Get Stuffed: The First Thanksgiving
Nary a month after Mumhattan 2015, whereby 20kgs of clothing, 8 pairs of shoes and 2 coats – were lugged cross-continentally for a 5 day jaunt in NYC, it was time to pack for another trip to Manhattan.
The Mission Brief:
Thanksgiving. 5 days. 1 carry-on bag.
I wasn’t hugely deterred by the gargantuan task of only taking 2 pairs of shoes. But as an aside, what did people do before the ability to Google ‘How do I pack a carry-on only for 5 days in New York?’ I don’t remember that particular Britannica volume.
It’s actually amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t just throw whatever you think might look cute into a suitcase. (CREDIT: The Pack Light Blog). 1 carry-on – and yes, a paltry 2 pairs of shoes later, we ventured to the East Coast for our first Thanksgiving – hosted by the gorgeous Ebony & Matt.
Guided by the Goddess Martha Stewart herself, the 4 of us conquered a 20lb turkey, a Wholefoods grocery mountain, several bottles of wine – in the cooking, I swear – and the Macy’s Parade in the background, producing a feast for 12 Australian orphans. A delicious day of wining, dining and giving thanks (primarily, for Australia’s labour working conditions – See previous post). But nothing quite represents the spirit of the day like a quaint game of Cards Against Humanity after dinner.
I’m not sure I’ve been able to look at my husband quite the same after he conquered a few consecutive rounds. It’s always the mild-mannered ones…
The remainder of Thanksgiving weekend was Nerd Spectacular. Star Wars and Star Trek, instead of Black Friday sales, but I’ll let George tell you all about that…
George: This long weekend in New York was our most relaxed trip to The Big Apple yet. After suitably stuffing ourselves, we had a select few sights and activities. You may notice a theme… (Hint: #manchild)
The past month has seen hype for the new Star Wars film reach fever pitch. Every other advertisement seems to be channeling The Force (my favourite by far – Dodge). Currently, I see a new Star Wars wallpaper every time I open a new browser window in Chrome and Google maps has replaced the car icon with an X-Wing… So how could we not visit the Star Wars costume exhibition at Times Square?
On display were costumes from all 6 episodes (and a few from the new film – no spoilers though!) from Stormtrooper helmets, to Jedi robes, Leia’s scandalous slave bikini outfit and a never-ending line of Queen Amidala’s outfits. While the prequels are often written off as notably inferior to the original trilogy, the depth of detail and effort that went into designing and crafting the costumes was thoroughly impressive. (Nat says: They’re still crap).
From Star Wars to Star Trek (sort-of): Haters need not continue reading
Our one theatre visit (as opposed to our usual routine of 2 musicals and a play) was “Allegiance”, featuring a now 78-year-old George Takei – a.k.a Sulu in the original Star Trek series. The play is set in 40s California when Japanese – even the American-born – were shunted off to internment camps during WWII. It was a magnificent production, with powerful presentation by the leads, and George bringing an irrepressible humour to proceedings. It was also quite topical and sad to compare with how the themes and lessons resonate with certain discourse currently. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it… A fact of which Mr. Takei is acutely aware, given that he is currently saving Donald Trump a seat at every performance.
On Sunday we caught up with our New York cousins Andreana and Jerry at the Botanical Gardens – just a casual a 1.5 hour train and bus ride uptown to the Bronx. The cold weather didn’t faze our nephews Panagioti and Tasouli from rolling down every other hill.
The highlight? The Annual Holiday Train show inside The Conservatory. The adults amongst us, including Uncle Taso and Aunty Katina, were able to stay warm while the children, including myself, tried to catch the myriad toy train carriages as they wound between the standing green arrangements and the amazingly sculpted scenes of New York buildings, all constructed of plant material. A soaring Brooklyn Bridge was complemented by a Yankee Stadium built of twigs and leaves and decorated with nuts and seeds.
Not a bad way to spend a long weekend – and my first mini-break since moving to the USA.
(Re-enter Nat from Blog Left)
It would be remiss of me not to mention the culinary thrills – clearly aside from our Thanksgiving feast:
Eataly’s Nutella bar – Where inside New York’s finest Italian grocery store and food hall, you can now enjoy a delicious coffee (a rarity in and of itself ), with a dollop of Nutella if you so wish… (And yes, George wished).
Dirt Candy: If you’re a long time follower of our travel writing (Hi mum!) you’ll remember a culinary highlight of our first trip to Manhattan on our honeymoon, was Dirt Candy (living by the creed ‘Anyone can cook a hamburger. Leave the vegetables to the professionals.’
Well, it has now taken NYC by storm – and there was no better way to conclude the weekend than with a return to Amanda Cohen’s truly delicious vegetable degustation, in newer and much larger premises than the original 18-seat nook we discovered back in 2013. The highlight? Brussel sprouts tacos. Yes, that is the most counterintuitive sentence I’ve ever typed. But a truer word has not been spoken. Ebony, Matt & GKT are my witnesses.
Foodie lowlight: Brunch with uni friends Amit, Ravi & Liz, at a swanky(unnamed) East Village restaurant was sullied by Amit finding a piece of glass in his omelette. My waffles however, were delicious. That’s what you get for picking protein over diabetes, Middy.
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