New York, New York

Crazy New York, it was about two and a half years ago since we last visited and we’d forgotten how big and over the top the place can be. The $15 Lucky Star bus dropped us off in China Town and I realised I’d forgotten my guide book. Frankly I’m lost without a guide book until I get my bearings. We found the nearest subway a couple of blocks away and then tried to figure out which train to get. I’m a person who likes to walk around, get to know my surroundings, make mental notes of buildings, landmarks so I know where I am. So we’re underground, on the train. Em’s cool while I’m suffering an anxiety attack because I didn’t know where we are and if we’re going in the right direction. Em knew we were going the right way and was finding it quite amusing watching me crumble into little pieces on the subway. finally in the daylight I had a better idea of where we were and where we needed to be.


The hotel was pretty basic, sitting between Times Square and Central Park. In fact from our room window you could see the park, a view some pay thousands for. The conference I was attending was also just down the street at the Hilton so the location was spot on. First thing we did after checking in was buy a map and have a brew. No tea making facilities in the room which was a let down, but what do you want, a view of the park or a cup of tea. One of the places we didn’t get round to last time was Brooklyn, particularly the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge looking back at Manhattan. You know the view, it’s in every film that takes place in New York and we wanted to see it for ourselves. I was more comfortable on the subway this time because I had my little guide, Emma and the map. We took the subway to York Street then walked back towards Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan. It was starting to get dark and Manhattan was lighting up as we walked across the bridge. I don’t think you could ever get tired of seeing Manhattan as the sun sets and the city skyline wakes up before your eyes. It’s a really beautiful sight to see. We stopped off for some food in a little Irish bar called McCanns. I had a pulled pork sandwich, you can’t go wrong with pulled pork. Em went for the honey fried chicken, which was nice once we had navigated past the bones.

I was attending the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators all day Saturday which left Emma to fly solo round the streets of New York. So while I was listening and learning from speeches by David Almond, a writer from Newcastle and some advice from Art Directors about the kind of work they like to see. Em was getting her nails done and doing girlie things, living a sex and the city type day. Unfortunately I think it rained most of the day which I think ruined some of her fun, and her ‘Ugg’ boots got a bit wet. I was starving by the end of the conference, which did serve a lunch of Caesar Salad and the typical Chicken covered in some white creamy sauce. No matter which Hilton you go to, you end up with slightly warm chicken covered in a white cream sauce. Hope nobody from the Hilton reads that bit. The rain continued to pour into the night so we tried to find a place to eat. For some reason we struggle at doing this sometimes and tonight was one of those nights. The first place we went to was one Em had seen earlier in the day. We walked in and waited to be seated as the sign told us to, nobody came and the only person who spoke to us was a little spanish woman demanding our coats. We both replied ‘we’ll get a table first’ to which her reply was ‘no speak the english’. ‘It’s okay we’ll get a table first’ I countered but still nobody was coming to show us to a table. Sometimes you just know the signs are not good so we turned and walked out to find a place that will accept us with open arms. We made our way to Virgil's, a popular place recommended by friends and family. One and a half hour wait. No thanks maybe some other time. So we ended up in a place called the ‘Harvesters’, at least I think that’s what it was called. A bit like the Beerworks in Boston, brewing it’s own beers and stouts. I’ll admit I didn’t eat many burgers back home in England but I’ve got a taste for them over here. So we both had a burger and a couple of home brews and dried out. Somewhat relieved we didn’t stay at the first place.

Sunday was a beautiful clear day if a bit cold and windy, you could call it fresh if you wanted. I was back at the conference until two-ish. Writer and illustrator Marc Brown was the main keynote speaker and the other session I was to attend was by an illustrators agents in Boston. Unfortunately she could not make it at the last minute so Mela Bolinao from HK Portfolio stepped in to offer some words of wisdom. For me the conference has been a good experience and I’ve learned a lot from all the speakers and seen work from some of the other illustrators at the showcase on Saturday night. Basically for $100 you could display an illustration in the showcase and 10 would be selected for auction that night. Whatever money was made goes to the artist. I’ll be submitting some work next year and see how we go, but that’s next year. There were some other prizes too. The Art Directors speaking at the conference chose their favourite three pieces and the winner gets their work published in Picture Book which is one, if not the leading reference book for Art Directors looking for illustrators. It costs about $1650 I think per page advertisement. So it’s worth a shot next year.


In the afternoon we went to the Whitney Museum of Art, looked at some wonderful pieces by Edward Hopper, possibly my favourite artists. Also on show was a retrospective of Oscar Bluemner, a German born, American modernist who started as a budding architect before he begun creating these fantastic, colourful, abstract landscapes. Check him out. After a quick look round the museum shop we headed back downtown towards the United Nations. Sadly when we got there none of the flags were flying and we could not go on a tour inside, maybe next time. For the Evening we attempted Virgil’s again and even though it was Super Bowl Sunday we managed to get in. It was still dry after our meal, so we went for a walk round and took some pictures, we headed down Broadway towards the Flat Iron building, our favourite building in New York. Sadly it was covered with scaffolding so no new pictures unfortunately. Broadway was a bit dark and scary in places so we walked back up 5th Avenue and got some good shots of the Empire State Building. Back towards the hotel we picked up a couple of teas from Starbucks and watched the second half of the Super Bowl.

We returned to Boston on Monday after another crazy ride on the appropriately named Lucky Star Bus. Our driver had a tailgating habit, over taking and under taking any other vehicle in her path. We were glad to be home, we both realised we could not have moved, or lived in New York. Maybe we would have found a place and settled. Boston’s just smaller, more chilled and manageable and it’s definitely our American home.