted toadstools bring even more character to this fairground of a pier! 

On top of this you can see all the way down shore to the Statue of Liberty and just across the river is the Jersey Shore. 

Walking the High Line

The High Line hovers above the East Side of Manhattan and stretches from Chelsea all the way down to Meatpacking District. It is a disused Railway Track that was built in the 1930s and has been preserved and turned into a tourist attraction. We happened to choose what felt like the hottest day we had yet experienced which made the walk quite difficult and I think we may have bailed about half way down to go and get a well deserved Sunday Sundae ice-cream but the view was undoubtedly spectacular. However, the artificial and strange smelling plants scattered along the line made me for the first time miss the REAL countryside. I think it's fair to say that New York just doesn't do gardens??!   

Past tense

I have been home in England now for 2 weeks and due to the madness of the last few days in NY I failed to finish uploading to my blog. Withdrawal symptoms aside, I must complete this as I have photos left. It just seems so sad that I am now going to writing from my memory sat home in Gloucestershire rather than looking out my window on the 23rd floor at my amazing Central Park city view! So here's how Lauren, Rhiannon and myself spent our last few days in Manhattan....(that's us in the pic btw) 

DVF

Could not possibly feel more like Whitney from The Hills than when you walk in the studio door to the Diane Von Furstenburg building in the Meatpacking District. I managed to get my foot in the door to make an appointment to meet with a designer there and look through my portfolio. A fantastic way to spend the afternoon Summer Friday and then wander round Chelsea Markete...just lovely. 

Another movie night in the park

We made sure that this time round we got to the park super early to set up a blanket and take a picnic. The movie was Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean and Nathalie Wood. The atmosphere of watching a movie outdoors in the park is so surreal when people get up and start dancing when the film begins and then cheering and gasping in unison as the film goes on. 

What to do in Williamsburg...

 

If you fit anywhere under the category of 'cool kid' then this is where you will be hanging out! The market is very similar to Brooklyn Flea market only we managed t o resist buying any junk this time round preferring to enjoy the view that looks back across to the Manhattan skyline. From there we stumbled across a really cute indoor market, again some really cool stuff but perhaps a little more selective and pricey. We stopped off on the roof at Berry Park bar for some afternoon wine where we didn't let the brief shower get to us Brits and sat with our umbrellas refusing to go inside! Dinner at Williamsburg Meatball Shop was quite possibly the best meal I have eaten here- Spicy pork balls in a brioche roll with parmesan creamy sauce= delicious! 

MOMA

We may be missing the Olympics while we are out here but we are sure keeping ourselves entertained in other ways! On a Saturday when it is pouring with rain, where better to hide away than the Museum of Modern Art. As you can see, I am totally engrossed in Monet's water lilies and I always love the Picasso cubist classics. I'm definitely not a fan of spiders however the Louise Bourgeois collection of spider illustrations made me smile. 

The current exhibition by Alighiero and Boetti is a great example of mixed media and definitely worth seeing. 

Another place we can now tick of the bucket list!